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.
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