In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra Alabama

In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra

Deep Purple

Spitfire Records, 2000

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/28/2000

In 1969, Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord premiered a composition he wrote, "Concerto For Group And Orchestra". The album featuring that work is either seen as one of the most collectable items in Deep Purple's discography or a throat-clearing embarassment that some would prefer to forget ever happened.

Although the original manuscript of Lord's work has been lost to time, the dedication of Lord and a diehard fan from Holland who helped to re-create the work has allowed this piece of modern classical music to breathe again. Add the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as a plethora of guest musicians and singers to it, and you have the latest Deep Purple release, In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra. Pompous? A bit. Beautiful? At times. A must own? We'll get to that in a minute.

If you're looking for all of the hits from Deep Purple, you're going to be somewhat disappointed. Only three "classics" are included in the 16 tracks on this CD, though hearing an orchestral version of "Wring That Neck" is rather intriguing (if not a tad disappointing that Steve Morse doesn't allow himself to go to full shred). "Pictures Of Home" and "Smoke On The Water" round out the familiar material.

Otherwise, Ian Gillan and crew choose to pull material from the band's last two studio efforts, Purpendicular and Abandon, for songs like "Ted The Mechanic" and "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming". While these aren't instantly recognizable, it does give Deep Purple the freedom to break out of the traditional musical mold they're cast in and allows them to lay down a rather funky groove. In the end, it's kinda fun.