“Magic woman wreckin' up my soul,Things you tell me have never been told.
Magic woman I don't know,
Electric before me,
I love you so,
I love you so.
You're racing like a fireball dancing like a ghost,
You're Gemini and I don't know which one I like the most.
My head is getting broken and my mind is getting bust,
But now I'm coming with you down the road of golden dust.
Oh my love it's a long way,
Where you're from it's a long way…
The golden light above you show me where you're from…
The magic in your eye bewitches all you gaze upon.
You stand up on your hill, behop all around you,
They wonder where you're from, oh yeah…
They wonder where I found you.
Oh my love it's a long way…
Where you're from it's a long way.”
--Deep Purple from the song “Fireball” from the album Fireball, 1971.
--Deep Purple from the song “Fireball” from the album Fireball, 1971.
This post was a long time coming. Martin Popoff’s book, Getting’ Tighter: Deep Purple ’68-’76, is a magnificent read. AS a fan of Deep Purple, I appreciate the scope of what Popoff has undertaken.
Getting’ Tighter follows a familiar format for fans of Popoff’s books; but the formula is so common-sensical, that it need not be altered. In chronological order, each chapter is devoted to an album. The album is dissected song by song, commentary from band members, managers, and other folks around at the time is given, so the reader is shown a rare glimpse of the inner-workings of the band and the band’s historical perspective. As a history major from college, I love this format. This time around, Popoff also adds commentary from people who either influenced or were influenced by the band. In the Fireball chapter, insightful commentary as well as raw honesty was shown by guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen on the impact of the album to his career choice and his life.
Other chapters have commentaries by members of other bands, such as Blue Oyster Cult (a personal favorite of Popoff and me). I also love the comments and occasional bitterness expressed by former band members whether they were forced out or left on their own accord.
There are gems in this book in the evolution of the Deep Purple story. I enjoyed learning how popular authors like Robert Heinlein influenced the writing of the band. The writer royalty expose was interesting as well. It also appears fairly obvious that Ritchie Blackmore was a moody spirit that was so professional about his music; he would sacrifice kindness to others. Ian Gillian seems like the most normal member of the band, and Jon Lord, at times comes off as a bit of a control freak.
Amazingly, the book does not gloss over material, as the band is presented in an honest light. The limitations of the band members (particularly Ian Paice’s self-criticism of his drumming and Nick Simper’s bass and Rod Evans vocals) are given a fair amount of coverage. The eerie moody swings of Ritchie Blackmore are sprinkled throughout the various stories of the band , and the frustrations of being a phenomenal group while maintaining little notoriety are given an in depth analysis. Added to the story are the usual mismanagement recollections by band members on the marketing of record companies and the sloppiness of tour managers of the band.
The treasure of this book is the track by track breakdown. Herein, Popoff knows his subject well. He has an uncanny ability to make insightful commentary on the musical evolution of songs and albums. I enhance the pleasure of reading this book by listening to the album while I read the chapter. I suggest others do the same to feel the complete effect of Martin’s writing ability.
The book can be ordered on Martin Poppoff’s site (see my links) or go here: http://www.martinpopoff.com/
and he will even autograph a copy for you. Martin is busy on part two of the Deep Purple story, as he emailed me a while back. In that edition, he will cover the late 1970s through the modern age of Deep Purple and hit upon some of Ritchie Blackmore’s Night material as well.
The lesson learned in reading this book is that Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and other artists of the time, whereas excellent bands, were pretenders to the throne of Deep Purple. Whatever tricks those other band used, Purple did it first, more often did it better, were more honest to the music, and played it louder, better, harder, and heavier.
Getting’ Tighter follows a familiar format for fans of Popoff’s books; but the formula is so common-sensical, that it need not be altered. In chronological order, each chapter is devoted to an album. The album is dissected song by song, commentary from band members, managers, and other folks around at the time is given, so the reader is shown a rare glimpse of the inner-workings of the band and the band’s historical perspective. As a history major from college, I love this format. This time around, Popoff also adds commentary from people who either influenced or were influenced by the band. In the Fireball chapter, insightful commentary as well as raw honesty was shown by guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen on the impact of the album to his career choice and his life.
Other chapters have commentaries by members of other bands, such as Blue Oyster Cult (a personal favorite of Popoff and me). I also love the comments and occasional bitterness expressed by former band members whether they were forced out or left on their own accord.
There are gems in this book in the evolution of the Deep Purple story. I enjoyed learning how popular authors like Robert Heinlein influenced the writing of the band. The writer royalty expose was interesting as well. It also appears fairly obvious that Ritchie Blackmore was a moody spirit that was so professional about his music; he would sacrifice kindness to others. Ian Gillian seems like the most normal member of the band, and Jon Lord, at times comes off as a bit of a control freak.
Amazingly, the book does not gloss over material, as the band is presented in an honest light. The limitations of the band members (particularly Ian Paice’s self-criticism of his drumming and Nick Simper’s bass and Rod Evans vocals) are given a fair amount of coverage. The eerie moody swings of Ritchie Blackmore are sprinkled throughout the various stories of the band , and the frustrations of being a phenomenal group while maintaining little notoriety are given an in depth analysis. Added to the story are the usual mismanagement recollections by band members on the marketing of record companies and the sloppiness of tour managers of the band.
The treasure of this book is the track by track breakdown. Herein, Popoff knows his subject well. He has an uncanny ability to make insightful commentary on the musical evolution of songs and albums. I enhance the pleasure of reading this book by listening to the album while I read the chapter. I suggest others do the same to feel the complete effect of Martin’s writing ability.
The book can be ordered on Martin Poppoff’s site (see my links) or go here: http://www.martinpopoff.com/
and he will even autograph a copy for you. Martin is busy on part two of the Deep Purple story, as he emailed me a while back. In that edition, he will cover the late 1970s through the modern age of Deep Purple and hit upon some of Ritchie Blackmore’s Night material as well.
The lesson learned in reading this book is that Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and other artists of the time, whereas excellent bands, were pretenders to the throne of Deep Purple. Whatever tricks those other band used, Purple did it first, more often did it better, were more honest to the music, and played it louder, better, harder, and heavier.
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