Ian Gillan "Gillan's Inn" 2006***

This time, Random Selection turned up something rare: the only Hybrid (DualDisc) CD/DVD release in my collection of (give or take) 7500 titles. Truth be told, very few albums were ever released on DualDisc. Less than 200 titles, spanning all musical genres, appeared between 2004 and 2006 before the format was ultimately abandoned. Today, dual CD/DVD editions come in the guise of box sets containing one or two audio CDs paired with a DVD or Blu-ray that may contain a variety of audio mixes, video content, or other extras. A DualDisc release, however, combined both formats on a single disc with two reflective surfaces: one side functioned as a standard CD, while the other contained the DVD content. Obviously, CD players could only read the CD side, while DVD/Blu-ray players would play whichever side was facing up. If at all - because that was apparently the problem with DualDisc: compatibility with CD/DVD players was not guaranteed; the disc's thickness means it was prone to get jammed or scratched when pushed in the slots of slot CD-players, multi disc CD changers, or car stereos. Also, while the DVD side was guaranteed to play on most DVD players, the CD side was not. I'm not sure how frequent these compatibility problems actually were: Both sides played perfectly on my BluRay player, laptop DVD, and former car stereo (R.I.P: why oh why did they abolish CD players from modern car entertainment systems? Now whenever I want to listen to one of my CDs on the road I need to rip it on MP3 and copy it to a USB flash disk or to my phone to play via android auto. Such a nuisance!)

But enough about the format—what about the content? The idea behind this release was to celebrate Ian Gillan's 40-year recording career by revisiting some of his classic songs with an all-star band. It sounds like the sort of project a rock star might undertake at the twilight of his career: revisiting former glories for the nth time because there's nothing new left to say. Which makes it all the more remarkable that, twenty years later, aged 80, Ian Gillan continues to front the latest incarnation of Deep Purple (Mark IX, by my count), playing sold-out arena tours and regularly releasing new music. Their most recent album, Splat just came out, and is garnering 4-star reviews. All DP members can be heard here, on multiple tracks: Ian Paice on drums, Roger Glover on bass, Steve Morse on guitar, and Don Airy and Jon Lord on keyboards. Despite DP being such a large part of Gillan's career, only four of their songs are revisited on Gillan's Inn. The perennial hit "Smoke on the Water" seems to resist all attempts at reinvention. Despite the addition of violin and extra percussion, and the use of two keyboardists—Jon Lord and his successor Don Airey—it still sounds like the same tired old warhorse. One nice feature on the DVD is the option to listen to alternate versions of the song featuring different guest soloists: Steve Morse, Jeff Healey, Joe Satriani, or Michael Lee Jackson. Lord also returns on "Demon's Eye", and it's a pleasure to hear him revisit the song. Jeff Healey's bluesy guitar work provides the main point of departure from the original version, but otherwise the arrangement stays close to its roots. A dizzying version of "Speed King" with Joe Satriani takes us back to that period of the band when the virtuoso guitarist temporarily replaced Ritchie Blackmore. The final Deep Purple track included here is the bluesy ballad "When a Blind Man Cries". Originally relegated to the B-side of a single, it was later included in Machine Head reissues and became a live staple after Blackmore's departure. Jeff Healey's expressive guitar playing and Jon Lord's Hammond B3 accentuate the song's blues credentials, while Gillan delivers one of the most soulful performances of his career. The result is quite possibly the definitive version of the song. Gillan's short-lived Black Sabbath period is acknowledged in a fine new version of "Trashed" featuring Tony Iommi on guitar. To me, these songs were all a little too familiar. While I enjoyed hearing the new interpretations, I ultimately found them somewhat superfluous. Most of the remaining tracks, on the other hand, were new to me and therefore much more interesting. The opening speedball "Unchain Your Brain", featuring Joe Satriani, is a particular highlight. Originally released on 1980's Glory Road, it matches the frantic energy of "Speed King" and sets the tone for the album in spectacular fashion. "No Laughing in Heaven" (from 1981's Future Shock) benefits from some fine playing by Gillan's DP colleagues, but I dislike his manic sing-speaking style on this track. Even his trademark high-pitched shrieks are wasted on what I consider a rather weak composition. "Men of War" (from Double Trouble, 1982) fares much better. Featuring blistering guitar work from Steve Morse, it alternates effectively between softer passages and explosive sections driven by Gillan's unrestrained vocals. "Bluesy Blue Sea" (from 1982's Magic) sounds like an update of the classic NWOBHM style. Not surprisingly, original Gillan guitarist Janick Gers—who also appears here—would later become a permanent member of Iron Maiden. Moving forward chronologically, "Loving on Borrowed Time" (from 1990's Naked Thunder) is a textbook power ballad in the grand 1980s tradition, featuring co-writer Steve Morris and former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth on guitar. "Hang Me Out to Dry" (from Toolbox, 1991) combines soulful vocals, a catchy main riff, and excellent solos from Joe Satriani. Yet it ultimately it leaves me unimpressed; I simply don't find the underlying composition strong enough. 1997's Dreamcatcher is one of Gillan's more obscure albums, which is probably why he chose to resurrect not one but two songs from it. "Day Late and a Dollar Short" is a fine hard rocker featuring guest vocals from Ronnie James Dio. I can't help thinking that a duet between two of hard rock's greatest singers ought to be more impressive than it is; instead of the singers it's Uli Jon Roth on guitar that steals the show. "Sugarplum", meanwhile, is an enjoyable blues-rocker built around a catchy riff and a relaxed groove. It certainly deserved a second chance to find an audience, so it's just as well that Gillan decided to re-record it here. "No Worries" is a solid, workmanlike blues-rocker that even finds room for a few harmonica solos. It is the only new composition on the album, co-written with Michael Lee Jackson, who also plays guitar on most of the tracks. While agreeable enough, it lacks the spark needed to stand out among the album's stronger moments. The CD closes with a touch of nostalgia: a respectable country-rock cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight", performed as a duet with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott. The song was part of Episode Six's live repertoire back in Gillan's pre-Purple days, making it a fitting choice to bring the album to a close. A few words about the DVD extras before wrapping up the review. These include a 5.1 surround-sound mix, a short making-of documentary, a couple of live videos featuring the rarely seen Deep Purple lineup with Joe Satriani on guitar, photo galleries, lyrics, track-by-track commentary, and a bonus song: a new cover of the R&B classic "Can I Get a Witness", which Gillan used to perform with his beat group The Javelins in the mid-60s. All in all, the album succeeds as a celebration of Ian Gillan's musical career up to that point. It's an enjoyable listen, packed with strong performances and some pleasantly left-field song choices, particularly from Gillan's solo years. Twenty years later, I can't help wondering whether it's time for a second volume. Maybe it's even time to finally bury the hatchet and revisit some of Gillan's and Deep Purple's later material with Ritchie Blackmore as a guest guitarist. Now that would be something worth hearing. Come on, gentlemen— let bygones be bygones, we're not getting any younger!

**** for Unchain Your Brain, Bluesy Blue Sea, Day Late and a Dollar Short, Men of War, When a Blind Man Cries, Trashed, Demon's Eye, Speed King

*** for Hang Me Out to Dry, No Worries, Sugar Plum, Smoke on the Water, Loving On Borrowed Time, I'll Be Your Baby Tonight***

** for No Laughing in Heaven

Deep Purple "Infinite" (Gold ed. incl. Live At Hellfest) 2017***

The only time I caught Deep Purple live was in Athens, April 2000. I had to google to confirm the date, and I came across the contemporary reviews in the press, which were great. Not how I remember it. I mean yes the band played well, but the venue was awful, completely unsuited to live concerts. A place, somewhere in the Olympic Complex, which looked like a low-ceilinged aircraft hangar or a huge warehouse. 10,000 fans were cramped inside, slowly boiling in that stuffy place which had almost no air condition. Outside it was around 20°C, but inside it was well over 35°C. At least one in every five spectators smoked, while the sound reverberated all over the place. So that experience is more vivid in my mind than how the band played. I do remember being thrilled with Jon Lord's solos and annoyed that Blackmore wasn't there. I had missed my chance to see Blackmore with Purple a few years before, when the Slave And Masters line-up visited Athens. It was a combination of perennial pennilessness and annoyance that Joe Lynn Turner had replaced Gillan as lead singer. I don't think anyone accepted Turner as a legitimate Purple member, his style was too AOR for classic Purple material. Now, of course, it stands out as a missed opportunity. I would love to listen to a professionally recorded concert from that tour, see what he brought to the game and how his presence affected the songs.

My eagerness to listen how present-day Purple play their classic songs was one of the reasons I picked up the special edition of their latest CD, containing a bonus live disc. Another was the expectation that this was to be their last album (the accompanying tour was named the "Long Goodbye Tour"). Think of it as a once-beloved TV series that has been going on for too long. You may have missed the last few seasons, but aren't you going to watch the last episode and learn how it all ends? This was just a misunderstanding, though. The latest word by Steve Morse is that they are planning to enter studio again in 2019 for a new record. I had stopped following Purple after Perfect Strangers, as I found what I heard from the next few albums unconvincing. Then, when Steve Morse replaced Blackmore on guitar, I gave Purpendicular a chance. It had gotten good reviews, and it wasn't a bad album, but it certainly didn't sound like Deep Purple. Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when the opening "Time for Bedlam" instantly reminded me of the titular track from Perfect Strangers. Powerful hard rock with guitar and organ fills worthy of the absent Blackmore/Lord. Gillan is in fine voice throughout the album. Different from the 70's, more constrained and less shrieky. On "Hip Boots" he's bluesier, even reminds me of Elvis for the first verse. On "All I Got Is You" Gillan sounds almost nonchalant, but Morse and Airy are on fire. "One Night in Vegas" and "Get Me Outta Here" are O.K. as fillers go, but "The Surprising" provides the highlight of the album, a more complex composition with soft melodic and hard rocking parts, lyrical vocals and epic keyboards. "Johnny's Band" is a fun but comparatively pedestrian straight rocker, and "Birds of Prey" another throwback to the 70's hard rock. The album ends anti-climatically with an unnecessary cover of The Doors' "Roadhouse Blues". The album cover depicts an icebreaker forming the letters d and p on the ice, which are also arranged to resemble the infinity sign to symbolize the band's 50-year history. 

Regarding the bonus CD (also available in standalone 3-LP vinyl form), it's a very decent live recording: excellent sound and tight performances, as can probably be expected for a lineup that has been playing together more than 15 years. It starts off with the bombastic "...Bedlam" and then straight to 3 classic Mark II hits with nice solos by Glover ("Fireball"), Morse and Airy ("Bloodsucker"). "Uncommon Man" from the previous album sits well among the classics, and features some shredding by Morse, whose playing is excellent throughout albeit not as flashy as Blackmore's. Don Airy, on the other hand, fills Jon Lord's boots with aplomb: just listen to him in "Lazy", it's difficult to tell them apart. Which in no way demeaning, he's not a copyist, just someone with a similar all-encompassing style and tremendous chops. Gillan is in remarkably good form for his age, especially if it's really an undoctored performance as stated on the cover. Doesn't hit the high notes like he used to, and his voice may have lost some power but it's still robust and never falters. After "Surprising" and "Birds Of Prey" from the new record, the band continue with the oldies: "Space Truckin'" has always been a live favorite, though it sounds awfully condensed at 5 minutes, as it used to routinely run for 20 minutes in concert. Actually no song surpasses the 8-minute mark, which which is very uncharacteristic of the old Purple who loved to jam and transform their songs onstage. Nowadays they're not so brash, more of a tight rock'n'roll ensemble than the unstoppable juggernaut of the 70's. Lastly, the obligatory crowd pleaser "Smoke On The Water" is followed by a couple groovier numbers with roots in the 60's, "Peter Gunn/Hush" and "Black Night". By seeing the 2000 lineup I had ticked the DP box and, as the experience was not too pleasant, I never again sought to see them in concert. Meanwhile, I had the chance to listen to the DP classics as performed by Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in Germany, and the best songs by Mark III and IV by Coverdale's Whitesnake in Belgium. Glen Hughes is also currently touring playing DP material. I guess we're now at that point in time that no single band or musician can lay claim to the DP legacy. I've finally made my peace with the fact I'll never see any of the classic DP line-ups, so I can listen to the newest version (officially Mark VIII) with open ears, and I say this album proves them to be worthy successors to the original band. I now look forward to seeing them in concert.

**** for Time For Bedlam, The Surprising, Birds Of Prey

*** for Hip Boots, All I Got Is You, Get Me Outta Here, Johnny's Band, On Top Of The World, 

** for One Night In Vegas, Roadhouse Blues

LIVE AT HELLFEST 2017 **** for Time For Bedlam, Lazy, Perfect Strangers, Smoke On The Water, Black Night

*** for Fireball, Bloodsucker, Strange Kind Of Woman, Uncommon Man, The Surprising, Birds Of Prey, Space Truckin’, Peter Gunn / Hush