Tag Archives: Deep Purple

WHITESNAKE release video for ‘You Fool No One’

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Celebrating 50 years since he joined DEEP PURPLE, David Coverdale (& Whitesnake) have reissued their 2015 album ‘The Purple Album‘ (remastered), as a special Gold edition (That was followed by the 2017 ‘The Purple Tour‘ album…hmm, wow). Not sure that I need this album again, but this track – “You Fool No One” sounds particularly good, with a cool collage of Whitesnake clips together making up the video. The song is updated, and much heavier than the original Deep Purple classic from Burn. Rhino’s 2CD + blu-ray version of this includes a pile of extra takes, and interesting bits like Coverdale’s Deep Purple Audition tape, which is likely most worthwhile to pick up.

Check out the video below. Incidentally, Glenn Hughes has been playing one on his current tour celebrating Deep Purple classics as well. See track-listing and links below.

CD 1:
2023 REMIX
1. Burn
2. Lay Down, Stay Down
3. Love Child
4. Holy Man
5. The Gypsy
6. Lady Double Dealer
7. Might Just Take Your Life
8. Mistreated
9. Stormbringer
10. Sail Away (Interpolating “Elegy For Jon”)
11. You Keep On Moving (featuring The Hook City Strings)
12. Lady Luck
13. Coming Home
14. You Fool No One (Interpolating “Itchy Fingers” Dedicated In Loving Memory Of Jeff Beck)
15. Soldier Of Fortune
 
CD 2: 78:38
THE PURPLE TOUR “FIVE LIVE” 34:48
1. Burn
2. The Gypsy
3. Mistreated
4. You Fool No One
5. Soldier of Fortune 

ALTERNATIVE MIXES
6. Holy Man (Unzipped)
7. Stormbringer (Punch In The Nuts Mix… Joel Hoekstra alt solo)
8. Love Child (Joel Hoekstra alt solo)
9. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings)
10. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring The Hook City Strings)
11. Soldier Of Fortune (instrumental featuring The Hook City Strings)
 
Demos and Audition Tapes (Previously Unreleased)
 
The DC Purple Audition Tape 1972 
featuring The Fabulosa Brothers
12. Everybody’s Talkin’
13. Get Ready
14. Lonely Town Lonely Street
15. Dancing In The Street
16. 1974 DC Demos/Ideas For “Stormbringer” album
 
DISC 3 BLU-RAY
PURPLE MUSIC VIDEOS
1. Lady Double Dealer
2. Stormbringer
3. Sail Away
4. Soldier of Fortune
5. The Gypsy
6. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings)
7. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring The Hook City Strings)
 
PURPLESNAKE VIDEOS
8. Lay Down, Stay Down
9. Holy Man
10. You Keep On Moving
11. You Fool No One
 
LIVE CLIPS
12. Burn (Live “Atlantis” Video)
13. Burn/Stormbringer   (Live In The Still Of The Night)
14. Soldier Of Fortune (Starkers In Tokyo)
 
THE PURPLE TOUR “FIVE LIVE”
15. Burn
16. The Gypsy
17. Mistreated
18. You Fool No One
19. Soldier of Fortune
20. The Purple Album: Behind The Scenes
21. The Purple Album: Song-By-Song

LINKS:

https://store.rhino.com/en/rhino-store/artists/whitesnake/the-purple-album-special-gold-edition-2cd1blu-ray/603497830299.html

https://www.facebook.com/Whitesnake.official

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AVI ROSENFELD latest album ‘Burn The Castle’.

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The latest album from Avi Rosenfeld is out and is very much in the mold of classic Rainbow, featuring a pair of singers – Josa Tamas (from Hungarian bands Divided and Archaic), as well as Deibys Artigas from Spain. There are a number of players from around the globe on this, but it’s Canadian keyboard player David Stone (ex Rainbow, Max Webster) who is the guest star here, and leaves his mark playing Hammond organ & synths on the 10 minute epic “I Believe In The Sunrise”, with Rosenfeld delivering a fairly Blackmore-Rainbow era guitar feel throughout this one. Best cuts include “Down To The Waterline”, “Rock Down The Stage” (featuring Michael T Ross on keys, ex of Angel, currently of Aldo Nova’s band), and the last 2 here – the largely instrumental “Hey Uchnem”, and the excellent classic Rainbow/Purple type rocker “Out Of The Shadows”, dig the vocal, the backing vox, the Hammond organ from Michael Berry throughout this, and the guitar solo courtesy of Wellington Alves.

Enjoyed this album, and I’m sure anyone into classic rock that features Hammond organ will dig this. Cool album cover too – was someone drawing David Stone on this(?) *Check out the press info below, as well as links, and video!

“In the style of Dio, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple …. “Burn The Castle” is tribute to the best Hard Rock and Metal bands of the 70’s and 80’s, Featuring the powerful voices of Josa Tamas and Deibys Artigas. “

“Rainbow’s David Stone is playing Keyboards on one of the songs, another time this dream come true. He wrote “Gates of Babylon” with Ritchie Blackmore, a great honor to have this guy on board.
This albums features the mighty vocals of Josa Tamas and Deibys Artigas, super vocalists with mighty voices that cut through the mix straight into the heart. Together with super musicians from all over the world we recorded this cool album. A tribute to the times when music was real. We gotta keep the torch or Rock alive , Long Live Rock’n’Roll!”

LINKS:
www.facebook.com/AviRosenfeldBand
avirosenfeld.wix.com/avirosenfeldband
www.youtube.com/user/AviRosnfeld
open.spotify.com/artist/3U9C4jmNl3XfbFe6Npao7k

https://avirosenfeld.bandcamp.com/album/burn-the-castle

TRAPEZE – Lost Tapes Vol. 1 to be released

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British band TRAPEZE were perhaps best known as the band that featured musicians who went on to big bands, notably Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Mel Galley (the band’s leader & mainstay – Whitesnake), Dave Holland (Judas Priest), and (later) Peter Goalby (Uriah Heep). Throughout the ’70s TRAPEZE released 6 studio albums, with various line-ups, but the band has seen a resurgence over the last decade or so with the release of archive live releases, CD box sets and compilations. But now we await the release of previously unreleased material from the ’70s on ‘Lost Tapes Vol 1’. 14 tracks from various line-ups of Trapeze later next month, on various formats. *For more info, check out the press release below….

When rock band Trapeze called it a day, they left behind them a series of now classic albums. Their influence on other groups has been immense; individual members themselves going on to join heavy weight rock acts such as Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Judas Priest & Uriah Heep. But their story’s not over, as TRAPEZE – LOST TAPES VOL. 1 will soon reveal!

These are tracks recorded on tour, and either side of album releases; great songs that were stockpiled just never released as the various line-ups hit the ground running, playing live relentlessly; honing their craft while rarely seeing home.

However, guitarist Mel Galley did take those tapes to his elder brother Tom’s house. There, they – as co-writers of many of the band’s best-known songs – would review them, making various decisions that felt right at the time. Mel also had the foresight, to leave them with Tom for safekeeping, so they didn’t get lost.

“One of Mel’s last wishes, before he passed away, was that I’d get together with Trapeze manager Tony Perry and put all these things together,” said Tom Galley, who went onto produce the celebrated Phenomena album series, “And that’s what we’ve done!”

LOST TAPES VOL. 1 is an opportunity to hear Trapeze with all the primal energy of young men stretching out; demonstrating there was even more untapped potential between the musicians involved than had hitherto been imagined.

Smashing the doors open across America by pioneering a heavy funk rock sound that would later be taken up by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Extreme and others, back in the 70s Glenn Hughes (Vocals, bass), Mel Galley (Guitar, vocals) & Dave Holland (Drums) barely had time to catch their breath while stepping into studios to lay down several unique songs that you’ll find on this collection, as well as tracks later recorded at Garage Studios in the UK during their 90s reformation.

Strident hard rocker ‘Breakdown’ comes from that latter period. “This features Glenn singing – His voice is one of the wonders of the world!” Tom remarked, and it truly is, the song sounding immensely fresh and contemporary even today. From the same period, with ‘Don’t Let Them Push You’, it’s a case of “More cowbell!” and Mel’s guitar weaving tirelessly with him also taking lead vocals.

On the trio’s older tracks, with songs like ‘Bad Kid From School’ and ‘Enough Is Enough’, it’s their classic sound you’ll relish hearing afresh. “I was able to get that funky heavy rock sound out of those old tapes – And that’s what I call the Trapeze style!” With various co-writing tracks from that period recovered, Tom also noted how ‘Catching Up On You’ had ”started off as an instrumental but they decided to add vocals.”

These tracks embrace both powder-kegged bravado performances as well as the band’s more nuanced emotional side – With nothing off limits as the musicians involved can be heard exploring their potential both collectively and as individuals. Powerful with deft time changes, tinged with subtly or bleeding out ferociously; belting rockers find them surging forward as one only for a propulsive rhythmic heartbeat to take hold over which solos soar.

Initially a five-piece patronized by The Moody Blues, even as that line-up fractured, Galley, Holland and original keyboard player Terry Rowley went into 10cc’s recording studios and some of those songs will also see the light of day for the very first time on this record. “Destiny’ and ‘Lights Of Tokyo’ were songs that were overlooked and never ended up on an album,” recalled Tom. Important pathfinders on the band’s journey they pre-empt the heavier rock & progressive sounds that the band would find acclaim with, beginning with 1970’s Medusa album.

Following Hughes’ joining Deep Purple, Mel Galley took the helm; both singing and playing guitar, while bringing in bass player Pete Wright and second guitarist Rob Kendrick. This was their 1974 Billboard charting Hot Wire era, finding them particularly prolific laying down tracks in studios like Island in the years either side. ‘Going Home’ is a fiery arena-ready alternative rendition of that album’s classic pinpointing exactly why The Rolling Stones had Trapeze open for them back then.

From a little later we get ‘So In Love’. ”If you listen to ‘Chances’ on the second self-titled Trapeze album; it’s So In Love with different lyrics, sung by Glenn, and Mel sings this, ”we’re told of a more melodic number. Likewise, ‘Lover finds the guitarist in particularly good form on vocals. Blending funk rock with a little soul, this so should have been a single, back in those days when music crossed the airwaves without fear of genre-boundaries, and only good taste mattered.

When Kendrick joined Budgie, Pete Goalby came forward and stepped up to the mic; oozing impressive vocal charisma and allowing Galley a chance to ease his voice. From that late ’70s golden patch we get the mainstream appeal of ‘You’ve Got It’ and ‘Who Do You Run To’ while on ‘Cool Water’ it’s slick, funky with a blues rock edge that’s sat somewhere in between The James Gang and Little Feat in their prime. “Mel wrote and sang on an original version, but this is a version with him and Pete both singing. It also had Terry Rowley on keyboards,” recalled Tom, noting the ongoing bonds between former members, before astutely noting in conclusion:

“This collection of recordings show not only how good the various line-ups were, but capture the passion and excitement of the creation of the songs themselves.”

Never a band who stood still. These recordings are often paths less taken. Had time, circumstances and other opportunities not proved otherwise we can only imagine what heights Trapeze would have reached… As listeners will discover, LOST TAPES VOL. 1, features Trapeze songs as classy as any on their previous rock album releases, with some likely to become classics still!

TRACK LISTING:
Cool Water
Lover
Breakdown
Don’t Let Them Push You
Destiny
Lights Of Tokyo
So In Love
Bad Kid From School
Catching Up On You
Do You Understand
Enough Is Enough
You’ve Got It
Who Do You Run To
Going Home 

LINKS:

http://www.metalville.de

https://www.facebook.com/Metalville

https://www.facebook.com/groups/melgalleytrapeze

Avi Rosenfeld: Very Heep Very Purple XIV

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The latest installment of Avi Rosefield’s Very Heepy Very Purple is out. The Israeli guitarist/songwriter is on volume 14 in his series of classic rock albums, heavily influenced by Uriah Heep & Deep Purple, among other great bands. X!V features 10 new tracks, as well as an impressive list of guests from such bands as Savatage, Bonfire, and Jag Panzer.

The lead off track “I Got A Riff” has a very Deep Purple sound and feel to it, like it would’ve made a cool opener to an early Gillan era album; great vocals courtesy of Hadi Kiani (Deaton Lemay Project). The 2nd track, “Fire And Ice” is equally as good, featuring Damond Jiniya (Dead Dark Slide, Savatage), though I can’t help but notice that sounds remarkably like an Iron Maiden song. “The Mass Grave” offers up something unique, a ballad, featuring Stefano Stex Sbrignadello (Great Master) on vocals, and violin from Sanja Smileska Mihajlovski .

But without rambling on about every track, this is a solid album of music, not a bun track here, and it should suit classic hard-rock/heavy prog fans. Other highlights being “Asteroids”, which is heavy on the Hammond organ courtesy of Michael Berry, making this one reminiscent of Rainbow, and like many others here is given a classy Blackmore-sound influenced solo. As well check out the closing track “Black Rocks”, featuring Harry ‘The Tyrant’ Conlin (Titan Force, Jag Panzer), and some Heep-like harmonies. If you like that familiarity of certain bands, from a certain era – you may want to dig in to this and this whole series. *Check out the links below for more info and ordering…

Links:

https://avirosenfeld.wixsite.com/avirosenfeldband

https://avirosenfeld.bandcamp.com/album/very-heepy-very-purple-xiv

https://www.facebook.com/AviRosenfeldBand

Album of the Day: DEEP PURPLE’s Slaves and Masters

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I recently watched the Now Spinning Magazine show (podcast) with Phil Aston and Martin Popoff discussing their favorite Deep Purple albums, and which inspired me to take out a few DP albums I hadn’t listened to in a while, including this one – Slaves and Masters, from late 1990. I remember how big the Purple reunion was in the mid ’80s, and how good Perfect Strangers was, and beyond the first single from House Of Blue Light, I quickly lost interest (wasn’t a fan at the time). Eventually it was announced that Joe Lynn Turner was the new singer for Deep Purple, after press articles that Jimi Jamison (Survivor) and Terry Brock (Strangeways) would be the new singer. Jamison had a new Survivor album out around the time, and was pressured by shady management not to take the Purple gig. Anyone who’s heard Jamison’s pre-Survivor albums with Target and Cobra might agree he would’ve been an excellent choice. Anyway, former Rainbow singer JL Turner was brought in, presumably at Ritchie Blackmore’s insistence, and I recall a UK music mag headline that read (something like) ‘Grown Men Wept Openly...’ upon announcing the news. Now, I wasn’t a big Purple fan then, and I liked the string of Rainbow radio hits with JLT in the early ’80s, so I wasn’t as upset, though in retrospect Slaves And Masters really made Purple more like Rainbow (an American radio friendly band) than what Purple was known for. But, I did like the first single “King Of Dreams”, which got plenty of radio play at the time, and I recall picking up the album new off the rack at Poptones in Niagara Falls! I played it a lot, especially side 1 – “King Of Dreams”, “The Cut Runs Deep”, “Fire In The Basement” were really good tracks (still are), that I dug right away. “Fire In The Basement” with that killer riff, kinda trying to be a next generation “Smoke On The Water” (without the story)! Heck, each track had a memorable intro. “Fortune Teller” was good as well, though a bit softer.

Side 2 carried on with a more AOR approach, less impressive IMO, but still included a few favorites like “Truth Hurts” and the more hard -rockin’ “Wicked Ways”. It also contained the ballad/single “Love Conquers All”, not a bad song, but out of place on a Deep Purple album (for me), as well as “Too Much Is Not Enough”, a track originally penned for JLT’s solo follow up to 1985’s Rescue You. The 12 inch single version for “Love Conquers All” also featured the non-LP “Slow Down Sister”. This one was produced by Roger Glover, a very ’80s radio friendly production, full of different keyboard sounds, no really lengthy or overly heavy songs (aside from maybe “Fire In The Basement”). And as much as I like this album overall, enjoyable listening, I think what it is missing is that one killer track like say “Knockin’ At Your Back Door” (thou’ the first 2 cuts come close). Even the album’s cover-art, though preferable for me to the previous few, screamed ’80s hard-rock.

Slaves And Masters didn’t live up to record company expectations, and a follow up with this line-up was dropped as the record company wanted Ian Gillan back in for the band’s 25th Anniversary, and the follow up The Battle Rages On. I gotta say I wasn’t crazy about that one either, so Slaves And Masters, tho’ not perfect, I enjoyed more than the one before and after it.

GLENN HUGHES to perform classic Deep Purple live – Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Burn with UK Tour

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Former DEEP PURPLE bass player, and these days of The DEAD DAISIES, will be undertaking a UK tour in October to celebrate Deep Purple’s 1974 album Burn.

Burn was the first of 3 studio albums Hughes was on while with Deep Purple, as well as new frontman David Coverdale. It would be their most successful of the 3, as it landed in the top 10 in most countries, including #1 in Germany & Austria, #3 in the UK, and #7 in Canada. The title track that kicked off the album is arguably the best album opener in the Deep Purple catalogue. The song was used in the movie Almost Famous, and has been covered numerous times, notably by Riot, Jorn Lande, and WASP. Burn also featured the single “Might Just Take Your Life”, as well as favorites “Sail Away” and epic “Mistreated”.

Glenn Hughes’ band will feature Soren Andersen (guitar), Ash Sheehan (drums) and Bob Fridzema (keyboards). The set will also include songs from the 2 albums that came after Burn with Hughes’ – Stormbringer and Come Taste The Band.

For more info, check out below from the press release, as well as tour dates!

GLENN HUGHES PERFORMS CLASSIC DEEP PURPLE LIVE
CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF “BURN”

Planet Rock’s 48-hour ticket pre-sale starts 10am on Tuesday 21 February 2023 VIA WWW.PLANETROCK.COM

Tickets on general sale at 10am Thursday 23 February 2023 from – WWW.THEGIGCARTEL.COM

Glenn Hughes, the former bassist, and singer of Deep Purple, known to millions as the ‘Voice of Rock’, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is pleased to announce, ‘Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple Live – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the album BURN’ October 2023 UK tour.

*Special guest on all UK shows is Canadian rock and roll band, The Damn Truth.

‘It was 50 years ago, in the summer of 1973, that the BURN album by Deep Purple was written at Clearwell Castle in the Forest of Dean Gloucestershire,” reminisces Glenn. “It was recorded in October in Montreux, Switzerland.”

Continues Hughes, “We all became one in this centuries old castle in the UK countryside, it felt like Deep were a new band, with David (Coverdale) and I as new members, we couldn’t wait to start working on new songs. The atmosphere was electric, in such amazing surroundings.” 

“All the songs on BURN were written in the crypt/dungeon, underneath the great hall. We worked on a new song every day, and we were in the flow. Musically we would play, and work out ideas, and David and I would come up with vocal melodies that would later have lyrics. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“As you could imagine, Ritchie Blackmore was in full prankster mode, Jon had warned me, and he rigged my room one night with a speaker that was hidden, and had ghostly voices delivered to my bedside.”

“The title track was the last song to be written. We came back from the pub, and went down into the crypt, and magic happened.”

Concludes Hughes, “It’s time to celebrate BURN, and I’m really looking forward to seeing you.”

DEEP PURPLE – THE STORY BEHIND “BURN”

“BURN” is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, written and recorded in 1973, and released in February 1974. The album was the first to feature then-unknown David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes, from Trapeze, on bass and vocals.

The album was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, in November 1973, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. With the addition of David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, Deep Purple’s hard rock sound incorporated elements of soul and funk, which would become much more prominent on the follow-up album, “Stormbringer.”

In 2004 “BURN” was remastered and released with bonus tracks. Coronarias Redig was recorded during the “BURN” recording sessions, used only as a B-side for the Might Just Take Your Life single in 1974. It appears as a bonus track (in remixed form) on the anniversary edition re-release. The 2004 remix version of “BURN” was later used in “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.”

In 2005 an unauthorised documentary about the album was produced as part of “The Ultimate Critical Review” series. It featured brand new interview with the original Deep Purple Mk III bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes.

Lead single “Might Just Take Your Life,” released 4 March, was Deep Purple’s first UK single in two years.

The phenomenal title track started things off at full throttle and challenged the seminal “Highway Star” for the honour of best opener to any Deep Purple album, while showcasing the always impressive drumming of Ian Paice. The fantastic slow-boiling blues of “Mistreated’s” greatness qualifies it for the highest echelons of hard rock achievement, and therefore ranks as an essential item in the discography of any self-respecting music fan.

LINKS:

http://www.glennhughes.com

https://www.facebook.com/glennhughesonline

https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-song-on-deep-purples-burn-ranked-from-worst-to-best

*Photos of Glenn Hughes by Eric Duvet

Snakecharmer – Anthology, 4-CD Box Set Feat. former members of Whitesnake, Wishbone Ash, & Thunder

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British Hard Rock Supergroup Snakecharmer Anthology 4-CD Box Set Feat. Former Members of Whitesnake, Wishbone Ash, and Thunder Available for Pre-order

An awesome line-up of veteran British rockers, Snakecharmer put out 2 albums in 2013 and 2017. Both albums are full of British classic rock ala early Whitesnake, Bad Company, and the other respective bands some of these guys were a part of. Really, just excellent British rock, as you’d expect Founding member and original Whitesnake guitarist Micky Moody left after the first album to be replaced by Simon McBride, a much younger player who has recently been named the new permanent guitarist for Deep Purple! This 4-disc set comes with bonus tracks, as well as 2 live shows recorded a year apart, featuring the band’s own favorites, as well as a number of Whitesnake classics. *Check out the press info below, track-listing, and links below!

British hard rock supergroup Snakecharmer was formed in 2013 by former members of Whitesnake, Wishbone Ash, and Thunder.

The resulting line-up is a veritable who’s-who of classic hard rock: Vocalist Chris Ousey (Heartland), Guitarist Laurie Wisefield (Home/ Wishbone Ash), Drummer Harry James (Thunder/ Magnum), and Keyboardist Adam Wakeman (Ozzy Osbourne) Guitarist Micky Moody (Whitesnake)

Given the band’s pedigree, it was inevitable that the music would sound like good-time, classic melodic hard rock with a blues edge, their eponymous debut was released in 2013 by Frontiers. The response from fans and critics alike was rapturous, and the band toured to wide acclaim.

In 2015, Moody left the band, replaced by young Irish-born virtuoso Simon McBride (now of Deep Purple). Snakecharmer’s follow up album, Second Skin, arrived in 2017.

This 4-CD box set collects the bands two studio albums as well as two live shows from Milton Keynes which show the band at work in a live environment, the booklet has notes by Classic Rocks Dave Ling talking to the band about their career as well as newly mastered studio albums done by Tony Dixon.

Featuring:
Chris Ousey – Vocals
Simon McBride – Guitar
Laurie Wisefield – Guitar
Adam Wakeman – Keyboards
Neil Murray – Bass
Harry James – Drums
Micky Moody – Guitar

Track list:
DISC ONE: Snakecharmer
My Angel
Accident Prone
To The Rescue
Falling Leaves
A Little Rock & Roll
Turn Of the Screw
Smoking Gun
Stand Up
Guilty As Charged
Nothing To Lose
Cover Me in You
BONUS TRACKS
White Boy Blues
A Breath Away – Japan Only Bonus Track

DISC TWO: Second Skin
Sounds Like a Plan
That Kind of Love
Are You Ready to Fly?
Follow Me Under
I’ll Take You as You Are
Hell Of a Way to Live
Fade Away
Dress It Up
Punching Above My Weight
Forgive And Forget
Where Do We Go from Here?
BONUS TRACK
On My Way – Japan Only Bonus Track

DISC THREE:  Live at The Stables, Milton Keynes 26/01/2014
Guilty As Charged
A Little Rock & Roll
Ready An’ Willing
Accident Prone
Walking In the Shadow of The Blues
Falling Leaves
Moody’s Blues
Slow An’ Easy
My Angel
[Band Introductions]
Cover Me in You
Nothing To Lose
Here I Go Again
Fool For Your Loving

DISC FOUR: Live at The Stables, Milton Keynes 17/01/2015
Intro.
Guilty As Charged
A Little Rock & Roll
Ready An’ Willing
Cover Me in You
Accident Prone
Falling Leaves
Walking In the Shadow of The Blues
My Angel
Moody’s Blues
Slow An’ Easy
Nothing To Lose
Here I Go Again
Take Me with You
Fool For Your Loving

To pre-order: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/snakecharmer-snakecharmer-anthology-4cd-box-set/

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/QEDG.snakecharmer/

AVI ROSENFELD : Latest in Very Heepy Very Purple series out now.

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Very Heepy Very Purple XIII is the latest in Avi Rosenfeld’s series of original hard rock influenced by …..Uriah Heep and Deep Purple! Rosenfeld, born in 1980, is from Netany, Israel and has 63 albums to his credit (tho he says it may be 64 by the time I publish this article!). The 2 bands that Avi sites as his favorites are obviously noticeable throughout this album – there’s harmonies, Hammond organ, various keyboards, and plenty of hooks and solos sounding like Blackmore was his major guitar influence. But there’s more than just a Heep/Purple combo thing going on here -lead off track “Icarus Dream” starts off with a symphonic rock keys and piano before the riff [band] kick in, which sounds fairly Iron Maiden, but the song quickly progresses with harmonies, lead vocals, some Hammond organ in the mix, … a good lead off track. There’s bits of blues, symphonic rock, even a bit of an Indian inspired intro on the non-lyric track “Nigun”. Fave cuts include “Silver Shines” [gotta love when the Blackmore-type solo kicks in and it all speeds up], the fast paced “Knights Of The Castle” [Rainbow?], and “Marching To Nowhere”.

Avi Rosenfeld writes all the music & lyrics here, and works with a number of players and different singers on this album, presumably through online connections. He also plays some great guitar throughout. Cool album artwork, as it seems to be with all of Avi’s releases. Very Heep Very Purple – sounds like an interesting series I’ll need to check out further. Avi notes of the album – “Heavy Metal is the cure for these crazy times that we live in. This is another chapter in the Very Heepy Very Purple saga with influences from times where music at its best and played from the heart.
From times where people actually had patience to listen and waited for the cool guitar solo, or even to the end of the song. From times where you could hold up the cover art and imagine the sounds and feelings. Times where every power chord made you move, and every note had a meaning..”

You can listen to the album and order Avi Rosenfeld’s albums at > https://avirosenfeld.bandcamp.com/

*Avi has also since released a new solo album titled 40 Years On The Road

Additional links:

https://avirosenfeld.wixsite.com/avirosenfeldband?fbclid=IwAR1VA9JVAwfhLY_WinV-oNcCcmg9XFhdDY9Ei6ifLYE706jVDOrEoz-Tlv0

https://www.facebook.com/AviRosenfeldBand

https://www.youtube.com/user/AviRosnfeld

Kaasin – Fired Up

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As expected with the associations guitarist Jo Henning Kaasin has [see bio below], this has a definite Deep Purple / Rainbow influence. The lead off track “We Are One” is pretty close to Rainbow’s “Spotlight Kid”, with that opening riff, and fast tempo; good song, very familiar. Elsewhere it’s a good set of guitar rockers, and strong vocals from Jan Thore Grefstad [who’s recorded albums with Highland Glory and Saint Daemon]. He suits this Purple/Rainbow direction quite well. Love the variety of tunes here, from the heavy epic “Revelation” [pretty cool organ in there too], to more ’80s type rockers like “Chain Of Love” and “Carry On”, to the album’s lone acoustic ballad “Shades Of Yesterday”, possibly the best cut here [great guitar break and vocal].

Debut album from hardrock band KAASIN.
KAASIN was founded by guitarist, Jo Henning Kaasin, who, in the past has collaborated with with Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple/Rainbow), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple/Black Sabbath), Doogie White (Rainbow/Michael Schenker), and Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake), Kaasin was a founding member, guitarist and songwriter with Come Taste The Band, who began as a Deep Purple tribute band, and released their lone album of original material in 2019, which featured guest appearances from JL Turner and Doogie White. CTTB was put on ice in January 2020 and JH Kaasin, then went on to form his own band, simply called KAASIN. He recruited his cousin, Staale Kaasin from Spider and 2020 Vision, to handle bass. The band also features the Norwegian singer, Jan Thore Grefstad, known for his incredible vocal duties with SAINT Deamon, Highland Glory and TNT. KAASIN also includes Benjamin Dehli on Hammond organ/analog synth and Chris Brush on drums.

KAASIN released two singles “Runaway Train” and “Revelation” on Streampeak Music in 2020. Both have been a great success, streaming in thousands on Spotify, Youtube, iTunes, and other download/streaming services. “Runaway Train” also went Top 10 on rock radio stations in France, the UK, Sweden and Norway.
KAASIN released a third single, “Hidden” on Pride & Joy Music in July 2021, (i.e.the first single from the upcoming album, Fired Up).

The CD version of this release contains last year’s two digital singles, “Runaway Train” and “Revelation” as bonus tracks.
KAASIN – Melodic hardrock in the tradition of the great bands from the seventies and early eighties.

Track list: 1. We Are One, 2. Hidden, 3. The Smoking Gun, 4. Carry On, 5. Shades Of Yesterday, 6. Walking
Downwards, 7. Chain Of Love, 8. Wrong, 9. Inside Out, 10. Revelation (CD bonus track), 11. Runaway Train (CD
bonus track)

Recorded and engineered in JUKE JOINT STUDIO, Notodden – Norway and at DEHLI MUSIKK, Bø in Telemark. Produced by Benjamin Dehli, Halvor Halvorsen & KAASIN


http://www.facebook.com/kaasinmusic
http://www.instagram.com/kaasin_music

*For fans of: Come Taste The Band, Rainbow, Deep Purple…

KJ, 10/’21

Stefan Berggren – These Are The Times : Interview

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After years of recording with bands such as Snakes In Paradise and Razorback, as well as playing alongside Whitesnake alumni in The Company Of Snakes & M3, as well as The Don Airey Band, Swedish singer/songwriter/guitarist and producer Stefan Berggren has just released his 2nd solo album in 5 years. These Are The Times is a solid collection of blues rock songs, including the first track released “Wild Flowers” [featuring Don Airey of Deep Purple], “Superman”, the heavier “Burning Burning”, as well as lighter moments “Lost At Sea” and the country-sounding “New York” [complete with fiddle]. Love the title track as well, which is closer to old Whitesnake or Purple. Well worth checking out.

Below is my recent exchange with Stefan, discussing his new album, his other more recent projects, his time in New York and the late Lee Kerslake, *Also check out the links below!

First, how have you been doing during CoVid lockdowns? Keeping busy with new projects or non-music stuff?

I been working hard  on my solo album; I am so happy that I made it. There is always a sense of achievement when it’s finished. I decided already in 2019 that I was going to work on new original material the whole 2020. So the pandemic has been good for that.  But there’s absolutely nothing to do, no gigs. I believe I had the last gig on earth. My band played the last gig November 23, 2020.

(2) Stefan Berggren – Stranger In A Strangeland (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube [from 2016’s Stranger In A Strangeland]


Last time we connected was upon release of the album you did with Lee Kerslake. These Are The Times is your 2nd solo album since then, and you also did another Snakes In Paradise album[?] in 2018 [first one in 16 years]. Can you talk briefly about these 2 albums?


My first solo album Stranger in a Strangeland was ready before BKB. I put that [solo album] on hold when I met Lee, because we wrote some good songs together and we knew Lee’s time was limited. I am very proud of the BKB album. Afterwards, Lee became more and more ill so I decided to focus on my solo album. I had Bernie Marsden over to Stockholm a couple of times; he laid down guitars on 2 tracks – “Coming Home” and “Long Gone Down The Road.” All of the guests on the album are friends, musos I met along the road and enjoyed playing with — Neil Murray from Company Of Snakes and M3 played bass on one song. Snakes In Paradise did one gig at Rock Weekend in Stockholm, as the Promotor gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse 🙂 After the show I sent a song to Serafino at Frontiers; he liked what he heard and offered a deal immediately. It was a difficult and complicated recording as we all live very far apart. We might do one last album with Snakes In Paradise and do some farewell gigs for our fans. Our old songs have taken a life of their own.

May be an image of Stefan Berggren, standing, musical instrument and outerwear
rom Stefan Berggren Music Page, [fb]



When was the new album written & recorded? 

I started to record These Are The Times in 2018, so it was written and recorded  between autumn 2018-2020. The reason it has taken time is I played  gigs all over, all the time – to pay the bills 🙂

Grand Jam is your own studio / recording company !? Have you worked [produced ] many other acts?


Yes, I had my own studio since the ’90s. But now I mostly produce my own stuff; there is no time for anything else, really.

(2) STEFAN BERGGREN – Wild Flowers Feat Don Airey (Official Music Video) – YouTube

You’ve worked with Don Airey in the past. He adds a lot of sound to the lead off track “Wild Flowers“.  Can you tell me how that particular track came together, with Don?


I was thinking of having the Don guesting on my album as we played many shows together. He always plays like a beast, so “Wild Flowers” was a perfect fit for him. It turned out so well. I almost did just a keyboard and vocal mix, without bass and drums.. We’ll see 🙂 

One track that stands out is “New York“, as it’s such a different sounding track here – very almost blue-grass or country sounding. Can you tell me a bit about how that song came about and the ideas or influences that went in to it? 

I did a rock opera with Corky Laing (Mountain) in New York, ”Playing God” was it’s name. We played it at Kaye Playhouse, on Park Avenue. I stayed for 3 weeks in New York both in Green Port, Long Island &  at the hotel – The New Yorker. The lyrics are about my experiences and observations I had, for example – sitting on a bench in Central Park watching people on their way – walking or jogging, (while having a drinky). New York is special, everyone wants to be a star. Stephen Bentley-Klein plays fantastic fiddle on it, to get the Pogues & Bob Dylan vibes. Believe me I played plenty of Irish bars to be able to do it authentic 🙂

There is a lot of good blues based rock on These Are The Times.  Can you talk a bit about your own sound / direction as a solo artist, where as many years ago you’d started with ‘metal’ acts like Razorback and One Cent, and have covered a lot of musical ground over the years with various recordings and live bands.

I always try to capture the sound that is going on around me. But sometimes I just had to pay the bills. I never sing a song that  I don’t like – that’s a rule I have. Nowadays I just play my own Root Rock. And what’s relevant for me.
As for my sound – I use analog hardware gear such as my Rupert Neve5060 a analog 24/2 mixer as mothership. Plus Neve 1073dpx Neve 8801 and universal audio 6176 plus neve master buss processor, Polar stereo VCA compressor. Real drums, Fender, Martin & Gibson guitars and Neuman mics m149, a vintage 1969 u87 plus more .😎 cool stuff gives a warm, fat sound.

Any antidotes or inspirations on some of the riffs, recordings, or lyrics? 

Little Angel – I see myself driving a old Cadillac through America.
Superman – Just good blues > Pomma bass & Johannes Nordell kills it  on the drums. Very groovy. I play a Les Paul.  
These Are The Times – was written before the pandemic; 2019 was a great year for me, I was in a good flow. Now with the vaccine I’m hoping for better days. So it’s starting to be a high time with the release of the album.  Joakim Svalberg (Opeth) plays fantastic  keys! Happy – I was in a good mood, on a sunny day 😎

(2) SNAKES IN PARADISE “Pretending Hearts” – YouTube

This album also has a vinyl edition. Curious if you’re much of a collector and what you prefer to listen to at home? 

I got my old vinyl collection and Stig Carlsson (genius) vintage speakers – it sounds great! These days I put on an old vinyl album when I’m cooking or having  a glass of wine. Right now I’m listening to Queen Innuendo, then maybe Rick Rubin’s albums with Johnny Cash – Fantastic sounds!

Regarding The Sun Has Gone Hazy album you did with Lee Kerslake – I thought it was a really good album, but deserved more attention than it got.  I am curious what might be leftover from those recordings [songs, edits, video]  And if you might consider getting it reissued with anything extra, possibly even on vinyl?  


Thanks! I think it would be great on vinyl, but it is really expensive to print vinyl. I have some leftover takes and ideas, picture films. If I can sell pre-orders to cover the cost, it could be a good idea. The sound on The Sun Has Gone Hazy is big, fat and warm, just the way I like it. Both Lee and I were very happy with it.

(3) LEE KERSLAKE & STEFAN BERGGREN “As Time Goes By – YouTube


Did you have much contact with Lee in later years or hear any of his solo project?

Yeah ,a couple of months before he died, Lee had heard I was really ill with Covid 19 (double sided pneumonia), So he phoned me up and was worried. We had long nice chat. so it was a good closure. It hit me hard when he died. We spent a couple a years playing and writing together. I am proud to call him my buddy. He had to do his solo album, I liked it a lot! “Port And A Brandy” and “You’ve Got A Friend” are my favorites.


Also, I gotta ask – you performed 2 shows fronting Uriah Heep a few years back. How did your name come up for that and how did you like that show? Any favorite Heep tracks you particularly enjoyed doing? 

Heep played on the same bill I did with Don Airey at Bilzen Rock in Belguim. They watched the gig from the side and liked the voice. The opportunity came up when Bernie had to have an operation. They snooped around and asked if I was a cool dude; they all said I was a keeper. I did 2 shows with them. Rosenheim, Germany, and one in  Sibiu, Transylvania. Great Band and chaps! My favorite songs are “Bird Of Prey”, “July Morning”, “Easy Livin'” and “Sunrise.”

Stefan Berggren Music Page updated their website address.
from Stefan Berggren Music Page [fb]

 
What other projects do you have in the works? Any band or solo things being written or recorded in the near future? With Covid restricting live shows, would you consider doing a live webcast [?] performance of some of the new album to promote it? 

I was hoping doing shows this summer with these songs; we’ll see. In the worst case scenario I may go live on Facebook 😉 There will be gigs, it’s just a matter of time. My focus right now is with my solo band; I’ve got some heavy boys playing – watch out! If the right offer comes along I am willing to jump on the train. I will put in time to promote the album, slow but steady.

Stefan Berggren – Official webpage

(3) STEFAN BERGGREN TV – YouTube

(3) Stefan Berggren Music Page | Facebook

(3) Stefan Berggren Is My Guest, Vocalist, Guitarist, Whitesnake Affiliated, Snakes In Paradise and Solo – YouTube

Stefan Berggren Interview (travellersintime.com) [my 2014 interview with Stefan upon release of The Sun Has Gone Hazy album.

KJJ, 03/21