Deep Purple - Credit Union 1 Amphitheater, Tinley Park, Illinois 8/23/24 (text by Mark Kadzielawa, images by Jim Summaria)

The mysterious intro, Mars, the Bringer of War, from Gustav Holst, announced the arrival of Deep Purple, and before you knew it, you were crusin’ fast with "Highway Star."  This song is the ultimate opener, and always sets the mood for the evening.  Deep Purple quickly went into an overdrive, they meant business, and were here to deliver a solid rock concert.

All of the eyes were quickly on the new guitarist, Simon McBride, who made his first appearance in the Chicago area.  McBride proved to be a natural fit, and quickly won over the fans with his very aggressive approach to the classic tracks, and his contributions to the new songs.  He is a very much a riff driven player, who is able to balance all of the greats that came before him, and add his own signature on top of it all. 

Ian Gillan was definitely in great spirits, as was the rest of the band.  Gillan however is the focal point of the band, and one of the finest vocalists in the history rock music.  At 79 years old, it is simply astonishing that he is still willing to record and tour.  Ian continues to break every rule that is put in front of him.  Yes, there were moments of struggle, let’s face it, those signature screams he did 50 years ago, do not come as easy now, but the effort was there.  There is no doubt, Ian Gillan put his heart into this performance, and he came out victorious.  The newer songs are sung in his mid-range, and he delivered those with absolute perfection.  Gillan definitely fed off the energy of the crowd, and they just loved him.  Gillan was chuffed, full of energy and good will.  It was a monumental task he performed this evening, and the only word that comes to mind is superb!

Ian Paice was completely in control of every song performed that evening.  What a monster of a drummer he still is.  His timing, and the strength with which he hits is simply mind blowing.  One of the most solid and dependable drummers of all time.  When you have Roger Glover with you on bass, you know you’re in good company.  Paice and Glover quickly locked in a very solid rhythm section, and they often would stretch things left and right.  What a way to have fun guys!

Keyboard player, Don Airey, truly came into his own over the last two decades.  In fact, he often comes across as a key player.  He can definitely summon the spirit of Jon Lord, but adds that something extra of his own as well.  All of this makes up for a great mix of styles that complement Deep Purple.  Airey’s improvisations are very creative and adventurous, and you can see and feel that he is having a great time.  He’s bit of a joker too.  At one point, he left everyone hanging on a note, while a waiter appeared with a glass of wine for Mr. Airey.  Here's to the best of times!

The set included a combination of old and new.  When you have so much to choose from, creating a balanced set list can be a headache.  What Deep Purple did was great, they focused on new tracks from the excellent “= 1” album, and then added classic tracks to round it up.  The total of five new songs were performed, and they went over great, which tells you the fan base is keeping up with the band.  This was no bathroom time, but full participation from the audience.  “Portable Door,” “Lazy Sod,” “Bleeding Obvious,” “A Bit on the Side,” and “Show Me” went down great, all of them included some great introductions from Ian Gillan, who related the lyrics to his personal experiences.  Of course, there were the timeless classics like “Lazy,” “Space Truckin’, or “Into the Fire.”  The biggest surprise of the set was the inclusion of “Anya” from “The Battle Rages On” album.  And yes, the song with the greatest riff of all time was played too.  If you’re not getting the drift still, it’s that tune that has to do with smoke and water.  The band encored with “Hush,” and “Black Night.” 

When reflecting back, this was a magical night!  When it comes to bands like Deep Purple, you simply never know if this is it.  The end could come at any moment, but in the meantime, let’s enjoy this great group because there simply won’t be anything like it anytime soon.  This writer certainly hopes for more albums and few more shows before the inevitable end comes.

Mark Kadzielawa

Torme – The Bernie Torme Archives Vol. 2: 1985-1993 (Cherry Red)

 

Bernie Torme archives continue to dig up some great lost classics!  While never becoming a big star, Bernie Torme, always delivered the goods.  He was mostly known for his involvement with Gillan, and short stint with Ozzy Osbourne.  This however focuses on his solo career which yielded several great albums.  If you already own the first volume, then you are ready for what came next.

The 5 CD box set begins with Back to Babylon, a great hard rock album released back in 1985, and it featured a very young Phil Lewis on vocals.  Lewis of course found fame with L.A. Guns later on, but here he is doing what he does best.  Back to Babylon should’ve been huge, no doubt about that.  Die Pretty Young came out in 1986, and the band continued on the right path.  Another solid album, great line up, but for some reason the band just couldn’t capitalize on the momentum.  Within a year it all came to an end, and Phil Lewis went overseas to follow his dream.  Official Bootleg was recorded back in 1986, and gives a taste of this great band on stage.  Simply amazing, hearing here again!

After Torme band came to an end, Bernie was involved in Desperado.  This was a supergroup involving Dee Snider, Clive Burr, and Marc Russell.  They wrote a great album that remined unreleased, and the band folded shortly after.  By 1992, Torme was back with Demolition Ball, and that the final disc of this set.  Demolition Ball was a great album, but once again released in the midst of grunge explosion.  It was only released in Europe, and it had a very limited audience.  Lewis was back on three tracks, and it felt very natural to hear that collaboration again.  Here, Demolition Ball is expanded to two CDs.  Another disc of demos is now included in the set.  Torme delivered great hard rock with Irish overtones.

There is a lot of background info provided by a very comprehensive liner notes in the booklet.  This project is clearly a labor of love by true admirers of Bernie Torme’s talent.  Torme passed away in 2019, and it’s great to see his music resurfacing and keeping his legacy alive.

Mark Kadzielawa

The Byron Band – On the Rocks….Again. (Cherry Red)

 

The cool thing about huge rock bands of the 1970s is the amount of satellite bands and projects that came into the existence after break ups and personnel changes took.  Such is Byron Band, operated by David Byron, the original vocalist from Uriah Heep.  Byron was one of the instrumental builders of Uriah Heep’s massive success in the 1970s. 

The Byron Band was a group formed by 1980 with guitarist, Robin George.  By 1981, On The Rocks was released, but it didn’t generate any acclaim.  Around the same time, David Byron, was asked to re-join Uriah Heep, but nothing came out of that.  Byron and George continued to proceed with heir project.  The second CD showcases 1982 demos done with second album in mind.  Sadly, it never got to that point, but those are truly great to hear.  It shows the direction The Byron Band was taking.  The third disc combines rehearsal tracks, and a short live show from Liverpool 1980.  Also, there are 7 bonus tracks being added to On the Rocks.  It appears that no stone was left unturned, and this is the complete output from The Byron Band.

David Byron passed away in 1985 at only 38 years old, and recently we’ve lost Robin George at 68.  Now this set is a great legacy to the individual talents of those two musicians.  It’s a very enjoyable release that brings some great music back from the dead, and makes it shine again! 

Mark Kadzielawa

TKO – Total Knock Out – The Complete TKO (Cherry Red)

 

TKO is a wonderful heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington.  They started in 1977, and as of 2022 appear to be inactive.  Over the years, there were several reformations and break ups of the band, but never say never.

This box provides a full document of just about everything this band did.  Many of these albums are very difficult to find, and generated high prices due to its unavailability.  Cherry Red is definitely correcting this with such exquisite release.  And yes, you will be completely knocked out once you complete listening to the contents of this mysterious box.

There are 5 discs in this set, and they pretty much cover the whole story.  Let It Roll was the debut album released back in 1979.  It was still a rock/hard rock release that showed the band still developing its style.  Round Two-Lost Demos also date back to 1979, and display the raw guts and glory of early TKO.  In Your Face was a great album released back in 1984.  It really showcases TKO as a force to be reckoned with.  It should’ve been a huge album, but how do you compete with Metallica back in 1984?  The climate was changing, you were either super heavy, and beyond glam.  The straight forward heavy metal bands were a hard sell at this point.  It wasn’t until the late 1990s that traditional resurgence proved that keeping it true was in fact a way to go.  Below the Belt came out in 1986, and it was another very cool record, unfortunately went completely unnoticed at the time of its release.  So not fair, but what can you do?  There is also a Suicide Squat EP added to Below the Belt.  It was a project the band members were involved with after TKO folded in 1987.  The final disc is the early mixes of In Your Face, this is quite interesting to see how the sound of that album progressed into the final stage.  Some might actually like this mix more than the actual album.  It’s here for you to explore.  All of this treasure is accompanying by a very nice booklet with information on each album, and a comprehensive narrative about the band’s history. 

TKO never got big on the national stage, but they made some memorable music, and enjoyed a very faithful following.  This box is done with a collector in mind, but it also documents a career, dedication, and a lot of hard work.  TKO had all it took to be as big as some of the bands that made it, but for one reason or the other, things just didn’t happen.  Don’t let this small fact keep you away from enjoying these great recordings, and appreciating the band.

Mark Kadzielawa

Hawkestrel – Chaos Rocks (Cleopatra)

 

Hawkestrel is a project by former Hawkwind bass player/vocalist, Alan Davey.  As the name suggests, this is a Hawkwind satellite band, and it’s absolutely great.  Davey has a perfect understanding of the music, and his ship is already orbiting around the planet.

Chaos Rocks is bit of a misleading title because everything here is carefully planned and executed, perhaps word chaos refers to the over-all feel of the music.  The album starts very promising, and navigates through a lot of left and right turns.  It’s definitely an adventurous ride, and in some ways Hawkestrel provides therapy for those areas of the brain that sounds don’t visit too often.  Expect complete space, clouds, and fog, but also delicate grooves, and a great sense of melody.

Silver Machine even gets a go here, and it’s with William Shatner on vocals.  You can’t beat that, as Shatner has a very impressive resume when it comes to space.  If anyone’s seen it inside out, he did!  It’s a the instrumental Kinnikinnik Special that steals the show here.  That song just rules, and in many ways is like a springboard for what else is to come.  Also, there is a cool take on Now I'm Feeling Zombified from Alien Sex Fiend, expect the unexpected here.

Chaos Rocks includes a very impressive cast of characters, some already no longer with us, but you can still hear them here in their full glory.  Each listen is a new experience, and a new discovery.  It is a very charismatic album, that can project just about any mood you can think of, and it has plenty of calming factors too.  It is definitely recommended for repeated listens.

Mark Kadzielawa