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Quite simply the best group of musicians together on the planet today. I challenge anyone to find a better musician in his or her respective position individually, yet alone together. Is there a better drummer than Paice alive today? Has there ever been a better Organ player than Jon Lord? Glover is such a credit to the profession in what he's done as a musician and as a producer and by the way he's carried himself over the years. Morse is a guitar virtuoso of the highest calibre who does not seem to suffer from the same afflictions as his contemporaries. As he seems quite down to earth he does not appear to have an over inflated ego or feel the need to bore the crowds senseless with overly long guitar solo's to prove how wonderful he is. His solo's are truly enjoyable as they both show his amazing talent & skill whilst being fun at the same time, & I love his references to classic rock songs. And as for Gillan, he quite simply is the quintessential rock vocalist of all time. Even when he's ill, he still puts all others to shame, and although he obviously wasn't 100% on this night, I didn't feel that it detracted from the performance. I was in the south balcony and it sounded fantastic up there. Now, not only are these five musicians arguably the best at what they do, but they're together and playing as a tight, well oiled, machine, although machine may be inaccurate because with all the duelling solo's and improvisation, it's more like a living, breathing entity.
I first saw Purple at the Guildhall in Portsmouth back in 96 and I was blown away by their power. I was at the front and when they did Fireball & Roger Glover's bass kicked in I thought it was the heaviest thing I'd ever heard/felt/experienced (& I'd seen Pantera doing 'F**king Hostile' at Brixton 2 years previously). But the difference with Purple is their power does not come from aggression or shouting, by hammering at their instruments or turning their equipment up until your ear's bleed. Their power comes from their superior technique, musicianship, song writing ability (and turning their equipment up until your ear's bleed!). Purple were one of the best bands I'd ever seen in 96, when they came out to play I saw the odd grey hair and Gillan had a bit of a belly, but when they played all I saw was the best live band ever. In 2002, there's a few more grey hair's but Gillan looks in great shape (I could see no belly), and when they play I hear a band that is even better than that of 96. It would be a crime if these men stopped touring and deprived the world of the best live act on the planet.
My only disappointment arose from one of my personal favourites (Fireball) being absent from the set, but as they have so many classics some were bound to be missing (no Child In Time or Strange Kind Of Woman). All in all this was an amazing performance and one I could go on about for ages, so I'll shut up now, but just one question, where does Ian Gillan get his trousers from?
Over Twenty five years since one of the biggest selling albums of all time, 1977�s Rumours, the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up (minus retired singer/song writer/keyboard player Christine McVie) are back on the road in support of the their new album, Say You Will, their first together since 1987�s Tango in the Night (although different line-ups recorded two albums in the nineties), and because lead guitarist and front-man Lindsey Buckingham left the band after that album was recorded and before they were able to tour in support of it, this is actually their first full tour (as the 1997 reunion tour only encompassed America) together in nearly 20 years!
Strange then that within seconds of the first song starting it seems like they�ve never been apart and it could almost be 1977 (even though I was only a year old!) as The Chain sounded as good now as it did when they recorded it all those years ago, if not better! Although I initially questioned the wisdom of starting a set with one of their best songs (save the best for last and all that) and one of my personal favourites (the last part of which is better known to some of the less well informed as the old Formula 1 theme). The choice was a suitably evocative number packed full of power and emotion which helped set the tone for rest of the evening, and as this concert was advertised as �An Evening with Fleetwood Mac� (meaning no support act, just the main band doing a huge set) it promised to be packed with all of their best moments. Next up was another song from Rumours, the Stevie Nicks sung Dreams, which although covered by The Corrs in the late nineties, still proved that original is best. After Man of the World from 82�s Mirage album, we�re played the first song from the new album, Peacekeeper, which sounded great, before we�re given another Rumours classic, Second Hand News with Buckingham & Nicks seemingly having a great time singing lines like �Won't you lay me down in tall grass and let me do my stuff� to each other.
Then we�re played the title track from the new album, Say You Will which really demands to be a single, before we go back to Rumours yet again for Never Going Back Again (obviously they weren�t thinking of playing material from this album when they penned this track!). Next up was Rhiannon from the bands eponymous self titled album from �75, then another new one, the Buckingham penned Come. Back to �82 with Nick�s singing Gypsy before we get the first and only song from �87�s Tango in the Night, with Buckingham doing a solo acoustic version of Big Love which sounded awesome.
This part of the evening seemed like an opportunity for individuals to showcase their talents, because next up Nicks sang Landslide which really allowed her voice to shine through, and as she and Buckingham swapped harmonies whilst looking at one another it seemed hard to believe that these two still don�t have very deep feelings for one another, but then that�s all part of what makes this band so fascinating. Back to the present with two more new songs, Say Goodbye and the catchy What�s the World Coming To?, then back to �79 with Beautiful Child, the first song from the album Tusk. Back to �77 with Nicks singing a haunting version of Gold Dust Woman, complete with lighting effects that turn all of Earls Court gold, then further back with I�m So Affraid from �75.
Next we�re played Silver Springs, a track that was omitted from Rumours due to the time constraints of vinyl. We then get a storming version of the title track from Tusk with the horn section on the song giving it a very impressive sound live. Nicks then does Stand Back from her 1983 solo album The Wild Heart, before the set is closed with the classic Go Your Own Way from Rumours.
After a short break the band emerge once more to start the encore with World Turning from �75, which turns into a solo spot with Mick running all around the stage with a drum under his arm beckoning to the audience in asking �are you with me?�, backed up by a man he called his secret weapon on percussion, this truly whipped the crowd up and no one could ever fault half of the bands namesake for his energy or enthusiasm that belied his age. To finish proceedings the band launched into what many of them consider to be their anthem, Don�t Stop from Rumours (where else?), and on the evidence presented by the four musicians here, not of course forgetting the other half of the bands namesake, John McVie on Bass, plus all the other supporting musicians, I truly hope they don�t stop anytime soon. I�ve read there was a second encore with Goodbye Baby from the new album, but I�d departed by this point more than satisfied with the two and a half hour show.
Minor disappointments aside, such as the absence of songs like Little Lies, Everywhere, & Seven Wonders, which I�m sure was due to Christine McVie no longer being in the band, I can�t really fault the set, and in a way I�m glad those songs were not included as I would not want to hear them sung by anyone else. The bulk of the material, with eight songs if you include Silver Springs, was from Rumours. Hardly surprising considering it is one of the biggest selling albums of all time with something like nineteen million copies sold pushing it past multi-platinum to diamond status, and I�m in no way complaining as there isn�t a bad song on it and there was a good balance to the set. Four were from Fleetwood Mac�s 1975 self titled album. Two were from �79�s Tusk. Another two were from �82�s Mirage, surprisingly only one was played from �87�s Tango in the Night, and six were played from the latest album Say You Will, which with Nick�s solo song Stand Back amounted to a gargantuan twenty four song set. Without question Fleetwood Mac are one of the greatest bands of all time with or without the soap opera of their personal lives and as I learnt on this evening they are one of the greatest live acts as well, long may they continue.
Well, they�re back, and not only back, but back to their best! Without doubt the classic line-up of Iron Maiden, although not the original, is the one that recorded the No. 1 album The Number of the Beast circa 1982. Although this was the bands 3rd album it was the 1st to feature Bruce Dickinson on vocals and the 2nd with Adrian Smith on guitar (drummer Nicko McBrain replaced Clive Burr shortly afterwards in 1983). This line up recorded five classic studio albums culminating with 1988�s No. 1 album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (not coincidentally their 7th album) and an ill fated headlining spot at the Donington �Monsters of Rock� festival in which two people died in a crush during Guns N� Roses set earlier that day. Smith then left the band in 1990 and the band recorded two more albums with Janick Gers as replacement on guitar before Bruce left in 1993. Skip forwards past two more albums with Blaze Bailey on vocals to early 1999 and Smith & Dickinson rejoin the band and become a six piece with three guitarists for the 1st time (as there was no reason for Janick to leave) to re-establish the classic line up once more! They record and release Brave New World in 2000 and after a triumphant tour here we find ourselves in 2003 with that line up still together and touring in support of a new album (Maiden�s 13th spookily enough) called Dance of Death that went to No. 2 earlier in the year. So that�s the history lesson, how was the gig?
Well, this was the only 2nd time I�d seen Maiden, the 1st being back in October �98 when Blaze was still with them, which must have been one of his last gigs with the band (although we didn�t know that at the time) as he parted ways with the group shortly after the tour ended. I thoroughly enjoyed that gig as it was the first time I�d seen Maiden live and I thought they sounded great with Blaze although I had not seen them with Bruce to be able to make a comparison and that gig was at the Portsmouth Guildhall which hardly compares with the size or volume of Earls Court. Obviously having now seen the band at a bigger venue where they were really able to pump up the wattage and have a full stage set based on the new album cover, the first gig simply cannot compare.
Maiden kicked of the set with their recent No. 6 hit single Wildest Dreams before dipping in to their vast back catalogue with classics like Wrathchild, Can I Play With Madness, & The Trooper all sounding fantastic with Bruce in fine voice. They then returned to the new album with the title track Dance of Death and even though this was the first time I�d heard the song I was suitably impressed by the acoustic intro, the power of the song, but most of all Bruce�s energy! My god! I cannot believe this man is in his mid-forties, he never stopped running around the stage, which was by no means small with stairs and platforms either side, none the less he ran up and down those stairs like a hamster on speed. He even incorporated several costume changes with masquerade masks, and grim reaper cloaks. What with these antics and the combination of Murray, Smith, Gers, & Harris doing Status Quo style guitar movements, it was all unashamedly cheesy, but in this day and age it was truly refreshing to see a band really going for it in such an unpretentious way, and they all seemed to be having such a good time that you couldn�t help but get caught up in it all. It was just great to see a live show with all the theatrics (giant Eddie included of course) and no apologies for any of it that what was once old seemed new once more. Having now seen Bruce I�m able to make the comparison between him and Blaze and I feel sympathy for the latter as no matter how good he may have been I just don�t see how anyone could compete with the mans energy or ability, Bruce is Maiden, like Ozzy is Sabbath, or Gillan is Purple, and no one, no matter how good, is ever going to be able to fully replace them.
Next the band go into three more new ones to me, the new single Rainmaker a suitably catchy number with the triple guitar harmonies in full effect, Brave New World from their 2000 album of the same name which was instantly likeable, and Paschendale a heavy eight minute plus epic, although by this point I was feeling a little overwhelmed by new material and was longing for something a little more familiar. Totally my own fault of course for not buying the new album beforehand, a mistake I have since rectified. Next up was Lord of the Flies a �95 number from the Blaze era, although it didn�t sound out of place here, then my favourite track from the new album was played, No More Lies another thundering progressive epic with a great intro, catchy chorus, and excellent guitar flourishes all other the place. On first listen I was instantly hooked to the point that, as I said, I quickly went out and bought the new album soon afterwards, and upon further listening I was even more convinced (not that I needed any more encouragement). To close the set we were brought back into more familiar territory with Hallowed Be Thy Name, Fear of the Dark, & of course Iron Maiden all sounding as brilliant as ever and whipping the crowd into a suitable frenzy as they chanted for the encore.
We weren�t left waiting for long before Maiden were back with another new song Journeyman, the last song on the new album with an instantly catchy chorus, I was initially surprised that everyone around me seemed to know every word, but by the end of the song it was obvious why. To climax the proceedings the band delved back once more to give us two more classics, Run to the Hills and The Number of the Beast both from the latter�s album of the same name. With a set like this they simply couldn�t fail and although there were six songs from the new album that I initially didn�t know, I was impressed enough to want the new album afterwards, and there was a good balance between new and old, seven classics from the eighties, seven from this millennium, and I only counted two from the nineties. After all this isn�t a �best of� nostalgia tour and its great to see an all time classic band doing what they do best and doing it better than ever!
Ever got home from work feeling tired then realised with dread that you have a gig to go to? I found myself in that situation before this gig and it's a testament to the present incarnation of Whitesnake that I had such an awesome time. Coverdale knows how to work an audience so even non-fans would soon be eating out of his... hand! DC jokes with the crowd, shows them respect and appreciates it in return. A prime example of what a front-man should be with an incredible voice and at 51 years young he may be the best in the business. In fact the entire band was excellent, everything played sounded perfect and it's hard to believe they haven't been together for years. More importantly they genuinely seemed to be having a good time, which is infectious for everyone. Hopefully they'll stick together, record some new material and tour again. I even enjoyed the guitar and drum solo's as both were entertaining and not too long. The set was well chosen also, admittedly the bulk of it is from 1987, but it did sell over 10 million in the U.S. alone, so what do you expect? I'd have liked to have heard stuff like Lovehunter and Don't Break My Heart Again. But you can't have everything and it was a joy to hear classic's such as Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues which sounded every bit as good as it did on the Marsden-Moody era Live... In The Heart Of The City album from 1980, and were obviously included especially for the English tour. Other songs from the vaults, such as Sailing Ships, were included via acapella versions by DC. All in all a superb evening!
I may have lost count of the amount of times I�ve seen Purple now. I know I first saw them at The Portsmouth Guildhall on the �Purpendicular� tour in �96 and was suitably impressed (even if big Ian was carrying a bit of extra weight). I saw them next at The Brighton centre in 2002 after their concerto tour (I remember they played �Fools�). I then saw them again in Portsmouth on Jon Lord�s farewell tour (this may have been late 2002). I saw them in Brighton again in 2004 on the �Bananas� tour (they played �Knockin� at Your Back Door�). So this may have been the 5th time I�ve seen them (although I may have lost one somewhere, memory not being what it once was). The point is they always leave me wanting to come back for more, and there aren�t many other bands I�d say that about. This may have been the best I�ve seen them play, but I�m conscious of the fact they always leave me feeling that way. This may also be the loudest I�ve heard them play which is saying something. Starting the set with �Pictures of Home� is a great choice as it serves to introduce the whole band with Paice�s drum intro, solo�s not only from guitar & organ, but also Roger�s bass. I don�t think Ian Gillan has ever sounded better (he also looks slimmer every time I see him). He managed to hit the high notes of �Into the Fire� with no difficulty at all (whilst still sounding soulful during �When a Blind Man Cries�). They did a slightly different arrangement of �Strange Kind of Woman� that gave it a slower, jazzier feel, not sure I approve but good to see them trying new things. Steve Morse�s guitar solo was very subtle with lots of emotion and was a highlight of the set. This was the first time my wife had seen the band & commented on how much she enjoyed the guitar solo (although she said she could have done without Don�s organ solo, but that was more to do with volume). We also found the lights to be a bit blinding in places but that could have been due to our being sat up in the balcony. Another highlight of the set was the re-introduction of �The Battle Rages On� sounding fresh despite not having been played for the better part of a decade. Perhaps this is the reason Deep Purple have managed to maintain their level of excellence over the years, they always manage to sound so much better than any other band. Maybe because they�ve been playing together so long, they're getting better with age (like a fine wine). Other bands should take note!