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DEEP PURPLE – Burn
Deep Purple – Burn [30th Anniversary Edition - Remastered] (2005, Warner Bros. Records/Rhino Records/Purple Records)
Original Release: 1974, Warner Bros. Records
1. “Burn” … 6:00
2. “Might Just Take Your Life” … 4:36
3. “Lay Down, Stay Down” …4:15
4. “Sail Away” … 5:48
5. “You Fool No One” … 4:47
6. “What’s Goin’ on Here” … 4:55
7. “Mistreated” … 7:25
8. “”A” 200″ … 3:51
BONUS TRACKS
9. “Coronarias Redig” [2004 Remix] … 5:30
10. “Burn” [2004 Remix] … 6:00
11. “Mistreated” [2004 Remix] … 7:28
12. “You Fool No One” [2004 Remix] … 4:57
13. “Sail Away” [2004 Remix] … 5:37
Band:
David Coverdale – Lead Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
Glenn Hughes – Bass, Lead Vocals
Ian Paice – Drums
Jon Lord – Keyboards
Producer: Deep Purple
Years ago, during a Columbia House or BMG Music binge, I ordered Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers and then I never bothered with another Purple album. I wasn’t overly impressed by the album at the time and I’ve always had this hang-up on Deep Purple that they were “too 70s” and too heavy on keyboards and organs and that’s just not my style of rock.
Well, years later I decided to give the band a chance again by picking up Burn featuring the Deep Purple debut of two of my favorite rock vocalists – David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. It didn’t hurt that I found this anniversary edition online, brand new, for only six bucks and some change.
Again, everything about this album screams 1970s. The keyboards, the album cover, the funky & bluesy bass lines. I should really hate this album but somehow, I like it. I don’t love it, but I like it a lot and its a real treat listening to Coverdale and Hughes share lead vocals. Coverdale didn’t play any instruments in the band, so I’ve always wondered how he felt about sharing vocals with a band member who is playing an instrument as well. Just seems like a weird deal to me, but it was the 70s after all!
This album began the end of Ritchie Blackmore’s involvement in the band he co-found as he hated the bluesy and funky direction Hughes and Coverdale were taking the group in. I will say this, this album features some GREAT performances by Coverdale. Just listen to “Mistreated”.
The remixes I guess are nice if you have a really good ear or sound system for that type of stuff. I don’t have either, but I appreciate the effort put into this package to make it something special. “Coronarias Redig” was a B-side and is a pretty cool funky jam. There’s a very comprehensive booklet as well that’s full pictures and talks about the history about the band during this time frame. I love it when reissues include retrospectives like that. It oughta be a law.
Highlights: “Burn”, “Might Just Take Your Life”, “Sail Away”, “You Fool No One”, “Mistreated”, “Coronarias Redig”
GARY MOORE – Corridors of Power
Gary Moor – Corridors of Power [Remastered] (2002, Virgin Records – UK Import)
Original Release: 1982, Mirage Records
1. “Don’t Take Me for a Loser” … 4:17
2. “Always Gonna Love You” … 3:56
3. “Wishing Well” … 4:06
4. “Gonna Break My Heart Again” … 3:19
5. “Falling in Love with You” … 4:52
6. “End of the World” … 6:53
7. “Rockin’ Every Night” … 2:48
8. “Cold Hearted” … 5:12
9. “I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow” … 7:47
BONUS TRACKS
10. “Falling in Love with You” (Remix) … 4:10
11. “Falling in Love with You” (Remix instrumental) … 4:24
12. “Love Can Make a Fool of You” … 4:06
Musicians:
Gary Moore – Vocals, Guitar
Neil Murray – Bass
Ian Paice – Drums
Don Airey – Keyboards
Tommy Eyre – Keyboards
Jack Bruce – Vocals (“End of the World”)
Bobby Chouinard – Drums (“End of the World”)
Mo Foster – Bass (“Falling in Love with You”)
Producer: Jeff Glixman
Gary Moore surrounded himself with some fine musicians for this one– Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Black Sabbath), Ian Paice (Deep Purple, Whitesnake) and journeyman keyboardist Don Airey (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Ozzy, etc, etc, etc…)
This is my second Gary Moore purchase and it isn’t quite as good as Victims of the Future, but it is still an enjoyable listen. Victims of the Future was the follow-up to this one and that album displayed Gary Moore in full-on hard rock guitar hero mode, but this album sees him straddling the line between hard rock (the great opener “Don’t Take Me for a Loser”) and pop (the guilty pleasure slice of cheese balladry that is “Always Gonna Love You”).
My favorite song from this album is “End of the World” which starts off with two minutes of Moore showing of his incredible skills and this hard rocker would have easily fit on Victims of the Future.
This one has been reissued a number of times with varying bonus tracks, most interesting to me is a 2000 reissue with a seven minute version of “Empty Rooms”. Would’ve been nice to have that one instead of three variations of “Falling in Love with You” on one album.
Highlights: “Don’t Take Me for a Loser”, “Always Gonna Love You”, “Wishing Well”, “Gonna Break My Heart Again”, “End of the World”
WHITESNAKE – Saints & Sinners
Whitesnake – Saints & Sinners (1982, Geffen Records)
1. “Young Blood” … 3:30
2. “Rough an’ Ready” … 2:50
3. “Bloody Luxury” … 3:24
4. “Victim of Love” … 3:34
5. “Crying in the Rain” … 5:58
6. “Here I Go Again” … 5:08
7. “Love an’ Affection” … 3:08
8. “Rock an’ Roll Angels” … 4:07
9. “Dancing Girls” … 3:09
10. “Saints an’ Sinners” … 4:22
Band:
David Coverdale – Lead Vocals, Piano, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Bernie Marsden – Guitar
Mel Galley – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mick Moody – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Neil Murray – Bass
Ian Paice – Drums
Jon Lord – Keyboards
Produced by: Martin Birch
Phenomenal release and I’m ashamed it took me so long to own it (though I still think Good to Be Bad is my favorite ‘snake album). Coverdale has always used blues in the band’s music, even into their pop metal era, but man, this is some great bluesy hard rock. And check out Jon Lord on keyboard! I’ve grown to appreciate Deep Purple and their heavy use of the keyboard more over the years, so it’s actually nice to hear it featured prominently here as well. This would be the last Whitesnake album to feature both of Coverdale’s ex-Deep Purple bandmates Ian Paice and Jon Lord (though Lord would continue in the band until ’84).
I’ve never had a problem with the pop-metal version of Whitesnake (though I think Slip of the Tongue was a bit too slick for its own good) and I’ve never had a problem with the bluesier early years either, but you can’t deny the greatness of the old bluesier sound when hearing Saints & Sinners. As great as Coverdale’s voice is, it’s nice to hear him scaling back on the high pitch wailing he used so much on 1987′s Whitesnake and 1989′s Slip of the Tongue.
Of course, it’s no secret “Crying in the Rain” and “Here I Go Again” debuted on this album before getting a pop metal makeover in 1987. This version of “Crying in the Rain” is far and away the better version, it’s full of soul. As for “Here I Go Again”, it’s a nice (original) take on the song, but I prefer the bombastic version the band would later record.
My favorite track is “Dancing Girls”. The riff is great and the chorus is catchy as heck. This should be played right alongside “Girls Girls Girls” in every strip club in America.
I’ve noticed some discrepancies in regards to the contributions of Bernie Marsden and Mel Galley on this album. Most sources I’ve seen say one or the other played guitar (some say Galley only provided backing vocals), but until I get a confirmation either way, I’ll credit both on guitar and as members of the band.
Highlights: “Young Blood”, “Crying in the Rain”, “Here I Go Again”, “Love an’ Affection”, “Rock an ‘Roll Angels”, “Dancing Girls”, “Saints an’ Sinners”
DEEP PURPLE – Perfect Strangers
Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers [Remastered] (1999, Mercury Records)
Original Release: 1984, Mercury Records
1.”Knocking at Your Back Door” … 7:04
2.”Under the Gun” … 4:38
3.”Nobody’s Home” … 3:59
4.”Mean Streak” … 4:21
5.”Perfect Strangers” … 5:28
6.”A Gypsy’s Kiss” … 5:12
7.”Wasted Sunsets” … 3:55
8.”Hungry Daze” … 4:58
9.”Not Responsible” … 4:47
BONUS TRACK
10.”Son of Alerik” … 10:07
Band:
Ian Gillan – Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
Roger Glover – Bass
Jon Lord – Organ, Keyboards
Ian Paice – Drums
Produced by: Deep Purple
I bought this album close to 10 years ago basically just for “Knocking at Your Back Door”. I ended up liking “Perfect Strangers” as well, but quickly disregarded the rest of the album. It was nothing more to me than bad 70s keyboard/organ heavy rock. That was then, this is now and this album rocks!
I’ve become much more easy going when it comes to 70s hard rock/metal acts like Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple (all three of these bands kinda ran in the same circles, didn’t they). After initially passing this album off as an oddity for something released during the 80s, I can now appreciate the “classic” sound Deep Purple brought to this comeback release. In striving to to match their “classic” sound, Deep Purple ended up putting out something in 1984 that didn’t really sound like anything else going on at the time and as much as I love the 80s, that’s really cool of them and it payed off in a big way.
This would be the popular “Mark II” line up of the band making the comeback. Deep Purple hadn’t released an album since 1975 and the Mark II grouping hadn’t released one since 1973. The reunion was a success with the album reaching #6 on the Billboard charts and the subsequent tour selling out. The album went on to go platinum in the States and double platinum in the UK.
The 1999 remastered version features the instrumental bonus track “Son of Alerik” which previously had only been released as a B-side to the “Perfect Strangers” single.
Highlights: “Knocking at Your Back Door”, “Under the Gun”, “Mean Streak”, “Perfect Strangers”, “A Gypsy’s Kiss”, “Wasted Sunsets”, “Hungry Daze”, “Not Responsible”
