Is Pizza from Italy, you meatball? SUPERDRUMMING was from Germany and Pete York has held German nationality (which he adopted) for a long time. His German is excellent, he’s been living in Deutschland for ages.
Yeah, Germany as DP’s spiritual home. It has to do with different things: the classical elements in their music, their ability as instrumentalists (we like it if people do things well), the way their music is neatly engineered with all parts fitting, the fact that they are wild, but not esoteric. Their music speaks to elements of our national psyche.
Then we should compare their Hammond playing and not their piano playing Since it’s DP we’re talking about. I’ve never felt Jon’s piano playing was lacking. If anything, it was emotional. Fingers to the Bone. The intro to Mistreated at Donington 83. He said what needed to be said and often with simplicity.
Don’s swing is more Cool Jazz, Jon’s is sugar shack gravy slop! But really, Don wouldn’t have been asked to provide keyboards on countless albums from bands of various genres if he wasn’t great at what he was doing.
What is the big issue with rock musicians who plays keyboards? Alternating between the two, genuine piano and organ, of whatever description. Some do it better than others, some stay on one instrument all the time. Others are much more diverse. It happens with other instruments to, the stringed instruments ala different ‘guitar’ varieties. Try jumping from an electric guitar to an acoustic then to mandolin or lute etc etc. Even drummers know these things. It’s all music as ole Keef often says. Cheers.
Given everything he has achieved in his career and with Purple, Don has every right to be included in the circle of rock history’s “Keyboard Kings.”
The paradox is that, with Purple, there were many times I would have loved it if he had played fewer notes in his cascading runs, but he certainly isn’t sloppy
Of what I have heard of Don Airey from the last 5 decades, he is more jazz than Jon Lord. That track on Black Sabbath’s “Never Say Die” album, the one with the jazz in it, Don and Iommi rattling along. Sacrilegious for die hard Sabbath fans, however I always enjoyed that, still do. Same as Keith Emerson, he was more into ‘jazz’ at times. Grumpy Rick isn’t jazz, so he alternates. What about Tony Banks from Genesis? Not a lot of ‘jazz’ influence there is there? Richard Wright was into ‘jazz’. Some keyboard players are influenced or are into different aspects of the keys and relevant music more than others. Cheers.
I’m talking about swing in regards to Jon’s Hammond playing. On its own but especially together with Ritchie (and Paicey). They brought out the best in eachother. It’s all in there in that Lazy solo from Nobody’s Perfect I referred to earlier.
Don and Simon share the same house but they keep separate bedrooms, on different floors. There’s simply not much interplay between organ and guitar anymore other than playing riffs in unison and during designated solo spots, such as the one duel in Black Night they have.
With Jon and Ritchie from the 70s to the 90s you had a constant chemistry and interplay at any given point in a song. Ritchie goes off into the wilderness, Jon comes in to fill the space. It made the sound of the band and was a big part of why they were so exciting. So, even though there is still guitar and Hammond in Purple, it’s a very different Purple (to me).
I sense this thing of instant chemistry between Jon a do Ritchie in the same way as you, Daniel. They were masters going off script flawlessly together into the unknown. Don and Simon would brown their trousers in panic, had their script flown off the stand, plus they would shout each other heads off after show, for allowing it to ever happen. Quite unlike to JL-RB, I trust, where it seems they adored to jump the chance to brilliantly lift off into a wonderland.
The Ian and Ritchie dynamic then adds yet another dimension, with Ian possibly singing about Ritchie and their crumbling relationship in Bad Attitude, while they stand there together performing the song in the most convincing way (also on Nobody’s Perfect). This conflict of emotions produced their best work, both in the studio and onstage.
This is why it was a nice walk down memory lane to see them interact with eachother in a similar way at Jones Beach The kind of things that have been absent from DP shows ever since Ritchie left pretty much. But there it was again, just like that…
What Jon once said, that Ritchie and him were often referred to as “fire & water” whereas their cog and wheel interaction was according to him much better described as “oil & vinegar” with Jon being the oil to Ritchie’s vinegar, rings very true. Ritchie and Jon were so highly compatible with one another because Ritchie was live a wild card erratic player, while Jon was a very flexible player with a good set of ears who could jump from sparse to busy playing and back at the bat of an eyelid.
So I actually agree, the Blackmore & Lord tandem was one of a kind, what they did was never and more importantly could never be repeated by others. Not by Bolin & Lord, Satriani & Lord, Morse & Lord, Morse & Airey and not by McBride & Airey nor by Blackmore & Soule, Blackmore & Carey, Blackmore & Stone, Blackmore & Airey nor Blackmore & Rosenthal. Only Jon was the flexible round hole that actually fitted around Blackmore’s square peg and closed the gaps.
It’s not something that could be learned or rehearsed by others, Jon & Ritchie were a singular combination by nature of their different, but complementary styles. And if I may add: Ritchie needed Jon more than vice versa. Jon could play with anyone and adapt accordingly, but not Ritchie.
I will 99% agree with you, FS : Jon and Ritchie were uncannily matched for each other and unique in their chemistry. It was largely Jon’s flexibility and ear that (as I said in an earlier post) brought out the best in Ritchie (what I call Ritchie’s “diabolical” musical style). However, Jon was in large part “following” Ritchie rather than 'leading" him, as Ritchie was not about to be led about musically by just about anyone. But go back and listen to some of the interplays between Jon and Steve Morse, especially when they would go back and forth live on “Speed King” (several good examples out there on Youtube). Although Jon did plenty of expanding and developing Steve’s ideas, Steve had enough of an ear to respond to Jon’s playing as well. Undoubtably Steve’s open mind about collaborating with another virtuoso helped contribute to their “more even” footing. Don’t get me wrong: Jon and Ritchie together were magical - two master improvisors. But Jon and Steve were pretty darn amazing as well.
Exactly what i think about the interplay of Jon and Steve, i’m not sure that Don and Simon will reach that level of understanding one another due to the fact that interplaying with other musicians takes time to develop
Ritchie himself has said that he never had the ability to follow Jon in those duels. Jon was the Ginger Rogers to Ritchie’s Fred Astaire, doing everything he did, except “backwards and in high heels”!
The “McBrAirey Tandem” might not be as idiosyncratic as the BlackLord one, but it is much more collaborative and less onesided. Jon was like Ritchie’s instrumental bodyguard.
I case you haven’t noticed, it’s not the 70s, or even the 90s anymore. Jon is dead, and Ritchie is retired. The year is 2026, and Don and Simon play they way they feel like playing, not aping Jon and Ritchie. So yes, it’s a very different Purple existing in a very different world. It’s not better or worse.
I recently picked up a bootleg of Edinburgh 1987 - a gig which, in another reality, would have been my first gig. Unfortunately, I had my main school exams coming up, was “too young” according to my parents, and if I’m honest, didn’t fully get into the band again until late '87/early’88.
Anyhow - Blackmore is all over the place, pjaying really fast to the point several songs almost fall apart. But they don’t . Everything just stays together in what ended up as a very exciting show. Even sloppy, Blackmore still has his sound. And you can see what he was trying to do, even if he didn’t manage to pull it off.
SUPERDRUMMING was from Germany and Pete York has held German nationality (which he adopted) for a long time. His German is excellent, he’s been living in Deutschland for ages.
Since it’s DP we’re talking about. I’ve never felt Jon’s piano playing was lacking. If anything, it was emotional. Fingers to the Bone. The intro to Mistreated at Donington 83. He said what needed to be said and often with simplicity.
