Away Team

DEEP PURPLE

Deep Purple + Orchestra Live At Montreux 2011

Eagle Vision

5 out of 10

For DEEP PURPLE fans there are a ton of great DVDs that have been released over the last couple years that give you a look into the different versions of the band and show you why DEEP PURPLE should rank at the top of everyone’s list for greatest band ever, and most influential band! The fact that the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame continues to snub them is ridiculous and just shows you why it is completely irrelevant and a joke.

The latest DEEP PURPLE offering is a recent live show shot in 2011 in Switzerland at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The hook is that DP was touring with an orchestra and on July 16th they filmed the show for a DVD release.

There have been many hard rock and metal bands that have been performing lately with an Orchestra with varying results. Most notably was the biggest hard rock/metal band in the world, METALLICA performing with the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Michael Kamen (R.I.P.). The resulting CD/DVD of those two shows are phenomenal and set the standard for what a rock and symphony show should be.

KISS recorded a live show with the Sydney Symphony and it just doesn’t translate well at all. Dennis Deyoung performed STYX songs with a symphony. The point is most of them don’t translate well. METALLICA’s worked because Michael Kamen wrote the music for the symphony that COMPLIMENTED the music of the band, and didn’t just rework the band’s songs for strings, woodwinds, brass, etc. If you listen to the Just Symphony audio track of the DVD S&M you won’t be able to figure out what songs they are playing most of the time because they are not just playing the song the way the band wrote it with different instruments, they are playing all new original pieces that compliment the band’s songs.

DEEP PURPLE has always worked in and around symphonies from time to time with varying success. When John Lord (former keyboardist) wrote Deep Purple: Concerto for Group and Orchestra it worked because it was a symphonic piece and written as thus. It wasn’t a rock song or songs that they had the symphony play on. It was an experiment melding rock and symphony and written as such. That is why it worked.

Their new DVD doesn’t work. Because of the reasons stated above. The symphony is playing along with the band, not playing to compliment the band. They aren’t playing original pieces that work within the framework of classic DEEP PURPLE songs like Highway Star, Woman From Tokyo, Knockin’ At Your Back Door, Lazy, and Smoke On The Water. And it is this reason that the symphony here seems to take the teeth and the edge right out of the songs. Instead of building up the songs the symphony here seems to actually water down the DEEP PURPLE sound. It is unfortunate really because in any band’s music would work well with symphonic treatments it would be DEEP PURPLE’s. But on this show it is simply not the case.

I am always heralding ANY release by DEEP PURPLE because I feel they have never received the respect they deserve as being one of the first to perform Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Yes Black Sabbath is regarded as the Fathers of Heavy Metal but Deep Purple started a year before Sabbath did. They’ve released more albums, and pushed the envelope further than Black Sabbath ever could.

Sadly, I can’t recommend this DVD as it is just not a good representation of DEEP PURPLE and their legacy. But there are plenty more CDs and DVDs out there that are worthy of your time and I strongly suggest you go check them out. You’ll thank me later.









For more DEEP PURPLE click here.

DEEP PURPLE

Phoenix Rising

Eagle Vision

8 out of 10

A good band can withstand a change in guitarist or drummer, a great band can withstand several membership changes, a select few bands can withstand a lead singer change (ok, I can think of two, Genesis and Van Halen), but only one band can have several different lineups and change the personnel of the entire band over and over and over again and still be amazing, relevant, put out quality albums over and over, and most importantly be accepted as that very band with no backlash for the changes.

I’m of course talking about Deep Purple. The band has had so many lineup changes over the year, had so many people in and out of the band that they are actually known by their versions, Mark I, II, III, etc. The band has had 14 different members over the years, they’ve changed every position but one. Ian Paice has been the drummer from day one, and in every incarnation of the band he has been there.

He has kept time for the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, David Coverdale, Glen Hughes, Jon Lord, Joe Satriani, Tommy Bolin, Joe Lynn Turner, Rod Evans, Steve Morse, Roger Glover, Don Airey, and Nick Simper. Some amazing talent has performed under the DEEP PURPLE moniker.

Fans to this day still debate the best and their best Marks (or versions) of the band. My personal will always be Mark I. The original. Not to take away anything from the Coverdale/Hughes days, but I was turned on to DP in 1984 when they reunited the DP Mark I and put out Perfect Strangers. It was from that point I went backwards and found one of my all time favorite bands.

The last maybe 10 years the band, or their labels have been putting out some great videos. They’ve taken all their old concert videos, unreleased concerts, and putting together some great packages for the fans.

The latest is Phoenix Rising. And it features Mark IV of DEEP PURPLE. With an unknown (at the time) David Coverdale sharing lead vocal duties with bassist Glenn Hughes, Tommy Bolin on guitar, Jon Lord on keys, and as always Ian Paice on drums, this short lived version never had the chance to record as Tommy Bolin died in 76 of a heroin overdose. But this never before seen concert Rises Over Japan recorded in 1975 at the Budokahn in Tokyo sees the band crank out the classics Burn, Love Child, Highway Star, Stormbringer, Smoke On The Water, Getting Tighter, and Lazy.

Two things jump out at you watching this (especially during Highway Star, and Burn), David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes played off each other insanely well vocally. It was a true stroke of great fortune that the band got both of them at the same time. Because it is also evident during Highway Star that what Ian Gillan did alone vocally required Hughes/Coverdale together to do. David Coverdale hitting the lower, gruffer, bluesier parts, and Hughes hitting the higher notes. What we don’t get to see, but I would love to have is to see Coverdale/Hughes do Child In Time. Again it would absolutely take the talents of both of them to pull off what Gillan did by himself, but it would still be amazing to see them do it together.

The concert is remastered in 5.1 on this Blu Ray disc. And it sounds, well, as great as you’d expect a DEEP PURPLE show to sound. Martin Birch did a great job catching the band tearing through a wild set. The band may not have been the tightest at the time, at least not that night from the looks of things, but the energy, playing, and vibe was there. And of course the great songs. Sadly it is only 30 minutes, but it is a great 30 minutes of a seldom seen version of DEEP PURPLE. And in that, this show is enough to purchase this disc. To see Bolin/Hughes/Coverdale rock out to these great DP songs is more than enough reason to pick up the blu ray. But Rises Over Japan is only 30 minutes of Phoenix Rising. The rest is a never before seen documentary Gettin’ Together. It is culled from years of research, with live shots, backstage footage, interviews, and never before told stories. It tells the best and the worst of the Purple. The highs and lows of a tumultuous time in DP history.

The blu ray will only set you back $20, but you can pick up a regular DVD version for only $15 and a great DVD/CD combo for $20 also. If you are a Deep Purple fan you simply cannot pass this up. If you are lover of 70s rock, this is right up your alley, and if you want to see where David Coverdale cut his teeth before Whitesnake then this is for you too.









DEEP PURPLE – Phoenix Rising is out today. You can pick your copy up here, you’ll thank me later.

Following the departure of lead singer Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinnie Appice after the studio mixing of the Live Evil album, Black Sabbath were once again on the lookout for yet another lead vocalist to fill the significant void left at stage front. The band turned to ex-Deep Purple lead singer Ian Gillan.

The resultant album and live touring certainly made for one of the more curious associations in the world of heavy metal. Much of this era of Black Sabbath has passed into rock folklore and was actually the source for much of the material used in the rockumentary movie, This Is Spinal Tap. From the replica stage production of Stonehenge which was too large for some of the venues on the world tour to the employment of a dwarf to dress-up and play the part of the ‘devil-baby‘ from the LP front cover, the world of Black Sabbath took-on a distinct air of the surreal.

Whilst the well received Born Again album and live dates succeeded in stoking the embers and kept the Sabbath flames burning, this would ultimately be a marriage built more on friendship and respect as opposed to any long-standing and compatible musical association. After one tour, Ian Gillan would eventually bid farewell and re-join his old sparring partners for the Mk. II reunion of Deep Purple and leave Black Sabbath once more gazing into the crystal ball hoping the face of yet another lead vocalist would reveal itself.

For Iommi, Butler, Ward, Gillan, and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, work would swiftly commence in May of ’83 at the Manor Studios in the village of Shiptonon-Cherwell, Oxfordshire. Produced by Black Sabbath and co-producer Robin Black, who had also worked on 1975′s Sabotage, 1976′s Technical Ecstasy, and 1978′s Never Say Die, Sabbath‘s eleventh studio release would represent a radical departure from the gloomy atmospherics and blackened lyricism that had forged their identity and spawned innumerable descendants.

Gillan‘s approach to song-writing bespoke a lighter-hearted approach to what had, until then, been the primary concern of Butler. Album-opener Trashed, for instance, was inspired by Gillan‘s boozed-up race around the Manor’s grounds in Bill Ward‘s car that ended in near-catastrophe and a wrecked vehicle. Disturbing The Priest was the result of a door in the studio having been left open during playback, and a local vicar appearing in the doorway asking for the volume to be turned down as it was disturbing choir practice in the adjacent village.

For all of its off-kilter appearance however, Born Again was still Sabbath through and through. Musically twisted and possessed with more than a whiff of brimstone, the album is a thrilling glimpse into an alternative world.

For this re-mastered Deluxe Expanded Edition, a second disc containing two bonus tracks is included, with ‘The Fallen‘ being a previously unreleased studio outtake recorded during the original album session. Also included are nine tracks from the BBC Friday Rock Show broadcast of Black Sabbath‘s appearance at the Reading Rock Festival in August 1983, which also includes a performance of Deep Purple‘s classic ‘Smoke On The Water‘.

The Born Again Deluxe Expanded Edition tracklisting is as follows:
Disc 1 (original album):
Trashed
Stonehenge
Disturbing The Priest
The Dark
Zero The Hero
Digital Bitch
Hot Line
Keep It Warm

Disc 2:
The Fallen (Previously Unreleased Album Session Outtake)
Stonehenge (Extended Version)



Live at the Reading Festival, Saturday August 27 1983
(BBC Friday Rock Show broadcast):
Hot Line
War Pigs (live)
Black Sabbath (live)
The Dark
Zero The Hero
Digital Bitch
Iron Man (live)
Smoke On The Water (live)
Paranoid (live)

For more BLACK SABBATH click here.

CLASSIC ALBUMS:
RUSH: 2112 & MOVING PICTURES
Eagle Vision DVD














Eagle Vision & Eagle Rock Entertainment have put together a series entitled CLASSIC ALBUMS that goes back and looks at the making of some of the greatest albums of all time. With titles such as Metallica: Black Album, Fleetwood Mac: Rumors, Judas Priest: British Steel, Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Iron Maiden: Number Of The Beast, Motorhead: Ace Of Spades, Deep Purple: Machine Head, and on and on… The series takes the band back to the studio, with the producer and engineer occasionally and goes over the recording of the album, how they wrote it, the stories that came from the recording session, and actually takes the album apart track by track and channel by channel. From the great licks, that killer vocal line, the special mixing that makes the song come alive.

You can’t turn on VH-1 without seeing an episode of Classic Albums, and with good reason. Even if you don’t particularly care for the artist or the album, the stories behind how the album came to be will enthrall you. My favorite episodes are DEEP PURPLE: Machine Head, JUDAS PRIEST: British Steel, and MEAT LOAF: Bat Out Of Hell. Not because they are amazing albums (they are), not because they are great legendary bands (they are), but because of the stories that come out about how the album and the songs came to be. From Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water being written about the actual recording of Machine Head and the dismal situation they were in while recording one of rock’s greatest albums of all time. To Judas Priest’s Metal Gods marching sound being a drawer full of silverware being slammed open and shut. To Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman basically selling their souls and beating the odds to get a rock opera released by two unknown and unlikely artists.

RUSH: 2112 and Moving Pictures as albums need no real introduction to even casual music listeners.

With the opening track 2112 taking up half the album alone, the sheer epicness and ballsiness of an unknown band releasing this epic tome of music and having the fortitude and belief in themselves to pull off a magnum opus of this magnitude is to be respected and celebrated. The message of 2112 with nods to Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead actually echoes the band’s ambition for releasing a 20 plus minute song as the opening and title track on an unsuspecting public.

Moving Pictures is simply a greatest hits album of brand new music. Red Barchetta, Limelight, Vital Signs, and YYZ are well known to Rush fans and non fans alike. And of course Tom Sawyer which is probably second only to Stairway To Heaven as the most played song on Classic Rock stations.

The episode and the series isn’t a ‘Behind The Music’ drug and sordid history, it is about how the album came about, how the artist came up with the riff, the lyric, the song, the sound, and finally the impact the album had when it was released.

RUSH: 2112 & Moving Pictures was released September 28th. And can be purchased here. Do yourself a favor, pick it up, throw it in the DVD player and relive the magic of 2112, the hits of Moving Pictures and find out how the band came up with some of the most well known rock and roll songs in the history of music.

The DVD comes with almost an hour of extra material recorded for this episode. From Geddy Lee explaining the Overture of 2112, to Neil‘s (Non) drum solo, there are too many great nuggets to list here. The extras are worth the price of the DVD alone, nevermind the who, how, why of the recording of 2112 and Moving Pictures!

No matter which episode you watch, STEELY DAN: Aja, TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: Damn The Torpedoes, SEX PISTOLS: Never Mind the Bollocks, or U2: Joshua Tree, you’ll always come away with a great story, an amazing tidbit about how your favorite song came to be, what studio magic was used to make that special sound that transports you to another place and time, and where the artists head was or wasn’t at when they recorded it. So check out the links below, pick up 2112 & Moving Pictures, treat yourself to a few other episodes of Classic Albums, and enjoy! You’ll thank me later.

For more CLASSIC ALBUMS click here.
For more RUSH click here.
To purchase RUSH: 2112 & Moving Pictures Classic Albums click here.

In 1989, BLACK SABBATH‘s Tony Iommi and DEEP PURPLE‘s Ian Gillan were just a few names in a long list of talent involved in the re-recording of the classic Deep Purple track ‘Smoke On The Water‘. This song was re-recorded to raise money for those affected by the Leninakan earthquake that struck Armenia in 1988. In October of last year, both Iommi and Gillan travelled to Armenia to see how the funds raised had helped the local community. On their trip they visited a music school only to find it being run out of temporary accommodation, it was only location not to have been rebuilt 20 years after the earthquake had struck.

Next week Iommi and Gillan will be heading back into the studio, joined by keyboardist Jon Lord (ex-Deep Purple, WHITESNAKE) and drummer Nicko McBrain (IRON MAIDEN) to record a new track to raise money to rebuild the Armenian music school. More information about the charity single ‘Out Of My Mind‘ and behind the scenes photos will follow soon.

Carlos Santana was initially intimidated by mentor Clive Davis‘ pitch for his next album — another “Supernatural“-style all-star collaboration, but this time on a collection of iconic rock songs by the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and others.
“I was like, ‘No, I don’t know if I want to do this one, Clive. This one’s a little challenging,‘” the guitarist and bandleader told Billboard.com.
“And he would stay on the phone for at least 45 minutes to an hour, three times in one year, and I was like, ‘Oh, lord…’ But then I started realizing that someone with that intense passion of commitment couldn’t be wrong, so I had to trust him. And it was incredible.”

The album — Santana‘s first since “All That I Am” in 2005 — is due out in September and is not yet titled. The track list is being finalized as well, but during sessions Santana reunited with “Smooth” partner Rob Thomas on Cream‘s “Sunshine of Your Love” and worked with Joe Cocker on Jimi Hendrix‘s “Little Wing,” Scott Weiland on the Rolling Stones‘ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” Chris Daughtry on Def Leppard‘s “Photograph,” Soundgarden‘s Chris Cornell on Led Zeppelin‘s “Whole Lotta Love,” Papa Roach‘s Jacoby Shaddix on Deep Purple‘s “Smoke on the Water” and rapper Nas, who lays down rhymes on AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”

Santana chose half of the songs while Davis, Sony Music‘s chief creative officer, picked the other half. Davis, who originally signed Santana in the 1960s, masterminded his 1999 comeback “Supernatural,” a worldwide smash that also garnered nine Grammys.
“What I brought to the table is my heart, knowing that I complement, I don’t compete,” Santana said of the recording sessions. “I brought my heart, trusting that there’s enough in me of purity and innocence and genuineness that I couldn’t possible, excuse the expression, fuck it up. I know Eric (Clapton). I know Jeff Beck. I know Jimmy Page. And they know me. I have supreme certainty and confidence that they’re going to say, ‘Hey man, I love what you did with my song.”
While he considers every song “incredible,” Santana said his very favorite is the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which he recorded with India Arie and cellist Yo Yo Ma.
“I sent the song to George Harrison‘s widow, Olivia, and I got back an email that says, ‘Carlos, I listened to the song and I started crying and jumping with joy at the same time. And I want you to know that George really loved you, because he understood your passion for compassion.’ And I was like, ‘Bam!’ that’s like George Harrison himself, through his beautiful wife, validating my existence and what I did with that song.”
Santana plans to preview some of the covers during his upcoming summer tour with Steve Winwood, which gets under way June 30 in Saint Paul, Minn. He also plans to have Winwood “join my band” for collaborations he hopes are “totally different” than what fans might expect.
“I would prefer not to do Steve Winwood or Santana songs with him,” Santana explained. “I would like to go to the Bob Marley repertoire or Marvin Gaye or African music by King Sunny Ade or really, really obscure other-side-of-the-tracks. So I’m crossing my fingers.”
After the summer tour with Winwood, Santana is returning to Las Vegas in August for his second residency at the Hard Rock Hotel. Santana is touring Europe in September and October, including a stop at London’s O2 Arena.
Santana has another album ready to go as well, an all-instrumental set called “Shape Shifter,” which he recorded with his band and he plans to release after the next album has run its course.

Current SANTANA dates:
5/25/2010 Tuesday Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon
5/28/2010 Friday Le festival MAWAZINE Rythmes du nde, Rabat, Morocco
6/30/2010 Wednesday Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN Steve Winwood
7/1/2010 Thursday Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI Steve Winwood
7/3/2010 Saturday Saturday in the Park Festival, Sioux City, IA Steve Winwood Free Festival
7/4/2010 Sunday Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO Steve Winwood
7/6/2010 Tuesday Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH Steve Winwood
7/7/2010 Wednesday Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Indianapolis, IN Steve Winwood
7/9/2010 Friday Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL Steve Winwood
7/10/2010 Saturday DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI Steve Winwood
7/11/2010 Sunday Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON Steve Winwood
7/13/2010 Tuesday Quebec City International Summer Festival, Quebec City, QC Steve Winwood
7/14/2010 Wednesday Lebreton Flats, Ottawa, ON Steve Winwood
7/15/2010 Thursday Bell Centre, Montreal, QC Steve Winwood
7/17/2010 Saturday Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY Steve Winwood
7/18/2010 Sunday Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY Steve Winwood
7/20/2010 Tuesday PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ Steve Winwood
7/21/2010 Wednesday Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT Steve Winwood
7/23/2010 Friday Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA Steve Winwood
7/24/2010 Saturday Trump Taj Mahal Casino/Hotel- Etess Arena, Atlantic City, NJ Steve Winwood
7/25/2010 Sunday Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA Steve Winwood
7/27/2010 Tuesday Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, VA Steve Winwood
7/28/2010 Wednesday Time Warner Cable Music Pavillion, Raleigh, North Carolina Steve Winwood
7/29/2010 Thursday Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA Steve Winwood
7/31/2010 Saturday 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa, FL Steve Winwood
8/1/2010 Sunday Cruzan Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL Steve Winwood
8/25/2010 Wednesday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/27/2010 Friday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/28/2010 Saturday THe Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
8/29/2010 Sunday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/1/2010 Wednesday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/3/2010 Friday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/4/2010 Saturday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/5/2010 Sunday The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
9/29/2010 Wednesday O2, Dublin, Ireland
10/1/2010 Friday O2 Arena, London,UK
10/2/2010 Saturday MEN Arena, Manchester,UK
10/3/2010 Sunday Newcastle Arena, Newcastle,UK
10/5/2010 Tuesday Gleredome, Arnhem, NL
10/6/2010 Wednesday Sportpaleis, Antwerp, BE
10/7/2010 Thursday König-Pilsener-Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
10/9/2010 Saturday Hallenstadion, Zürich, Switzerland
10/10/2010 Sunday Zenith, Dijon, FR
10/12/2010 Tuesday Bercy, Paris, France
10/13/2010 Wednesday SAP-Arena , Mannheim, Germany
10/15/2010 Friday O2 Arena, Prague, CZ
10/16/2010 Saturday O2 World, Berlin, Germany
10/17/2010 Sunday Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
10/19/2010 Tuesday Mediolanum Forum, Milan, Italy
10/20/2010 Wednesday Rothaus Halle , Friedrichshafen, Germany
10/23/2010 Saturday O2 World, Hamburg, Germany
10/25/2010 Monday Arena Fyn, Odense, DK
10/27/2010 Wednesday The Globe, Stockholm, SE
10/29/2010 Friday Vestlandshallen, Bergen, Norway
10/30/2010 Saturday Vikingaskeppen, Hamar, Norway

For more information visit Santana‘s website here.

Source: Reuters.com