I'm a Purple fanatic, so I snagged the new CD single to grab the bonus tracks. Here goes:
1. Time for Bedlam
2. Paradise Bar (non-album track)
3. The Uncommon Man (instrumental version)
4. Hip Boots (working demo)
OK, song 1 is the single. I'm not completely dazzled by it; it begins and ends with Gillan speaking / chanting some words through a robotic / futuristic filter, which strikes me as a little corny. I can live with that at the beginning of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," but....this intro veers close to "Mr. Roboto" territory!! The song itself is somewhat similar to (derivative of?) the main chugging rhythm vamp of "Pictures of Home," and the changes make me think a little of the "Under the Gun." I enjoy it the more I hear it, but it didn't wow me off the bat. Gillan has his voice doubled throughout, and I wish he didn't. Ian Gillan, like Geddy Lee and Steven Tyler, does a lot of overdubbed vocal harmonies now, and I'm not a fan of that sound. I don't think those 3 singers need it. It's gloss. It takes away from the natural sound of their unique voices and creates a kind of generic mass. There is a decent instrumental break in the middle of the song, some nice dual guitar / keyboard harmony but no actual guitar solo.
Song 2 is the non-album B-side. It is OK fun - it makes me think of a solo David Lee Roth song, like "Just Like Paradise." The opening sounds like the opening to "California Girls" even. I enjoy the sense of humor and fun in solo David Lee Roth, but I find Dave's production kind of glossy and cheesy and always wish that he would go back to the more natural sound of Van Halen I. That is how I feel about this song. Gillan has fun with the words, and he sings the verses with gusto and wit, but the choruses are glossy and formulaic, making me think of mediocre 80s stompers like Autograph's "Turn Up the Radio." There is some nice guitar soloing. Bob Ezrin is the producer, and on the last album, he asked Steve Morse to SLOW DOWN. He told Morse to listen to some David Gilmour, and you could hear the result. Steve milks some notes nicely.
I love Steve Morse and was delighted to hear that he would join Purple back in 94, and they have done some good work with him, but his lead guitar style just doesn't always work with Purple to my ears. He IS too fast. He shreds effortlessly, and it starts to all sound the same, especially live. That works with the Dregs, because every member of the band is shredding simultaneously, but it doesn't always work with Purple's more straightforward grooves. Anyway...
Song 3 is great. The song "The Uncommon Man" appeared WITH vocals on the last album. Here it is withOUT vocals, but it doesn't sound like a mere backing track or demo; it sounds like an instrumental composition like Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend." What I mean by that is that, there are some instrumentals out there that are are jaw-dropping displays of solo chops, such as a Jeff Beck or Santana tune; however, this one is a full band playing orchestrated melodic ensemble parts. It isn't about dazzling you with chops; it is just a wonderful orchestral ride. Very cool. I am not sure if it IS the actual backing track to the vocal song or just an alternate take with no Gillan, but it is awesome. It's almost 7 minutes.
Song 4 is a working demo from rehearsal, recorded on a 4-track recorder. The sound is a little rougher as a result - the drums sound the way drums do when I record them at home, a little boomy, but they are loud in the mix and they are powerful. It's good to hear Ian Paice step out a little. This song is a knotty riff, kind of like the opening 20 seconds of "Maybe I'm a Leo," but grooved on for a good 3 minutes, testing the riff out. There's a bit of soloing. It is good powerful Deep Purple, very enjoyable.
Sooooo, I really am loving tracks 3 and 4, and I am finding elements to enjoy about tracks 1 and 2. I like Deep Purple so much that even when a song doesn't thrill me, I keep giving it a chance, and they are such good musicians that even a lesser song will still have some cool element or redeeming feature to it.
I'm looking forward to this new album. There IS a second CD single coming out, and I will snag that too!!
Thanks for the heads up on this and breakdown on the tracks. I am gonna listen to it tonite and post my thoughts.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
Thanks. The only Purple CD with Morse that I own is Bananas and I'd say it was mixed results. This one sounds interesting though.
Have to agree with most of what's being said here. That intro to the first song (the only one I have heard so far) is a bit cheesy/creepy. I am a huge Dregs fan, but have never seen Morse as a great fit even though he is a great guitarist. I am always optimistic about new DP, so hope they hit on a few good tunes on this new release.
After a solid week or so of listening to these songs, I am REALLY digging them!!!
Another ep out 3/17.
This is really good! The 3 instrumentals are really enjoyable as are tracks 1 (new) and 5 (live classic).
Another ep out 3/17.
[Edited on 3/10/2017 by mikesolo]
I'm a Purple fanatic, so I snagged the new CD single to grab the bonus tracks. Here goes:
1. Time for Bedlam
2. Paradise Bar (non-album track)
3. The Uncommon Man (instrumental version)
4. Hip Boots (working demo)OK, song 1 is the single. I'm not completely dazzled by it; it begins and ends with Gillan speaking / chanting some words through a robotic / futuristic filter, which strikes me as a little corny. I can live with that at the beginning of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," but....this intro veers close to "Mr. Roboto" territory!! The song itself is somewhat similar to (derivative of?) the main chugging rhythm vamp of "Pictures of Home," and the changes make me think a little of the "Under the Gun." I enjoy it the more I hear it, but it didn't wow me off the bat. Gillan has his voice doubled throughout, and I wish he didn't. Ian Gillan, like Geddy Lee and Steven Tyler, does a lot of overdubbed vocal harmonies now, and I'm not a fan of that sound. I don't think those 3 singers need it. It's gloss. It takes away from the natural sound of their unique voices and creates a kind of generic mass. There is a decent instrumental break in the middle of the song, some nice dual guitar / keyboard harmony but no actual guitar solo.
Song 2 is the non-album B-side. It is OK fun - it makes me think of a solo David Lee Roth song, like "Just Like Paradise." The opening sounds like the opening to "California Girls" even. I enjoy the sense of humor and fun in solo David Lee Roth, but I find Dave's production kind of glossy and cheesy and always wish that he would go back to the more natural sound of Van Halen I. That is how I feel about this song. Gillan has fun with the words, and he sings the verses with gusto and wit, but the choruses are glossy and formulaic, making me think of mediocre 80s stompers like Autograph's "Turn Up the Radio." There is some nice guitar soloing. Bob Ezrin is the producer, and on the last album, he asked Steve Morse to SLOW DOWN. He told Morse to listen to some David Gilmour, and you could hear the result. Steve milks some notes nicely.
I love Steve Morse and was delighted to hear that he would join Purple back in 94, and they have done some good work with him, but his lead guitar style just doesn't always work with Purple to my ears. He IS too fast. He shreds effortlessly, and it starts to all sound the same, especially live. That works with the Dregs, because every member of the band is shredding simultaneously, but it doesn't always work with Purple's more straightforward grooves. Anyway...
Song 3 is great. The song "The Uncommon Man" appeared WITH vocals on the last album. Here it is withOUT vocals, but it doesn't sound like a mere backing track or demo; it sounds like an instrumental composition like Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend." What I mean by that is that, there are some instrumentals out there that are are jaw-dropping displays of solo chops, such as a Jeff Beck or Santana tune; however, this one is a full band playing orchestrated melodic ensemble parts. It isn't about dazzling you with chops; it is just a wonderful orchestral ride. Very cool. I am not sure if it IS the actual backing track to the vocal song or just an alternate take with no Gillan, but it is awesome. It's almost 7 minutes.
Song 4 is a working demo from rehearsal, recorded on a 4-track recorder. The sound is a little rougher as a result - the drums sound the way drums do when I record them at home, a little boomy, but they are loud in the mix and they are powerful. It's good to hear Ian Paice step out a little. This song is a knotty riff, kind of like the opening 20 seconds of "Maybe I'm a Leo," but grooved on for a good 3 minutes, testing the riff out. There's a bit of soloing. It is good powerful Deep Purple, very enjoyable.
Sooooo, I really am loving tracks 3 and 4, and I am finding elements to enjoy about tracks 1 and 2. I like Deep Purple so much that even when a song doesn't thrill me, I keep giving it a chance, and they are such good musicians that even a lesser song will still have some cool element or redeeming feature to it.
I'm looking forward to this new album. There IS a second CD single coming out, and I will snag that too!!
I finally did get to listen to this a few times before my take. Thanks for your review and breakdown of the songs. Glad to see you have a high appreciation for this great band. I fall in line right behind you on the love of this group and its past and present members.
1. When I first heard "Time For Bedlam" about a month ago or so, I thought the same thing, "Pictures of Home". The voice thing with Gillan is a little different, but I really like the rest of the song a lot so I can give those parts a pass. Nice guitar fills during the verses of the song and keys by Don.
2.Paradise Bar - Probably never listen to it again. 😛 😉
3. Uncommon Man - Great song form the last one and I agree, it works well as an instrumental and its nice to focus in on more of the sounds and playing of the band members. From what I read that song is a tip of the cap to ELP, maybe more so the main melody keyboard line by Airey to Keith Emerson.
4. I really like this song. Reminds me of old school DP nice groove from the rhythm section and the guitar and keyboards locked in.
Just a few thoughts on SM.
It was mentioned a few times in this thread about Steve's playing and guitar work in DP.
I think maybe some people and myself were so accustomed to a certain style, sound and technique that came from the guitar(Blackmore) that was and is a big part of the DP sound, that with Steve coming in it was a little of a curve ball. I know it was for me. Was/is it a bad thing? Not necessarily.
Maybe to some ears, but it was a change for sure. I guess it has worked for this band going on 20 plus years and Morse being the guitar player the longest to hold that spot.
Maybe the rest of the band was looking to get away from the Blackmore sound a where they could flex they're wings musically and have some freedom, where with Ritchie it might not have been the case. Trying to grow musically or in different directions. I can definitely see and hear it for sure with they're material and Steve will bring his approach ,song writing and perspective to the songs as well which can make it a different sounding animal. I like Steve a lot and what he brings to this band,its different at times, but when they like into that traditional DP monster, they cant be beat
I like what Bob Ezrin has done but I would like a little less production and more of a rawer meaner DP sound. Don and Steve were let go a more on the last and would love to hear more of that.
More jams and interludes with band. Don is a beast, let him off .
Would love to hear some long extended jams live ala' Made IN Japan era
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
Ok, i just got the second CD single. The first song is a solid rocker with some great riffing, but the instrumentals are really knocking me out!!
The little acoustic solo song by Steve is pretty. It's barely more than a minute long, which is too brief, but it is lovely.
The instrumental version of "Above and Beyond" from their previous album is GREAT. Minus the vocals, you get to really appreciate what a remarkable composition the song is. Complex and hypnotic in its construction, not in a "million notes a minute" way but more like some of the mellower Dregs "electric chamber music" Morse compositions.
The instrumental live-in-the-studio demo of "Time For Bedlam" rocks hard, and again the absence of vocals really lets you hear the song differently.
Jeez, I'd love a whole disc of instrumental versions of Morse-era songs! These are master musicians hitting it hard. I'm grateful for these bonus tracks.
Ok, i just got the second CD single. The first song is a solid rocker with some great riffing, but the instrumentals are really knocking me out!!
The little acoustic solo song by Steve is pretty. It's barely more than a minute long, which is too brief, but it is lovely.
The instrumental version of "Above and Beyond" from their previous album is GREAT. Minus the vocals, you get to really appreciate what a remarkable composition the song is. Complex and hypnotic in its construction, not in a "million notes a minute" way but more like some of the mellower Dregs "electric chamber music" Morse compositions.
The instrumental live-in-the-studio demo of "Time For Bedlam" rocks hard, and again the absence of vocals really lets you hear the song differently.
Jeez, I'd love a whole disc of instrumental versions of Morse-era songs! These are master musicians hitting it hard. I'm grateful for these bonus tracks.
Thanks for the review. I have heard the first track"All I Got Is You" and I really like that one.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
