DVD Review: Deep Purple With Orchestra – Live In Verona

DVD Review: Deep Purple With Orchestra – Live In Verona
Eagle Rock Entertainment
All Access Rating: B+

Deep Purple With Orchestra -
Live In Verona 2014

Any list of the world's most spectacular outdoor concert venues would be woefully incomplete without an entry for Arena di Verona.

Originally built in 30 AD, the beautifully preserved Roman amphitheatre provided a dramatic and elegant backdrop for a glorious 2011 performance from hard-rock giants Deep Purple, backed on this enchanted evening by the full instrumental might of the Neue Philharmonie Frankfort and lushly filmed for a new DVD "Live in Verona" released by Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Lending added weight, complexity and richness to a set loaded with familiar classics, the orchestra – obviously relishing the moment, playing with both passion and precision – pushes and prods Deep Purple to go for broke and drive "Highway Star," "Strange Kind of Woman" and "Woman From Tokyo" like getaway cars used in a daring bank heist. It is, indeed, the thrill of the chase that still moves Deep Purple.

Quick cutaways make the action onstage come alive, the cameras expertly capturing Ian Gillan's expressive wails and honing in with artful subtlety on the virtuoso chops of guitarist Steve Morse, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and bassist Roger Glover – Morse's fluid soloing brilliance drawing most of the attention, and rightly so. And while they plow through "Knocking at Your Back Door," "Space Truckin'" and "Smoke on the Water" with the usual organ-fueled horsepower of a dependable, rugged vehicle that has a lot of miles on it, Deep Purple is at its best here when swimming in the sonorous, mystic oceania of a breathtaking version of "Rapture of the Deep" and giving a soulful rendering of "When A Blind Man Cries." Bonus versions of "Hush" and "Black Night" make this a package worth getting.

Of course, this isn't the Deep Purple of old, some of the fire of youth having understandably diminished over time, although the visually stunning "Live In Verona" proves they're still eminently capable of burning this lovely setting to the ground when properly motivated. And they are in fine form here, even if the bloom is off the rose, so to speak, when it comes to seeing Purple once again perform with an armada of strings and other classical accoutrements.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Various Artists – Jon Lord, Deep Purple & Friends – Celebrating Jon Lord

CD Review: Various Artists: Jon Lord, Deep Purple & Friends – Celebrating Jon Lord
earMusic and Eagle Rock Entertainment
All Access Rating: A-

Various Artists: Jon Lord, Deep Purple
& Friends - Celebrating Jon Lord

It had to take place at the Royal Albert Hall, didn't it?

After all, that was where Jon Lord and Deep Purple, in 1969, famously performed the revolutionary "Concerto for Group and Orchestra," a groundbreaking work that joined the forces of rock and classical music in a surprisingly natural and organic marriage that showed the two forms are not exactly oil and water.

Just weeks prior to his death in 2012, Lord finished his remake of the composition, a labor love for Lord and an all-consuming passion that, some years earlier, made leaving Deep Purple once and for all a little easier – well, that and the fact that he'd had enough of touring.

No other setting then would do then for this extraordinary tribute to an uncommon man in Lord, as this 2014 version of the much-ballyhooed Sunflower Jam rounded up a veritable "who's who" of rock royalty for a gala all-star jam, backed by a full orchestra conducted by Paul Mann.

Cleaved into two halves, the concert, captured on a new release entitled Jon Lord, Deep Purple & Friends – Celebrating Jon Lord, offers a resounding and joyous examination of his remarkable career, in between jokes, stories and heartfelt expressions of love for the man. Two hours were reserved for a stylish, beautiful and wonderfully arranged renditions of Lord's classical music explorations, given new life by Mann and the Orion Orchestra, that comprises Jon Lord – The Composer and features three pieces from Sarabande, including a guest turn from keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman on the title track.

And then there's the Jon Lord – The Rock Legend set, where friends, colleagues and admirers remember Lord's extraordinary contributions to popular music, starting with Paul Weller and his bouncy, sweaty, horn-swaddled revivals of R&B rousers "Things Get Better" and – with a little help from Micky Moody – "I Take What I Want," recalling Lord's time in the early '60s with The Artwoods.

Glenn Hughes comes aboard for a soulful, smoky reading of "You Keep on Moving" that simply smolders with dark sensuality, following an especially poignant version of "Soldier of Fortune," with Steve Balsamo, Sandi Thom and Moody lending vocals. Perhaps predictably, a full-throttle, fiery "Burn" sets the venerable house ablaze, as Bruce Dickinson, Ian Paice and Don Airey join Hughes and Moody let it all hang out while roaring through the Deep Purple Mark III chestnut like a freight train.

Speaking of Purple, the current incarnation of the band – Airey, Paice, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Steve Morse – closes things out with 45 minutes of spectacular virtuoso jams, Airey in particular relishing the opportunity to grab "Lazy" by the throat and heat that Hammond organ up until it glows red. And for a finale, Dickinson, Wakeman, Moody, Phil Campbell and Bernie Marsden return to the stage with Purple to bring the house down with an invigorating take on "Hush." Somewhere, Lord is still smiling. http://www.ear-music.net/en/news/ http://www.eagle-rock.com/
– 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

CD Review: Deep Purple – Now What?!

CD Review: Deep Purple  – Now What?!

earMusic/Eagle Rock Entertainment

All Access Review: A-

Deep Purple - Now What?! 2013

Cracks were starting to appear in the foundation. Deep Purple, Mark II, was crumbling, as exhaustion from a non-stop cycle of touring and recording were beginning to take their toll. On top of that, internal dysfunction – mostly between guitar wizard Ritchie Blackmore and singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover – was tearing them apart, and yet, they somehow managed to slog through 1973’s rather limp and uninspired death knell Who Do We Think We Are, even though they did come out with guns blazing in the electrifying “Woman from Tokyo.” 

This was the end of Gillan’s association with Deep Purple, at least until 1984’s Perfect Strangers, and Mark II went out with a whimper.

That was 30 years ago. Today, with Blackmore’s time in Deep Purple a distant memory, the proto-metal legends return with their first studio album since 2005, Now What?! The punctuation is appropriately emphatic. Whether it’s an exasperated question they’re asking of themselves or a dare to anyone who thinks they can’t deliver the goods anymore, the title of their latest effort – produced by Bob Ezrin – is open to interpretation. What is clear is that, with guitarist Steve Morse having long since settled into his role as Blackmore’s successor, something Tommy Bolin initially struggled with, Deep Purple is completely comfortable in its own skin and capable of generating audacious instrumental fireworks.

Winding its way through labyrinthine passages and flying over contoured soundscapes, What Now?! can be mysterious and exotic. With orchestral string flourishes vehemently slashing through the air, “Out of Hand” is a cinematic marvel reminiscent of Gillan’s recent WhoCares recordings with Tony Iommi and Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” as is the ornate “Uncommon Man,” although the ever-shifting moods and tempos make it more of a relic of ‘70s progressive-rock pomp and circumstance than anything else. The same can also be said of “Apres Vous” and “Weirdistan,” both widescreen prog epics that allow Morse and keyboardist Don Airey plenty of opportunity to stretch out and experiment with strange, alien sounds.

On the other hand, in the tradition of classic Mark II Purple, the energetic rocker “Hell to Pay” – stuck in overdrive and running hot – boasts plenty of horsepower, while the smoldering “Blood from a Stone,” with soulful vocals from Gillan, is dark and jazzy, with Airey’s keyboards falling like rain, just as Ray Manzarek’s did in The Doors’ classic “Riders on the Storm.” The bluesy ballad “All the Time in the World” is standard-issue, however, and far less intoxicating, standing in sharp contrast to the mesmerizing fury of “A Simple Song” and the colorful, lively funk grooves of “Bodyline.” Although lacking a signature track, like “Smoke on the Water” or even “Knocking at Your Back Door,” What Now?! effectively holds listeners’ interest in other ways.

In fine voice, Gillan is as expressive as ever, even if he doesn’t quite have the range he used to, but it’s Airey and Morse who garner the most attention – Airey with his forceful, swirling Hammond organ dust storms that pay tribute to the dearly departed Jon Lord and Morse with his solid riffing and classy, finessed leads, the product of a wonderful imagination and great dexterity. Who do they think they are? Why, it’s Deep Purple … that’s who, and the reinvigorated musical interplay between these prodigious talents is remarkably exciting. If this, combined with a well-timed recent episode of VH1’s “Behind the Music” regaling us with their glorious, and oftentimes fractious, history, does not get them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nothing will.
 – Peter Lindblad

DVD Review: Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil

DVD Review: Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil

Eagle Vision

All Access Review: A-

Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil 2012

Rudy Sarzo writes in the photo-filled booklet that accompanies “Speak of the Devil” of Ozzy’s “fragile mental state” as the “Diary of a Madman” tour soldiered on in the aftermath of Randy Rhoads’ unthinkable death. That old saw about how “the show must go on” meant as much to a distraught Ozzy in his time of mourning as it ever did for any entertainer down through history, and Sarzo, Ozzy’s bassist at the time, shudders to think how the singer would have reacted had his traveling circus been shut down.

Desperate for the warm, sympathetic embrace of thousands of rabid fans, Ozzy and his carnival of the damned rolled into Irvine Meadows, California, on June 12, 1982, after an understandable delay and held a head-banging Irish wake for the virtuoso guitarist, slamming Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” “Children of the Grave” and the encore “Paranoid” to the wall after ripping the throat out of a slew of Ozzy’s solo hits. Now out on DVD, with audio restored and remastered with crystal – perhaps even unnatural – digital clarity, this is more than just a historical document of an electrifying performance from one of metal’s legendary front men. As he pounds his chest during a blazing rendition of “Crazy Train” – with Rhoads’ replacement, the underrated Brad Gillis, hungrily tearing through the song’s familiar riffs and manhandling its scorching leads – or somewhat clumsily executes one of his exuberant frog jumps, Ozzy, clapping away with arms raised, makes a grim reaper-defying gesture here as he drinks in the healing elixir of rock ‘n’ roll, as trite as that sounds. Ozzy is born again, his rebirth a devilishly delightful rock ‘n’ roll spectacle.

And it takes place while he’s surrounded by a really cool medieval castle for a stage and all the smoke, fire and pulsating multi-colored lights that rock ‘n’ roll fantasies are made of – plus a laser-lit bat that flies overhead during Ozzy’s dramatic entrance. Visually, though awfully dark on occasion, “Speak of the Devil” is filmed with professional sensibilities, combining expansive faraway shots and close-ups that often focus on the careening, razor-sharp musicianship and clenched-teeth intensity of Sarzo and Gillis during marauding, energetic romps through “Over the Mountains,” “Steal Away (The Night),” “I Don’t Know,” and “Flying High Again.” When, in a moment of unscripted playfulness, Ozzy bites into Gillis’ head and threatens to bash his skull as he grinds away during a blistering “Suicide Solution” solo, the camera frames the moment artfully, just as it does when Ozzy welcomes Gillis to the band with a big bear hug while the new guy shreds “Mr. Crowley.”

All of Ozzy’s demented, crowd-baiting antics are on display, as the comically ghoulish dwarf mascot “Ronnie” is hung during an otherwise lovely and wistful reading of “Goodbye to Romance.” Later, before launching into “Paranoid,” Ozzy slips on a glove that shoots fireworks out of its fingers. And the staging is absurdly massive and gloriously tone-deaf to fading calls for rock to be less ostentatious. Up high in one of the fortress’s balconies is hooded keyboardist Don Airey, whose regret-tinged piano colors the eco-friendly, peace-loving “Revelation (Mother Earth)” with all-too-human expressions of sadness, while his sinister intro to “Mr. Crowley” is pure horror-movie magic. On the staircase that serves as a drum riser, Tommy Aldridge pounds the night away, throwing the sticks aside and using only his hands in the midst of a frenzied drum solo midway through the show.

Everybody gets their turn in the spotlight on “Speak of the Devil,” and if there were any extras – maybe a featurette on the tour’s outlandish theatricality, perhaps some interviews with Ozzy or any of his band mates to give context to the event (Sarzo’s emotional insider’s perspective in the accompanying booklet shining some light on the inner workings of Ozzy’s crew), or just a smattering of behind-the-scenes footage – this DVD would be absolutely essential. As it is, “Speak of the Devil” is a captivating snapshot of a time when Ozzy was on the verge of going off the rails but somehow managed to keep the train rolling.

-            Peter Lindblad