I was delighted to learn there was a new Deep Purple album. =1. Recorded with Simon McBride. I’ve seen Simon live twice in the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh, a small venue, long before he was considered to replace Steve Morse and thought he was a stunning guitar player with some excellent material. To replace the band’s longest serving guitarist must take some chutzpah, but from what I’ve heard of his live performances, he’s more than capable of taking the music to somewhere new. He’s an exciting musician and it must be a challenge to join such a long established band.
In fact, Deep Purple has seen me from a boy to a man, in a way no-one else around really has, having loved them since I was 13 when I got 24 Carat Purple and eagerly awaited the release of Burn. They were the first band I wanted to be in and seemed to be the embodiment of everything I wanted. I played them more than anyone else and even now they must be near the top of my all time playlist with Steely Dan.
I pored over the records and devoured every bit of information from the recording studios used, to the producer who worked on it. It all seemed magical and I never wanted to become so jaded that I don’t feel that. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Mark 2/3/4. They’re all brilliant and I love every record released, even Who Do We Think We Are? Which is often somewhat disregarded.
I’m the sort of fan who has all Made In Japan recordings from every night to appreciate how differently Blackmore plays the songs and how that affects the rest of the band. I’ve still got all three vinyl editions of New Live And Rare and a European 12”release of them and treasured them. Hard to believe they’re 44 or 45 years old. I have every album released on vinyl. I’d go as far as to say, I couldn’t be pals with someone who didn’t like them, they’re that important to me and there’s not many I could say that about. I also got the excellent Kevin Shirley remix of Come Taste The Band on a double album, with its few snatches of extra Tommy Bolin playing. I’ve got all the Deep Purple Appreciation Society live releases on CD which include rehearsals with Bolin
I even bought a book of photos of all Purple Records Releases, many of which I have, the best of which are the Elf and Tucky Buzzard records.
I even like the MK1 records, even though in some ways they are a bit different. They must be one of the bands that have been recorded live most often. I’ve had dozens of live recordings. I have some 12” picture discs from the late 80s and early 90s which I also treasure, along with 80% of the 1970s singles on Harvest.
Isn’t it funny how, for some reason, you become obsessed with a band, often in teenage years and that passion stays with you, especially, as with Purple they’re still making new music.
New Deep Purple Album
