Monsters of Rock 2006: Deep Purple 3rd June 2006
Setlist: Pictures Of Home / Things I Never Said / Hush / Rapture Of The Deep / Strange Kind of Woman / SM Solo / Fireball / When A Blind Man Cries / Lazy / DA Solo / Perfect Strangers / Space Truckin’ / Highway Star / Smoke On The Water // Black Night
Deep Purple is, without doubt, one of the greatest rock bands of all time and, even though its members have changed over time, it can still pull in the fans and help make a roaring success of an event, such as Monsters of Rock. Following Alice Cooper onto the stage is a feat that few bands on the planet could pull off, because Alice is a headliner in his own right, with a stage show that none can better.
As I mentioned in my review of one of the earlier bands, the organisation at MKB was outstanding for an event of this size. Changeover between bands was around 15 minutes, barely enough time to go to the toilets (which, ridiculously, are all situated at the back of the Bowl, at the top of a steep incline – but that is not the fault of the event organisers!) Even taking all of Alice’s gear off stage only took twenty minutes. Phenomenal stuff. Big cheer for the Live Nation people. Great band line-up, excellent organisation, and only £38.50. Well done!
Deep Purple is, without doubt, one of the greatest rock bands of all time and, even though its members have changed over time, it can still pull in the fans and help make a roaring success of an event, such as Monsters of Rock. Following Alice Cooper onto the stage is a feat that few bands on the planet could pull off, because Alice is a headliner in his own right, with a stage show that none can better.
As I mentioned in my review of one of the earlier bands, the organisation at MKB was outstanding for an event of this size. Changeover between bands was around 15 minutes, barely enough time to go to the toilets (which, ridiculously, are all situated at the back of the Bowl, at the top of a steep incline – but that is not the fault of the event organisers!) Even taking all of Alice’s gear off stage only took twenty minutes. Phenomenal stuff. Big cheer for the Live Nation people. Great band line-up, excellent organisation, and only £38.50. Well done!
As for the Purps, well, they are back with their:
When I’ve mentioned this gig to friends, so many of them have said to me, ‘Yeah, but it’s not the classic line-up, is it?’ No, but it’s hardly Fat Axl and a bunch of blokes, either, and Morse has been in Deep Purple longer than any other guitar player...
I guess you have to decide for yourself if you would rather see the classic line-up of people who are at each others’ throats, and whose hearts are no longer in it, or a great assemblage of like-minded souls, having a good time individually and collectively, playing for you because they want to, not just because the money is too good to refuse. You pays your money and takes your choice.
- new CD
- only drummer
- second (& fourth) bass player
- second keyboard player
- third guitarist
- second (fourth & sixth) singer.
When I’ve mentioned this gig to friends, so many of them have said to me, ‘Yeah, but it’s not the classic line-up, is it?’ No, but it’s hardly Fat Axl and a bunch of blokes, either, and Morse has been in Deep Purple longer than any other guitar player...
I guess you have to decide for yourself if you would rather see the classic line-up of people who are at each others’ throats, and whose hearts are no longer in it, or a great assemblage of like-minded souls, having a good time individually and collectively, playing for you because they want to, not just because the money is too good to refuse. You pays your money and takes your choice.
First on the agenda is the new CD.
Rapture Of The Deep is the best thing that Purple has released since Perfect Strangers. Purpendicular and Abandon were both fantastic recordings, and even Bananas is growing on me, slowly, but ROTD is outstanding. Like the Perfect St Rangers, Rapture sounds as if it comes from the same era of creativity that produced In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are, but without the Twat in the Hat.
Rapture Of The Deep is the best thing that Purple has released since Perfect Strangers. Purpendicular and Abandon were both fantastic recordings, and even Bananas is growing on me, slowly, but ROTD is outstanding. Like the Perfect St Rangers, Rapture sounds as if it comes from the same era of creativity that produced In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are, but without the Twat in the Hat.
OK. Drummers. Not many people ever take photos of drummers. That is usually because they are at the back, unlit, unnoticed and, perhaps, unloved. I’m not like that, I always try to get a shot of the guy half-hidden behind a hundredweight of spangly hardware. Oh, and did I snap a cracker of a shot of Mr Paice? You bet your sweet bippy, I did!
Now, there are some musicians who are musicians’ musicians.^^ I’m pretty sure that 95% of all drummers are good and do their job faultlessly. Another 4% couldn’t hit a barn door with an anti-aircraft gun, and about 1% are just out of this world. The list of the latter is not that long, and you will have your own ideas, but here are a few to get you started:
Now, there are some musicians who are musicians’ musicians.^^ I’m pretty sure that 95% of all drummers are good and do their job faultlessly. Another 4% couldn’t hit a barn door with an anti-aircraft gun, and about 1% are just out of this world. The list of the latter is not that long, and you will have your own ideas, but here are a few to get you started:
- Neil Peart
- Jon Hiseman
- Simon Phillips
- Buddy Rich
- Carl Palmer
- Bill Bruford
- Corky Laing
- Carter Beauford
- Terry Bozzio
- Oh, and… Ian Paice
For many years, I never really rated Roger Glover. I lumped him in the same boat as Pete Agnew of Nazareth; plodding, dependable, pedestrian, not very exciting. A bit invisible. Then again, I thought Megadeth and Helloween were bags of shite too. I was a moron. I realise that now. I was young and stupid. I was wrong. I saw Nazareth live a couple of years ago up close and stood right in front of Pete Agnew. I realised something very important: making it sound so easy is actually very difficult. All those years I had listened with cauliflower ears. Same with Megadeth. Lose your preconceived notions and prejudices and listen with clean ears and an open mind and you suddenly hear a whole load of stuff you never heard before. Same with Helloween. It happened too with the production side of what Rog does. I wondered for years what all the fuss was about the production on Machine Head, any of the Nazareth stuff Glover produced, or Perfect Strangers. Now, in my newly-enlightened state, I hear the richness and quality of the sound. I find it hard to believe that I couldn’t hear it before. If you add a bass player like Roger Glover to a drummer like Ian Paice, you have one hell of a rhythm section.
Then, you add a singer like Ian Gillan.
I don’t think I need to say any more about the greatest of all rock vocalists.
And before any of you email me to complain that so-and-so is better, let me just say this. Yes, I love Glenn Hughes, Bruce Dickinson, and many other singists. But, Ian Gillan wrote the Standard Operating Procedure for the job 'Singer in a heavy rock band'. He defines the role. There can be no argument, or discussion.
One of the greatest keyboard players ever to mistreat a Hammond B3, Jon Lord, retired a couple of years back. Whilst it was a great shame, who can say that he didn’t deserve to retire from the arduous routine of recording and touring? He earned the right to call it a day and I, for one, salute him for the years of great playing that he gave us, as well as for having the courage to quit whilst he could still enjoy his well-earned r ‘n’ r.
Personally, I can think of no one more suited to taking over the much vaunted keyboard slot, that Lord’s departure opened up, than the great Don Airey. Somehow, Don has always seemed to walk in Lord’s shadow and has never really been accorded the respect that his stature deserves. He is as much a master of the ivories as anyone else in the business and, to become a member of the band that he could have, and maybe should have, been in all along, is a fitting reward for all his years of service to music.
Personally, I can think of no one more suited to taking over the much vaunted keyboard slot, that Lord’s departure opened up, than the great Don Airey. Somehow, Don has always seemed to walk in Lord’s shadow and has never really been accorded the respect that his stature deserves. He is as much a master of the ivories as anyone else in the business and, to become a member of the band that he could have, and maybe should have, been in all along, is a fitting reward for all his years of service to music.
Finally, then, we come to the guitarist. Steve Morse is, and I defy anyone to argue this point, a truly awesome guitarist. His technical proficiency is without question, yet he is also a very gifted at the art of imbuing his playing with emotion and feeling. To take on the mantle of previous residents, the boy from Weston-super-Mare and Tommy Bolin, was, and possibly still is, a poisoned chalice. Joe Satriani turned the job down, remember; he probably just didn’t want the baggage. Some blinkered individuals still chant the mantra that Purple will only ever be Purple when the stage left position is occupied by the man in black who wears the silly hat. I do not subscribe to that viewpoint. Ol’ Baldy may not have stomped off the Purple stage for the last time until 1993, but let’s face it; it was only a matter of time before he threw the wobbly that broke the camel’s back. It had been on the cards for so long and, even as a devout Purple fan of many years standing, it was a blessed relief when it finally happened. Slaves And Masters had its moments, but the whole Joe Lynn Turner replacing Gillan, replacing Turner, was just dreadful. And, does The Battle Rages On enter anyone’s list of Purple highlights? The guitar player may have been great once, but those halcyon days are long gone, as is the respect of many of his once loyal fan base. He may have once shone like the brightest star in the heavens, but like that other temperamental prima donna, Michael Schenker, there comes a point when the genius becomes a liability and the moods and tantrums no longer make up for the increasingly brief flashes of excellence. For me, lutes just don’t do it and every time I think about his latest excuse for music, I just want to vomit and I reach for the copy of Green Bullfrog to stop the shakes. There is no comparison.
I appreciate that I have rattled on at quite some length about everything but the performance so far, and for those of you who are still awake, I’m getting to it now.
I last saw Deep Purple on the Abandon tour (well, actually I last saw them at the RAH at the 30 th anniversary bash, but that can’t really be counted) and it was a great gig, even if it was at Manchester’s hateful Evening Nazi Arena, the most odious of vile venues. As good as the show was overall, Ian Gillan’s voice, although still great in the bottom and mid range, seemed to have lost a little of its top end and he had changed his singing style a little to accommodate that. He also looked as though he hadn’t missed many desserts too, and the shirt-outside-the-pants-years were much in evidence. That said, I would still take Gillan on his worst day, with laryngitis, a head cold, sore eyes and a club foot, over pretty much anyone this side of Chris Farlowe. In fact, I have seen Gillan put in an outstanding performance with a streaming cold before now and he could still have wiped the floor with most singers. But, I digress.
As soon as the stage lights signalled the imminent arrival of Airey, Gillan, Glover Morse and Paice, I felt a frisson of excitement ripple through my body and I almost exploded as they launched into one of my favourite songs, Pictures Of Home. From the word go it was clear that this band was pumped and The Big G had been sacrificing the puds in favour of five portions of fruit and veg a day, his shirt firmly tucked into his jeans. Although now, like Alice, into his 60s, Gillan looked amazingly fit and well, his voice showed no signs of strain or loss of power. I read on a message board somewhere insignificant, a comment that the writer thought Ian was well soused because he forgot the words to Pictures (I think). Well, I don’t think he was. Yeah, he did get a line wrong, but would anyone who was smashed actually have the presence of mind to sing a line actually telling 60,000 people that he had just forgotten the words? I thought it was hilarious. Besides, I was at Reading Festival in 1983 when he was singing Sabbath songs. ‘Nuff said!
I last saw Deep Purple on the Abandon tour (well, actually I last saw them at the RAH at the 30 th anniversary bash, but that can’t really be counted) and it was a great gig, even if it was at Manchester’s hateful Evening Nazi Arena, the most odious of vile venues. As good as the show was overall, Ian Gillan’s voice, although still great in the bottom and mid range, seemed to have lost a little of its top end and he had changed his singing style a little to accommodate that. He also looked as though he hadn’t missed many desserts too, and the shirt-outside-the-pants-years were much in evidence. That said, I would still take Gillan on his worst day, with laryngitis, a head cold, sore eyes and a club foot, over pretty much anyone this side of Chris Farlowe. In fact, I have seen Gillan put in an outstanding performance with a streaming cold before now and he could still have wiped the floor with most singers. But, I digress.
As soon as the stage lights signalled the imminent arrival of Airey, Gillan, Glover Morse and Paice, I felt a frisson of excitement ripple through my body and I almost exploded as they launched into one of my favourite songs, Pictures Of Home. From the word go it was clear that this band was pumped and The Big G had been sacrificing the puds in favour of five portions of fruit and veg a day, his shirt firmly tucked into his jeans. Although now, like Alice, into his 60s, Gillan looked amazingly fit and well, his voice showed no signs of strain or loss of power. I read on a message board somewhere insignificant, a comment that the writer thought Ian was well soused because he forgot the words to Pictures (I think). Well, I don’t think he was. Yeah, he did get a line wrong, but would anyone who was smashed actually have the presence of mind to sing a line actually telling 60,000 people that he had just forgotten the words? I thought it was hilarious. Besides, I was at Reading Festival in 1983 when he was singing Sabbath songs. ‘Nuff said!
The setlist requires no comment. I love the new material in the set and they could have played Butterfly Ball for all I cared and I would have loved it. Actually, I would have rather enjoyed that… Like all bands that have a back catalogue extending over thirty or more years, there is always a whole load of songs that it would have been nice to hear, but that would mean they play every night for a couple of hours, for several weeks, minimum. No, I was happy with what they did. Hearing Fireball live was a blast for me, as was When A Blind Man Cries, neither of which I was really expecting. For a bunch of almost-pensioners they sure kicked some ass and gave us the finest Purple performance I have seen to date. Gillan was in excellent voice and Don Airey appeared so comfortable and at home behind his barrage of electronic wizardry. Glover was as solid as a rock and roaming the stage like a man on a mission, whilst Morse looked as though he’d always been in the band. Paice, of course, always has. As a band, this unit is as good as any Purple line-up to date and, in my not so humble opinion, is as ‘classic’ as a ‘65 Mustang.
A truly immense day of great bands, superb performances and some of the best music ever recorded, finished in fitting style with an unexpected rendition one of the best-loved rock songs ever, Black Night. It seemed somehow appropriate that we should all leave Milton Keynes Bowl with that song ringing in our ears. Let’s hope that this event returns for many years to come. Us fortysomethings remember when Deep Purple LPs bore the legend ‘File under Popular - Pop Music’. Wolfmother alone cannot save us from modern popular music.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
10th June 2006
^^ Can you write ‘musician’ that many times in one sentence? Ed
I can... GoT
A truly immense day of great bands, superb performances and some of the best music ever recorded, finished in fitting style with an unexpected rendition one of the best-loved rock songs ever, Black Night. It seemed somehow appropriate that we should all leave Milton Keynes Bowl with that song ringing in our ears. Let’s hope that this event returns for many years to come. Us fortysomethings remember when Deep Purple LPs bore the legend ‘File under Popular - Pop Music’. Wolfmother alone cannot save us from modern popular music.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
10th June 2006
^^ Can you write ‘musician’ that many times in one sentence? Ed
I can... GoT