Let's go back a few years till when I was 2. Seems like I remember this tune.
Saw an interview on the German breakfast-show where I think Roger Glover stated, they made a cover-album, because all the current restrictions made it hard to come together and write new stuff, because the members of Deep Purple are spread across the US, Great Brittain and Europe.
After two spins, I must say I won't play this very often. Not that they don't do a good job of the songs, they do. But... covers, y'know. They rarely do much for me, no matter who it is. Although I like the sound of their version of White Room, I slotted that into my modern DP playlist. It was weird to hear Glover and Morse doing some lead vocals on one track too!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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Of course, one would expect them to be unlike the originals when you consider DP apart from The Beatles, Billy Jo Royal or even Jimi H (although "Hey Joe" was done by practically everyone in the late sixties). Until they broke out into their own heavy metal sound and original songwriting, they were just a radio only band for my listening pleasure. That cover stuff was not worthwhile.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
The whole album is on Youtube. I only listened to White Room. Sounds kinda pointless. The original blows it away. But hearing Steve Morse play a bluesy, wah way solo is pretty cool.
Cream's original White Room blows most songs by anyone away. Like Jimi's version of All Along The Watchtower, it cannot be improved upon. Deep Purple including White Room on their album is, to me, proof that their reason for a covers album was not one-upmanship. They just wanted to play their own versions of songs they love. I personally have no problem if one of my favorite bands of all time wants to do a covers album. I like it.
On youtube, or on the album? Everything sounds thin on youtube.Originally Posted by Rarebird
This is a hell of a Deep Purple by Deep Purple.
Then, Sir, someone needs to inform Wikipedia and other on-line sources that Deep Purple's "In Rock" is definitely not heavy metal.
From Wiki:
"An accompanying single, "Black Night" reached No. 2. The album has continued to attract critical praise as a key early example of the hard rock and heavy metal genres".
From Discogs:
"The band formed in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock."
Also, the fact that "Hush" was a top ten single hit of theirs in 1968, their biggest hit of all time was written by guys named Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice.
I'm really enjoying this one. For me, it hearkens back more to their early '70s heyday than their recent albums do...although I enjoy those, too. A little more rock 'n' roll grease in the mix.
Wikipedia? Not a reliable source. Even Black Sabbath didn't consider themselves heavy metal. What's your next source on what is and isn't heavy metal, the Grammy Awards?
I have no idea what your comment about Smoke on the Water has to do with my comment. I stated that one of their biggest hits was a cover, which is true.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Musical categories is one of those things on Wikipedia that I just ignore - I basically don't care. Yet some seem to take it personally that this or that band should or should not be considered to fit in to a certain category. Truly baffling (and I appreciate the irony of saying such a thing in a 'prog' forum).
Since you dismiss Wiki and (apparently) Discogs, have you heard about Martin Popoff? He has spent his life researching and writing award winning books about music, primarily Heavy Metal and Hard Rock genres. He has identified the origins and phases of Heavy Metal as follows:
"Popoff identifies three major stages in the early development of heavy metal. The first stage, "invention", took place in 1970 with the release of Deep Purple In Rock coinciding with debut albums from Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep. Stage two, "re-invention", occurred in 1976 with Judas Priest's Sad Wings of Destiny. The third stage, "re-intensification", happened in 1984 with the release of Metallica's Ride the Lightning".
Personally, I don't base my musical tastes on genre categorization, however, I do see them as helpful and interesting from a musical evolution standpoint. Also, when someone on PE starts a thread such as "Jazz/Rock" or "Fusion" albums of interest I know to read it as I like that type of music and use it as a general guide to exploration. And, what Popoff states above about stages in HM development makes sense in my view. It's just a general guiding source of how popular music has evolved over the years, whether it be Be Bop, Doo Wop, Easy Listening, Jazz/Rock, Progressive Electronic or even Heavy Metal. Genres are not written in stone and should be taken as they are offered; a helpful, guiding source of information about different types of musical expression.
Having said that, Deep Purple was one of the progenitors of what would become known as Heavy Metal.
I'm not here to piss around about what is and isn't heavy metal all day. Iommi has gone on record stating that they considered themselves heavy rock and dismissed the term "heavy metal" as disparaging, which it was at the time, eventually learning to accept (though not necessarily embrace) the label to some degree. Ozzy has also gone on record stating that he didn't consider them heavy metal.
Deep Purple is certainly more well-known as hard rock, despite being a part of the influential music that gave birth to heavy metal. I would bet Blackmore never considered them heavy metal, despite a song or two that might fit the category.
The Beatles get wide credit for helping birth progressive rock with "Strawberry Fields Forever." And while one can argue that songs like "A Day in the Life" and "Happiness is a Warm Gun" certainly fit the category, I don't see anyone labeling them as a progressive rock band.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
As someone who's never listened to Deep Purple unless they were on the radio (so basically Hush and Smoke on the Water), they've never been on my radar at all, and this thread inspired me to read up on them on the Wiki-P and wow, I was impressed to see how consistent their lineup has been over the years. When your favorite bands are Yes and Crimson, you kind of assume that all bands still active from the late 60s have had 20 some odd members and there's only one or two old timers carrying the torch now. Good for them.
Blackmore's use of a Fender Strat with stock single coil pickups rules out being "heavy metal." For a truly metal sound, one needs much hotter pickups. Even Malmsteen uses Dimarzio hot rodded pickups in his Strats.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Listened to the new album today on Spotify. It's great! Going to order it at some point.
Been listening to a couple of their recent, Bob Ezrin albums from a couple or few years ago. I'm not a huge DP fan but they were/are a legendary institution of hard rock, and a huge influence on the development of heavy metal. I have a few albums or compilations.
So I've listened to Now What?!, and halfway through Infinite. I like what I hear. The gritty organ and guitar are what separates this band from those early heavy hitters.
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