Deep Purple Mark I

 

My journey into the Deep world of Purple began approximately 1984, when living in Paris, France.  Seeking to start off on the band, I went to Bazar Hotel de Ville (aka “BHV”, pronounced “bay osh vay”), a department store in eastern Paris near the town hall – the same town hall which had Louis Napoleon’s map of Paris and went up in flames during the Paris Commune in 1871.  The store itself became BHV the same year, 1871.  In any case, this store had a music section, and that section had these 12” black vinyl platters, including quite a few by Deep Purple.  Not knowing which album to start off with, I tried Deepest Purple, a compilation album.  All but two of its 12 songs, “Burn” and “Stormbringer”, were Mark II songs, the exceptions being the title tracks of the two Mark III albums.

 As you might expect, we’re mostly familiar with the classic lineup, known as the Mark II, which recorded In Rock (6/70), Fireball (7/71), Machine Head (3/72), Who Do We Think We Are (1/73), the classic live album Made In Japan, and three reunion albums, Perfect Strangers (10/84), The House of Blue Light (1/87), and The Battle Rages On (7/93).  For those of you wanting to collect literally ALL of the band’s recorded material, there’s Jon Lord’s Concerto For Group and Orchestra performed at the Royal Albert Hall in fall of 1969 – essentially an original classical music piece with the band adding its own contribution.  Most of us listen to it once and never again.  But before that, beginning in spring of 1968, was this one. 

 In 1968, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, and Nick Simper had been playing in various bands with less success and recognition than they would have liked.  They agreed to form a band together, and recruited Evans and Paice (from The Maze/MI6) to fill out the ranks.  This lineup was more commercial than later ones, but only scored some success with “Hush”, itself a cover.  Aside from “And the Address”, redone on the latest album, “Hush” is the only Mark I song the band still plays.  Before Mark II had a substantial array of its own material, it was playing “Mandrake Root” and “Wring That Neck” in concert.

 At this stage they were an opening act, mainly for Cream and Vanilla Fudge.  Blackmore pissed off Eric Clapton by inserting non-rock material into his solos as a lark.  The first name was Roundabout, then changed to Deep Purple.  Their first gig was on April 20, 1968.  Their material sold far better in the US than the UK, where crowds dismissed them as an American bubble gum pop band.  In the US they appeared on Playboy After Dark.  They spent so much time in the US, and were so much more popular there, that they considered moving there permanently, but abandoned that idea when they learned that doing so would make Ian Paice, the youngest member of the band, liable to being drafted and sent to fight in Vietnam (male permanent resident aliens are required to register with the Selective Service – and thus are subject to being drafted).

 Band Members.

 Ritchie Blackmore (Guitarist).  He continued on to Mark II & III, leaving in 1975 to form Rainbow.  He came back later in 1984 for the reunion and left in 1993 on the Battle Rages On Tour.  Since then he has been playing renaissance music with his current wife Candice – and apparently they live on Long Island, of all places.   Generally he favors Stratocasters with 70s headstocks and scalloped fretboards, played through Marshall stacks.  Blackmore is notorious for being difficult to deal with and Rainbow went through various lineups as bassist Jimmy Bain said, “our banjo player kept firing musicians.”

 Jon Lord (Keyboardist).  He continued through Marks III-V and remained in the band for two albums with Mark VI, after Steve Morse replaced Blackmore on guitar.  He retired from Deep Purple in 2002, and died in 2012.  Easily recognizable by his mustache.  He added a fair amount of classical music to the mix.

 Ian Paice (Drummer).  By now he’s the only member who has been with band with literally every lineup.  I can’t say I know enough about drummers to comment on his style.  He does seem shy and least likely to cause any problems.  He’s left handed but plays a right handed kit, though with drum kits – as opposed to guitars and basses – I can’t tell the difference.  Same with left-handed amps, left-handed keyboards, or left-handed microphones.

 Rod Evans (Singer).  After being let go in 1969 he eventually formed Captain Beyond in the early 70s with former members of Iron Butterfly; he’s on the self-titled debut and Sufficiently Breathless.  In 1980 he joined an ersatz Deep Purple scam in which he was the only member remotely connected with the band.  The band’s management sued him, got a judgment of $400k, and he disappeared into obscurity.  Ironically he’s probably better esteemed these days for Captain Beyond than DP Mark I.  He has a deep, rich voice and not prone to shrieks, putting him in a completely different class than Ian Gillan or David Coverdale.  

 Nick Simper (Bassist).  He wasn’t too happy when they let him go in 1969 along with Evans.  He formed a band named Warhorse in the 70s and declined to be invited to the scam band in 1980.  He still shows up from time to time, but hasn’t done anything high profile since Deep Purple. 

 Albums.

 Shades of Deep Purple.  (7/68).  Debut album.  Track listing:  And The Address; Hush; One More Rainy Day; Prelude: Happiness; I’m So Glad; Mandrake Root; Help [Beatles cover]; Love Help Me; Hey Joe [Billy Roberts cover, though Hendrix’ seems to be the definitive version].  Bonus tracks on remastered CD: Shadows; Love Help Me (instrumental); Help (alternate version); Hey Joe (BBC recording); Hush (Live on US TV).

 The Book of Taliesyn (10/68).  My own favorite, thanks to “Anthem” and “The Shield”.  I recall listening to this one when we were visiting London.   Track listing: Listen, Learn, Read On; Wring That Neck; Kentucky Woman [Neil Diamond cover]; Exposition; We Can Work It Out [Beatles cover]; Shield; Anthem; River Deep, Mountain High [Tina Turner cover].  Remastered CD bonus tracks:  Oh No No No (out-take); It’s All Over (out-take); Hey Bop A Re Bop (BBC live recording); Wring That Neck (BBC live recording); Playground (out-take).

My original copy purchased in Europe back in the day is fairly flimsy, but is stereo.  The 180 grain reissue I purchased is mono.   The CD version is stereo. 

 Deep Purple (self-titled) (6/69).  Track listing:  Chasing Shadows; Blind; Lalena; Fault Line; The Painter; Why Didn’t Rosemary; Bird Has Flown; April.  Remastered CD bonus tracks: The Bird Has Flown (alternate mix); Emmaretta (out-take); Emmaretta (BBC live recording); Lalena (BBC live recording); The Painter (BBC live recording).  Here, unlike the prior two albums, only one song, "Lalena", is a cover (Donovan).  So the band had progressed to mostly originals.

 Live at Inglewood.  October 18, 1968.  As an opening act, no one seemed to bother to record their shows, so to my knowledge this is the only surviving live recording (CD) of this lineup.  Set: Hush, Kentucky Woman, Mandrake Root, Help, Wring That Neck, River Deep Mountain High, Hey Joe.  Obviously it was the Book tour, opening for Cream, no material from the self-titled album which came out in 1969.  The CD itself now seems to be out of print.

 As hinted earlier, this material is considerably different than the Mark II and later albums.  It’s somewhat commercial and late ‘60s pop, with some extended instrumentals which approach prog in nature.  Usually you’d expect a commercial band to give us quick and simple 3 minute songs and not bother going off on guitar and keyboard solos.  Plus you’ve got all those covers, which Mark II and later lineups didn’t bother with – at least not on vinyl.  It’s definitely a very different flavor, though Blackmore’s guitar and Lord’s keyboards are still recognizable.  Harking back to last week’s blog, it’s “not as good” as later Purple but still well above a threshold of “good”. 

 In July 1969 the band decided to move in a heavier direction.  They fired Evans and Simper and recruited Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.  The two had earlier been approached about joining, but their band Episode Six was on its way up and they felt they owed the rest of E6 a duty to take it as far was it would go.  By July 1969 E6 had stagnated, so the time was right.  Evans had decided to marry an American girl and move to the US, so he wasn’t too upset, but Nick Simper wasn’t too happy.  In a recent interview, though, he concedes that the band made the right decision to replace him with Roger Glover. 

 Deep Purple Mark VI.  Just a little item I want to address here as I don’t believe it merits a whole blog entry on its own.  In 1973, Ian Gillan quit and Roger Glover was fired, the band replaced them with David Coverdale (vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass & backup vocals). This was Mark III, which recorded two albums:  Burn (2/74) and Stormbringer (12/74).

After Stormbringer Ritchie Blackmore got fed up with the funk direction the band headed in (“shoeshine music”, as he referred to it), mainly thanks to Hughes, and left.  The band replaced him with Tommy Bolin (Mark IV) which lasted for one album, Come Taste The Band (10/75).  The album itself was fine, but on the tour it turned out that Bolin was a heroin addict and his performances overseas, strung out without heroin, were train wrecks.  As soon as the tour ended (last show at Liverpool on March 15, 1976), the band broke up and went their separate ways.  Bolin died of a heroin overdose a few months later, December 4, 1976.

The Mark II lineup reformed in 1984, as noted above.  After House of Blue Light, Blackmore arranged to have Gillan replaced with Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner for one album, Slaves & Masters, which is Mark V.  Then Gillan came back for The Battle Rages On, the last album with the Mark II lineup.     

In the middle of that tour, Blackmore quit abruptly, leaving the band to find another guitarist to cover the remaining tour dates.  They found Joe Satriani.   After the tour the band offered him a permanent job, but he refused.  One story is that he felt Blackmore was “the” guitarist; another is that he was under contract with another label which had exclusive rights to any original material he wrote.  For whatever reason, Satriani did not join the band as a permanent member and the band did not record any new material with him.  Any live recordings from this tour are bootlegs and not official releases, and given the circumstances will remain so indefinitely.   So there is NO official DP material with Satriani and no new studio material with him.  The next guitarist to remain with the band was Steve Morse, who is still with them.  When Jon Lord retired in 2002, the band replaced him with Don Airey. 

Despite this, some refer to the touring lineup with Satriani as “Mark VI”.   No, Mark VI is the lineup with Steve Morse on guitar and Jon Lord on keyboards, (Purpendicular (2/96) and Abandon (6/98)), and Mark VII is the lineup with Morse on guitar and Airey on keyboards – who are still making records (Bananas (9/03), Rapture of the Deep (11/05), Now What ?! (4/13), Infinite (4/17), and Whoosh! (8/20)) and – COVID permitting – touring.   

Fender Stratocaster (Revisited)

 

Here was a topic I covered back in 2006, when my blog was on Myspace.  The earlier blog entries such as that one didn’t make the transition to Blogger, so I’ll redo it. 

Just this last Tuesday, I took my Gibson SG to the guitar shop in Falls Church, Virginia, Action Music, for a setup (restring, intonation, etc.) and saw they had various Stratocasters and a Twin Reverb amp.  A week or so before, I’d visited Fox Music – within walking distance, down Lee Highway, of Action Music – and saw they also had several Stratocasters – brand new (!) – as well as a Twin Reverb.  

Before I go on about Stratocasters, I’ll comment briefly on the Twin Reverb.  I’m a Marshall guy, with a 2554 Jubilee 25/50 watt combo (1x12”) and a Dual Reverb (4100) 100 watt head, 1960AV 4x12” cabinet half stack.  I love the rich, full distortion sound.   But for an amp with “reverb” in its name, the Dual Reverb (JCM900) has an extremely weak reverb sound, practically nonexistent.  A few years ago I tried out the Fender amp at Guitar Center, out of pure curiosity, and the reverb was incredible.  If there’s an amp that makes a clean sound good, it’s that one.  They started out at 85 watts, Fender boosted it to 130 watts, and then dropped it back down to 85.  If I ever wind up with another $1000 to spare, I might well buy one.  Not today.

To make matters even more interesting, marginally so, I put off finishing up the blog until after I’d done what I had to on Friday, which included a trip to Fairfax County’s courthouse.  I swung by the Fairfax location of Guitar Center, now re-opened, as it’s listed as the only Northern Virginia authorized Rickenbacker dealer.  Sure enough, high up in the rafters is a 4003 bass, and off to the side is a used Ritchie Blackmore signature Stratocaster: white, black pickups, scalloped rosewood fretboard and large headstock – for $949.  Of all the signature models, his is my favorite.  But I prefer my own Stratocaster, modified over the years (2000 to present) to my own specifications.

History.   Up until the 1930s, there were no electric guitars, only acoustic.  In the ‘30s, pickups – the electromagnetic device which captures the strings’ sound so they can be amplified - were invented, and slapped on acoustic guitars.  However, two men, Les Paul and Leo Fender, realized that a guitar with pickups doesn’t need an acoustic chamber and can, in fact, be simply a solid plank of wood.  Les Paul developed his own model, brought it to Gibson, but they laughed at him.  Leo Fender, oddly enough not a musician himself, developed the Telecaster (originally called the Broadcaster) and his invention, the first solid body electric guitar, introduced in 1948, was a hit.  Gibson realized their mistake and brought back Les Paul, who gave them the guitar which bears his name, in 1952.  In 1954, Fender upped the game with an improved model, the Stratocaster.

Initially the Stratocaster had three single coil pickups, a tremelo/vibrato bar, and was available in two color sunburst with a maple neck (to my eyes, a pale yellow).  By the late 50s, solid colors (e.g. black) became available; in 1959 the rosewood (dark brown) fretboard was introduced.   By 1965, Fender was in bad health and sold his company to CBS, the TV network.  That company enlarged the headstock, a design which lasted from 1966 to 1981.  Since then the standard headstock has been small, with various reissue models available.  The Strat also became available with double coil pickups (aka humbuckers), which are usually associated with Gibsons. 

Single vs. Double Coil.  Single coil pickups are thinner, more of a twangier sound, whereas double coil pickups have a thicker, meatier sound.  However, overdriven sufficiently, even an otherwise insubstantial single coil bridge pickup will sound almost as nasty as a humbucker.  Jimmy Page likes to remind people that the classic sunburst Les Paul he’s so often associated with, wasn’t on his agenda until Led Zeppelin II, and the first Led Zeppelin album, including “Dazed and Confused”, was recorded on the Telecaster he was using in the Yardbirds. 

Famous Players.   Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Robin Trower, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Dave Murray, Don Felder, Uli Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen, among many others.  Hendrix took right handed Stratocasters, flipped them over, and played them left handed (although there were lefthanded Stratocasters by then). 

Vs. Telecaster.  I never liked the Telecaster and have never even played one.  The lack of an upper horn, the headstock shape, etc., it still looks like Leo’s first practice attempt at a solid body electric guitar, which is what it was. 

Vs. Gibson.  As noted below, most of my guitars are Gibsons, which is Fender’s main US competitor.  Fender can and does put double coils on Strats, and Gibson has its own single coil pickup, the P90, which went on Les Pauls before the humbucker came out, and continues to feature on Specials and Juniors.  I like both companies’ guitars, and see no reason why anyone’s collection has to be exclusively Fenders or Gibsons absent budget constraints or an arbitrary preference.   

My Strats.  By now I’ve had several of my own.  I have 5 guitars: 4 Gibsons (Firebird, Explorer, SG, and Les Paul) and one Strat.  I’m not inclined to acquire more than one of any model, but rather pick what I consider the best version of that model, and the Stratocaster is yet another example.  So my progression was as follows…

1.         Applause Stratocaster Copy.  In September 1985, following my brother’s cue, I started learning to play guitar: first song I learned was “Saints & Sinners”, by Whitesnake.  And almost immediately I fixated on the Stratocaster.  But US made versions were expensive, and I had only just learned to play.  So I worked at the Visa Section of the US Embassy in Paris over Christmas holiday 1985-86 – under the guidance of a French guy, Bernard, who turned me onto Hawkwind - and in January 1986 I bought this.  Cherry sunburst with a maple neck.  Not great sounding, and the only “Strat” I ever had with a maple neck, but I was happy for awhile.

** Copies.  I may as well address this issue here.  The Stratocaster may well be the most copied guitar in the world.  In addition to faithful copies like my Applause, companies such as Ibanez, Jackson, and even Gibson have produced Strat-shaped guitars by the thousands.  Our own first guitar was an Ibanez Roadstar II, black with three single coil pickups.  I’d just as soon have a real Stratocaster, even if it was made in Mexico and not ‘Merica (California).  As Fender’s quality control went up and down over the years, some feel that there are many copies which exceed Fender’s quality.  Maybe, maybe not.  That being the case, I’ve never owned a Squier, which is Fender’s budget brand. 

2.         Fender Stratocaster (made in Japan).  By fall 1986 I was at college, University of Maryland, College Park.  My parents agreed to buy me this for Christmas 1986.  It was a Fender Stratocaster, made in Japan, black, rosewood fretboard, small headstock with standard logo.  It had a locking tremelo.  I liked it, and considered it a major improvement over the copy.  Eventually, though, I wanted a US made model.

3.         Fender Stratocaster, ’62 Vintage Reissue (made in the US).  I gave my Jap Strat and my Strat copy to my guitar teacher, Joel, who sold them for me, in June 1990.  I used the money to buy this, a US-made reissue model:  black, rosewood fretboard, three single coil pickups, small headstock with “spaghetti” (pre-CBS) logo.  Very nice, much better than the Jap Strat.  I made no modifications to this.  By January 1990 I had purchased my first Marshall, the 1x12” tube combo, 2554 Jubilee edition, so I had a nice combination – in addition to the Gibson SG ’62 reissue I’d bought in May 1989. 

4.         Fender Stratocaster, Fat Strat Deluxe (made in Mexico).  My current model.  By summer 1999 I’d fallen in love with the larger, CBS-style headstock, and saw this at the Ozzfest:  black, black pickguard, humbucker in the bridge position, rosewood fretboard, and the large headstock.  By January 2000 I succeeded in trading in my Vintage Reissue model for this – at Guitar Center in Seven Corners - and have been happy ever since.  I replaced the stock humbucker with a DiMarzio Tone Zone zebra coil (one black, one, white), replaced the stock tuners with locking tuners – just pull the string through and it catches, and stays in tune better than stock tuner – and the standard Fender tremelo with a Super Vee Blade Runner.  Pepper Keenan, in DOWN, can be seen playing what looks like one in the live video, “Diary of a Mad Band”.   Humbuckers on a Strat?  Yep, some of us like it that way, especially through a Marshall….

Black Is The Color

It’s time for another somewhat esoteric and abstract discussion, this time about something pretty vague: the color black.

For a long time, it’s been my favorite color. I can’t explain why; I suppose it’s just a matter of taste. I’m not even a goth, nor have I ever been.


Cars. I had my Formula painted black in 1997-78 (from its original dark aqua metallic), and having seen Knight Rider, it’s clear that few cars suit the color as well as a ’92 Firebird Formula, with its sleek body and asymmetric hood. It suits the car even better than it does ’76-81 Trans Ams, especially the Special Editions (aka “Bandit models”) as I’m not a big fan of black & gold. Car manufacturers report that black is consistently a popular color, ever since the Model T, which of course was only offered in black. Unfortunately for cars, black is the color least forgiving of dents, dings, and other imperfections – and white is the most forgiving, which is why pickups and utility vans are so often white. Any car looks best in black, but it’s most alluring and flattering for performance cars.


Guitars. My Gibson Explorer and Fender Stratocaster are both black. I’d have bought my Gibson SG in black too, but that particular model, the ’62 Reissue, was only available in cherry. Since Stratocasters have been available in solid colors – after the two-tone sunburst they originally came in, in 1954 – since 1956, black has been the one color, year after year, which has always been available. Eric Clapton’s famous Strat is black, and the color is now available for his signature model. The Les Paul Custom is traditionally black, although it’s available in other colors as well, notably white and silverburst (favored by Adam Jones of Tool).


Race. I suppose as a white person, my own preferences are irrelevant, but I prefer the term “black” to describe that race, better than the alternatives. Obviously “colored” and “negro” are out of fashion, yet “African-American” seems a little too stilted. Those of us of European descent don’t refer to ourselves as “Polish-American”, “German-American”, or “Irish-American”, etc., especially since with such heterogeneity among not only whites but also multi-racial mix these days, it would be cumbersome, inconvenient, and really stupid for any of us who aren’t complete pedigrees to insist on that. Of course, black people are more brown (aside from some from deep, dark Africa), but aside from albinos, white people aren’t really “white” (more like pink), and Asians aren’t really “yellow” either. I’ve heard the expression “oreo” (black on the outside, white on the inside); is there a “snowball” (white on the outside, black on the inside)? Or a “twinkie” (yellow on the outside, white on the inside)? Or “egg” (white on the outside, yellow on the inside)? We could go on with these food/race analogies for awhile. Be that as it may, I think as a racial description, black is best: it’s simple, descriptive, and devoid of value-judgments.


Music/Songs. “Fade to Black” by Metallica, “Back in Black” (song and album) by AC/DC, “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones, not to mention Metallica’s self-titled fifth album, are just a few examples. Ritchie Blackmore tended to dress in black, but for some reason rarely favored black guitars. Black Sabbath also comes to mind. Then there's Spinal Tap....


Clothing. The black uniform of the Allgemeine SS (General SS) of Nazi Germany comes to mind, but these days, an all-black uniform is most likely the province of hair dressers. “Dieter” from Sprockets is long over…. I have a black suit, a black dress shirt, a black tie, and dozens of black t-shirts collected over the years of going to metal concerts, though I can’t say I wear black much more often than any other color.

Deep Purple 1984-Present

[Originally posted 12/13/07.  Edited 6/30/2020.]

This could be called “Deep Purple Marks II, V, VI, and VII”. I love those Roman numerals.

Background. Deep Purple, as most people know it, is best known in its Mark II lineup: Ian Paice (drums), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Roger Glover (bass), and Ian Gillan (vocals). It originally disbanded in 1976 with the so-called Mark IV lineup: Ian Paice (drums), Jon Lord (keyboards), David Coverdale (vocals), Glenn Hughes (bass), and American guitarist Tommy Bolin. Their sole album, Come Taste The Band, wasn’t bad, but live the band started off OK but descended into mediocrity when they toured overseas and Bolin couldn't sustain his heroin habit.

Coverdale went off to form Whitesnake, Blackmore had already formed Rainbow, and the other members frequently jumped from one to the other. In 1980 Mark I & Captain Beyond vocalist Rod Evans was lured into a shady promoter’s scheme to resurrect “Deep Purple” (for which Evans was the only person with any connection to the band – Mark I bassist Nick Simper wisely refused to take the bait) which backfired badly.

By 1984 the various Mark II members were ready for a reunion, and came out with a new album, Perfect Strangers. When I first saw the album in the stores, I ignored it, assuming it was another compilation album. I got it for Christmas in 1984, and was pleasantly surprised to learn it was a reunion album for the Mark II lineup. We saw them at the Palais Omnisports Bercy the following summer, opened by Mountain (Leslie West forgot the words when singing).

They followed this up with House of Blue Light (which I listened to exactly ONCE), and then a live album, Nobody’s Perfect, featuring “Hush” brought back into the set.

Mark V. Thanks to Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan was fired and Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow) was brought in for Slaves & Masters, another remarkably mediocre album. I suppose you could call this lineup (Turner in place of Gillan) as Mark V.

Mark II returns. For 1993, this was the 25^th anniversary, so the rest of the band felt Gillan should come back. They recorded The Battle Rages On, and went on a remarkable tour before Blackmore quit in the middle of the tour. This time Tommy Bolin was not available to take his place.  Famous guitarist Joe Satriani filled in for the remainder of the tour but declined to join the band permanently.

Note:  some people are classifying the Satriani touring lineup, 12/2/93 Nagoya through 7/6/94 Bayreuth, as "Mark VI".  Others are classifying the reunited Mark II lineups for Perfect Strangers/House of Blue Light and The Battle Rages On as separate marks.  Both are, of course, utter nonsense.  Satriani's lineup simply finished the Battle Rages On tour and did not record any new material, not even releasing a live album from that leg of the tour.  And the same five members who gave us Machine Head also recorded Perfect Strangers and The Battle Rages On.  Enjoy the band, but don't be stupid.  Please.  

Mark VI. With Satriani refusing to join the band, they brought in Steve Morse, an American from the Dixie Dregs (a band I’ve listened to none of) to take over, and he’s been in ever since. This should be referred to as Mark VI. They released Purpendicular and Abandon, both produced by Roger Glover, the bassist.

Mark VII. Eventually Jon Lord decided it was time to retire, and Don Airey took over on keyboards, resulting in DP Mark VII. This lineup recorded Bananas and Rapture of the Deep, produced by Michael Bradford, followed by Now What ?! and Infinite, produced by Bob Ezrin, with another album due out in August 2020, Whoosh!. With Lord gone, this means that Ian Paice is the only DP member in all seven lineups.  

Quality. I suppose many bands like Deep Purple could rest on their laurels and cynically release regurgitated crap year after year, assuming the fans will buy whatever they put out. But Deep Purple make a sincere effort at making quality material. I can’t say it compares favorably to In Rock, Fireball or Machine Head (the classic three original Mark II albums) but it certainly doesn’t suck.

Of the post 1984 material, I'd say Now What ?! and Infinite are the strongest.  The key is producer Bob Ezrin, veteran of Alice Cooper, KISS and Pink Floyd.  

Live. This is up and down. On one hand, Marks VI and VII play a lot of the lesser known (but no less quality) Mark II tracks such as “Pictures of Home”, “Maybe I’m a Leo”, “Woman From Tokyo”, “No One Came”, “Bloodsucker”, etc. Part of the problem with bands which have been around for some time is that get into a fixed pattern of certain classics which MUST be played. Iron Maiden did a recent tour in which they claimed to only play songs from the first 4 albums (which must have kept Janick Gers busy) yet such was the setlist that the only song we hadn’t heard in some time was “Phantom of the Opera”. Blue Oyster Cult seem to have ONE slot (song) per set which is some random variable, with the rest of the set being pretty much what we heard on the last tour. Granted, we know Purple will play “Smoke on the Water” – in the encore – but these other songs really make a difference.

On the other hand, they hardly tour nearly as much as they used to – especially here in the US.  When I originally wrote this blog, I hadn't seen them since the Bercy show in Paris in 1985.  Since then I've seen them at Bergen PAC (8/25/14) (Englewood, NJ), NYCB Westbury (7/26/15) (Long Island, NY), and the Warner Theater in DC (10/2/19).  They seem to release live material fairly often.

Roger Glover. My favorite member has to be Glover, who only missed out at the very beginning, and has been the band’s most consistent bassist. He’s eternally optimistic, a great source of information on all the liner notes, and the helpful re-producer of all the remastered Mark II material – and the source, through a nightmare, of the title to their anthem, “Smoke on the Water.”