History doesn’t like to talk about it much, but when Deep Purple first replaced Ian Gillan with an unknown, self-described singing salesman named David Coverdale, a lot of their fans – not to mention the media – were deeply, darkly, sceptical.
Nobody, the assembled wisdom of the age insisted, could ever hope to match the lung-searing, throat-tearing, range roving power of Gillan, least of all someone who was best-known among the cognoscenti for having opened for Purple back in 1969, with a forgotten band called The Government!
But Coverdale, came, he saw and he conquered, and “Burn,” the title track of his first album with the band, still blazes with the new energy and fresh dimensions he brought into Deep Purple, as his former Whitesnake bandmate, guitarist Doug Aldrich, explains. “Burn,” after all, is a song with which he is long familiar, and he recalls, “Playing ‘Burn’ with David Coverdale or [bassist] Glenn Hughes was always a great jam.”
And this new version, peeling off the upcoming Purple Storm Deep Purple tribute album, “was equally enjoyable to play on.”
With Bob Daisley and Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow), Jonathan Cain (Journey), and fast-rising goth metal superstars 616 all on board, Aldrich continues “I have been extremely fortunate to work with some of the Deep Purple and Rainbow members during my time….that family tree is pretty legendary!”
And, while he admits, “No one can play [guitar] like Richie Blackmore,” he is adamant. “I always do my best to treat his music with the ultimate respect.”
And “Burn” is respectful, even as this remarkable line-up indelibly stamps its own identity over both sound and vision – the accompanying video is everything a song titled “Burn” should be, and the riff… that riff… still scorches the flesh from a thousand yards.
Purple Storm releases on November 13, on CD, digital and a beautiful purple vinyl double album.
But let’s leave the final words to Doug. “God bless Blackmore!”
CD/VINYL: https://cleorecs.com/search?q=purple+storm
DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/purplestorm
Track listing
- Highway Star – Derek Sherinian, Billy Sheehan, Chris Adler, Girish Pradhan, Gus G
- Smoke On The Water – George Lynch, Derek Sherinian, Vinny Appice, Graham Bonnet, Joe Bouchard
- Space Truckin’ – L.A. Guns
- Child In Time – Chris Holmes, Alan Davey, Jürgen Engler, Ronnie Romero, Jonathan Cain, Fred Aching Rios
- Perfect Strangers – Pat Travers, Jordan Rudess, Greyson Nekrutman, Oni Logan, Tony Campos
- Woman From Tokyo – Angel
- Burn – Doug Aldrich, Bob Daisley, 616, Jonathan Cain, Bobby Rondinelli
- Hush – Arthur Brown, Alan Davey, Joel Hoekstra, Carmine Appice, Chris Lietz
- Fireball – Marc Lopes, Steve Di Giorgio, Simon Wright, Charlie Parra del Riego, Claudio Pesavento
- Speed King – Thor, Derek Sherinian, Chris Poland, Marc Lopes, David Ellefson, Fred Aching Rios, Brandon Ellis
- Black Night – Rick Wakeman, Bernie Shaw, Bob Daisley, Mick Box, Simon Phillips
- Stormbringer – Jason McMaster, Marty Friedman, Rudy Sarzo, Claudio Pesavento, Brian Tichy
