ALL ACCESS

Peter Criss' Original ‘73 – ’74 Kiss Tour Used Drum Kit Hits The Auction Block

Peter Criss Drum Kit '73 - '74 Kiss Tour

Kiss may not be performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, but fans and collectors will definitely get VIP access to historical and some never before seen pieces of Kiss memorabilia in the upcoming Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction, hosted by Backstage Auctions.

The online auction event contains over 200 auction lots of rare Kiss memorabilia dating back as far as back as 1973 and is filled with historically relevant Kiss relics.

Peter Criss
Behind the Original Drum Kit

If you are looking for something in the "Holy Grail" range – Peter Criss’ personal drum kit that he used from 1973 – 1974 while on tour with Kiss should definitely be on at the top of your list of items to procure.

As far as epic, historic and downright mind-blowing Kiss collectibles go, it is hard to imagine something more prestigious than his complete Ludwig drum kit, which was his very first official Kiss kit.

He premiered the kit in December of 1973 and played it all the way through 1974, before it was replaced by a stretch of Pearl kits. In addition to the super cool 24 inch glitter logo bass drum, it also contains the snare, various tom-toms, cymbals, cowbell, drum stool and even some of the original road cases.

Original Peter Criss Solo Album
Painting 1978

For the curators exclusive pop culture artwork, the original Eraldo Carugati painting used for Peter Criss’ solo album should be given serious consideration. In 1978 Bill Aucoin commissioned the artist to paint the images of all four band members to be used for the solo albums. To this day, the four solo face images are used on everything from posters to t-shirts and everything in between. This is the first time in history, that one of the original paintings will be publicly made available to the collectors market.

"So often we think we have hit the peak of rare Kiss memorabilia and then another collection comes along, and collectively the pieces featured in this auction have moved us to a new summit with the private collections of Debra Svensk-Jenson (previously married to Peter Criss), Linda West and the late

Kiss Tour Promoter Bag 1970s

Ken Anderson, both of Aucoin Management and rock photographer Chip Rock” says Backstage Auctions founder Jacques van Gool.

The auction will feature a wide range of Kiss memorabilia appealing to everyone’s taste and budget including; Gold and Platinum RIAA awards, rare t-shirts, jackets and crew attire, artist signed items, rare ephemera and personal notes, hand-written lyrics, sticks, picks and passes, rare vinyl and more. “There is enough historical Kiss memorabilia in this auction, that it would be worthy of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit,” says van Gool.

Kiss Plantinum Solo Album RIAA Awards

The Rock God and Metal Monsters Auction will also include hundreds of rare hard rock and heavy metal memorabilia from the private collections of David Ellefson, Frank Bello, Charlie Benante, Scott Ian, John Tempesta, Page Hamilton, Sean Yseult and several industry professionals.

Bidding will run from March 30 through April 6, 2014. A special VIP All Access preview of the entire auction catalog will be available beginning March 23rd.

For more information and to get your VIP All Access Pass: VIP Auction Registration

Deep Purple 'Live in California 74' coming soon

Legendary concert made available on CD, digital audio

Deep Purple - Live in California 74

Deep Purple had the world by the tail in the mid-1970s. Bigger than just about anybody in hard rock, with some exceptions, of course, they co-headlined the historic California Jam Festival 40 years ago. To mark the anniversary of that life-changing event, Eagle Rock Entertainment is issuing Deep Purple Live in California 74 for the first time on CD and digital audio on April 1.

One of the most in-demand live acts in the world at the time, Deep Purple was finishing up a 28-date tour promoting Burn when they hit the Golden State. The CD showcases the band performing before 200,000 people at the Cal Jam Festival. It was a triumphant coda to a glorious march, as the thunderous lineup of Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), David Coverdale (vocals), Glenn Hughes (bass), Jon Lord(keyboards), and Ian Paice (drums) blew the crowd away with a fiery set of songs from Burn, as well as classics like “Space Truckin’” and “Smoke On The Water.”

A legendary performance, the storied concert was previously released on DVD in 2006. The Live In California 74 album is essential stuff. To keep updated on this and other releases from Eagle Rock, visit www.facebook.com/EagleRockEnt, www.twitter.com/EagleRockNews and www.youtube.com/user/eaglerocktv.

Check the track listing. There's no filler.

Track Listing:

1.) Burn

2.) Might Just Take Your Life

3.) Lay Down, Stay Down

4.) Mistreated

5.) Smoke On The Water

6.) You Fool No One

7.) Space Truckin’

CD Review: Ringworm – Hammer of the Witch

CD Review: Ringworm – Hammer of the Witch

Relapse Records

All Access Rating: A-

Ringworm - Hammer of the Witch 2014

Batten down the hatches everybody. The Category 5 cyclone of hardcore and metal that is Ringworm's devastating Hammer of the Witch is about to make landfall.

Formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, Ringworm rose to prominence in a hardcore scene populated by fellow firebrands Terror and Earth Crisis, but they dropped out in 1993, only to rise from the ashes around the turn of the century and wreak sonic havoc on 2001's Victory Records release Birth is Pain and a succession of more audio vitriol.

Now comes Ringworm's roaring, high-velocity debut for Relapse Records, Hammer of the Witch. It's non-stop action from beginning to end, a swarming, all-consuming conflagration of scorched-earth thrash riffage that's diabolically complex and heavy at times.

Surging forward with anger and violence, Hammer of the Witch is Hatebreed on amphetamines, shattering land-speed records on "I Recommend Amputation," "Bleed," the raging "Psychic Vampire" and a blistering "King of Blood." The shouted, in-your-face vocals come courtesy of Human Furnace, while the whiplash breakdowns would draw the attention of a personal-injury lawyer. Hammer of the Witch is as chaotic as a prison break, with searing guitar solos and thickened, intense grooves for those who also appreciate full-throttle speed.
– Peter Lindblad

Keep calm and ask Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper - Super Duper
Alice Cooper 2014

New documentary on shock-rock icon comes with fan Q&A

Alice Cooper is coming to the silver screen. Hide the women and children, and the boa constrictors.

Due to premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, "Super Duper Alice Cooper" is a new documentary on the shock-rock superstar that's purported to be the first-ever "doc opera," combining animation, archival footage and rock opera tropes to tell the story of rock 'n' roll's first true villain. It will hit theaters nationwide beginning May 30. Here's a trailer:

Wanting to make the experience an interactive one, Cooper is compiling a pre-recorded "Keep Calm & Go Ask Alice" Q&A that will run following each theatrical screening. Fans are being asked to go to www.SuperDuperAliceCooper.com (click the "Keep Calm and Go Ask Alice" graphic) and ask the man himself whatever questions they want, as long as the submission period runs. He'll then handpick select questions and answer them via video.

As for the film, it's another Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn joint, those same guys from Banger Films that brought you "Iron Maiden: Flight 666" and "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage." It traces the career arc of a preacher's son who became Public Enemy No. 1 to parents nationwide as Alice Cooper, following his career from its freaky Phoenix roots through his band's groundbreaking, demented theatrics and into the destructive decadence of the '70s, which set the stage for his rebirth as an '80s glam-metal icon.

Iggy Pop, John Lydon, Dee Snider and Elton John weigh on the art and life of Vincent Furnier, a man who fought to overcome his demons, all while trying to maintain the image of his crazed alter-ego, Alice.

For more on the movie, visit www.SuperDuperAliceCooper.com or www.facebook.com/SuperDuperAliceCooper.

Looking for information on what Alice Cooper is up to, visit www.alicecooper.com, www.facebook.com/AliceCooper, or www.twitter.com/realalicecooper.

CD Review: House Of Lords – Precious Metal

CD Review: House Of Lords – Precious Metal

Frontiers Records

All Access Rating: B-

House Of Lords - Precious Metal 2014

Much to the relief of longtime followers, House Of Lords has not fallen into a state of disrepair, although there was reason to believe it might given the 2004 departure of founder and keyboard wizard Gregg Giuffria.

Having undergone a series of substantial lineup renovations over the years, this melodic-metal fortress is still standing, thanks to the efforts of singer James Christian, the sole remaining original member. Those who lost track of House Of Lords when the bulldozers of grunge almost plowed pop metal completely under will still recognize the place.

Newer releases such 2006's World Upside Down, 2008's Come to My Kingdom and 2011's Big Money typically balanced the competing forces of gleaming, silvery keyboard rushes, big choruses and heavier, complex guitar constructions, all while making grand melodic gestures and occasionally succumbing to the temptation of throwing in a tender, if a bit treacly, power ballad or two. This is what Precious Metal, House of Lords' latest, is made of as well.

Forever immersed in the sounds and stylistic blandness of '80s AOR, House Of Lords, nevertheless, charges into Precious Metal with the galloping "Battle," where sharp-edged synthesizers flash like swords and Christian's forceful wail urges on the troops."Epic" is a thrilling chase, a euphoric rush of power metal that aims for the dizzying heights of Europe, while "Permission to Die" and "Swimmin' With The Sharks" are made of stronger, infectious grooves and driving rhythms, and "I'm Breakin' Free" is a slightly bitter pop-metal kiss-off that Warrant wouldn't have kicked out of bed.

Filled with fine, if cliched, sentiments about never wasting one single breath of life, the overly earnest "Live Every Day (Like It's the Last)" could have been that breakthrough single House Of Lords was looking for in the '80s, but the title track's exploration of male-female relationship dynamics is superficial at best, and the music is hopelessly melodramatic. Still, even if songs like "Raw" tend to fall apart after powerful intros and never fully coalesce into anything truly memorable, Precious Metal is well-produced, with a clutch of bracing, electrically charged riffs, various keyboard spells and impassioned singing carrying the day. http://www.frontiers.it/
– Peter Lindblad

Gone fishing: The story behind Foghat's 'Fool for the City' LP cover

Roger Earl remembers an encounter with New York City's Finest
By Peter Lindblad

Everyone's had a good laugh over the years over the cover to Foghat's Fool for the City album cover. Count Roger Earl, the band's original drummer and the only founding member of the '70s blues-rock giants left in the band, among them.

Foghat - Fool For The City

"Yeah, to this day, people tend to get a real kick out of it," said Earl. "The thing is, one has to maintain one’s sense of humor. I think it’s imperative."

The boys in Foghat certainly never took themselves too seriously. On the cover of Fool for the City is a photo of Earl sitting on a soapbox fishing in a manhole in the middle of East 11th Street in New York City. Foghat's American office was located nearby.

Despite being an avid fisherman, it wasn't Earl who came up with the idea.

"Um, I might be wrong, but I believe it was suggested by our producer and bass player at the time, Nick Jameson," said Earl. "I’m pretty sure Nick was the one who suggested it. I should ask him about it. I think it was his idea, because anytime I had some time off or I was wanting to unwind, I would go fishing. I’d grab a rod and go. Fly fishing was always fun, and fishing on rivers, because you could walk. But it didn’t matter if I was in a boat or sitting on a sandy beach, it was still fishing. And that’s the way I still feel. Anytime I could go fishing, it wasn’t wasted time. That what they say, right? (laughs) In fact, I read somewhere, God doesn’t take time out of your life if you go fishing. And I said, “I like that.” Fishermen like that (laughs)."

Some of the local authorities weren't initially so jolly about what Earl and Foghat were doing, as Earl recalls.

"I think we’d finished the record actually, and we were out on Long Island, and we got up early one Sunday morning, drove into Manhattan with a pole, lifted up the manhole cover and started fishing," said Earl. "And a couple of New York’s Finest came along and said, 'Hey, you got a license?' Because I had a pole, and I said, 'Oh, shit.' And he said, 'Do you have a fishing license?' (laughs) They said, 'What the f—k are you guys doing?' And we explained to him what we were doing, and they said, 'Oh, okay.' So they just made sure the taxis and other cars wouldn’t go down the pot hole or anything. They’re New York’s Finest, and they laughed at it. They were more worried about murderers, robbers and rapists, not some rock ‘n’ rollers pulling up manhole covers (laughs)."

One of the best live bands to ever come out of the '70s, as evidenced by 1977's massively successful Foghat Live album, Foghat has a new live DVD out titled "Live in St. Pete" that's available at http://www.foghat.net/. Earl likes how it came out.

Foghat - Live at St. Pete

"Yeah, we were rather pleased with it," said Earl. "We’d been trying to put out a DVD. The last one we had was about 10 years ago, and it was taken from a whole bunch of shows. Over the last 10 years or so, we’d record regularly, or if there was decent filming equipment there, and we’d been going through all the DVDs and stuff that we had, and I’m trying to compile a bunch of tunes that we could put on a DVD. The problem I was having is that some films and some shows sounded really good, but the video left something to be desired. Other shows looked really good, and like the bass drum or the bass guitar weren’t on there or we had no lead guitar, or Charlie’s voice was distorted. So I’d gotten through all this stuff, and it was um … definitely a labor of love, but it wasn’t really (laughs)."

This one, they got right, as per our review of the video. http://backstageauctions.blogspot.com/2014/02/dvd-review-foghat-live-in-st-pete.html

"So what happened was, we finished actually touring for the year, and our agent called us up and said, 'Look, somebody’s canceled at this club down in Florida in St. Pete. Would you guys like to play there?" related Earl. "Myself, I was already down in Florida, staying at a house down there. Bryan (Bassette) lives down there, as does Charlie (Huhn). And two of our crew were already down there, so we called everybody up and said, 'Do you want to go out and do one more?' And they all said, 'Please.' (laughs) We did it, and our families were there, so we had a big party afterwards, and our sound engineer came in with a CD from the night, and he said, I think you sounded really good.' And he really didn’t have much to do with it. He cleaned up most of the stuff that he could. And then he handed us something us. There was also video from it, and we went, All right.' We were drinking some wine and (had some) cheese and vodkas, and having a party at the hotel, and we were listening to it, and going, 'Wow! This is really good.'"

And so, "Live at St. Pete" was born. Look for more of our interview with Earl in this space in the coming days and weeks.

Crowbar to release 'Symmetry in Black' this spring

NOLA metal miscreants celebrate 25th anniversary

Crowbar 2014
Photo by Zack Smith

When the thaw comes, so will the sludge, as New Orleans riff maulers Crowbar are set to deliver Symmetry in Black, their newest album, on May 27.

A day earlier, it will released in Europe through Century Media Records.

Produced by founding guitarist/vocalist Kirk Windstein and Duane Simoneaux, Symmetry in Black comes on the heels of 2011's Sever the Wicked Hand. Windstein is beyond excited about Crowbar's latest.

"We are so proud and excited about what we have accomplished with this record! The focus, determination and attitude in the band is at an all-time high," said Windstein. "We are 100 percent ready to get this juggernaut rolling and never touch the brakes again. Crowbar will not be stopped!"

Symmetry in Black will be Crowbar's tenth studio LP. Furthermore, this year is Crowbar's silver anniversary, marking 25 years since the band arrived on the metal scene kicking and screaming from the womb.

"Crowbar is my heart and soul," said Windstein. "The music is part of me that I am extremely proud of. It's an amazing feeling to be putting all of my energy and focus into something that I created 25 years ago! We are extremely excited to release our tenth full length and to bring the riffs to as many people as possible on tour. See you on the road!"

Having finished recording, Crowbar will fly over to the U.K. for a short tour. Windstein, guitarist Matt Brunson, drummer Tommy Buckley and bassist Jeff Golden will be supported by Hang The Bastard and Dropback. Crowbar will hit the European festival scene this summer, making appearances at Roadburn and Bloodstock. U.S. fans can witness the Crowbar carnage at Maryland Deathfest.

Backstage Auctions Announces Line Up for The 2014 Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction

The Rock God and Metal Monsters Auction will include over 700 pieces of rare hard rock and heavy metal memorabilia featuring Anthrax, Megadeth, KISS, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Pantera, Motley Crue, The Cult, Helmet, Nickelback, Overkill, Ozzy, White Zombie and more.

Backstage Auctions is proud to present their annual "Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction". The online event, which is scheduled to go live in March, features amazing pieces of rock history direct from the

David Ellefson Bass Guitars
Big 4 Tour

personal collections of artists, producers, managers and record industry professionals.

"Our annual hard rock and heavy metal auction has really become our most popular auction event we host and this year we are super excited about so many rare but highly personal items from both musicians and industry executives," explains Backstage Auctions founder Jacques van Gool.

There is definitely a wide range of collectibles featured in the auction including guitars, drum heads, amps, pedals, gear and accessories, artist stage

Charlie Benante Drum Head
Anthrax Anthems Album

worn apparel, RIAA Gold and Platinum records awards, recordings, incredible vinyl collections, original artwork, rare concert posters, vintage t-shirts, historical ephemera, photos and negatives with "money shots", picks and sticks and the list goes on.

Spanning several decades of rock history, the items up for auction are definitely iconic pieces that collectors and fans will go nuts over. "It's not every day that you get a bass guitar from the legendary David Ellefson, but to get two that were used on the Big 4 tour, well that's every fan or collector's dream," says van Gool.

One band that is sure to steal a huge chunk of the spotlight is Kiss, with consignments of rare (and some never before seen) pieces of Kiss history – all coming directly from former Aucoin Management employees. "Each year we think that we have hit the peak of rare Kiss memorabilia, but once again we have managed to find a new summit," says van Gool.

Kiss 1978 Platinum RIAA Record Awards Solo LPs

Of course giving fans and collectors direct access to authentic and rare pieces of rock history is always what the goal when we build our auction events, and this years Rock Gods and Metal Auction is no exception. The “Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction” is a not-to-miss opportunity for fans and collectors around
the world to own an authentic piece of one of the most significant genres of music history.

For more information and to get your VIP All Access Pass for the event visit Backstage Auctions.

The online auction starts March 30, 2014 and will run through April 6, 2014.

A special VIP All Access preview of the entire auction catalog will be available beginning March 23rd. Register today for your All Access Pass.

ACE FREHLEY CONFIRMS NO ORIGINAL KISS PERFORMANCE AT HOF

Source: Eddie Trunk - Trunk Report

Exclusive new late tonight. Ace Frehley called into my radio show live tonight and confirmed that he and Peter are being denied the opportunity to perform at the R&R Hall Of Fame ceremony by Gene and Paul, who will perform instead with the current band. Ace said (and the HOF confirmed to me

Kiss

directly) that the HOF wants the original band. However Gene and Paul to date have declined to allow this to happen.

Ace said it was important he let the fans know exactly what was happening since tickets are about to go on sale to the public and he didn’t want fans to purchase them expecting a reunion performance even for a song or two. Ace said he is undecided if he will even attend in light of this decision. Even though the HOF would prefer the original band, they will not stand in the way of the current band playing if that is all Gene and Paul are willing to do.

Assume anything is possible that something could change, but at this time there are no plans at all for Ace and Peter to play, or perhaps even be there depending what they decide. As I have said consistently when there was news to share I would let it come directly from a member, and tonight Ace let everyone know exactly what was going on. Said he was most upset for the fans who voted them in and were hoping to see a song or two, but also said it is now time to move on. He is working on a new album and said the stress was really killing him about the HOF and he needed to let fans know what was up before tickets went on sale. Peter will likely have a similar statement on his site tomorrow.

I’ll continue to keep you posted as more info develops but that’s where things are at now. I’m sure the audio will be on YouTube of Ace’s call but you can hear the entire show next weekend as usual on all affiliate stations and online outlets as well. Sad day for long time Kiss fans but at least we know where things stand as of now. The producer/director for the HOF show Joel Gallen expressed an interest in coming on the air soon. As usual my door is open to any and all to discuss. More soon.

Original Story Here: Eddie Trunk - Trunk Report

CD Review: Pro-Pain – The Final Revolution

CD Review: Pro-Pain – The Final Revolution

Steamhammer/SPV

All Access Rating: B+

Pro-Pain - The Final Revolution 2014

Chances are, The Final Revolution will not be televised. Too unflinchingly honest, too hostile and too ugly, the fiery cross-pollination of hardcore and metal that Pro-Pain's been spewing since the early '90s couldn't possibly ever appeal to an anesthetized mainstream that would rather stick its head in the sand and pretend that everything's swell, even as the world devolves into utter chaos.

Maybe it's not as bad as these fearsome New Yorkers, led by firebrand bassist/vocalist Gary Meskil, make it out to be, but there's plenty to be apoplectic about. Pro-Pain's been raging about the socio-political ills that have befallen humanity for a long time now. The Final Revolution is Pro-Pain's 14th studio album, and it is brutally efficient, always going for the throat.

His guttural voice a flamethrower that leaves behind nothing but scorched earth, the idealistic Meskil barks out his plain, unvarnished truth with all the tenacity of a junkyard dog, sticking up for the beaten-down common man with deep passion and unimpeachable integrity. And the music of Pro-Pain is just as uncompromising, like that of The Exploited or Earth Crisis, although it's a damn sight more metallic.

Relentlessly intense from the word "go," with disciplined grooves and breakdowns, flurries of double kick-drum violence and furious, sometimes down-tuned, riffs, The Final Revolution relies somewhat less on the thrash dynamics of its predecessor, Straight to the Dome, and gets to the point quickly. Aggressive, with rhythms that seem to enjoy slamming into walls, "Deathwish" is followed by another punch to the mouth in the bruising "One Shot, One Kill," and Pro-Pain keeps upping the ante, as the unstoppable momentum of "Southbound" crashes headlong into the high-velocity "Problem-Reaction-Solution," which is just prelude to the even more blistering "All Systems Fail." Immense, permanently stuck in overdrive and more weighty than expected, the all-consuming guitars are predatory and full of piss and vinegar, always wanting to go faster, but content to downshift ever so slightly when a change in direction is necessary.

Going 10 rounds with Pro-Pain is exhausting, a rigorous test of stamina, as Pro-Pain rarely strays from its righteous path, plowing straight ahead with intellectual and instrumental vitality and a visceral energy that is ferocious, raw and dangerous. Pro-Pain may have been a bigger deal in the mid-'90s, when their particular combination of hardcore and metal was being devoured by a wider audience, but they haven't lost any of their vitriolic fervor. It's serious music for serious people.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Andi Deris and the Bad Bankers – Million Dollars Haircuts on Ten Cent Heads

CD Review: Andi Deris and the Bad Bankers – Million Dollar Haircuts on Ten Cent Heads

Armoury/earMusic

All Access Rating: A-

Andi Deris and the Bad Bankers -
Million Dollar Haircuts on
Ten Cent Heads 2014

The Occupy Wall Street movement has a sympathizer in Helloween singer Andi Deris. Disgusted by the obscene, unchecked greed and corruption of a diseased banking institution that's somehow escaped punishment for its sins against humanity, Deris' anger is palpable on his first solo album since 1999, recorded with his band, the aptly named Bad Bankers.

A hard-hitting protest record that gets in the gutter with its subject matter and beats it with brass knuckles, Million Dollar Haircuts on Ten Cent Heads has a grimy, contemporary metal edginess and visceral crunch that fuels his rage against fat cats and tyrants. At heart, though, Deris is still a power-metal proselytizer, prone to sculpting melodic curves out of walls of guitars and crushing rhythms to make dramatic statements in the sweeping "EnAmoria" and the equally expansive "Must Be Dreaming."

Nevertheless, with its brawling guitar riffs and sneering vocals, the punishingly heavy opener "Cock" doesn't mince words, couching its indignation in thick, grinding machinations, before the prowling, seething grooves of "Banker's Delight (Alive or Dead)" express their frustration in a particularly vicious manner. Embracing nu metal samples and other production enhancements that bands like the Deftones and Korn make such effective use of, Deris and his rabble-rousers raise hell in a dark, blustery "Blind" that turns moody and watery, as does "Who Am I." More scathing, "Don't Listen to the Radio (TWOTW 1938)" is straightforward traditional metal with a hooky chorus and driving, slightly scratched-up guitars, and it's a song of sturdy construction and strong opinions, the kind that leads to fist-pumping and other expressions of rebellion.

Even if all it amounts to is street-level sound and fury that, although it does actually signify something, never comes close to reaching deaf ears in corporate boardrooms, hearing Deris' impassioned, well-articulated call to arms is, if nothing else, a direct and forceful shock to a financial system desperately in need of an overhaul. And Deris is in fine voice, expressive, charismatic and wide-ranging, clearly warming to the task he's undertaken, and sounding especially vital when he gets his dander up. http://www.eagle-rock.com/; http://www.ear-music.net/en/news/
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Deep Purple – Now What?! Gold Edition

CD Review: Deep Purple – Now What?! Gold Edition

Eagle Rock Entertainment/earMusic

All Access Rating: B+

Deep Purple - Now What?!
Gold Edition 2014

At least there's still some gas in the tank. If nothing else, 2013's Now What?!, their 19th studio album, made the case that today's Deep Purple is not at all devoid of fresh musical ideas, even if they seem incapable of crafting something as instantly gratifying as "Highway Star" or "Smoke on the Water."

Shape-shifting intoxicants such as "Weirdistan" and "Apre Vous" were elaborate mazes of epic prog-rock construction, while "Out of Hand," with its sweeping strings and its exotic atmospherics, kept building and building into a majestic piece of sonic architecture. As they did in the old days, when the Mark II lineup were hard-rock royalty, Purple charged into the breach of "Hell to Pay" with youthful vigor and industrious riffs and funked up a driving "Bodyline," before falling back into the shadows with smoky, jazzy fare like "Blood From a Stone," the bluesy "All the Time in the World" and the grumbling, gnarled tribute to a horror movie icon delivered in the dark, spooky camp of "Vincent Price."

All of these tracks made Now What?! a stylistically diverse listen, full of intriguing and dynamic instrumental passages – especially from guitarist Steve Morse, the former Dixie Dregs' six-string wizard, and keyboardist Don Airey, the two additions who weren't there in Purple's heyday. Packaged with new bonus tracks and a second disc of live recordings, a Gold Deluxe Edition of Now What?! has recently been issued, and it's available in a double CD version or a more lavish boxed set that includes a DVD with a 20-minute interview, a t-shirt, poster and sticker, and all the singles from Now What?!

The real prize here is the 70 minutes of unreleased concert performances stuffed into disc two. Also known as the "Now What?! Live Tapes," it's a rousing collection of Purple classics and newer material, played in European locales like Milan, Italy, and Rome, among others, with improvisational brilliance and high-flying musicianship that hammer these songs into sharpened weapons. Here's where the spirited gallop of "Hard Loving Man," enveloped by Airey's mushrooming keyboard spells, gathers terrific momentum, as does a driving, rollicking rendition of "Strange Kind of Woman," Ian Gillan belting it out to the back row with rawness and urgency. And it's where the slow burn of "Smoke on the Water" grows into a four-alarm fire, and a slithering "Perfect Strangers" hisses and strikes out at its prey, while "Vincent Price" turns into something more sinister and fun.

The sound is warm and clear, as Morse really struts his stuff in these live recordings, showing how adept he is at seamlessly changing character, this chameleon who can master the blues and jazz, while also riffing like a metal madman and soloing into the stratosphere. All pulling together as a powerful unit, Purple still performs with feverish enthusiasm and stunning chops. Age hasn't diminished their skills, although their bland bonus take on Jerry Lee Lewis' "It'll Be Me" may be thrown away as carelessly as expired milk, and the rare, but ultimately lackluster, B-side "First Sign of Madness" doesn't argue for being deserving of greater attention than it's already been given. There are riches to be found in this Now What?! Gold Edition, although some of its luster's been worn away. http://www.ear-music.net/en/news/; http://www.eagle-rock.com/
– Peter Lindblad