The latest in Purple, since it's been awhile...

I got the Rainbow Dusseldorf 1976 CD set. Another great performance from the band's peak era. Recommended. I also picked up Gillan's Future Shock. A bit of a letdown compared to the other Gillan studio albums I've picked up, but not bad, really.

This week I preordered the CD and DVD for They All Came Down To Montreux. It will be nice to finally have an official Mark VIII release. I'll post my thoughts when it comes in.

Finally, it was cool to read about the record setting performance of "Smoke On The Water" in Kansas City this week. Always nice to see the DP name out in the mainstream press, even if there's no mention that it's still a vital and ongoing band.

Happy Deep Purple Day!

It was on April 20, 1968 that Deep Purple made their live debut at Vestpoppen, Tastrup, Denmark. Celebrate 39 years of Purple today with a Deep Purple album!

Yes, 1980... perhaps one of the best year in Purple history, and Deep Purple wasn't even active!

I mentioned in my previous post I thought 1980 was a great year for DP fandom even though the band was still defunct, and now I'll try to make my case.

Exhibit A: Rainbow (featuring ex-DP members Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover). While the classic lineups with Ronnie James Dio were now a thing of the past (Dio himself having moved on to Black Sabbath, where the Sabs would release their best ever album this year with Heaven and Hell), Rainbow was still a force to be reckoned with. The previous year saw the release of Down To Earth, and while that album was definitely a move in the direction of the more commercial sound of latter-day Rainbow, it still rocks plenty hard. Cozy Powell was still on board, the ever-solid Roger Glover was now lending his bass playing, songwriting, and producing skills, and Don Airey was providing the best keyboard playing Rainbow ever had. Add in to the mix new vocalist Graham Bonnet, one of the most powerful singers I've ever heard, and you've got quite a lineup. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Ritchie Blackmore was also at the top his game.

Rainbow toured Europe throughout 1980, and based on the boots I have this lineup was a powerhouse live. It all culminated with a headlining gig at the first ever Donington festival - Rainbow was huge in 1980, and they had the talent to back it up.

Exhibit B - Whitesnake (featuring ex-DP members David Coverdale, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice). Whitesnake released one of their best albums, Ready an' Willing, in 1980, and featured their best lineup that year, with Coverdale, Lord, Paice, Murray, Moody, and Marsden. They were also a great live band as evidenced by Live... In The Heart of the City recorded that year.

Exhibit C - Gillan (featuring ex-DP member Ian Gillan). Gillan had really come into their own in 1979 with the formation of the Gillan/Towns/McCoy/Torme/Underwood lineup, and the release of 1980's Glory Road showed a band with a lot of fire and energy. Even more impressive, however, was their set for the BBC's In Concert series (available on Live at the BBC 1979-1980). Live, Gillan was a force to be reckoned with.

So there you have it. In 1980, Deep Purple may not have been together but most of the former members were doing some of the best work they ever did outside of Purple. Plus, that year saw the release of the excellent compilation Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple, which would serve as my introduction to the band 15 years later.

Of course, it wasn't all roses that year - there was the Rod Evans debacle, but that aside I'd still say 1980 was a very good year for Purple People.

The new rerelease of Gillan's third LP, Glory Road, arrived in my mailbox yesterday. What a great album. I'd heard almost all of Glory Road proper via live versions before (but almost none of the studio versions), and almost none of the For Gillan Fans Only bonus disc, so I've been enjoying listening to them last night and this morning. Gillan (the band) were definitely in top form at this point in their careers, and its easy to see how the UK fans rewarded them with the #3 spot on the British album charts. Hopefully Mr. Universe will arrive in a day or two. I'm already thinking I may not be able to wait much longer before I order Future Shock - thank goodness for these new rereleases!

I should also mention I love the packaging on this release. A nice slipcase design with some notes on the back, full liner notes on the inside, some notes from IG himself, lyrics, photos, press clippings (including some bad reviews!). I definitely give Edsel full marks for this job.

Another thing that occurs to me while listening to this album - it seems to me that during Deep Purple's hiatus from 1976-1984, the year 1980 may have been one of the best years to be a Deep Purple fan. More on that in an upcoming post.

Here's what's currently happening in my Deep Purple listening experience:

This weekend I popped in the Live In Montreux 1996 DVD. I bought this when it came out but I've not watched it much. I was reminded that it's a really great show. The version of "Fireball" is great, and although I didn't watch it over the weekend, I remember really enjoying "Speed King" as well. When work dies down in a couple of weeks I'll have to go through the whole thing again.

Last week I finally got the Rainbow Live In Cologne 1976 set. Great show. I'd put it off for a little while since I had plenty of 1976-era Rainbow on disc (including Live In Europe, compiled from the same German tour). That was probably a mistake. I love this show. I need to order Dusseldorf before too long.

I did order the rereleases of Gillan's Mr. Universe and Glory Road last week. I'm looking forward to their arrival. I'll post my thoughts on them when they come in.

In terms of the larger Deep Purple extended family, I'll be getting Black Sabbath: The Dio Years today. I always thought the Sabbs were at their best with Dio, and it will be nice to have this collection, along with the new tracks. I'm interested to see how the digital remastering improves the sound.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to listen to Shades of Deep Purple.

I'm listening to "Black Night" right now and it occurs to me that that song may have the greatest nonsense lyrics of all time.

Ever listen to a song you're very familiar with, and find that for some reason it just hits your ear in a different way?

I had that experience last night while listening to DP's self-titled third LP in my car. "The Painter" came on, which I've heard dozens of times before, and for some reason I found that Richie's guitar work on that track really impressed me in a way I hadn't noticed before. Maybe I'd been more focused on Rod's vocals or Jon's organ in previous listens, I don't know. Anyway, my appreciation for this song is at a new level. That's one of the joys of music for me. You can listen to a song for years and still find things you like about it you'd never really thought about much before.