Deep Purple

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California Jamming (1974)

Making a stop in the discography discussion on the 1974 Burn tour with this live recording from the California Jam 1974. An outdoors music festival held at the Ontario Speedway in Ontario, California. 250,000 fans were in attendance at the festival which, besides Deep Purple, also had bands such as Eagles, Black Sabbath and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Deep Purple had no reason to sit around and sob after losing Gillan and Glover. Most bands would either throw in the towel or need a few years to gain back momentum. Purple on the other hand had not missed a beat and sounds invigorated with the two new members who in turn pushes the rest of the band band to bring their best. Recent album cuts such as Mistreated turns out to be a fantastic live track and Might Just Take Your Life becomes even more powerful. While classics such as Smoke on the Water and Space Truckin' receives a breath of fresh air!

This performance was one of the first with the new line-up from the "Burn" album and the entire show was recorded and sent out live on prime time TV. Towards the end of Space Truckin', Blackmore infamously attacks one of the TV cameras with his guitar and sets his amplifier on fire. True Rock N' Roll :D

Opener Burn:


Some various crowd shots just to get a feeling for the atmosphere and the scope of the event on that concert day in 1974!


And the full show for those who have the time!

 
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Here's the Blackmore "destruction" during Space Truckin'. Allegedly the band were flown out of there immediately following the show to avoid the fire marshals.

 
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Stormbringer (1974)

1974 was a productive time for the band. Early February saw the release of Burn before Purple went on a extensive summer tour. Immediately following that Deep Purple went back to record their second album in only a year, Stormbringer, released in December of 1974.

The R&B and funk sounds which sometimes appeared through the cracks on the Burn album are pretty much pushed to the fore here. Not that there is anything wrong with that. They just lack personality and the recognizable sound of Deep Purple. I guess Deep Purple must have thought they needed a slight turn in direction or approach here. If Burn was their hard rock album of 1974, this album is the other side of that coin. A more mellow album with soulful and melodic pieces. There is not much here of what used to make Purple, Purple. Lord is basically absent and his roaring Hammond "Beast" C3 is replaced by clean piano parts of funky 70s synths. Likewise Blackmore takes a backseat as well, allowing Hughes and Coverdale to blend their funk, soul and rock influences at will. Even Paice makes a no-show on this album. This turn of style might be seen as an improvement to some, who were waiting for Purple to ditch their aggressive younger days and transform into a more mature band who would be able to compete with the mainstream AOR/Hard Rock circles.- but it is definitely the most different Purple album up until now.

Highlights for me is the opener, title track Stormbringer. A very catchy tune and most likely the best on the album. Great riff, catchy lyrics and a fine solo too. Lady Double Dealer is OK but never really takes off. The acoustic ballad "Soldier of Fortune" that closes the album is another very memorable highlight with some beautifully arranged and played acoustic guitar by Blackmore and Coverdale doing the melancholic lone vocals. Very, very good song.

Overall. A very unique album in the Deep Purple catalog and a clear change of direction from the five previous albums. Gone are most of the aggressive playing you'd come to expect from Lord/Paice and Blackmore but for those willing to give the album a chance they'd still find some good admirable quality songwriting here. Great vocal parts and strong melodies. You have to give credit to Purple for continuously evolving and pushing their music in new directions - but you also have to accept that at this point in time, Coverdale and Hughes were the driving force in the band.

Blackmore's input on this record is very limited as he gave way for the new input from Hughes and Coverdale and instead of fighting it he decided to up and leave and follow his own creative ideas when he decided to form his solo band Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in early 1975.


 
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A nice but patchy album, reminiscent of how dysfunctional Deep Purple was at the time:
- Blackmore so hated the song "Hold On" - the likes of which, along with "You Can't Do It Right", he called "shoeshine music" - that he allegedly recorded the guitar solo using one finger (though it actually sounds unlikely, in some parts). The result is, however, one of his best long, improvised solos along with the one to "Why Didn't Rosemary?" in my opinion.
- Blackmore and Coverdale have literally forced the others to record "Soldier of Fortune", which they didn't like.

I think all the songs are (just) good ("High Ball Shooter") to excellent ("The Gypsy" and -it took me the 2015 Whitesnake rendition to realize it- "Holy Man") but they just don't function together really well as an album.

EDIT
Not "perfect" but sufficiently rare and soulful for a cover ;)

 
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Black Bart said:
reminiscent of how dysfunctional Deep Purple was at the time
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It's amazing really how much can change in just one year.

The story goes, apparently,that Blackmore wanted to cover the song "Black Sheep of the Family" on the Stormbringer album but the suggestion was shot down by everyone else in the band which upset Blackmore and starting making him back out of the creative process in the studio and ultimately the band...

It's "funny" how it was Blackmore who brought in Coverdale and Hughes, made a fantastic album in Burn which fused the best of both worlds only to loose control over the music by the end of that same year to those same two guys.....

He then went on to record said cover track on his solo album with Rainbow:


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Never a big fan of Stormbringer .. some good songs on it, but the album overall reflected the mess the band was in at the time. Very disjointed. Again, not bad, but nothing I listen to often at all.
 
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Come Taste the Band (1975)

With Ritchie Blackmore surprisingly out of the band by the end of 1974 Deep Purple daringly decided to continue without him and wasted no time setting up auditions. In the end American guitarist, Tommy Bolin, known for his stint in the band James Gang and as a session musician (on albums such as Billy Cobham's Spectrum) ended up being the man who was going to try to fill the shoes left behind by Blackmore.

The album musically shows the continued funk influences from Hughes and Coverdale but the inclusion of new guy Bolin also steers the band back into a heavier guitar rock direction. Evident in the confident opener "Comin' Home"assigned for newbie Tommy Bolin to show his chops. There's an entire middle section here for him to fill with his guitar, and he is good, but also undoubtedly not on the same level as Blackmore. "Getting Tighter" has a great energetic riff and surprises us with a clever little funk bridge!And while the lyrics...

Get up--keep in line
It's gettin' tighter all the time
You say you're feelin' fine
It's gettin' tighter all the time

...Is rather uninspired Hughes manages to give the song some edge and passion. Bolin lays out some small licks here and there but almost ends up overdoing his part on this song.

"Dealer" is very listenable but ultimately also very formulaic and run-of-the-mill. Tommy Bolin throws us one of his better performances on this album in his solo towards the end of the song with the rest of the band grooving behind him. Except for Lord who is strangely absent on almost the entire album. Particularly this closing solo could have been amazing with some hot organ playing rivaling the guitar, like Deep Purple used to do. "I Need Love" is entirely skippable. Stupid lyrics and a dance-like groove. "Love Child" sports a very heavy riff and a great atmosphere, reminding me a bit of classic Deep Purple and their emphasis on atmospherics leads and riffs. Also this song finally has a Jon Lord appearance although it's not one of his better performances, sadly. "This Time Around/Owed To G" actually turns out to be a very cool little instrumental again with newbie guitar gunslinger Bolin shredding away! Just a shame that we have to sit through around 3 min of lounge music before we get to this!

Overall a more energetic and rocking album than previous output, Stormbringer, but in dire need of a standout track like that album had with "Stormbringer" and "Soldier of Fortune" so perhaps a more consistent album but with less really good memorable tracks...But also no real clunkers either, except for "I Need Love". Tommy Bolin does a good job on this and probably gave the album/band a much needed adrenaline shot but naturally has too big of a void to fill here after Blackmore. While Hughes and Coverdale probably had more room to play on their own terms on this album without Blackmore intervening the songwriting and the playing subsequently also suffers quite a lot without him. Bolin while a a very capable and talented guitarist. just does not have the songwriting skills or traits to effectively replace him. All in all this is the last album to feature the talents of Coverdale and Hughes and of Tommy Bolin too, who would die a year later from a drug overdose at the age of 25

After this album Deep Purple split and wouldn't be seen for nearly 10 years!

Tommy Bolin on his solo album Teaser (recorded at the same time he was with Purple). A really good album in fact!. I'm sure guitar players would find some interesting songs on there and probably a better showcase album if you're just interested in listening for yourself to his respected guitar credentials ;)


 
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It is as much a DP album as Slaves & Masters : a one-off, with an improbable line-up, but still very enjoyable.

My favorite song on the record (and easily part of my Deep Purple top 10): "You Keep On Moving". Only "I Need Love" is below average, I agree. Although the sound is much dated on it, I think "This Time Around" is beautiful.

By the way, I used to have a mp3 CD player in my car and I had put the entire DP discography on one CD (I used to drive a lot in those days): one passage I really loved was the transition from "You Keep On Moving" to "Knockin' At Your Backdoor" (which is, technically, the song that comes after) - it sounded like the sun setting down for good and then, unobtrusively, life beginning to crawl in again (keys, then bass) before exploding into daylight (+ guitar and drums). :)
 
Black Bart said:
By the way, I used to have a mp3 CD player in my car and I had put the entire DP discography on one CD (I used to drive a lot in those days): one passage I really loved was the transition from "You Keep On Moving" to "Knockin' At Your Backdoor" (which is, technically, the song that comes after) - it sounded like the sun setting down for good and then, unobtrusively, life beginning to crawl in again (keys, then bass) before exploding into daylight (+ guitar and drums). :)
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Nice one :) I'll keep an eye out for this when I get to Perfect Strangers. I'll probably spin both albums in that listening session, I like to listen to the album that came before when I'm making these reviews - Just to remind me where the band was previously.

Black Bart said:
My favorite song on the record (and easily part of my Deep Purple top 10): "You Keep On Moving"
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I just don't know about this song. It's pleasant and has some good vocal harmonies but also just very aimless....But what I've been missing on these last two albums is actually here, you just have to pay attention or you'll miss it - some very good Hammond organ playing by Lord in the middle of the track. Perhaps the best little piece since the Burn album :D
 
Great tour/interview footage from the 1975 tour! Deep Purple traveling in a Boeing 707! ;) Contains some really good interviews with Paice about the current state of the band, all the lineup changes, the break with Blackmore and a good interview with Coverdale about replacing Gillan and about Blackmore's stuff in Rainbow. Also interview with new boy Tommy Bolin who looks strung out on something already this early on in the tour....

 
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CTTB is a weird one for me - I respect the album (and Bolin), but couldn't bring myself to listen to it more than 2-3 times in the last ten years or so. I remember liking You Keep on Moving, too, but overall, I just can't put my finger on it. Middle-of-the-road as it is, I have definitely listened to (and enjoyed) Perfect Strangers more.
 
Black Bart said:
Actually, it is a left-over from the Burn album that Blacmore didn't like.
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I was actually just talking about the little organ ride in the middle of the song which to me sounds like some of the more inspired Lord playing perhaps since Burn. It also has that classic hammond sound and is not him playing with either clean piano or synths!

But interesting nevertheless that the track was originally penned for the Burn album :)
 
This sounds interesting ;)

"Regarding the song selection for the upcoming shows, Blackmore said: "The setlist will be RAINBOW songs for about 70 percent, including 'Stargazer', because apparently that's a song everybody wants to hear. About 30 percent will be DEEP PURPLE songs. We will focus on the best-known songs. The Dio era will be a central part of the show, but we will also play songs from the Joe Lynn Turner and Graham Bonnet periods. As far as PURPLE is concerned; we will play the Gillan era but will also play something from the David Coverdale period."
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/ri...n-to-hire-new-musicians-for-rainbow-comeback/
 
Yeah, Blackmore's singer is, just simply, great. He sounds like a more aggressive Dio (although aggressive, not in Dio's more natural approached way, but rather a bit forced), but still retains the fullness.

Dio live jam:


original songs
 
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The Gillan era songs are almost self-written...I wonder which Coverdale songs they'll dig up though. Burn perhaps next to Mistreated? Blackmore not playing on Come Taste The Band probably eliminates that album but Soldier of Fortune from Stormbringer was a popular live song too I think, right?
 
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Perfect Strangers (1984)

When Deep Purple dissolved after "Come Taste the Band", in a mess of ego trips and musical squabbles, it was the right time for the band to hang it up and for it's members to pursue other musical ventures and it seemed Deep Purple would be gone for good. But by 1984, Blackmore's Rainbow had reached the end of the road with the Joe Lynn Turner fronted "Bent out of Shape" and Ian Gillan had stepped out of Black Sabbath after his small stint with the band on the "Born Again" album and tour and when Lord and Paice were both available after jobs in Whitesnake and Gary Moore respectively it suddenly started to look possible, and also very profitable, for Deep Purple to get together, hit the studio and attempt to recreate some of that old MKII magic - And so after eight long years Deep Purple were back with Perfect Strangers.

The albums starts out on a high note, the alluring "Knocking At Your Back Door", with it's mysterious stabbing cello synths. The whole band then falls into a riff that leaves no doubt about who we're dealing with. Blackmore again proving his talent for writing memorable riffs and with the impeccable rhythm section of Glover/Paice and Blackmore doing his thing, particularly towards the end of the song, its a sure highlight of the album. The only real blemish on this is the lyrics, which are pretty god damn awful, truth be told, but hey - when were Deep Purple ever known for writing great lyrics? Next up is "Under The Gun" which is extremely hard and heavy. Deep Purple fully embracing the harder edge of the 80s rock/metal scene here. Blackmore is on fire in his solos and it's great to hear a song being driven so much by the Hammond organ again after the almost total absence of Hammond on the two albums before the Purple split. Great song, not a dull moment. "Nobody's Home" is another rocker with good energy but the song goes a bit stale in the end, it's somewhat saved though by a sweet organ ride in the mid-section by Lord. The title track is one of the better songs here with the Hammond intro and hypnotic guitar and synth lines scattered throughout. Not sure i understand all of the meaning behind the lyrics but at least in this case they're not too cheesy or lame, the same cannot be said for "A Gypsy's Kiss", which has utter nonsense lyrics - but on the other hand features some classic Deep Purple interplay between Lord and Blackmore! I'm still on the fence when it comes to "Wasted Sunsets"...the bad news is that we've heard it all before, it's a pretty typical power ballad of that day and age but yet, there's something to be found there in the deep of the song and the piano/organ playing of Lord -so it's not completely "wasted" - also, am I the only one hearing a little bit of "Out of the Shadows" here?

Overall this is a good reunion album. The band manages to be unmistakably Deep Purple while tapping into the 80s metal and hard rock scene and carving their own place. Not easy for a legendary group whose members at this time were nearing their 40s. Some of the tracks do tend to become a little bit too run of the mill hard rock but the album is lifted by some very strong cuts.

 
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