Feeling Some Deep Purple This Week

“I’m a Speed King, you go to hear me sing,
I’m a Speed King, see me fly.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0rAP87B7UA

My Deep Purple fix was reached this week; as Martin Popoff sent me his latest book, The Deep Purple Royal Family. I decided to combine my review of it with Purple’s most important album, In Rock, from 1970.

When I first heard this thunderous clash thay was the distortion of sound that commanded attention from Deep Purple on the opening of “Speed King” from in Rock, I was taken aback. Then the song reaches a respite with the aid of Jon Lord’s keyboards—then we “hit it” with the Good Golly Miss Molly screeches from Ian Gillian and the song is under the command of the first truly metal band as this is the first truly metal album. Lord’s keyboards enhance the surreal as Ritchie Blackmore takes the guitar to a new level of controlled chaos and Ian Paice’s drums pound a relentless rhythm that drives home the sound. The true hero, on this album as well as this song, is Roger Glover as his bass soars. Not regulated to a background instrument, Glover’s bass gives the “drive” that IS heavy metal. Song after unrelentless song, Glover delivers.

Bloodsucker follows and is not the champion that Speed King is, but it strikes a harsh nerve. Again, it sounds as if Deep Purple is the absolute most important thing on the planet in this song, as the fever hits and the band delivers.

The sublime Child In Time follows, sublime, if only for a moment. The band breaks in some jazz infusion moments in this song until the pace quickens to Blackmore’s total control of the Stratocaster. Keeping us grounded the entire time is the fore-mentioned Roger Glover. Slightly after midway through this song, Jon Lord takes us back to a state of bliss, added to the controlled vocals of Gillian. Hang on metal fans, Ritchie shows us soon enough why he is the master.

Flight of the Rat continues the guitar power that Blackmore is capable of reaching. It sounds as if the producers put Gillian’s vocals in the background so Blackmore’s guitars and Paice’s drum will be the centerpiece. Notice the fills of Glover’s bass in this unheralded song. This bad boy thunders along quite nicely. Considered by many as a “throwaway” number, this song is proof that there is no such thing from a Deep Purple album at this time.

Into the Fire starts with a perfect blend of keyboards/bass/guitars in a moment of power until Gillian screams his articulate voice. I think this song, if no other, shows how incredible Ian Gillian truly is. This song is his showstopper. True Ritchie Blackmore riffs hard on this one, but Gillian stretches the vocal chords far and thin.

Living Wreck starts with Paice’s drumming talent, followed by Glover’s control. This is one song that comes off some highs from the first side, only to show the listener that this is a band, not a Blackmore/Gillian showpiece. Lord’s keyboards reach a new height of power on this track. Can the keyboards be a metal instrument? In the hands of Jon Lord, the answer is a resounding yes.

Hard Loving Man, starts off similar to Speed King with the crash crescendo, follow by the signature heavy metal guitar riff that I would argue Ritchie Blackmore created. This song also has the heavy metal scream often copied by groups like Judas Priest, as Gillian is nothing short of incredible on this track. This is the way to end an album.

Newer versions of this CD include the bonus track/single Black Night. Whereas it is a great song, it would not do justice to the hard rocking/metalesque pace of the other songs on In Rock.
Ok, I feel better getting that off of my chest.

Martin Popoff has written another great Deep Purple book called The Deep Purple Royal Family, which includes ads, concert bills, reviews, and all of the incredible tidbits of information surrounding the band. This first volume (and Martin says on his website that he will write a second volume covering the latter years) ends in 1979. The excitement for me was looking at all of the incredible pictures and historical documentation offered by Popoff to give the reader and music fan the complete picture of what the entire era was like. I have always enjoyed how Martin has included the posters/ads/ and collectable memorabilia of a group in his books, such as those shown In His Black Sabbath—Doom Let Loose; Judas Priest—Heavy Metal Painkillers, and Rush—Contents Under Pressure books. This collection goes way beyond what he has previously done. Buy this book at his site, http://www.martinpopoff.com/ and treat yourself to the complete picture which is Deep Purple.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ehh

Sorry for the delay in posting—married on October 30, 2010—and that has taken time away from many other things. Plus work this year was at times a bit stressful, so I decided on the first day of Summer Break—at least until Monday when I teach summer school again, I would blog.

I won a Kindle last week as a door prize for a teacher appreciation night and I enjoy it very much. It gave me an idea, especially after reading a book on it, to comment on some good, bad, and “ehh” books on metal.

Let’s start off positive with The Good:

Castle Full of Rascals—Deep Purple ’83 to ’09. Everything you wanted to know about the rebirth of Purple is here. It covers Gillian’s solo stuff, Rainbow and other side projects. As with many of Martin’s other books, the chapters are divided by the abums that came out during the time. Each album is carefully diagnosed, tour information is included, band members are interviewed, and the book “takes the reader there” as to the moments of the band. As a fan of Deep Purple and Martin’s style and approach, I loved this book. This book is especially helpful for those who thought Come Taste The Band was the last Deep Purple album.

The insider’s view that Popoff shares is nothing less than impressive. This is a must-have for all Deep Purple and Hard Rock fans. As always with all of Martin’s books, as I read each chapter, I listen to the album highlighted. It is a recommended way to savor Poppoff’s books because the writing is so much ore clear as the subject matter is flowing in as many senses as possible.

Now the Bad

Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Bad may be a bit of an overstatement here, as Eddie strikes me as a genuine and personable guy. The problem I have with this book, which I bought for the kindle, is that this volume is less about the music or the bands, and more about Eddie’s encounters with the band for his radio show or his VH1 shows.

I think the personal flair that Eddie’s writing encompasses would do well by mixing in some critical reviews of the albums or the tours or even more about the music itself. Instead, often times, it reads as if it is a "fanboy" interpretation of Eddie’s favorite artists. Nothing wrong with that per se, but if a writer is going to use that approach, the title should not be “Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal.”

Whenever anyone has a "pick or choose" music genre book, interpretations are open as to band selection; but as a fan of the music, and as someone who is exactly the same age as Eddie and pretty close to the same age (a year or two divides us) as Martin, I can relate to the authors’ experiences. I stopped more than a few times and asked myself, "How could an essential hard rock and metal book miss 'such and such' band while including 'that” band?' As an example, no chapter is devoted to Blue Oyster Cult, but a chapter is devoted to Bon Jovi!? I understand the difference in tastes, but Bon Jovi? Anyway this is not a “bad” book, but it left me a bit frustrated at times.

Lastly, the “Ehh”

The Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal Volume 4. Sorry Martin, but I have to be honest; I was disappointed in this book. Martin’s reviews were fair, even though I may disagree with him on occasion; I have always appreciated his fairness. That is not why I give this an “ehh” rating. My problem with the book is the co-writer David Perri absolutely despises the entire “Power metal” genre. I understand that Perri is a Thrash/Death Metal fan, something that I am not. I have a feeling that Martin is not either, so he incorporated Perri to write on a genre that is frankly, probably a bit beyond his generation—which I respect.

That said, Perri’s reviews of some of the European power metal bands and albums are downright harsh. I remember when The Rolling Stones Record Guide in 1978 referred to Nazareth as “dog food” and “utterly wretched,” some folks felt it was entirelly too vicious. The band later made jokes about it, but I think nazareth's 40 year career says more than a biased review of their material. I guess if you are going to pan something, that is a way to do it, but Perri’s absolute disdain for some of the power and symphonic metal stuff is utterly unfair. Not all of those bands are Helloween rehashed just the same as not all thrash is Slayer revisited. On this blog, I will not write on or review much Thrash.

I truthfully do not care for Thrash as much as I enjoy other genres of hard rock and metal. That said, I am able to appreciate some of the bands and albums. for example, I like the “Black album” by Metallica, one I know many Metallica purists hate, but I also can appreciate Master of Puppets and a song like Battery. To me, all of Slayer’s stuff sounds exactly the same, still I have listened to, and I have appreciated some of the moments in Reign in Blood, and like-minded albums. I have at least listened open-mindedly. I truthfully do not believe Perri has done so, especially with the cruelness at which he comments on Sonata Arctica—a band tha regular readers know to be a favorite of mine.

My point is that if a reviewer has a pre-determined bias already, perhaps someone else should do the review. As stated previously, I think Popoff is much more fair in his reviews. The book has some excellent reviews and is a guide for what is available, biases aside.

Now, it felt good to “get that off my chest…” and I will continue to update more often this summer.