I mentioned the first book in this series a while back and I have just read the second and third editions of The Regiment – The True Story Of The SAS (Cinebook 2020 & 2021). The exploits of what became the SAS in WWII as the unit fights Rommel in the desert is depicted as it went down in real life. They bugged the Germans behind their lines to the point that a bounty was announced on their capture. If the first book dealt largely with how things got started, these books are all action. They were successful but it came with a price.
The 1997 David Coverdale & Whitesnake album “Restless Heart” will be revisited with a 4 CD/DVD/hardbound book Super Deluxe Edition on October 29 (as well as other versions). Originally intended as a David Coverdale solo album, the record company twisted his arm and forced the Whitesnake name to be on the cover. David did not get the interest Stateside that he was looking for so “Restless Heart” was never released on the American market. After touring the album as Whitesnake he put the name to rest and in his mind he would be a solo artist from now on. Indeed, when he returned in 2000, it was with his third solo album “Into The Light”. Both will now see worldwide release under the more commercial Whitesnake banner and again this music will be new to a lot of fans that had abandoned ship in the mid 1990s. It really was the business side and the hostile invironment for this kind of music that dictated affairs back then, but David would later successfully restart Whitesnake in the 2000s and find new love out there from a generation that had missed his music. His ongoing Super Deluxe treatment of the back catalogue has been successful and it is not over yet. Whitesnake as a touring entity is nearing its end though and the upcoming world tour is going to be his farewell as a rocker on the endless highways. And this time it is easy to believe that it is true. The man is feeling his age. But the fact that David will retire from the road does certainly not mean that we will not get more music from the man. Meanwhile we have just got a new music video from the 2021 “Restless Heart” release of the song “You´re So Fine” and his wife Cindy can be seen in it. The nostalgia factor is not really there for this release, it is going to be interesting to see how it is received.
(Seen here is the back of Deep Purple Forever! 31 with a shot of David taken in Stockholm on November 7 1997 by Michael Johansson – the original CD of this album can also be seen and the upcoming box cover is inserted)
This is a great book. “The John Wayne Code – Wit, Wisdom And Timeless Advice From The American Icon” (Topix Media Lab, 2017) comes in a cool leather cover, but it really is the spirit within these pages that talks to me. The chapters include “Loyalty”, “Self-Reliance”, “Grit”, “Patriotism”, “Honesty” and “Generosity”. Wayne was a republican but when Jimmy Carter won the election in 1976 he sent him this message: “Congratulations Sir, from one of the loyal opposition”. He was a class act and this book deserves an absolute top rating on the old Cool-o-meter.
Having a lot of fun updating the old Black Sabbath collection and today I found this old review of “Dehumanizer” (the 1992 Dio-era reunion album) that I wrote for a local newspaper back in the day. I had a hard time fully appreciating this record save for a few tracks, simply because the band had walked away from a highly effective (and great) Tony Martin fronted line-up for the mighty dollar. “Dehumanizer” is not bad but it can not touch the earlier Dio-albums nor is it better than the albums that preceded it. At the time I thought that they had made a mistake and it did not take them long to self implode. The early 1990s was not good for this kind of music, the scene had changed and the thinking must have been that a reunion would save the day. For a while it did (I will not go deep into the history here, some of you will know what went down). But Martin was back soon enough and that man really had the patience of an angel.
(My shot, Stockholm 1989 – LT newspaper, Jämtland County)
I have heard a lot of talk lately that the Vinyl album is getting bigger and bigger and that the CD format is effectively on the way out. Give it another five years and the Vinyl is likely to rule supreme. In cold numbers, projections for total sales now indicates (looking at the first half of 2021) that the Vinyl has surpassed the CD for the first time since 1991. And this can not be exclusively down to old collectors such as myself, although I am sure we are in there somewhere in the mix, it has to be younger record buyers as well or this would not happen. Like most of us, I sold off a good chunk of my old record collection in the early 1990s and I know that it was a common reaction to what was going on at the time. Needless to say we all view that as a massive mistake now, but who could have predicted back then that the LP would have a resurgence? For years my favourite bands did not even release their product in the LP format. So something has happened here that is rather beautiful. Did we collectively stick it to the Technocrats? I think we have. It remains to be seen if the actual numbers for sales of physical product will also rise over time but I think it will. The love of music is universal and very powerful. The LP format gives you a piece of art. And most of us would say that the sound is warmer, although that may just be us grumpy old dudes wining over a beer at the local pub. Who knows, the fact remains that the LP is now bigger than the CD and that is a good thing. When I visited the music store Hamm & Nilsson in Östersund (Jämtland County) last week they confirmed that the LP was doing good business (I could also note a big sale on CDs going on). I was told that Swedish pop singer Benjamin Ingrosso has released two albums called “En gång i tiden” (translates to “Once Upon a Time”) in 2021, both on Vinyl only. It is out as a Double LP now as well. Is this a first glimpse of where this is going? I was also told that the last studio album from Deep Purple, “Whoosh!” had been a really good seller upon release. On YouTube I also heard Alice Cooper discuss the rise of the Vinyl on Joe Bonamassa´s podcast Live From Nerdville (Episode 52, ca 48 minutes in) recently and it is all good news. And if you check out the “Babymetal Vinyls” post back on July 2 on this blog, you will see how Babymetal are planning to release 20 Vinyls in Japan alone this Fall, that is the Metal Resistance at work right there. It bloody well means something.
(My shots, courtesy of Hamm & Nilsson Musik in Östersund, Sweden)
I always thought that this Vertigo ad for the Black Sabbath album “The Eternal Idol”, published in Kerrang! in 1987, was kind of interesting. It was the only ad that I saw that clearly differed from the actual album cover. Hard to say if it is exactly the same image, the models were supposed to keep still after all (as they posed from a Auguste Rodin sculpture called “The Eternal Idol”). Maybe they experimented with the lights? Whatever happened there, you can still have a debate at your favourite pub over which of these that looks smarter. As for the models, they had to be rushed to hospital during or after the session. It is not healthy to paint your body like that. Wonderful album cover though.
Earlier this month I presented an interview with Stuart Smith that was made in 1998 when he released his solo album “Heaven & Earth”. This project eventually morphed into a band and they released the fifth album “V” about a week ago as I write this. This interview was made in 2001 and was featured in the very first issue of Sweden Rock Magazine. In this interview Stuart promotes the “Windows To The World” album, the debut from his new band. Enjoy.
You still hold on to a style that was popular in the 1970s.
– “Yes, the best music was made in the 1970s and the early 1980s. It was all about the music then and the image was not that important. Then you had that alternative trend and people could sell records without being able to play properly. That was sad to see and I wanted to avoid it if I could. I like melodies and I like a bit of blues and folk music in there as well”.
The renaissance stuff and the acoustic stuff sounds great on this album, I have to say that.
– “Thank you. The record company had a problem about those songs and I really had to fight to get them on the album. They said “We do not want this” so I had to threaten them with not giving them the record at all and they eventually gave in. Heaven & Earth has a certain concept and I do not want to compromise with that”.
So Frontiers was not easy to work with?
– “Not really, but it ended up OK. We are good friends now. They have understood what this is and the boss is a friend now. Initially I remember him say “We do not want any instrumentals” but then he heard “Years Gone By” and he thought that it was the best song on the album”.
The last song, the happy folk tune is good. Why is it not mentioned on the album cover?
– “To get it on there I had to compromise. It is called “Gone By Morning” and Frontiers did not want it. So it is a secret bonus song now. They are Italians so what can you do…”.
Your first solo album was a project but I assume it is a band at this point?
– “Yes and that feels good. The first one had my name on it because I did not have a band at the time. I had good friends come and play on it. But Heaven & Earth is a band now and it feels good to be working with motivated people”.
I thought that maybe Dougie White would sing a bit on this album.
– “I wanted him to sing on my solo album but he was in Rainbow then and Ritchie would not let him do it. And now that it is a band things have changed. But I like Dougie and we keep in touch”.
Ritchie Blackmore is listed as a songwriter on “Prisoner”.
– “Yes, this goes way back to 1983. I was living on the East Coast near Long Island at the time. I was sitting in his kitchen one day playing and I had this idea for a song and Ritchie said “That is a good, but why not add this to it?” and his idea was just brilliant. So now that I have recorded it I wanted to be honest and give him credit for his part in it. “Prisoner” has been rewritten a few times over the years but I like the way it is now”.
Your wife Colleen has also written some lyrics.
– “She has some really good ideas. She was there when we did “Dogs Of War” and “Through Your Eyes”. If I hear something good I will use it. The song that Joe Lynn Turner co-wrote, “Through Your Eyes” can be seen as a love song but it also have a double meaning about racial injustice in it”.
How well did your first album do?
– “It was put out by Samsung Music and it happened just as the Japanese market took a big dive. So in spite of people like Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes and Richie Sambora being on it, it still did not sell that well. The Japanese market for this kind of music has gone down. They listen to pop and dance music now rather than rock music. The best market has been Europe. I sent out 400 cassettes of the first album and this resulted in good feedback and also in that Frontiers got interested”.
What about America? How is the market over there right now?
– “The radio is opening up a bit but the trend seems to be that they pick classic tunes by classic bands. You hear a lot of Boston, Bad Company and Rush. They need to let in the new bands in there as well. Heaven & Earth has not got a deal for America today but this is one of our priorities now. That and to get a management to work with us”.
Howard Leese produced “Windows To The World”.
– “Yes, he used to play guitar in Heart. He was also involved on the first album, that was produced by Pat Regan. Pat is good but he tends to want you to play the same part 30 times and I have a hard time with that. Howard did a good job so I asked him if he wanted to produce this album. And here we are. I am very happy with it”.
Will there be concerts?
– “We have rehearsed and we really want to get out there. Clubs to start with, but we hope to be able to go out with a bigger band. I think you need 10-15 club gigs before going out in bigger venues though. Then you have that feeling that you are comfortable playing and it starts to sound really good. With any luck, I hope that we can play in Europe too. I so want to come over there with this band. A few weeks ago I did 18 interviews for European media. And I absolutely want to play in Sweden, I hear good things about Sweden Rock Festival”.
(End of interview)
By Mike Eriksson (if quoted let me know about it) – Sweden Rock Magazine 1 2001 / Trinkelbonker (2021)
(My shot of the article in Sweden Rock Magazine with promoshot of Stuart inserted)
…
CLASSIC ROCK INTERVIEWS ON TRINKELBONKER: STUART SMITH 1998 (July 4 2021), RAINBOW 1997 (June 28 2021), MARINA AMMOURI 2021 (February 12 2021), VISIONS OF ATLANTIS 2007 (November 10 2020), RITCHIE BLACKMORE & CANDICE NIGHT 2001 (October 27 2020), JOHN NORUM 1988 (October 18 2020), ACCEPT 1986 (July 17 2020), DEEP PURPLE 1996 (June 27 2020), EUROPE 1986 (June 16 2020), DEEP PURPLE PODCAST 2020 (April 6 2020), KIMBERLY GOSS/SINERGY 2002 (March 31 2020), RAINBOW 1997 (March 9 2020), RAINBOW 1996 (March 6 2020), MICHAEL BRADFORD 2003/MAKING OF DEEP PURPLE´S “BANANAS” (March 2 2020), URIAH HEEP 1988 (February 18 2020), ANNE-LIE RYDÉ 1984 (January 21 2020), CRYSTAL VIPER 2020 (January 16 2020), JOHN NORUM 1988 (January 12 2020), ARTOMUS FRIENDSHIP 2019 (November 10 2019), NAZARETH 1989 (August 26 2019), VELVET INSANE 2018 (September 11 2018), JON LORD 1981 (December 15 2015), DAVID COVERDALE 1981 (November 13 2015), GLENN HUGHES 1996 (May 12 2015), TOTO 1988 (March 31 2015), YNGWIE MALMSTEEN 1990 (March 1 2015), MARTINA EDOFF 2009 (December 4 2014), MICHAEL MOJO NILSSON 2014 (January 21 2014), THE HUGHES TURNER PROJECT 2001 (December 29 2013), JOE LYNN TURNER 1996-1998 (October 9 2013), GLENN HUGHES & JOHN NORUM 1988 (September 21 2013), JOE LYNN TURNER 1994-1995 (September 9 2013), JOE LYNN TURNER 1993 (September 7 2013), STEVE LUKATHER 1989 (September 4 2013), BLACK SABBATH 1983 (August 22 2013), RAINBOW 1995 (July 19 2013), MICK UNDERWOOD/GILLAN 1982 (June 11 2013), DEEP PURPLE 2002 (May 2 2013), DEEP PURPLE 1998 ( February 25 2013), BLACK SABBATH 1986 (February 12 2013), BLACK SABBATH 1987-1989 (December 31 2012), JOHNNIE BOLIN 2012 (December 24 2012), MARTIN POPOFF & RICH GALBRAITH 2009 (November 12 2012), DAVID COVERDALE 2000 (October 14 2012), JON LORD 1984 (September 7 2012), JOE LYNN TURNER 1992 (August 31 2012), JUDAS PRIEST 1986 (August 22 2012), RONNIE JAMES DIO 2001 (August 20 2012), NIGHTWISH 2002 (August 14 2012).
Yesterday I began to update the Black Sabbath collection with fresh binders and plastic pockets. The initial phase in moving stuff from one binder to another is pretty easy. The real job comes when it is time to cut stuff from magazines. Having said that it is wonderful to get all this stuff in order.
(My shot of said binder, seen here is a 1983 Kerrang! interview with Dio on why he left the band)
Finding some cool stuff from the old days in the pile of magazines that I am going through at the moment. Here is a live review that I had published in the German edition of Metal Hammer in July 1988. A two page piece on Judas Priest (and openers Bonfire) based on a concert I attended at Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm on May 7 that year. I think my bit was the actual review of the Priest show and a guy called Thorvald Edvardsson probably wrote about Bonfire and took the pictures. As I remember it, me and my buddy Arne arrived just in time to catch the Priest show. In fact we were coming in to the capital pretty late by car and we had no idea how to get to the arena except for a general hunch from earlier visits. So we turned left, right, left, left, right and so on just winging it and lo and behold the arena eventually popped up in front of us as if by a miracle. I think that somebody upstairs wanted me to catch this show! I also recall that we drove another seven hours to get home after the show. We had to stop every now and then and get out of the car and walk a bit. Had we not done that we would have ended up in the woods. Strange how you can recall stuff like that. As for the show it was probably the best Priest gig I ever saw. They were promoting the new “Ram It Down” album and they were rather keen on proving that after “Turbo” it was back to basics again. Metal galore. Good times. I did miss “Out In The Cold” though and I did moan about it in this review.
I bought the UK edition a while back but I enjoyed the 14 page Deep Purple section of this magazine so much that I have decided to add this translation to the collection as well. Same layout as far as I can remember. Published by Norwegian publisher Orage. Half the price too as this magazine is part of a campaign by Pressbyrån (the chain that sells magazines such as this in Sweden). So good deal and a good read for sure.
trinkelbonker 