1283. AC/DC / Stiff Upper Lip. 2000. 2/5

AC/DC. Kings of the world. Certainly, they had built their brand up wonderfully over the 25 years they had been recording and releasing albums, being able to move on from tragedy and behind the scenes troubles to create a market that not only wanted but NEEDED the band and its material.
Even in the 1990’s, the decade where music had morphed into so many different varieties of metal and grunge and hard rock and alternative, AC/DC managed to stay relevant. 1995’s “Ballbreaker” had still performed exceptionally well despite the time period it was released in, and the demand for concert tickets never ebbed during this decade. And as the turn of the century approached it felt as though that may never change.
Indeed, the preparation for the follow up to “Ballbreaker” occurred much earlier than may have been expected. Malcolm and Angus Young actually began writing new material for a new album as far back as mid-1997 when they were based in London and the Netherlands, mostly with Malcolm on guitar and Angus bashing away on the drums. Some may have thought this superfluous, that a drum machine could have done the same job, but there you go. After eight months the brothers had a dozen songs completed. When it came to recording the album, the Youngs’ had decided to fall back on producer Bruce Fairbairn to helm the controls. Fairbairn had been the produced on the extremely successful 1990 album “The Razor’s Edge” as well as the follow up live album titled simply “AC/DC Live”. However, his schedule meant that there was some waiting time required to secure his services, and then tragically he passed away in May of 1999 before the two had ever entered the studio. Instead, the band fell back upon a familiar face and known quantity in George Young, elder brother of both Malcolm and Angus. George of course had been co-producer of the band's earliest albums alongside his former band mate Harry Vanda. On this occasion however, George was producing on his own, no doubt with his brothers looking over his shoulder. Brian Johnson was one who commented that he felt that the recording of the album was far more streamlined with just George at the console.
The album was recorded and mixed at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, Canada between September and November 1999. The band recorded 18 songs in total, from which they eventually chose 12 to go on the album. From all reports the recording went smoothly, with Cliff Williams saying in an interview on VH1's Behind the Music in 2000, "It's a killer album. It was a very easy-to-record album in as much as Malcolm and Angus had everything ready to go, so we basically just had to come along and perform as best we could."

20 years on from their massive breakthrough album with “Back in Black”, Brian Johnson’s first outing with the band, there was the hope that AC/DC could produce something that came close to matching its impact. Perhaps that was pressure that was misplaced. Including that album, this would be the band’s eighth album with Johnson on lead vocals recorded over that 20-year period. In contrast, Bon Scott had helmed six albums in a five-year period. As a comparison, it had been five years between the release of “Ballbreaker” and “The Razor’s Edge”, and five years again between “Ballbreaker” and “Stiff Upper Lip”. Angus would turn 45 a month after this album’s release. Malcolm had just turned 47. Brian was 52, Cliff 50 and Phil 46. Looking back now, it is somewhat hard to believe they were this young when this album was released. They were theoretically still in their prime, though obviously at a point of their careers where they were able to feel comfortable with whatever material they wanted to write and record.
It’s a new century, and it is the same old AC/DC. Or is it? The songs on this album from the very start are what naysayers of the band’s music claim has been happening since time immemorial. That rhythm, that solid timing structure that is a hallmark of AC/DC’s music, is there from the start. The difference that actually punctuates the music here from their most recent albums “Ballbreaker” and “The Razors Edge” is that it for the most part noticeably slower in tempo throughout. And while this plays a part in making you believe there is also less energy in the tracks because this tempo has dropped, it is noticeable that those energy levels are missing from quite a bit of this album. Where do you actually hear it? Well, pretty much in the songs that were released as singles. Those three songs are the title track and opening number “Stiff Upper Lip” and “Safe in New York City”. This doesn’t necessarily make them the best songs, because a lot of this album suffers from very real ageing problems.
“Stiff Upper Lip” offers you what you would expect from an opening track on an AC/DC album that is also the lead single from the album. Well, with the possible exception of an AC/DC hook that gets you in and grabs your attention. It’s a rumbling track but without any real fireworks. “Meltdown” follows but doesn’t really live up to the title of the track at all. It is a slightly harder tempo than the opening track, where the final thirty seconds of the track is the hardest part about it. “House of Jazz” harks back to the sound and tempo of a couple of songs from that afore-mentioned “Back in Black” album, specifically “Let Me Put My Love into You”. The tempo, the way the lyrics are sung, almost the music itself, could almost have been drawn from that song and the sound of a couple of other tracks like that. Am I the only one who has picked up on that? I’m not sure, but the similarities are there. “Hold Me Back” on the other hand reminds me of “The Razor’s Edge” in places, with a change in style for the drum beat by Phil Rudd all through the track, and Malcolm’s rhythm guitar mirroring that era. It’s a mix up of styles through this part of the album that doesn’t stop here.
“Safe in New York City’ is just... a strange song, though it fits the calibrations that are set by the band on this album. The rhythm sets its mark, Angus does his pieces over the top when it is appropriate, and Brian sings his vocals, the populist piece being an oft-repeated tome of the title of the track as the so-called chorus of the song. Phil Rudd’s faster 4/4 drumming actually sets the song up nicely to give them a platform to really explode out of the blocks with song, but it never really reaches that point and is mor restrained that it probably should have been. “Can’t Stand Still” reactivates the more blues rock direction this album takes. Even Brian’s vocals draw from the blues even more than you would expect, and with a rare Malcolm Young solo interjection which sounds just like a blues guitarist riffing off the rhythm and vocals in an old blues basement night club. The morbid like tempo continues into the interestingly titled “Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll”, because this isn’t the kind of slow death show that rock ‘n’ roll was known for. Rock and roll is supposed to be uptempo and vibrant, not settled into a death march from which this song barely struggles out of at any point. Look, the feel of the song sounds great, Brian’s vocals are terrific, and the others play their parts well. And there is no denying the band has played tracks like this all through their existence. So perhaps I’m the one out of order here. It wouldn’t be the first time. “Satellite Blues” tries to get the bounce of the album back out of the quicksand. This was the third and final single released from the album, which suggests why the tempo here is an improvement of some of the songs that have come before it. It is toe tapping, but is it any more than that?
“Damned” has that standard AC/DC beat that the fans are after, with the rhythm of bass and guitar grafted on, as Brian and Angus do their thing in their designated areas. Then “Come and Get It” feels as though it should be a breakout track, one that hits roof tempo wise again and brings the album back to life. Instead, it is the same dreary tempo, deep diving into the blues riff and just clomping along like someone wearing concrete shoes. While there are several moments on this album that feel as though they would benefit from a more active and engaging song, they all end up like this.
“All Screwed Up” is the longest song on the album at a little over four and a half minutes, and surprisingly feels like it. It drags on too long, and that could well be because the standard rhythm that backs the song, along with a standard Angus guitar fill and Brian lyrical vocal delivery, just gets too much if it goes on longer than three and a half minutes. Or is it because by the time you get to this point of the album you thin maybe it is time for something different. That could also have occurred far earlier than this. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, with the arrival of the closing track “Give it Up”, which finally delivers more of what a casual or even middling fan of the band would be looking for. Energy! Tempo! Energy from the whole band! Yes, it did take some time, but finally the final track on the album delivers something that everyone can enjoy and at least gives the album an ending that is worth waiting for.

Have you ever gotten the feeling that a band has just put out an album for the hell of it? That they just felt it was time that they did some new material and threw it out there? There’s no doubt that in the case of “Stiff Upper Lip”, that is NOT the case. The writing, planning and recording of the album came together over a 2+ year period, so the planning could not have been more thorough. But as mentioned earlier, there was a five year period between their previous album and this one – and it was to be another 8 years until their next album “Black Ice” surfaced. It has become more the norm over the years to have such gaps in releasing albums, as file sharing became more prevalent and the way to make money was no longer from album sales but concert ticket sales and merchandise.
However, even for AC/DC, this is as formula driven song writing as you can come up with. It's very laid back, there's no speed in the music to speak of, and while it sounds great coming through the speakers of headphones with big thumping drums and guitar riffs, it just doesn't have the drive that the best AC/DC albums have. It is missing key ingredients, ones that were either being sifted out over time, or that the band decided, with the changing landscape of the music world and their place in it, that they just didn’t need. I think it was a mistake. No doubt all of the songs would sound better live, but here on the album they mostly seem to drag out well beyond necessary with the available lyrics in each song. And it is probably fair to say that as with all of AC/DC through the years, they don't actually have a bad album. Some are far better than others.
I didn’t have this album when it was released. The purse strings were tight in 2000 when my lovely wife and I were back living with my parents as we tried to save for our first home, and this was not a priority. I knew the singles and was not overawed by them, and the album was on repeat in the car of a good mate of mine whenever he drove me to and from cricket which we played together. So I knew it. I just didn’t feel I needed to own it. Eventually down the track I found a second-hand CD of the album which is the copy I still own today.
That CD has been out again for the last few days, along with having it playing at work. And as always, it is not unpleasant. It is AC/DC after all, and their style is pretty much etched in stone. It’s just that there are a lot more dead spots on this album than there are on others in their discography. The biggest fans of the band won’t hear them, they will probably just hear what they like and like it all. I’m slightly more discerning than that, which comes from being a fan of the band for so long, and having a love affair with albums much earlier in the catalogue. And though of the 17 albums in the band’s discography I rank this at #17 it should not allow you to think this is a worthless album. It is however an average album. I saw AC/DC for the fourth and final time on this tour in 2001. I had seen them three times previous to this, all from the front row of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and had decided that for me that would be good enough. Then my friend I mentioned earlier who had this album in his car said he had a spare ticket, and would I like to come. I thought, well, I wonder what they sound like from the middle section of the complex, and agreed. It wasn’t until we were on our way to the gig that I asked where we were sitting. “Front row!” my friend informed me enthusiastically, which is why I have seen this awesome bands four times from the front row. And they were still great on this tour. It was the last time they played in smaller venues before reverting to stadiums, and they still knew how to deliver. Why wouldn’t they? They are AC/DC after all.

1282. Led Zeppelin / Physical Graffiti. 1975. 2.5/5

In 1973, Led Zeppelin released their fifth studio album, “Houses of the Holy”, an album that deviated from what had come before in their catalogue to include further improvisation and experimentation with the use of synthesisers and mellotron orchestration. The result of this was... worldwide acclaim... as if they hadn’t already become used to this kind of reception. The album topped charts worldwide, and the subsequent tour of North America in 1973 broke attendance records, including the one show record of over 56,000 people in Tampa Bay which outstripped the previous best held by The Beatles. Three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City were filmed for a motion picture, which was released as “The Song Remains the Same” in 1976. On the back of all of this, the band decided to take a break from touring in 1974 and instead launched their own record label called Swan Song.
It wasn’t until the end of 1974 that the band reunited and began to look at writing songs for the follow up album. They returned to the site of the writing and recording of their fourth studio album, Headley Grange in Hampshire. It was during these sessions that Jimmy Page and John Bonham recorded an instrumental track that would eventually become the basis of the song “Kashmir”, one of the band best known songs. However, these sessions ground to a halt far quicker than expected, and the band left the premises. At the time the press reported that the abrupt end had come because of an illness to John Paul Jones. Eventually the truth came out, which was that Jones had become disillusioned with the group as a whole and touring in particular and was reevaluating whether he wanted to remain in the band. He told their manager that he was considering quitting, who then asked him to reconsider his decision and instead take another two months off in order to rest and come back with a clear head. There was no guarantee that this was going to happen, but come the start of the new year, Jones returned.
The four members of Led Zeppelin were back at Headley Grange in January and February 1974, where they recorded eight tracks. Lead singer Robert Plant in later interviews referred to these eight tracks as "the belters,". The reason that the band had returned to Headley Grange was because of the informal atmosphere that the property held for them, which allowed the group to improvise and develop material while they were recording. It was very much a group writing experience, with songs played and rehearsed together before sitting down and discussing the elements that could be improved or left out altogether. Drummer John Bonham became a driving force at the sessions, regularly suggesting ideas or the best ways in which a complicated arrangement could be played successfully. It led to a feeling during this time of the album being the concept of the whole group rather than a patchwork of individuals and their individual songs.
The eight songs composed and recorded here extended beyond the length of a conventional album, almost spanning three sides of an LP, which led to the band deciding that they would create a double album, rather than trying to edit out songs they had already written. To do this, they delved back to material that they had recorded during other albums that had not been used or released at that time. These were re-recorded for the new album, which stretched the release time out further. On top of this, despite hoping to release the album at the end of 1974, further delays meant that it finally saw the light of day in February of 1975, some 16 months after the iitial sessions had begun.What the music listening world wanted to know however, was whether the wait was going to be worth it?...

The album kicks off with the heavy thunder of 'Custard Pie', a statement opener that is packed with Jimmy Page riffing on guitar and those hard thumping Joh Bonham drums. Lyrically there’s plenty here that reminds you of a latter day Whitesnake attribution from David Coverdale with innuendo and double entendre gathering momentum. Page’s guitar solo is a beauty, while the requisite harmonica from Plant doesn’t disappoint. A great opening to the album. Further goodness comes in the form of “The Rover” which is the first of the older tracks, originally written as an acoustic track as early as 1970 and messed around with several times since then before landing here on “Physical Graffiti”. It has a great rhythm and guitar riff throughout, nicely driven by the bass underneath from John Paul Jones and Bonham’s driving drumming. Some overdubbing of guitars was done here, but it isn’t noticeable that it came from different album sessions than this one.
“In My Time of Dying” is a long blues extension, another of those traditional old blues songs that Led Zeppelin would borrow from and then from that make their own song out of it. Now while it was mostly done live in the studio, and is considered one of the defining tracks on the album, there are those people out there who would have a drawing problem with the length of the track. At just over 11 minutes in length it does test the patience of the casual listener. There are some good pieces within the framework of the song but it does draw out towards infinity in places.
“Houses of the Holy” kicks starts side two of the double album and was initially written and recorded for the previous album which carried the same name. Apparently, the reason it wasn’t used for that album was because of its similarity to other songs already crafted. It is a benefit to this album that it was available, as it is one of the better songs here. That same similar style is also prevalent on “Trampled Underfoot”, a song which John Paul Jones openly admits was inspired by Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition'. The clavinet gives the song a bouncy funky feel, with Bonham instrumental in rearranging the originally composed track to give a more upbeat style rather than the soul sound it first inhabited.
One of the most recognisable riffs in music history is follows with the epic and truly wonderful 'Kashmir'. Full of that eastern music direction that brings in the mellotron alongside the strings and brass sections and the basic attention grabbing rhythm of the band itself, this is a song that barely fails to deliver, a song that touches nerves and sends tingles down the spine listening to even, even today so many years on. It is arguably the band’s finest moment, combining everything they had brought to the table up to this point of their careers, and doubling down to create a song with such atmosphere and depth of feeling that it is hard to dismiss.
The second LP of this release probably does not live up to the excellence of the first LP. “In the Light” is very much the accomplishment of John Paul Jones. He takes the lead on the song, wrote most of it and plays some tremendous keyboards and synthesizer throughout. His influence was so great on the song that although Robert Plant wanted to play it live, Jones refused, saying he couldn't recreate the synth effects outside a studio environment. Interestingly, Jimmy Page has also stated that it is his favourite song from the album. It is another 8 minutes plus song on the album, and one that does split the fan base because of its tendency to overstay its welcome. The short instrumental 'Bron-Y-Aur' follows and is a standard acoustic workout for Page. “Down by the Seaside” was originally an acoustic track and was recorded for the fourth album but left off. It may have been considered too similar to 'Going To California' and would likely have received more recognition had it been included on that album. “Ten Years Gone” features a great vocal from Plant and multiple guitar tracks from Page. While the song barely gets out of second gear at any point of the track, it still has a creation of all four main instruments. Then comes “Night Flight” which was another track initially recorded at the sessions for the fourth album and also has the feel of that album. Once again, there is a noted similarity to songs that were performed on that album, which perhaps explains why it was left over until this album. The harder and more likely tempo returns with “The Wanton Song”, a song that has more similar tones that Led Zeppelin of the past have harped on, and with more in common with bands such as Deep Purple and Rainbow of that period.
Then... what the hell is “Boogie with Stu” doing on this album? For the life of me, if you wanted to add tracks and are using unused recording sessions from previous albums, surely there would be something better than this? Not only this, but it was also a jam session with former Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian Stewart, and based around the tune of a Richie Valens song “Ooh my Head” (which the band then failed to credit on the album, which once again saw the band in court).
"Black Country Woman” was recorded outside in Mick Jagger's garden, hence the talk of aeroplanes at the beginning and was initially recorded for inclusion on the “Houses of the Holy” album, but eventually found its way onto this album. And the album closes with 'Sick Again' which runs along a similar vein to the album opener, with slide guitar and changes in tempo that combines with the sometimes rampant drums and guitar that collide on their way out of the speakers. It comes across as an intermittent closure to the album, and one that is a topic of discussion amongst the bigger fan base.

My enjoyment of Led Zeppelin’s catalogue is still a work in progress. They were not a band I picked up on early, either pre-metal or post-metal eras of my music listening life. My parents didn’t listen to them, nor any of my parents friends that I can think of. By the latter days of high school, I certainly knew the band and their most well-known dozen songs, but the albums were very much a mystery to me. I bought the “Remasters” collection when it was released in 1990 and loved it – still do – but even then, I didn’t track back to find and buy or listen to their albums. “Remasters” was all I needed.
Eventually of course I could put it off no longer. If I was to continue to a music education that I hoped would give me the most well-rounded music life I could lead, I knew I had to master the Led Zeppelin discography. So, I slowly began to collect the albums on CD and listen to them and decide for myself whether they were for me or not. And overall, I have enjoyed their music and albums. Sure, for me, most of the albums have half great songs and half... less than that... but they still continue to grow on me the older I get.
My main memories of when I first listened to “Physical Graffiti” is that it was too long, and that some of the songs dragged on for far longer than was necessary. In the main, I’m sure this was why when I had listened to it at that time and then put it back on my shelves, that it didn’t seem to get chosen to come back out again very often. If at all. Indeed, it is quite possible that I have not played my copy of the album since that time, though I have heard it at other locations since. And having pulled it back off my shelves again a month ago in preparation for this album review episode, I would say it would be accurate that I have listened to it more in that past few weeks than I have for the rest of my life prior to that.
My opinion on the album now is pretty much the same as I thought when I first got the album. Why did it have to be a double album? To my ears at least, this could comfortably have been pared down to just enough songs to satisfy a single album release. Seriously, if you are going to trawl through songs you have already rejected for previous albums, you just don’t have enough new material worthwhile. There are songs here that aren’t up to the standard you would expect, and others that are fabulous. I know the band felt they had eight great tracks from their sessions in early 1974, and didn’t want to leave off any of them. And perhaps in including the older tracks we got some good songs we may never have done so without this eventual album. I’m no musician or songwriter, but as a music enthusiast there are songs here that could have done with some pruning and other that could have been lopped off altogether.
"Physical Graffiti" has been referred to as Led Zeppelin's best album in some quarters. For me, it doesn’t rate better than the five albums that came before this one. Maybe some of that is a close call. There are some obviously brilliant songs on this album, but another couple or so that don’t rate anywhere near the quality you’d expect. I’m sure long time Led Zeppelin fans are already throwing things at their listening devices. You just can’t please everyone all the time.

1281. Deep Purple / In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra. 2000. 4/5

Back in 1969, at the time that the Mark I lineup of Deep Purple had given way to the Mark II era of the band, keyboardist and founding member of the band Jon Lord had completed his pet project “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”, the music composed by Lord with lyrics written by new lead singer Ian Gillan. It was recorded and released in December 1969, and while it did not have much success in the US, it gave the band’s reputation a huge boost in their native UK, just as they were about to release the legendary first album of the Mark II lineup, “Deep Purple in Rock”. However, the original score for the concerto was lost in 1970, and it was feared that it would never be performed again, as the band began ascending the hard rock and metal path that took them to stardom.
Fast forward to 1999, and Jon Lord was piqued into action by a meeting with a Dutch fan of the band named Marco de Goeij, who was also a musicologist and composer. In the mid-1990s, while writing an article about the original “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”, De Goeij learned that the musical score for the concerto had been missing since it was last performed in 1970. He then actually set about the painstaking task of reconstructing the score by listening to CD recordings and watching videos of live performances. When Deep Purple were performing in the Netherlands in 1998, de Goeij presented his work to Jon Lord. From here the two of them continued to refine and finish the score until it was completed.
From here, Lord decided that the band had to once again perform this live, and he elected to have the band perform it once more at the Royal Albert Hall, but this time with the London Symphony Orchestra rather than the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and with Paul Mann as conductor rather than Malcolm Arnold. He and the band then also decided to make it a true performance, with featured songs from each member's solo careers played during the performance, as well as a short Deep Purple set, and including special guests to help out with the solo pieces, with guest musicians such as Ronnie James Dio, the Steve Morse Band, and Sam Brown. The performance took place and was recorded on 25–26 September 1999 at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the London Symphony Orchestra and released on 8 February 2000 on DVD and CD.

The first two songs of the album are Jon Lord compositions from his 1998 solo album “Pictured Within”. The first song, also titled “Pictured Within” is beautifully performed and sung by Miller Anderson. Lord’s piano work on this track is amazing, and it is just a beautiful song, so distant from what Deep Purple do, and yet so synonymous with his work on the keyboards. It is just magnificent. Then comes “Wait a While” featuring Sam Brown on vocals, which is just as poignant and beautifully performed. Even as I listened to this album over the last week, I found myself wondering why I haven’t sought out this album – Lord’s album – to listen to. I will be rectifying that in the coming days. Both of these tracks, and their vocalists, are truly wonderful. Beautiful.
The next two songs I have been well familiar with. For Roger Glover’s section, he decided to perform two songs from his own project from 1974, “The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast”, something he hoped to turn into a musical and full blown event that never quite came to pass. However, here, he invited Ronnie James Dio to come and perform the two songs he sang on for the album in the role of Froggy – “Sitting in a Dream” and the wonderful “Love is All”. And they are both just sensational here with the symphony backing the band as well. Dio, as always, delivers in style, and both songs are as joyous as they are on the original album.
Then comes two tracks from Ian Gillan and his solo expeditions. The first track is “Via Miami” off the “Accidently on Purpose” album that he and Roger Glover released in 1988. Glover actually played all instruments on the original album while Gillan sang vocals and played his favourite harmonica. The version here is a more upbeat bluesy version with the horns from the symphony dominating in the foreground. His other song is “That’s Why God is Singing the Blues” from his third solo album “Dreamcatcher” in 1997. It was written by Dave Corbett, and as the title suggests is based in the real blues of the 40’s and 50’s.
Three more songs finish off the first CD of this two disc album. The first of those is Steve Morse’s contribution, a song from his days with his previous band the Dixie Dregs called “Take it Off the Top” from their second album “What If” from 1978. It is an instrumental that utilises the talents of then-current members Dave LaRue on bass and Rod Morganstein on drums. The last two songs are classic Deep Purple tracks that get a great backing from the symphony. First is the wonderful instrumental “Wring That Neck” from 1968’s “The Book of Taliesyn” which gets a great round of applause from the crowd in attendance, and then a stirring version of the “Machine Head” classic “Pictures of Home” another awesome version, and the first CD closes out in style.
The ”Concerto for Group and Orchestra” itself opens up CD 2. I think it is fabulous. Combining the Orchestra and the band in different points of view, at different moments throughout the three movements of the performance, is fantastic. There are moments where it is just the orchestra, moments where the band takes the lead, and then the moments where it all combines into a wonderful cacophony of instruments. Trying to describe it would be futile. Suffice to say that it is something worth sitting down and listening to. And it does need to be done in the home, through the stereo, and taking in the magnificence of it all. And while it may be sacrilegious to suggest this, I really believe Steve Morse’s performance on guitar outstrips that of Ritchie Blackmore on the original recording of 1969. Of course, the technology is better now but I really believe Morse’s guitar here is a standout. I haven’t added any of those three movements to this episode, because they are all lengthy. But I do recommend you get out there and listen to it, because it is well worth your time doing so.
Once this is completed, the band and their partners then bring forth three songs from their most recent albums – the terrific “Ted the Mechanic” from the “Purpendicular” album, the haunting “Watching the Sky” from the “Abandon” album, and the brilliant “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” from the “Purpendicular” album as well. All three are fabulous, sound wonderful and are a joy to hear in this environment.
The final song, as ever, is “Smoke on the Water”, one where they invite Ronnie James Dio on stage to help sing. The CD version has no problems, but it is interesting on the DVD version where Dio obviously forgets the lyrics to Deep Purple’s most famous song, and one he must have experienced many times when he was in Elf when they supported Deep Purple on many tours. Embarrassing? Not really, but a little funny all the same. And when Gillan lets the crowd sing the chorus on their own, it makes it all worthwhile.

I’ve never owned a copy of the original 1969 “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”. I’ve heard it plenty of times and generally have concentrated on the other songs that are done as a part of it. The concerto for me was never something I was particularly interested in having. I mean, in this day and age, if I find it on vinyl for a reasonable price, I will certainly buy it, but I don’t have the urge to go out there and find it.
When this album was released, I was back home in Kiama after five years living in Sydney, living with my parents and not earning a whole lot of money, so I didn’t get this when it was released. It wasn’t until closer to the end of the year that I decided to pick it up when I was far more financially viable, and it wasn’t so much for the concerto itself, it was for the additional pieces that came as a part of the album. And yes, those major parts included Ronnie James Dio. I enjoy the two songs from the Butterfly Ball and laugh during his attempt to sing “Smoke on the Water”. But Gillan’s solo songs are also great, and then you have those Deep Purple classics, firstly “Wring That Neck” and the wonderful “Pictures of Home”, and then the newer songs “Watching the Sky”, “Ted the Mechanic” and the marvellous “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming”. All are terrific and are well performed with the symphony orchestra filling the gaps behind them. And the concerto itself? Yeah, it’s fine. If you put it on the stereo and have it going in the background while you are doing something else, you will find it is a well performed piece. It’s just that if you want to listen to Deep Purple you are going to go for the real stuff.
The concerto was performed a few more times over the next 12-18 months, and not long after this in February 2002, Jon Lord left the band he helped to create, in order to prioritise other musical avenues that he wanted to pursue. He said subsequently, "Leaving Deep Purple was just as traumatic as I had always suspected it would be and more so – if you see what I mean". That direction was the classical and orchestral direction, one that he followed with renew passion until his passing in 2012. And this album provides a lasting memory and tribute to not only the combined work of the members of Deep Purple, but of Jon Lord’s genius in being able to compose such a concerto, and yet be intimately involved in the writing and playing of some of the most memorable hard rock and heavy tracks of the 1970’s, both sides of which are still influenced by this today.