Deep Purple is a fricking one-riff band that time has passed by

[LynneSin]

Seriously, if it wasn't for "Smoke on the Water" riff being played by high school bands around the world, Deep Purple would have been long forgotten.

Who gets excited about a Deep Purple Reunion and yet millions around the globe are hoping & praying for a Led Zeppelin tour.

QUICK!!!

Name two band members of Deep Purple? Unless you're a die-hard fan you probably can't. But everyone knows who Jimmy Page & Robert Plant along with John Paul Jones and John Bonham

Plus Led Zeppelin has SIX albums that have sold over 10million and are the third best selling artist of all time behind Presley and the Beatles. Hell their Presence album probably sold more copies than all the Deep Purple records combined.

I rest my case!!!

[taterguy]

1. They have at least two riffs

Hush is an absolutely great song. Is greatness determined by record sales? If so I guess Kenny G is the greatest jazz man of all-time :)

[Fenris]

2. Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord

I don't consider myself a die-hard fan, but I'd rather listen to "Fireball" ad infinitum than have to suffer through Robert Plants caterwauling for a single minute.

And Ritchie Blackmore was a better guitarist than Jimmy Page. Much more innovated. And he never felt the need to play with a fucking violin bow.

[jpgray]

3. Machine Head or In Rock can stand up pretty well to the best Zep

I ODed on that kind of hard rock long ago, however--so I'm not the best judge. It's music I only hear at guitar stores now.

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Blackmore *did* use a bow

On the "Made In Japan" version of "Space Truckin'."

"MIJ," btw, is the greatest live rock album EVarr. No contest.

I'll take early Zep over just about anybody, but Deep Purple at their peak were phenomenal — five truly outstanding musicians (I speak of Blackmore, Paice, Gillan, Lord and Glover).

[Fenris]

13. I stand corrected.

;)

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. Ain't no thang

For a long time, I didn't know what that sound was. I used to think it was Lord doing something tricky with the little synthesizer on top of his B-3.

I mean, hell, if he can make it sound like a cat fight...

[Susang]

15. Don't forget their singer, Ian Gillian

Sang the lead in Jesus Christ Superstar. ;-)

[ET Awful]

33. Blackmore has actually done some really interesting post-Deep Purple

stuff.

A few years back (97 or 98 maybe)he was working on a project translating medeival music to modern classical/nylon string guitar. Minstrel tunes and the like. I never heard the whole album, just some samples from it. It was pretty unusual stuff.

[Zomby Woof]

37. Remember Blackmore's Rainbow?

They weren't bad at all. He created a distinct musical identity for them apart from DP.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

4. I really wouldn't use album sales to show talent.

After all, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey would be the most "talented" artists today, and I don't have enough vomit in my body to handle that.

[Ramsey]

5. You're obsessed

This ancient music thing is really becoming an obsession! I think your spending too much time rifling through dusty old record bins!

[LynneSin]

11. It's a January thing

by mid-February I'm back to normal. To long and complicated to post why here on DU

[asthmaticeog]

6. Score one for Oasis.

:eyes:

[ghostsofgiants]

22. Hahahaha...

Score one for comedy.

[billyskank]

7. Meh, you can't beat the Quo

:P

[RetroLounge]

8. Highway Star from the Live Album is still a great song...

although I agree with your premise...

RL

[peekaloo]

10. Damn. I now have Homer Simpson singing 'Smoke on the Water'

boucing around my cranium.

"They burned down the gambling house,
It died with an awful sound.
I am hungry for a candy bar,
I think I'll eat a Mounds."

[Fenris]

12. And I don't know where you get "third best selling artist of all time"

Both Nana Mouskouri and ABBA have sold more records than Led Zepplin. They are quite far down the list.

[peekaloo]

16. What about Slim Whitman?

:silly:

[CanuckAmok]

14. Yes, not selling your soul to Pepsi and Cadillac guarantees obscurity.

But Plant and Page wouldn't know about that :P

[matcom]

18. SLAP!

DOH! :D

[ismnotwasm]

17. Well

I like "Lazy" and "When a blind Man Cries" but they are not my favorite band.

So was Led Zepplin really influenced by Robert Johnson? I forgot all my Led Zepplin lore. I was just talking about that with someone the other day. Too lazy to look it up.

[taterguy]

21. Zep and Johnson

Every guitar god from that era was directly or indirectly influenced by Robert Johnson. Off the top of my head I know Zep covered his song 'Traveling Riverside Blues', there might be others but like you I'm too lazy to look it up.

[ismnotwasm]

23. That's what my friend was saying

And then he brought up the whole "sold his soul at the crossroads" stuff/crap and ruined the entire conversation...I suppose you never know tho'

[DancingBear]

19. OK, I just want you all to know

That me and another DU'er (who shall remain nameless), who were actually around when these bands were actually relevant, love reading these threads.

We don't often agree with 'em, and many times we go "What!?!?!?", but we like reading them.

Every once in a while, our respective heads explode.

Carry on. :) :) :)


P.S. Deep Purple literally wrote the book for the "hard rock" bands that came after them. There is no such thing as originality in rock music, but their style brought forth one hell of a lot of copycat bands for years and years.

P.P.S. Bonus points if anyone knows who John Cippolina is. :) :)

Send all negative "you're an idiot" response c/o me. :hi:

[ismnotwasm]

24. I cheated

Looked him up. So know I know, but I won't tell.

[MuseRider]

26. Oh Oh Oh I know!!!

:hi: (Raising my hand) but then probably you knew I would know that one.

[DancingBear]

28. Or course I knew you'd know

You old bat. :) :hi:

The classical babes know EVERYTHING.

[MuseRider]

38. Well I gotta say

it takes one to know one!

Never been called THAT before. :P :hi:

[no name no slogan]

25. bite my 14-year-old ass, LynneSin

Duh Duh Duh,
Duh Duh Da-Duh,
Duh Duh Duh, Duh Duh.
:headbang:

[LynneSin]

27. NO WAY - that's you???!!!!

I can still play that riff on my tenor saxophone

:eyes:

I actually like Deep Purple, I was just pissed over someone else's thread!

[no name no slogan]

30. pretty funny huh?

Yeah, that's me 22 years ago. And no worries, I'm not a huge Purple fan these days anyway. And I saw that thread-- your reaction is completely justified! :silly:

[Common Sense Party]

40. Dude, you stole my haircut! What was that--1984? 85?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

29. you're right about me NOT naming TWO members right off

Richie B. sprang immediately to mind but that doesn't prove anything. With super-clean riffs and a strong solid beat names aren't important. I really didn't like the commercial stuff like Smoke etc. Machine Head, however, was perhaps my favorite album of all time.

[liberaltrucker]

31. You're 100% right

"Smoke on the Water" was about it. Damn good song, though, IMHO.

[Oeditpus Rex]

39. Anybody who thinks 'Smoke' was 'about it'

hasn't listened to enough Deep Purple.

[Blue-Jay]

32. Slim Whitman sold more albums than Zep.

That makes him better, right?

[Whoa_Nelly]

34. but I still love "Speed King" From Deep Purple In Rock !

(shades o'my wild hippie chick days... :::sigh:::)

Good Golly, said little Miss Molly
When she was rockin' in the house of blue light
Tutti Frutti was oh so rooty
When she was rockin' to the east and west
Lucille was oh so real
When she didn't do her daddies will
Come on baby, drive me crazy--do it, do it

I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
I'm a speed king see me fly

Saturday night and I just got paid
Gonna fool about ain't gonna save
Some people gonna rock some people gonna roll
Gonna have a party to save my soul
Hard headed woman and a soft hearted man
They been causing trouble since it all began
Take a little rice take a little beans
Gonna rock and roll down to New Orleans

I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
I'm a speed king see me fly

[Zomby Woof]

35. "Child In Time"

That one song is better than all of LZ II. :P Less derivative, less self-conscious. As Zeppelin got better, Deep Purple waned (they started earlier than Zep as well - "Hush" was a big single more than a year before Zep's debut)... but DP's 1984 comeback "Perfect Strangers" was a damn good album, and Jon Lord was chosen by David Gilmour himself to play keys on his solo album "About Face" that came out the same year.

And "Smoke On The Water" is immortal, because it mentions Zappa and the fire at the Montreax Jazz Festival that destroyed his and the Mothers' equipment. It is because "classik rawk" radio is so damn mediocre and repetitive that DP is nearly forgotten. If that format played "Space Truckin'", "Highway Star", "Demon's Eye" or "Stormbringer" at least once for every 8 times a day they play "Living Lovin' Maid", it might partway redeem itself. I'll trade "My Woman From Tokyo" getting played once for every 10 times they play "Smoke On The Water", just for balance.

[Borgnine]

36. Hey, I love "Perfect Strangers."

I've always wanted to make a Perfect Strangers reunion show (you know, the '80s sitcom with Larry and Balki) just to use it as the opening theme song.

[Common Sense Party]

41. Perfect Strangers is a killer song. n/t