______ _______ /\ ___\ ____ ____ ____ /\__ __\ \ \ \__/ / __ \ / __ \ / __\ \/_ \ \_/ \ \ \ /\ \_\ \ /\ \_\ \ /\__ \ \ \ \ \ \ \____ \ \____/ \ \___,_\ \/\____/ \ \_\ \ \_____\ \/___/ \/__/__/ \/___/ \/_/ \/_____/ _______ The /\__ __\ ____ Issue GLENN \/_ \ \_/ / __ \ #48 HUGHES \ \ \ /\ \_\ \ March 18th Electronic \ \_\ \ \____/ 2002 Fanzine \/_/ \/___/ ______ _______ /\ ___\ ____ ____ ____ /\__ __\ \ \ \__/ / __ \ / __ \ / __\ \/_ \ \_/ \ \ \ /\ \_\ \ /\ \_\ \ /\__ \ \ \ \ \ \ \____ \ \____/ \ \___,_\ \/\____/ \ \_\ \ \_____\ \/___/ \/__/__/ \/___/ \/_/ \/_____/ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| INTRODUCTION ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Hello Everyone! Here we are with 2002 in full swing and Glenn's schedule hasn't let up since the New Year celebrations subsided. Within the first two weeks he was performing live with his pals in 'Voices of Classic Rock' during a hot and humid week in Maui, Hawaii - which by the way was caught on video for a 'VH-1 Classic' channel airing which is scheduled for a late Spring time airing. He was also spotted backstage at two shows by Bad Company in Las Vegas and Anaheim, hanging out with the other 'voice of rock', Paul Rodgers! Hmmm...now wouldn't that be a match made in heaven!! What with his hectic schedule over the past few months, Glenn and Gabrielle took a well earned holiday and spent a few days in February back home in Cannock as well as a brief shopping trip to London, but still found the time to be interviewed by the UK satellite and on-line radio station, TotalRock.com. So as you see, already this year has been a busy one, and we haven't even mentioned HTP (Hughes Turner Project) yet! There's lots going on with Glenn and Joe - their debut HTP album was released in Japan on February 6th and today, March 18th, marks the release in Europe. No word on a US release date, but we're sure it's in the works. The anticipated tour to support the album has come to fruition and includes dates in Japan, although Glenn mentioned in his interview on TotalRock.com, that UK and European dates are planned for September/October. We're sure we'll here more concrete information on that shortly. Glenn will be making a couple of live appearances before the HTP tour kicks off - coming up shortly at the end of this month on March 30th-31st in Koblenz, Germany. He's participating at the Drum & Sounds Festival 2002 which will be holding "A Tribute to Jeff", in memory of Toto member, Jeff Porcaro. Joining Glenn in this event will be amongst others, Bobby Kimball, Steve Ferrone, Greg Bissonette, Alex Ligertwood, Joe Porcaro, Mike Porcaro, Mike Miller, Lenny Castro, Larry Klimas, Steve Gadd and David Garfield. Also, we spotted on the rockforever.com web site, that 'Voices of Classic Rock' are due to play in the USA during the month of April - the 6th and 7th to be precise, both in Florida, with the first in St.Augustine (Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf) and the second in Orlando (Hard Rock Hotel) - no definite confirmation as to whether Glenn is appearing with them, so keep your eyes peeled to both Glenn's and the VCR web site! As we are currently based in the USA, we just had to remind you it was 1 year ago this very week that Glenn played his first solo US tour - we have fond memories of our trip to New York last year in very different times - we know there are thousands of US fans just gasping for some news on either Solo or HTP dates for the US - so far, it looks like we'll have to be patient just a little while longer. As always if anything is announced, you'll be the first to know - keep the faith. We'd like to thank those of you who have taken the time to provide submissions for inclusion here. CTC now has a subscriber base of over 1,500 and we would love to hear from more of you on a regular basis - even if only 5% of the subscriber base submit contributions every once in a while, we'll be in a good shape! We are HUGE fans of Glenn and his music, but we are only two people and have only so much stuff to share. So we'd love to hear from YOU. Please consider it - an exclusive newsbrief, have you spotted him backstage somewhere, a review of a live show, past or present. An album review, a guest appearance, remincising the old days - anything you think would be of interest to us all. You'll find us in the Fan Forum @ ghpg.net more or less daily and every 3rd week of the month, we also host an on-line CHAT to talk about all things Glenn!! Topics with dates and times are posted in the FAN FORUM. We hope to see you there sometime. Until the next issue...drop us a line anytime and take care. Cheers, David & Shirean dands@ghpg.net http://www.ghpg.net/ctc/ - CTC @ ghpg.net http://www.ghpg.net/chat/ - CHAT @ ghpg.net http://fanforum.ghpg.net/ - FAN FORUM @ ghpg.net ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| SUBMISSIONS ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ---------------------------------------------------- A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM GLENN TO ALL CTC SUBSCRIBERS ---------------------------------------------------- " I would just like to say thanks again everyone for your ongoing support of my music and my life. It is a spiritual path that I have taken, and it's spiritual progression rather than perfection that I seek. I have been blessed with a remarkable life filled with love, sensitivity and best of all laughter. I can not repay what you have given to me, so I will write and produce and perform my music in fine form. Your gracious host, Glenn " ---------------------------------------------------- From: David & Shirean [mailto:dands@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: HTP Japanese Tour Dates HTP (Hughes Turner Project) - Japanese Tour Dates May 2002 Saturday, May 11th - Drum Logos, Fukuoka, Japan Sunday, May 12th - Club Quatro, Hiroshima, Japan Monday, May 13th - Big Cat, Osaka, Japan Wednesday, May 15th - Bottom Line, Nagoya, Japan Thursday, May 16th - Junk Box, Nagano, Japan Friday, May 17th - Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan Sunday, May 19th - Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan Thanks to Fedor for the heads up! From: David & Shirean [mailto:dands@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Your Requests for HTP Japan Tour needed Your Requests for HTP Japan Tour needed --------------------------------------- Send your 10 REQUESTS for the HTP Japan Tour! HTP and Pony Canyon, Inc. are looking for your requests! They are planning to record a few of the HTP shows in Japan and release it as a live album, they are doing the same campaign in BURRN! magazine too. Your requests don't necessarily have to be from the HTP album. You can choose from RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, JLT's Solo & some cover albums, GLENN's Solo and MORE! Please send your 10 songs which you'd like HTP to play on stage by E-mail - also your opinions about HTP are welcome! The closing day for this campaign is: March 25th, 11:00PM Japan time. Send your E-mail to: aandr@ponycanyon.co.jp Please write your Subject as "HTP Request B!" on your E-mail. ** Caution! ** Pony Canyon CANNOT accept any questions regarding the live album from your e-mail. From: MTM MUSIC / Sebastian Eder [mailto:eder@mtm-music.com] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: MTM Music Hello DEEP PURPLE fans, We would like to announce the release of a great band: GLENN HUGHES, and JOE LYNN TURNER, two living legends, both ex-DEEP PURPLE, both remarkable vocalists, on one album! The album "HTP" will be released in March 18th and is featuring two guest musicians: PAUL GILBERT (RACER X, MR. BIG) & JOHN SYKES (THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE)! Check it out - good and honest down to earth rock music! More news on www.mtm-music.com Best Regards, Sebastian =============================== MAJOR MTM MUSIC & PUBLISHING c/o Sebastian Eder Pariser Str. 1 D - 81669 München, Germany Tel. +49 (0)89 449 00 455 Fax. +49 (0)89 449 00 457 www.mtm-music.com e-mail: eder@mtm-music.com ============================== From: Shirean [mailto:shirean@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: E-III is Japan bound... Stacey Ellis recently revealed to me that ELLIS are about to have their recently released third album, E-III (see my review further below) has been picked up for full distribution in Japan in the next couple of weeks. So all of you who are based there, be sure and call you local radio stations to get them some air play!! From: David & Shirean [mailto:dands@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Glenn goes APE! GLENN & APE QUARTET! -------------------- Glenn has provided the vocals for the song 'Its Gonna Break' on the album "Please Where Do We Live?" by the electronic music duo, Ape Quartet. Hailing from the Los Angeles area, Ape Quartet are made up of Mark Kilian and Chris Beck, film/TV composers by day! They originally released a 5-track demo which was played on several collage radio stations. Co-founder of the group, Mark Kilian kindly provided us the scoop and some gig info... "Ape Quartet are basically 2 frustrated composers working in film and television who are in love with electronica and wanted a creative outlet. The idea behind the band is that everything we do on stage is live and improvised. We use no backing tracks and no computers. We play all sorts of instruments (and non instruments!) both electronic and acoustic. All the samples and beats are triggered live. I met Glenn through his wife Gab and had used him occasionally to lend his awesome set of pipes and bass playing skills to some TV and film work. The Apes thought it might be a very interesting mix of styles to invite Glenn to sing on one of the tracks. Happily, he agreed. As it turned out, he more than sang on the track; he ended up co-composing it with Ape Quartet. This is Ape Quartet's first album. Ape Quartet have a few upcoming gigs in LA. Wednesday, the 20th March at Twine which is in the Alterknit room at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. Starts at 10pm and the cover is $5. Also on the 20th April at the Temple Bar in Santa Monica. The Apes will be opening for Dreamworks recording artists, AI (Artificial Intelligence) - Starts at 10:15". For more info, checkout their website, http://www.apequartet.com/ where you can also purchase the new album and listen to short audio samples including Glenn's contribution. From: David [mailto:david@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Soto & Hughes JEFF SCOTT SOTO...Soto parts ways --------------------------------- Former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist Jeff Scott Soto has parted ways with Z Records due to scheduling problems surrounding the release of his soon-to-be-recorded solo project. Apparently it was an amicable split - it seems the label just couldn’t get it out quick enough for busy-man Jeff. Glenn is scheduled to appear on the album, covering Sly & The Family Stone's song, 'I Wanna Take You Higher'. From: David [mailto:david@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: HTP Review HTP (Hughes Turner Project) Pony Canyon International - PCCY-01556 - Japan MTM Music - Europe Wow, this is one CLASSIC ROCK album!! Glenn succeeded big time with his writing style for this outing. It provides the listener the full spectrum of both Glenn and Joe's talent and allows them to highlight their star-studded careers. Combining the best of the Purple and Rainbow sounds of the 70's and 80's with a heavy dose of the modern day talent they both still exude on tracks like 'Mystery Of The Heart' and 'Heaven's Missing An Angel' just to name a couple. The choice of core musicians to share in this winning formula include the outstanding keyboard wizardry of Vince di Cola, the always maturing guitar talents of JJ Marsh and drummer Shane Gaalaas. Guests include Paul Gilbert ("You Can't Stop Rock'n'Roll"), John Sykes ("Heaven's Missing An Angel") and Akira Kajiyama ("Ride The Storm" & "Against The Wall") who bring their artistry to the forefront when they enter the project. There's a chemistry going on throughout the album highlighted by the complimentary vocal talents of Hughes & Turner, while the other performers are perfect in their delivery of the ever-timeless rock'n'roll riffs and solos. Highlights include the opener, 'Devils Road' with Glenn and Joe sharing thundering vocal deliveries with a thumping bass pumping in the background and keys and guitar riffs throughout! 'You Can't Stop Rock'n'Roll' and 'Missed Your Name' are 'put your fist in the air' stompers yet include some great harmonies by both vocalists. 'Mystery Of The Heart' is Joe Lynn Turner's impressive solo number co-written with Glenn, for fans of 'Street Of Dreams' this one is going to bowl you over and is worth the price of admission alone. 'Sister Midnight' features some funky honky-tonk keyboard and guitar parts and vocal performances highlighted by Glenn who's in full swing on this one. There's also some smooth harmonies by both vocalists which "back in the day" would make this one a good candidate as a '45 single release. 'Heaven's Missing An Angel' is Glenn's solo performance with guitar duties provided by John Sykes. A classic from Glenn on this wonderful song, one minute you get the 'rock god' vocal delivery quickly followed by the soulful whisper that only he can perform. 'Run, Run, Run' is delivered with a 'bang your head' classic metal riff and shows off all the musicians on the track, this is definitely a 'top down, peddle to the medal' rocker! 'On The Ledge' starts off with Vince di Cola in fine form on keyboards with a classic mixture of 'Lord and Emerson' influenced passages, followed by the band gradually fading into a thunderous beat and then Glenn on a classic Hughes intro vocal, a rocking chorus follows shortly thereafter - this track is almost an anthem that would say 'this is what the HTP sound is all about'. A quick mention of 'Against The Wall' which you'll find as the Bonus Track on the Japanese release - a thunderous 4-1/2 minute rocker with Akira Kajimara and JJ sharing a classic Thin Lizzy style riff throughout the song, again Vince di Cola is outstanding and includes some bombarding vocals by both Glenn and Joe. In conclusion, there isn't really a duff track on the CD, but the one's mentioned above deserve special mention. This album is definitely made to be played live and this is one show we wouldn't want to miss and is definitely a prime candidate for a live CD release and should be considered for a DVD package to capture what will undoubtedly herald some breathtaking live performances. HTP has arrived folks!! HTP - JAPAN CALLING... Interview by Kaz Hirose - February 2002 The Hughes/Turner Project album, in which wonderful vocals by Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner clash against each other, has been finished. All the songs on the album are of the traditional hard rock vein from the Seventies, and make the most of the personalities of both singers. For the fans, this is the album they have been hoping for. Let's ask Glenn, who took the initiative in the production, to talk about the process of making this project. KH: I heard that you wrote the songs for the HTP album with JJ Marsh in February 2001. GH: The lyrics were written by Joe and me, and the music was mainly written by me and JJ. The day after I finished my solo album, "Building The Machine", I entered my home studio and started making songs for HTP. I wrote seven songs in one afternoon. It is my way to write a lot of songs in a short period of time in a studio. KH: Pony Canyon told me, even in September 2001, that they did not know what songs written by who were included in this album. GH: That is probably because there were many songs which I wrote but were not included on the album. I wanted to make this album as classic rock, which brings out Joe's and my voice. We needed songs appropriate for ex-Rainbow and Deep Purple singers to sing together. KH: Did Joe also help select the songs? GH: Of course. This is also Joe's project. I first asked him to listen those seven songs. He liked the songs and asked me to write more in the same way. KH: How did you share in writing the lyrics? GH: We wrote the lyrics together. However, Joe wrote the lyrics for his ballad "Mystery Of The Heart", which he sang alone, and for my ballad "Heaven's Missing An Angel", myself and John Sykes, who is on a backing vocal on the chorus, wrote the lyrics together. KH: The recording started in September? GH: We originally planned to start the day after the tragedy on September 11th and Joe was planning to come from New York to Los Angeles where I live. However, the airports were closed and the arrival was delayed - the actual recording started on September 16th. Then, we worked on recording for 18 days. Joe liked the sound of my album which was due to Michael Scott, the engineer and co-producer. Therefore, Joe and I reached the conclusion that we should use him on this album. Because Michael has a studio at home, the album was recorded there. Because it was an ordinary house, we could relax a lot. The drums and a guitar were recorded on the second floor and a keyboard was on the first floor. Finally, we recorded vocals in the living room on the second floor by Joe and me singing together on a single microphone. If you listen to the album, you can tell that Glenn and Joe were singing live. KH: How did you decide on the guest players? GH: I discussed with Joe and Michael and decided that we should have guest players to play guitar solos. We thought one of them should be Akira Kajiyama, whom played with Joe, because the Japanese tour we played together was the start of this project. Paul Gilbert and John Sykes came up immediately, too. Both are my friends and understand classic rock. I knew which song they should play. I thought Paul should play "You Can't Stop Rock'N'Roll", because it was a type of music Mr. Big is good at. I wanted John Sykes to participate on my ballad. I have been saying that "I will play with John Sykes" and it finally happened. It was the best moment by Hughes & Sykes. It was modeled on the Whitesnake sound, typically John Sykes and very beautiful. KH: On the songs the guest guitarists played, did you imagine the players when you wrote the songs? GH: As for Paul Gilbert, I considered him after the song was recorded. In the case of Sykes, I wrote songs which he should play. Joe and I decided that Akira should play "Ride The Storm". Because it's a fast song, it would not be surprising - we thought Akira was the right player. We also thought that "Against The Wall", which is a bonus track in the Japanese press, would be perfect for Akira because it was Blackmore-type music. KH: How did you divide vocal responsibilities? GH: That's a wonderful question. I can say that it was mutually decided who sung what. It was the same way as David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes did in Deep Purple in the past. Joe is a versatile singer and I think myself so, too. We talked about the parts, each of us sings, in advance, but we made final decisions when we stood in front of the microphone. We did not make pre-production. I asked him, just before singing, "How about you singing here? I will sing there." - "How about you singing an ad-lib, while I am singing this part?" or we both brought up ideas, or sang together anyway and saw how it was like. I was very excited because that process went very well. KH: Please comment on each song in the album. GH: The first song, "Devil's Road" was the last song we wrote, and JJ, I and Joe finished it when Joe came to LA on September 16th. Because this album needed a big opening, like "Burn" and "Highway Star", we finished the song, which I started making with JJ and Joe. I think it is a wonderful opening. Joe and I wrote the lyrics and Joe came up with the title. "You Cant Stop Rock'N'Roll" is the song I really wanted Paul Gilbert to play, when I was selecting songs for the album. The music was written by JJ and me, and Joe and I wrote the lyrics. It has a big chorus, melodic and very simple words, so this is good for audience to sing together. I originally wrote "Missed Your Name" for Paul to play, but I changed the plan at the very end. This is one of the songs I wrote at the end, and I wrote it because I wanted an up-tempo song, which was missing from the album. The music was JJ and me, and the lyrics were written by me and Joe. I think the melodic but piercing vocal chorus would grab the listener's heart. "Mystery Of The Heart" is the song I wrote for Joe. When I was walking on the beach and asked him over the phone "what type of ballad do you want me to write?" - he said "a song like 'Street Of Dreams'". On the way walking back to my home, I came up with an idea, so I immediately went to the studio and wrote the song with a keyboard. Joe made it the best ballad. JJ and I wrote the music, and Joe and I wrote the music of "Sister Midnight". It is the most melodic rock song on the album, and Joe and I like this song a lot. I think it's very modern classic-rock. I wrote both the lyrics and music for "Better Man". I wanted to write a song like "Sail Away" from Deep Purple, and I think I was successful in actually expressing the feeling of the Seventies. I am very satisfied with it because it's a very danceable and melodic song. When I originally wrote "Heaven's Missing An Angel", the title was completely different. I sent the song to Sykes. He responded to me one week later, saying that "The verse of this song is one of your best. The verse is much better than the chorus. So, I want to write the melody and lyrics of the chorus". So, I said "If you think something better than what we have now, of course, I will listen to it." Two weeks later, we mixed the song. I listened to Sykes singing the chorus with the new melody and lyrics ten times, and found that he was right. Sykes wrote up a truly wonderful chorus. So, I left his lead vocal and, of course, it has a lot of his backing vocals. I really appreciate John Sykes. He has a wonderful talent. "Fade Away" is the last song written among the seven songs JJ and I wrote in February. I think it is musically rich. Joe especially likes this song. It is a deep and emotional song. I think it is one of the highlights in Joe's and my career. "Ride The Storm" was made as a result of my hope to have a song with a tempo and rhythm similar to "Spotlight Kid". When I was writing with JJ, we made a chorus too close to "Spotlight Kid". So, we recorded it after changing the guitar part to a new pattern. I think this is a classic especially for Joe. Joe and I wrote the lyrics and JJ and I wrote the music. I am featured on the bridge, and Joe told me that it is like Glenn Hughes on "Burn". This is also the best moment of Glenn and Joe. Akira's playing is also wonderful. "Run Run Run" is one of the first seven songs I wrote with JJ. I enjoyed writing the lyrics with Joe a lot. It is a simple song, but simple songs are more important. You cannot enjoy songs which are too serious. I wrote "Against The Wall" because I wanted to have a Deep Purple-like shuffle in the album. Therefore, of course, we decided to ask Akira to play. I wanted to make it with a Blackmore-like sound, and I think it went well. Joe wrote the lyrics all by himself. "On The Ledge" is the song I like very much. This is another highlight - I think this is the best song. Because we did not have a song which was appropriate to end the album. I went to the house of Vince DiCola, the keyboard player, without an idea, and told him to start with a classic organ just like Keith Emerson and John Lord would play. I wanted to make it like a modern "You Keep On Moving". This song features Glenn and Joe's voice with a sound of progressive Hammond organ and metrotron in the back. Joe and I wrote the lyrics of each verse. The chorus sounds magnificent, and the bridge is also magnificent. Glenn and Joe sing like Gods here! This is a terrific song. I cannot express with words how much I am satisfied and excited with this song. The Hughes Turner Project will be a project to bring big success to Joe and me. It is not about money, but about an emotional side and a spiritual side as an artist. This project is the favorite for both of us. KH: I got the impression that the direction of song writing on HTP, in itself, is quite different from that of your solo albums. Is it the result of trying to make the songs sound like Deep Purple and Rainbow? GH: That is absolutely right. I wanted the music complete different from Glenn Hughes albums. My albums contain a variety of songs because my soul let's me write these songs. For HTP, I wanted to make something fans all over the world would be pleased with. Something which is accepted by people who like Deep Purple and Rainbow. KH: I had the impression that these are many songs which have strong influence by Joe in their vocal melodies. Please tell me the songs which incorporated his ideas significantly. GH: Of course "Mystery Of The Heart". Others might be "Against The Wall", "Ride The Storm", "Can't Stop Rock'N'Roll", and "Run Run Run". For the songs which have a rock edge, many of Joe's opinions are incorporated. In contrast, I wrote "Sister Midnight". This sounds like a pop Glenn Hughes and has a big chorus. "Fade Away" and "On The Ledge" were also mostly done by me. "Devil's Road", too. Overall, I can say that both Joe and I brought ideas on melodies. We used a melody which was more appropriate for a song. For example, I originally wrote the melody of "On The Ledge". I told Joe the title and asked him to write the lyrics which match with it. But, eventually, Joe came up with a wonderful idea on the verse. On the other hand, I wanted to make the pre-chorus he wrote sadder, and sang my idea for him, and he liked it very much. Most of the melody making was done at my home studio before entering the studio. KH: I thought "Mystery Of The Heart" has a backing pattern similar to "Stone Cold" rather than to "Street Of Dreams". GH: Yes. It was originally supposed to be like "Street Of Dreams", but once we actually recorded with a base guitar in, it surely became like "Stone Cold". I did not send this song to Joe, but I asked him to come to my house. The story goes back and forth, but, two weeks after finishing the first seven songs, Joe came to my house from New York. At that time, he listened to the seven songs at my home studio for the first time. For "Mystery Of The Heart", I think he immediately started writing the lyrics there. It was decided at the beginning that most of the songs were to be sung by the both of us and to also have solo ballads; one sung by Joe alone and another by myself. KH: In the middle of "Missed Your Name", there is a flamboyant battle between a guitar and a keyboard. Didn't you think that, for this Deep Purple-like song, you should have asked Akira or Paul to play? GH: Yes. This was originally written for Paul to play. But, I also wanted Paul's guitar on "You Can't Stop Rock'N'Roll", because it is more commercial and good for radio play. KH: Do you think that "Devil's Road" is also a song which needs a player like Akira and Paul? GH: About that song, we didn't have time to send to somebody else because it was written right before the recording. If possible, I would of wanted Paul to play on 3-4 songs, but he could only play on one song. KH: Does JJ Marsh's solo play lack flamboyance for HTP in which two amazing singers are aiming at something like Deep Purple? GH: Because you are my friend, I will take it as praise of the vocals and also as constructive criticism. It was impossible to ask Paul Gilbert to join in on the whole album because of a contract problem. It was a tough decision on which song we ask him to play. However, it is my opinion that JJ Marsh's playing is wonderful. KH: Why didn't you ask Gary Ferguson to play drums? GH: Of course I could of asked Gary this time, too. But, it was my judgment that Shane Gaalaas is musically more suited for this project. KH: I think it is a shame that "Against The Wall", which has the best feel of "Hughes and Coverdale in Deep Purple" among all, is just a bonus track in the Japanese press. GH: To be honest with you, it was a very tough decision to me, too. At first, I thought that "Run Run Run" should be the bonus track. But, at the very end, Joe and I decided to pick "Against The Wall" as the bonus track. We really wondered because one of them had to be the bonus track! HTP BURRN'IN JAPAN! Interview: John "Shooter" Harrell - January 2002 ------------------------------------------------ Two ex-Deep Purple vocalists, Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner, made an album - HTP (Hughes Turner Project). This album will be on sale in Japan beginning February 2002. This project was started when Glenn was asked by Joe to play together in Japan, right before Joe's Japan tour in October, 2000. As Pony Canyon hoped, in this new album, they play melodic hard rock, something like a fusion of Deep Purple and Rainbow in a modern manner, featuring big vocals and a hammond organ, "The songs in this album were basically written by myself and JJ Marsh within two days", Glenn said. "I had a strict idea on how this album should sound. During a two-day period, I was very creative and concentrated on writing. And, now I think that this album grasps completely what type of musicians myself and Joe are. You can hear the big vocals. This album is truly unbelievable and will be on sale in 2002". All the songs in this album were already written in February, 2001. The twelve songs featured in this album were recorded in about 15 days between September and October, 2001. As you know, because both Glenn and Joe were extremely busy in their own solo projects, it was difficult to find good timing. Nonetheless, they adjusted their schedule to turn the project into reality. Ten of the songs in the album feature double vocals by Turner and Hughes, and both singers sing leading parts. "On the eleventh song, I sang a ballad, and on the twelfth, Joe sang a ballad", Glenn explained. "One day, I was walking on the beach, talking with him over the phone. I asked him what type of ballad he wanted me to write. His answer was 'Street Of Dreams'. On the way walking back to my home, the song was finished in my mind. As soon as I arrived at my home, I went straight to a keyboard and taped the song and sent it to Joe in New York. He thought it was the best among all the ballads he sang since 'Street Of Dreams'." Among the numbers on the album, Akira Kajiyama is featured in "Ride The Storm" and "Against The Wall", Paul Gilbert in "You Can't Stop Rock'N'Roll", and John Sykes in "Heaven's Missing An Angel", as lead guitarists. Other titles are "Devil's Road", "Missed Your Name", "Mystery Of The Heart", "Sister Midnight", "Better Man", "Fade Away", "Run, Run, Run", and "On The Ledge". "Against The Wall" is a bonus track for the Japanese press only. Musicians who played in this album are, other than the guitarists listed above, JJ Marsh , Vince DiCola , Shane Gaalaas . Glenn played bass by himself. This is a lineup of Glenn's recent band. The album was produced by Joe, Glenn and Michael Scott, with whom Glenn always works with. "In this album, you can listen two ex-Deep Purple lead singers. One also belonged to Rainbow, and another sang on a Black Sabbath album. Such a powerful combination did not exist since Deep Purple with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. "We would like to go on a tour after the release of the album. If the album sales goes well, we might make another album.", Glenn said. He finished by saying, "This album is for all the fans who love what I and Joe did in Deep Purple and Rainbow". From: Shirean [mailto:shirean@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Voices Rock Kaanapali! Review Voices Rock Kaanapali! January 11th-12th, 2002 Maui, Hawaii ----------------------- Here we are GH fans, we're on our way to see Papa Glenn R.O.C.K. Maui! With the unfortunate Orlando cancellation and the previous VCR show in Las Vegas scheduled on a work night (Monday), we decided it was time to cash in our last remaining air miles coupons and pack our backpacks and head for Maui! It's a little over a 4 hour flight from San Francisco and as I was looking through the In-Flight Magazine and noticed they were featuring the new "Kiss Box Set" on the in-flight programming, so I tuned in, it certainly made the time fly! As we touched down in Maui, all I could see was endless fields of sugar cane and massive volcanic mountains, it reminded me a bit of Hong Kong's Victoria Peak, so beautiful. This was our first trip to Hawaii, so we played the typical tourists. David was looking out for Steve McGarrett, while I was in search of "Danno", it was our running joke all weekend...(yes, Hawaii Five-O fans here)!! When we got to our room I noticed a huge AD for the Concert on the table, no lack of promotion here folks! In the lobby there were 2 "HUGE" poster stands where tickets were being sold. We also managed to pick up some of the local papers, it was advertised in every paper we opened. "If only they could promote a new release from Glenn like that", we said to ourselves! We heard them jamming across the street, so we headed over and low and behold Glenn was up there thumping on his bass with a couple of other "Voices". We waved to Glenn and he approached the mic and said "You guys made it"!! He then directed us over to Gabrielle and the other "Rock Wives"! It gave us a chance to catch up with Gabrielle. It was supposed to be a "Closed Rehearsal", but by the end of the night there were people up in the bleachers, drinking beer and hanging out, what a treat "they got a free show", we said to ourselves! The "Voices" had a grueling schedule ahead of them. 'VH-1 Classic' wanted each artist to do a "Full Dress Rehearsal", in case it got rained out, so they would get "Something" on tape"! So after the "day" rehearsals were done, all the artists returned in their "gig attire" and did their piece. Man everyone sounded "Great", when it was Glenn's turn, David ran down front and took a few pics before the cameras started rolling. They had a strict "NO" camera policy throughout the weekend (sigh). Glenn and Pat Travers on guitar opened with "You Keep On Moving" then "Stormbringer" emerged, its one of my favorite songs I never tire of hearing it. A blistering version of "Mistreated" followed, David was blown away at Glenn's vocals as well as Pat Traver's performance on this song. The evening was coming to an end when all the "Voices" came out and did the "Rockforever Anthem", an original tune written by them all, it reminded me a little of the Dio-led 'Hear-n-Aid' "Stars" song, although heavier, each member had a line to sing and all joined in on the chorus. The last song of the evening was a great rendition of "Smoke On The Water". After it was over, David and I went back to the hotel for a bit of R&R. Saturday morning arrived and after a walk along the sun drenched beach and a quick dip in the ocean (heh, we're in Hawaii after all), we headed back to the tennis stadium early, so we could try and speak to Glenn before the show. Our timing couldn't have been any better; we literally bumped into him as we entered the parking lot, he was heading back to the villa to pick up his bass and equipment. He invited us to walk with him and 'have a chat'. Once there, we briefly met the VCR webmaster (John Gates), had our quick chat and then helped Glenn carry his stuff over. You should have seen David with Glenn's bass, sure wish I had taken a picture ;-) Glenn was very generous letting us hangout stage left and the backstage area to watch the sound checks, and that's where we ran into George Nastos. What a nice guy, we had met for the first time a year ago in New York during the US solo tour plus 'spoke' online since then, and he remembered us instantly! We asked him if he was playing that night, but he was unsure 'cuz he didn't have an amp! Then out of nowhere, an amp appears!! They broke into "Burn", great to see them playing together again, they have some great chemistry! After Glenn was done, we went back to the villa to get caught up and Joe Lynn Turner and his manager, Mark, walked in. They were very nice, JLT has got a grip on him, my hand hurt after he shaked it!! Showtime was fast approaching so we headed back to the hotel for a few beers before the gig. An hour passed, we went to enter the Stadium. Inside they had intense security, checking bags, I thought it was a bit over the top, "For God's sake 'we're in Hawaii' of all places"! The only good thing about it, was you were able to go out whenever you wanted, as long as you had the right wristbands on!! Now for the show - there were a couple of performances I did enjoy, Spencer Davis "I'm A Man", "Gimme Some Lovin", David Jenkins Pablo Cruise songs, Leslie West, Alex Ligertwood - "I'm Winning", all of Joe Lynn Turner's mini-set "Street of Dreams", "Stone Cold", "Hush" and "Woman from Tokyo". It was great to see Glenn sing backup on the various numbers - he's not going to do these during one of his solo shows! It really shows off his versatility! That's also true for all the VCR members, you really get to see the full spectrum of their talent and not just what they're known for. Glenn was up next, the first few bars of "Burn" started, and the crowd went "CRAZY". Glenn looked and sounded "Great", strutting across the stage in those "dangerous" white platform boots working the crowd and the cameraman. It was a surreal experience to witness the filming of it, with the huge camera booms hovering over the crowd up front. Towards the end of "Burn" George's amp starts playing up with feedback starting to screech, but he manages to finish the song. Then the director tells Glenn he must re-do the song! George fights with his amp a bit longer, but it wasn't cooperating and he then storms off stage! Can't blame him at all, it was a bit of a fiasco. Luckily, Pat Travers steps in and GH fans are given "Burn II". If Glenn was annoyed at what just happened he sure didn't show it he was only too happy to do it again, although it was a little less powerful, 'cuz after giving a blistering no-holds barred vocal outing the first time round, and in the heat, it wasn't surprising! I think the days events seemed to take a toll on a few of the "Voices", Charlie Morgan flipped a wobbly mid-set but it was topped off, after the show as the crowd was dispersing, when the 2 ton 30-foot camera boom came crashing to the ground, just missing people by inches - "Do I hear lawsuit"!! Luckily no one was injured. As we left the stadium they had a make-shift T-shirt stand where "ladies" from "Hooters" were selling "Voices of Classic Rock" T-Shirts, Hats and CD's. Also a few of the Voices came out after the show and signed some stuff for the fans, which was great. "What a weekend"... As Sunday lunchtime approached, David and I headed to the airport for our flight back to the mainland. I had one last Mai Tai and bid farewell to Maui. Until next time... From: Shirean [mailto:shirean@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Ellis - E-III Review ELLIS - E-III Available for purchase directly from Ellis's web site at: www.EllisMusic.com Based out of San Diego, California, Ellis is made up of Stacey Ellis (lead vocals, bass), Brett Ellis (guitars) and Mike McFarland (drums). With this release, the band delivers their third outing and so the appropriately titled album was eagerly awaited by my CD player! It kicks off with "Looking For Love" an Ellis trademark song. Stacey delivers at full throttle accompanied by Brett's smoking guitar riffs. After the track is over I hear myself saying, "Is this really a power trio?!?!" Next up is "Slide" probably the most melodic track on the CD, it showcases Brett's classical guitar work and Stacey compliments it with some stunning harmonies. (Sigh back to reality) "Have You Seen Her" is a bluesy funk track I think you would all agree is "screaming for audience participation"! "Mash Taters" is a bluesy instrumental which sounds more like a sound check which never seems to take flight. "Superstition" is a fine rendition of Stevie Wonder's classic song - my only gripe is that I've heard it covered too many times and perhaps they should have had Glenn participate on this one too! "Empty Pockets" is MASSIVE, plain and simple, Stacey shows off her full range on this one and delivers the ultimate in a vocal performance. Brett's guitar work is just amazing and highlights both his acoustic and electric talents. The chorus is a classic and if one track is the price of admission, then this it! "Couldn't Make Her Stay" - a beautiful instrumental dedicated to Dave Peverett of Foghat who recently passed away. Lots of jazz influences inside, Brett yet again, shows his versatility. You melt on this one, like being on a beach staring up at the blue sky watching the day go by, but then suddenly a twist and a turn and you're jumping up and down getting into the groove of the day!! "Growing Wise", a wonderful duet with Glenn Hughes - Stacey and Glenn deliver an unforgettable performance. They have some real chemistry on the softer moments of the song, but are both given the opportunity to show off their vocal talents to the full. Let's hope we hear more of the same from the two of them in the not too distant future. "Grace", wow yet another musical direction. What a great jazz number proving that Ellis's middle name is, Diverse! Nice keyboard work and vocal gymnastics highlight this wonderful song. "Use Me" starts out slow then proceeds to punch you in the gut at it's conclusion. A very acoustic and "Heart-like" guitar passage leads you through to a classic hard rock guitar break and accompanying solo - great stuff! "Happy To Be Cool", a lovely and catchy song with a superb chorus, not surprising since Glenn collaborated on it! Once again Brett delivers the goods with some awesome 70's-like sounding guitar riffs. "Throwing Stones", an upbeat get up off your seat rocker! Hendrix/Stevie Ray riffs throughout, you 'gotta love it. This is another "must play" in their live show, I feel the sweat already!! "Cold North", the album closer is an ever moving ballad, the guitar work shines throughout. You have it all here with haunting vocals, power riffs and violin highlights. It brings the CD to a wonderful ending, and leaves you begging for more. Throughout the album Mike McFarland provides solid drumming and easily accomplishes the required highs and lows with such a diverse set of material, I especially like his work on "Happy To Be Cool" and "Throwing Stones". In closing, this is one hell'uva CD and should be considered a "must have" for your collection. Ellis has demonstrated their diversity with this project, there's something for everyone inside. Metal, classic hard rock, the funk, blues, jazz and the ever important ballads. What are you waiting for, get your copy - NOW! From: EG Messner [mailto:graham@innernet.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Good Story As GH fan Graham Messner realized what his wife had done and accidentally threw away his prized Glenn Hughes autograph, there was one thing that kept him from going off the deep end. "September 11 had just occurred and crying over a lost autograph or using the word 'devastated' seemed pretty lame," Messner said. "So I went to the website." In the post onto the site, he simply asked if he could purchase any extra signings that any fellow GH fan might have and left his cellular phone number. The next morning, while sitting in his office, he got a call from Glenn's great friend/Soulful Christmas Executive Producer Ken Ciancimino, who explained to Messner that Glenn had seen the post and that they would send him another as soon as he returned from South America. "I was pretty blown away that Glenn would respond by asking Ken to respond to my post," Messner said. "They promised they send me something to replace my piece that was about to be a focal point in my newly renovated bar area." About three weeks later, Ciancimino called Messner again. This time he was at home. As the two chatted for a few seconds, they were then joined by Glenn, who was in California. "Now I am really blown away," Messner said. "We talked briefly about the Joe Lynn Turner Project and how long I had been following him. He's really pleased with the JLT album and he's eager for it's release. He said he wasn't sure if he could write another Purple-esque album, but believe he pulled it off! He was very gracious and didn't seem in a hurry to get me off the phone. Glenn had always been very special to me as a musician and singer, but this was above and beyond and showed how thankful he is of his fans. The only bad thing was that now my wife believes she can just throw stuff away and celebrities will call and talk to me." Messner said he was also amazed at the amount of GH website users offered up items in an effort to help. "It was heartening." GRAHAM MESSNER From: David & Shirean [mailto:dands@ghpg.net] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: 'N BETWEEN TIMES 'N BETWEEN TIMES An Oral History of the Wolverhampton Group Scene of the 1960's by Keith Farley - KeithFarley1946@AOL.com ----------------------------------------- An absolute must have! This book contains a vast collection of information on the wonderful Wolverhampton music scene of the 1960’s. It's only available directly from Keith, the author. So what are you waiting for - email him and place your order immediately! It has great detail behind local artists and many stories from club go-ers of the Gaumont, the Club Lafayette, the Scala, the Cleveland Arms and many other local venues. If you know of Finders Keepers, Trapeze, Slade, Led Zeppelin just to name a few, then this book is for you. Keith has interviewed many members of the local groups and includes their memories along with a large number of photographs. For purchasing information, contact Keith Farley directly via email at KeithFarley1946@AOL.COM A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF GLENN HUGHES ---------------------------------- Jerry Ewing talks to the former Deep Purple vocalist to find out how he spends his days "Me and the Missus get up at 6am every day. We've got a new puppy, a long-haired Chihuahua, which is ruling our universe at the moment. Anyway, my wife's a TV producer, so she gets up every morning for work anyway. We get up and walk the dog and then we'll have some breakfast and she'll go off to work. At that point I like to get on the computer and answer some emails, and I also like to get in the little studio I have here in the house and do some writing. I do that not only because I'm a songwriter, but I also need to do it. It sustains my soul. "I'm a member of a gym, and every day, Monday through Friday, I go up there and meet up with all my mates, this gang of blokes I hang around with. We do two or three hours in the gym and have lunch. And we do that daily. I do a lot of walking where I live. It's about seven miles all around. I walk to the gym, which is by the beach, and I walk form Hermosa Beach Pier to Manhattan Beach Pier and back again. I run on the bike path, though, not on the sand. Running on the sand will make your arse hard, but I'm not really looking at that at the moment. "I'm in great shape these days. I saw this video that someone took of me and Pat Thrall at the NAMM show in 1990 - the year before I went into Betty Ford. I said to myself: 'Who the f**k is that fat geezer?' And it was me! You know the story, but I took a look at myself inside and out, and decided that I had to change. And since then I've been obsessed with looking and feeling good. "The jogging thing and walking is not just to look good, I feel really good when I do it. A lot of runners will tell you how good they feel when they run. The truth of the matter is that I get a lot of writing done when I'm running, too. I take a little digital recorder with me and anyone who sees me, must think that I'm a fu*king nut job, talking into this machine. But I get a lot of songs written for my albums. My days are centered around getting my heart started and feeling good. I used to exhibit this strange behaviour by spending thousands of pounds on chemicals to feel this good, now I do running and I feel that good. "The evenings are pretty much spent having a few dinner parties. And with my wife working in TV we have a fair few functions to go to. We don't really do a lot of Hollywood stuff, basically it's more house mingling, although Bobby Kimball from Toto does come round with his wife for dinner sometimes. At the weekends we pretty much hang out at the beach with the dog and go for lots of walks. I'd love to be able to tell you that I beat up young punks, but I don't do that sort of thing, ha ha. "The weather here is great, although I have to admit that the cooler weather, for me, the better for running. Living near the ocean is great because with the sea breeze it's a lot cooler than it is living in the valley. "I'm also a prolific reader. I'll read anything that's put in front of me - anything. I'm on my UFO thing again, reading a lot about UFOs. And I've gone through the Harry Potter books. They're amazingly written. My wife is an avid reader, she'll go through two or three books a week, so there's always stuff for me to read. Primarily, my main hobby is the walking thing that I keep going back to. I also do a lot of chanting and stuff like that. And songwriting, I am a songwriter, and I love writing songs. I write far more songs than I actually publish. "I like cooking, but in a British vindaloo kind of way. Vegetable curry is my speciality. My Missus is a phenomenal cook. She's American, but of German descent, and she just won't let me in the kitchen. I'm married to a dream. She's like: 'Get out of my kitchen'. I do cook the odd vindaloo, though. "I used to go out on the road and get shit-faced and stay up all night, but that's all changed now. I do like meeting the fans, but it's tough for me to do those tours now. When I can I do. It's very easy for me to come home from being on tour. The whole rock star thing, when I got sober in the early '90s, with the blond hair and the not playing bass - that was my cock rock period - is not me now. About two years ago I found my legs on stage, cracking gags and stuff, and I don't become that rock ponce any more. There's no big deals in life for me now. I've done it, I've got the platinum albums and I'm not chasing them any more. It'd kill me to do that now. I come home, I look forward to getting into my bed. I'm comfortable with who I am now." From: Regisboylejr@aol.com [mailto:Regisboylejr@aol.com] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Vegas Review The Voices of Classic Rock is a brilliant concept. I recently saw the show in Vegas at the House of Blues. The idea is to have a number a great singers get together & sing the songs they are most famous for. Most fans don't know the singers by name but the second they hear the first note of these monster hits they know every lyric by heart. With Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Alex Ligertwood (Santana),Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple), Dave Jenkins (Pablo Cruise), Mike Reno (Loverboy),John Cafferty,Pat Travers & Kevin Dubrow the show was awesome. Sitting in the front row I loved every second of it. It was well worth calling in "sick" to work. Glenn as usual was the best singer I have ever seen live. If you ever get a chance to see this show you have no excuse to miss it no matter what. Reggie Boyle Thousand Oaks, CA. GLENN HUGHES - OCTOBER 2001 by Andrew J McNeice - melodicrock.com ------------------------------------- Building The Vocal Machine Hey Glenn....so how are things with you anyway? So everything's good man, the reviews this week are strong so I'm just, I don't know, startled. All I can tell you know is, I just made another record and people are digging it. Yeah, absolutely, Absolutely. And I'm one of them. Oh yeah? You know, Andrew I've got to tell you, I guess being married and having no... I didn't want to listen to anybody's advice on what my album shouldn't be like. I get a lot of people, trust me, telling me what to do. Like for instance, you can't, you know, be funky. Or you can't have echo and you can't have background vocals. And you shouldn't have any chicks. And you can't have any horns. And whatever you do, don't have... I get people all the time suggesting. And I just locked myself in my studio and I wrote songs. Off the record I said, I wonder what Trapeze would sound like doing this or let's put an acoustic track here. Let's put some real Hammond on there. Let's, let's put some more vocal on the record, let's have more vocals. Let's um... I just had fun. Yeah. It sounds like it. It's a good album. It's mournful in places because there's two songs about people that died. But it's, it's a very... I mean look at Kip Winger's stuff, some of the stuff he's done has been mournful, but it's good, your know? Oh absolutely, absolutely. I just got off the phone with him. Ok. So you guys are friends? Yeah. Well, I'm going to give you an exclusive. You might be seeing something from the two of us in the next two years. Really!? Yeah, we're actually talking at the moment, but I mean, we're thinking about putting our heads together. The music obviously is going to be, what it's going to be, it's going to be Kip and Glenn doing... and it's going to be a mix. But we are actually talking about it and Rod Morgenstein and Andy Timmons are the other two geezers. Oh wow! What a powerful line up. Yeah, we haven't... Once again, we haven't written anything. Kip's writing now and I've got some ideas. But we're really, really into pursuing something special. Yeah. Kip's got an interesting sound on his own, his solo sound these days. You two mixed would be very interesting. Yeah well, you know, I like his lush arrangements and I like... see I dig..., you know he's had a lot of bad luck in the last few years, we know that. And I'm akin to the soul of him. Not the soulfulness of his voice, but the soul of who he is as a man. And I admire him as a man. I get asked so many times, write with this guy or write with... and all these prats out there you know. But you know, I don't have any time to work with anybody that's not loving and nurturing. And he's a lovely bloke. But it's been a heavy week. This is the last interview and it's been great because some of the interviews I get normally, some of the people are difficult, because of different languages they are really difficult. And they're like, rude. Oh really? (laughs) Oh, some of the Germans are rude, yeah. But, all in all, every interview and review have been very strong. And they want to know what I did differently. And I said well, I just wrote some more music. You know I just wrote and I sang. You know I have that gift where sometime... you see I'm living inside this body and people go, 'how do you...God, you're Glenn Hughes.' I say, what do you mean? I said like, I'm just a human being for Christ's sake. I just happen to sing because God chose me to sing. And it really is that simple you know. I mean I have been blessed with this, with this beautiful gift that, let me tell you, I tried to abuse that for so long. In the eighties you know. I was so out of my head. And I had no idea what I was doing to my soul. I was in like an empty, you know, tank. And now I've got this life ex... and here's the deal, I have so much life experience to draw from in my music. And I don't, as you know sing about weasels and goblins, I sing about human conditions. Yes you do. And it all is coming from deep, deep down. Whatever sort of part of your life you moved onto, I just think the songs on Building are really a strong collection of songs. Yeah, and I'll tell you what. I hate to say this but the next one, I'm even going to get even more melodic. Not because you've got melodicrock, I'm not saying that to appease you. I've got to tell you that I sometimes in the last 5 years have gotten lost in the performance of how great a singer I'm supposed to be or how many great licks can Glenn sing. I am trying to not derail myself on the ride by keeping to a great melody. I keep forgetting it's the tone of my voice that is strong. We all know that I can sing rips and all that stuff and I can do all that stuff with my voice. But I'm coming home now to a place of this is a great tonal instrument. Just that one note can change people's lives. Just the one single note, you know, like Paul McCartney has that great tone. That's what I'm coming... in my older years, I'm coming to grips with the voice. Not just the rips and the ad-libs and all those screams and those long, winding notes. Which like the Mariah Carey syndrome. You know what I'm talking about? Yes. Yes I do. So, you know, some of the album smacks heavily of a young Glenn Hughes in like 'Out on Me' and 'Slip Away'. Those performances I could... an 18 year old kid. I was blown away when I sang out on me. I'm going, listen to this little bastard. I sounded like a child. I'll tell you, I have not felt so enthused singing on a record in since probably Play Me Out. You know what? You really can hear it. When I put this on I could really feel a spirit in the record. Even in ”Can't Stop”, the first track, when I go up-down the second verse It's like it's whoa! It's like, a guy that really means it. And let me tell you Andrew, I'm not kidding you, all of these songs, pretty much first takes. Really! Yeah. Wow! You know I don't really sit a home mapping out the structure of the melody, what I'm going to do. I just, well I sort of blues it out you know. It's a beautiful thing to have that thing. Whatever tools we're given. I mean the tools I've been given, it's taken me almost half my life, more than half my life to realize that I sustain my soul by singing, either to one person, or one thousand, or ten thousand, or twenty thousand. I write music to sustain my soul, to make me a better person. A Glenn Hughes that isn't writing and producing is not a happy guy. And I've got nothing to give back to the human race. And I do change people's lives. It might not be millions anymore. But people do get affected by my music. They do. You've got a very vocal fan base. I do. And they are very sweet. And even the die hard, let's call them the die hard Purple fanatics that have grown over the years to love the funky, ballad Glenn too. Because if you like Glenn, you've got to know Glenn comes from Trapeze. You know, and that was 30 years ago. And I'm so proud of that man. When somebody says to me, I'm a Trapeze fan. That really tickles me. When somebody says, I'm a huge Trapeze fan, whether I'm a Purple fan or a Sabbath fan. I go, Oh my God, you must know who I am. You know? Coverdale got his copy two days ago and he's very, brutally frank with me. We talk about all of my releases and he was blown away by it. And I was really happy 'cause he really criticizes. In a very good way, we talk about our records. I like David a lot. Actually I did a really good interview with him. He's a good interview. He gives great interviews. Yeah he's very intense, but he's also got a.... he's aware of himself. Got a good sense of humor. He's gearing up right now to doing a record. I think he's told you we're going to do a duet. Oh, on the record. Are you really? Yeah, well you can go to his ..., he's talking about it on his web site, so it's not going to be a secret. Yeah, great, great. I'd love to see you two do a record together. Andrew, you know the deal is for me, and this is the beauty of it. You interview lots of artists. And you'll ask the question, 'Well what's up coming up for you?' And they'll probably tell you what's coming up. I know what's coming up for me. You know JLT's coming in this week and we're going to do the album. But what's coming up for me in the next two or three years is I don't know, but it's going to be fun. 'Cause whatever it's going to be, I'm going to be there for it. I shall be present and correct, standing at attention, ready to go. Whether it's with David or Kip or whether it's with another KLF type crazy venture or whether it's a bloody opera. I'm up for it. And, the deal is, I'm not chasing the double-platinum success I had in Deep Purple every year 'cause I'd kill myself. It's that Dorian Gray thing. I'm going to be fifty-years old, I feel fucking great. People say I look great. And the thing is, is that... Did I tell you that story of David Lee Roth, years ago. About five-years ago. We're having dinner and he said... I'd lost all this weight. And he said to me, 'Man,' he says. 'You can lose like another twenty pounds, you like, you can hit those notes you used to hit.' I said David, I can hit them and more. I said, well, what about Pavarotti, for Christ's sake? He was looking at me like, it's like a physical thing. Singing for me isn't about that. It's about, deep within. It comes from somewhere so deep. It comes from generations of life. There are certain singers, that obviously you know, in your feeling that sing from somewhere that is so deeper than most people. They draw it from somewhere, you go, 'Where are they finding that?' Ah, absolutely. Absolutely. Right? Like for me, where does Jeff Beck find those notes? A certain, whatever. A certain soccer player. How did he do that? It comes... It's just deep. And I don't mess around with that. So what I do is, I flow with it knowing, there's something coming here. And whatever it is, I'm present and correct. You know what I'm saying? I'm actually using it now as the tool that God gave me. Now I'm not talking religiously crazy Andrew. I'm telling you that the world now knows that the s????????? Glen uses is a little deeper than most peoples, singing wise. So it comes from a place were it's special. And I tell you, Andrew, I'm a humble, grateful man for that. I can tell. I can absolutely tell. I can tell the difference between what you're saying now and what you said the first interview I did with you about three years ago maybe now. I remember that. The Way it is, right? You were sort of searching a bit more then. You're sounding more comfortable now. At that time, I think I'd just done The Way it is, or I was making it. I took a two and a half year hiatus from Addiction. The Addiction album damn near killed me. I was revisiting the period were I got sober and the album was so dark. It is dark. I'm telling you I got ill making that album. And I was hard pushed to promote it. I promoted it and I was sick, I had my band... at that time I wasn't playing bass I had this 5 or 6 piece band we were going out and playing it. And some of the songs were so exhausting. Drawing from that experience, I don't want to live that way again, that song was damn near frightening to sing. That's why Building the Machine, although some of it is mournful, I found it to be refreshing to sing, you know, refreshing. Yeah. You sound revitalized. That's probably the best word. Revitalized and comfortable in one's skin. Comfortable again...um, I'll tell you, I've come a long way these last ten years of sobriety that It's like..., the spin of the coin Andrew is, is I should be dead for Christ's sake. You've seen these Behind the Musics, these Motley Crues, 'Oh I was dead, I turned blue'. Well you know sort of the same thing with me, you know, I came back from the dead. And I'm not, you know, wearing like diamonds and dripping with gold and wanting you to think I am some sort of super god. I came back in a spiritual path. Which I don't really talk about that much, but I did. And low and behold I met a wonderful woman and I've got great friends. Rock and roll is not going to kill Glenn Hughes, like it's killed many of people. You know like the Phil Linnots and the John Bonhams and you know the drugs and the alcohol have just killed the '70s legends. All of those, Jim Morrisons and Janis Joplins and Jimmi Hendrixes you know. You don't see so much Kurt Cobain, you don't see so much of that anymore do you? Hopefully I won't be one of those statistics, I won't be a statistic like that. Yeah, never. You've got another 50 records left in you. Well, you know, it's scary isn't it? Because I'm producing...I think since I've got sober, I've been on about twenty, twenty odd records. Eight of my own, well, nine of my own and then tribute records. You know I've done, in the..., since I've spoke to you last, I've done...Christ...in the last four months I've done an Aerosmith tribute, a Queen tribute and a Nazareth tribute. After I said I was never going to do any more tributes, I did three in like a week. I've heard the Queen one. How is that? Fantastic! I haven't got a copy of it. Haven't you? No. I'll call Bob Kulick. Yeah, I had to buy one from Japan myself. I still enjoyed it a lot. And the Nazareth one, I have not got yet. That's 'Piece of my Heart', the Janis Joplin song. Oh, that'll be good. And the Aerosmith song, I've got to tell you the truth, it's a song that wasn't a hit in the '70s. And I can't remember what it was called. Something about kings or something. Well they chose that track for me 'cause it was like an obviously not a Glenn Hughes..., I just turn it into something new. Steve Lukather to play guitar. It's great. It'll be coming out in the next year or something. Kind of cool. Yeah, ok. Well they're good fun to do aren't they? Ah, you know, Bob Kulick's the tribute king. He's the best producer of them isn't he? He is for that you know, and I get to play with like Steve Lukather and all those guys. I like those guys. People say to me 'what do you do that for man, you're taking away from your record sales.' Bullshit! In the big picture, it don't mean a diddly squat. No, I agree, it doesn't. 'The mystique of Glenn Hughes...' Well I should be dead already. Let me sing. Let me sing for Christ's sake. I tell you what. I did my own little compilation of a bunch of tunes that you'd covered. You know, from tribute albums or from whatever. And there are some really fantastic versions of some songs on there. I mean just to hear you sing 'Whiter Shade of Pale'. Of that's a nice moment. Did you get the live version of that? No. Because you know, Keith Emerson, and Mark Bonilla and myself recorded it live in San Francisco two years ago. I thought you might have got a bootleg of it. Oh ok. No. There's not a bootleg going about but there's a live album coming out with that song on it and I sing 'The Talk is Sweet' and there's about..., there's 12 cuts that Keith and I are going to put out, I think in the spring. The live version is great too. It's a great live version of that song. Yeah, fantastic song, it really suited you. And I also liked 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. Oh that's wonderful. I was, I think, sick when I sang that at Jeff's studio. I love that. You know, it was his idea to strip away the... to just have the piano. It was just totally... 'cause that was a quirky song wasn't it? Oh absolutely. And then all of the sudden, here comes this melodic voice, like an angel singing it. I thought it was very cool. Oh it was, it was. I enjoyed that one immensely. And I must say, I probably told you this before but still as much as I love all of your records, my favorite is still From Now On. Well to tell you the truth, I didn't listen to From Now On for a number of years because I thought it was. Let me just say this honestly to you, I thought it was an unhip album. Probably because I did it with players that were very, very good, but very technical in their way, and not at all soulful. And here's the kicker...I didn't listen to Burning Japan Live for the same reason. Because everybody thought it's a great live album, and it is vocally, it's great. But then again, I, six months ago, started listening to those two albums and I was bowled off my feet. With the song content, number one. And the... it was a... From Now On is a great album. So I've actually gone on print and said, you know, I take it back. I was wrong. It's a great album. And I'm actually thinking about playing some of those songs live again. Oh great, great. 'Cause, somebody sent me a video of some of the stuff from somewhere... some footage of me singing some of that and I went...this is a good record. Yeah, it is, it is. It did really well you know. It was a big one. Some have said that if I'd have kept on that path, probably would have done more with my career. But you know, because I don't have an A & R guy like a John ????? nor a huge Columbia records or you know, ten producers on my album. I'm not Aersomith. I get to conceive an album, produce it, arrange it, write it, sing it, play it. Because that's who I am. It becomes a little bit much sometimes. Yes, I can imagine that. I would love. I would love to have the money and label that would afford me to have a top-notch producer. Somebody to come in and produce me. 'Cause man, you know, it would be wonderful. I would love to be produced by someone. You know, I'm telling you, a lot of artists wouldn't say that. But I would love it. To have a label, a big label and a producer come in. Lilly, that is not very cool. My dog is eating shit, again. Come on outside, outside, outside Lilly. (Laughing) What kind of dog have you got? She is a long-haired Chihuahua. Now when I say that, she probably would freak if she heard me saying that she eats shit but she is the cutest, physically, the cutest looking dog. It's not like a Chihuahua in the aspects of bulging eyes and small. She's got long legs, beautiful blue eyes and she's white with fawn markings. She's like a little princess, with her little diamond collar. But she eats her shit. And it drives me and my wife fucking crazy! I mean, she'll do it and we'll go and get some toilet paper to wipe it up. And before we can get it, she's eaten it. Now I'll tell you, it's horrible. And it happens all the time, and we have people over. But all I'm doing is keeping busy, and keeping busy means that, I believe... see now one thing, I really want to you remember this... I'm not chiseling away to get double platinum. It would be nice to have platinum records you know. And a guy at Columbia, this big cheese at Columbia said to me a month ago, he said, "You possibly Glenn, in the rock genre of your peer group, you're probably one of the only guys at your age that could actually come back and have huge radio and TV success doing rock if you really, really, really found the right label, producer, manager, etc." And you know something? He's probably right. So I say this to the universe: I'm welcoming a label and a manager and producer to come in and put the ship together. David Coverdale my dear friend, will tell you the same thing. He's a very wealthy man. But I'm sure David..., I don't know where he's going to go, I think he might produce himself again. But you know, we're all in the same boat, the guys from this generation. The Limp Bizkits of today are ruling because twenty-year-old kids don't want to be me and David, they want to be Fred Durst and all those other geezers. It's a shame thought, isn't it? But if you look at it, it's just near the top and it's about the MTV music awards that were on the other night. Listen, that was absolute... I waited to the last second saying, OK, somebody blow me away. Yep. And they didn't did they? You know Andrew, it was absolutely...it was a bloody... Here's what I'm predicting. I might be wrong. I'm predicting and this is, as you know, the Led Zeppelin catalogue is mammothly successful. I'm predicting because people, young kids now are being told by their parents go listen to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or Deep Purple or something like that. I'm predicting the age of the rock gods, guitar players and singers is coming aback. I hope so. It's got to man. Because rap is huge, is never going to go away. It's going to be huge for the next fifty years. But rock music as we like is teetering. It's on the brink of sort-of doing something. But this Limp Bizkit stuff it's like bubble gum, for me. Yep! I predict that the song-writing, singer guy with the guitar player foil, you know good looking. Doesn't have to be eighteen, could be thirty, thirty five, is going to come back. I hope so. Stripped down, bass, drums, guitar, vocals, a little bit of Hammond organ. Oh yeah, good ol' Hammond. You know why? Because it's everything. Be it clothes, be it whatever, it comes full circle. It comes full circle. So you never know where we're going to be. I mean, all I know is I'm plugging away. I'm singing, I'm writing, I'm producing. I've never been so creative. I don't hardly get any sleep. People say, 'How do you sleep'? I say I don't get a lot of sleep. (Laughing). And next week you're back into it again. Joe arrives on Tuesday, we rehearse on the 15th, 16th, 17th and we start cutting the 18th. And we're done the 12th of October. The album will be released world wide, February. Great! Called 'HTP' and the album will be called HTP. The songs I can tell you now are pretty much, 90% of it..., there's always going to be one song on the record that's a bit of a twist for Glenn, but it's not that much of a twist. There's one epic song but the rest of it is... you could actually find... For me I wrote in a way that it would definitely fit on a Deep Purple or Rainbow record in mid '70s to mid '80s. Wow, you know that sounds pretty cool to me. Yeah, and it's going to be authentically produced in a Fender Stratocaster, Hammond again, acoustic drums with Glenn and Joe trading vocals. Two songs, one song sung by Joe, ballad, alone. One song sung by Glenn alone, ballad and then the rest is Glen and Joe at toe-to-toe going at it. That's what we want to hear! It's just the two lead singers, you know there ain't really anybody done it since me and Coverdale. So you're going to get it with me and Joe, and let me tell you, Joe's no slouch. Oh I know that. I just got his new record. How is it? Ah, great, really. Is it good? Yeah, good, rocking album. I was in New York when he was cutting it. It's called Slam, right? I heard a couple of cuts while I was in the studio and it sounded great. That guy Akira is coming to town, he's playing a couple of songs on our record too. That guy Akira is a Blackmore influenced. Yeah, he's quite a swift player. He's good. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Look Glenn, that's about... anything else you want to throw in? I think that just about covers it. You know, I'm... this is personal to you. I just...it's really good since you started your company that you've got a lot of people go there and it's very influential. I want to leave this on a personal level, to say, the first time we spoke you were very nice to me and I'm a huma...I'm just you know...rather than... I want you to know me as a friend. I just happen to be a singer. I think it's very cool we have this relationship where you can call me anytime, that you know that. Thank you. Remember this. I should be dead. So every day of my life is a fucking gravy. So I have been given this tremendous gift of life which every day I wake up going, Yeah man, I'm fucking still here!! So just remember me for being like that. And I'm glad you like the record and there's way more to come. All right, Glenn, thank you. Thank you brother. Great talking to you again. And you bro'. From: Molly [mailto:mollys1@sympatico.ca] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Glenn Hughes Overall Album Review Here's a (sort of) personal review of a lot of Glenn's recorded work, particularly from the 90's, on. I should first point out that I haven't read one single word of anyone else's review, which will make reading other people's (at least for myself) that much more interesting. Until recently, (in fact around a year ago), I had no idea Glenn had any CD's out since the Hughes/Thrall project of the 80's. My first new Hughes listening adventure was an album which, (along with "The God Of Voice"), I consider to be one of the two best examples of an overall view of the differant styles which Glenn has embrassed over that ambitious decade, "The Way It Is". I would highly recommend both as primers for those who have yet to hear that amazing voice. And Glenn is no slouch when it comes to composing either! And, if that weren't enough, you can almost always count on some great musicianship from the other players as well, particularly in the drum and guitar department. Once you've been initiated, I would point to the great "Burning Japan Live", "Feel", and "Addiction" some of which are featured on "The God Of Voice". I might mention "From Now On", except that I've only heard the few examples found on "The God Of Voice", which, to me, probably indicates yet another great Hughes work. And let's not forget the amazing "Blues", which (thank goodness), is anything but typical twelve-bar blues, but finds it's heart in the best region of that territory nonertheless. And with the advent of a new decade upon us, we have "Crystal Kharma" which explores new ground and a differant type of "heavy". "Building The Machine" offers a sort of "Kharma" (smoothed-out), combined with slight past stylings, and perhaps a hint of future cool-jazz-blues vocals. I look forward to whatever Glenn has next, and would strongly advise him to go where his heart leads him, (and hopefully he'll do something with Jeff Beck someday) - I wish!! Sincerely, Joe Szilagy (see Afro-Nubians) UNIVERSAL WHEELS ROCK NEWSLETTER Kevin Julie - December 2001 For interviews & reviews on Classic rock acts Visit > http://go.to/universalwheels GLENN HUGHES Often cited as one of the Greatest singers in rock n roll for the past 25 years, Glenn Hughes' career has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, personal tragedies and triumphs, and a musical class above most of his contemporaries. His story reads like a book, from a young guy in Wolverhampton, England fronting the funk-rock band Trapeze, who reached moderate success before he was spotted and brought in to Deep Purple, one of the biggest bands at the time in 1974, and then after DP broke up year of different yet unique and usually classic projects such as Hughes/Thrall, a short stint in Black Sabbath, numerous solo albums, and guest appearances, and up until a decade ago, a career often riddled with substance abuse and addictions. But in recent years, clean, sober, and in charge of what he's doing, Glenn Hughes has become THE voice of rock. Check out guest appearances like Stuart Smith's "Heaven & Earth" debut, or the various tribute albums he's contributed to, and most notably his latest string of albums - "Crystal Karma", "Voodoo Hill" [a classic hard rock album with Italian guitarist Dario Mollo], and his best work to date - "Building The Machine"; my favorite album release of 2001. It was again, a privelage to interview Glenn about his latest work [my 2nd opportunity], and the inspirations for many of the songs, as well as get his views on Trapeze and Uriah Heep :-) , as well as touching on other projects he's currently involved in. [KJ] What can you tell me about the new album, as far as making it different from the last one? Any new influences or ideas ...? [GH] I wanted to continue in a way I used to write for Trapeze, in a very acoustic formula such as guitar, bass and drums. I wanted it to sound simple; I don't want a lot of over-produced things. Songs are more important to me than flash and grandiosity of it. So, I wanted to I wanted to back to a more commercial, ya know 3 or 4 chord things. And for me, it worked quite well. [KJ] It's probably more of a mainstream Hard rock album compared to most of the other stuff you've done... [GH] It's difficult in a way for me, and it should be easy, but I make things difficult because there's so many different fans. I have fans that like the Hard rock Glenn, fans that like the Bluesy Glenn, fans that like the extremely Funky Glenn, and the soulful fans, the jazzy fans, ... and if I do all of those on one album - in different forms, it confuses a lot of people. It really does, and I found this out to be fact, so what I tried to do on this particular album was I tried to give them a mix of them in all the songs, such as a song with heavy funk overtones, with very heavy, and very soulful; and also having acoustic moments like "Big Sky". As I said before, ....I didn't want it to sound like 70s retro, but it's a lot more near to that form to sound the way it should. [KJ] The acoustics stuff's really good, like "I Will Follow" and "Big Sky", Big Sky was written about Bill Eskridge [GH] Bill was my best friend 10 years ago when I was in treatment for alcoholism, and he became my best friend over the years, and spiritual guide, and he passed away last December [a year tomorrow] of liver failure and kidney failure, even though he'd been sober a long time. He was a very dear friend to me. I wrote the song for him as a 'good-bye'. Songwriters do that, we write about personal things, and this was one of those times I had to do that. [KJ] Do you get a lot of other personal stuff on the album? [GH] Yeah, I do write about what's going on with me. Obviously "I will Follow You" is about my wife, and moments like "you Can't Stop The Flood" which is about my creativity and my aggression towards myself,.... I write, Christ I continuously write songs all year 'round, and it occurred to me is 'I've got an onslaught of songs, which should I write?' ... Other songs like "Don't Let It Slip" can mean anything; it can mean your life, your spirituality, your emotions, and to me, it's all of the above. "Out Of Me" is about 2 brothers fighting. A lot of stuff on there is autobiographical. There's also stuff in there that's subliminally written for those people that are having things going on in their life, that they can catch too and obviously understand. [KJ] Can't Stop The Flood and Inside are probably my favorite 2, aside from Big Sky. It's a hard-hitting intro. [GH] Thank you. When I wrote with my guitar player, and said to him 'OK, now we're going to write the opening cut'. Every album I've ever done in the last few years, I always go out and go 'I know exactly what I'm going to write for the opening cut' And when I wrote this opening, I was 'Oh - this is going to be an amazing cut!' And when the chorus comes in with those big harmonies that we haven't heard from Glenn in a while, I just thought - 'here ya go! Let's make an album that is very hard to make, but let's get those big harmonies back'. [KJ] You also do a couple of covers on here, like the one with Pat Travers. How did that come about? [GH] He came here last year, and we were looking at putting together some songs, just having fun, and I said 'I really wanna cover this old song by Rare Earth!' It's about 30 years old, and I always liked that cut, and we recorded it. And when I came to compiling songs for Building The Machine I asked Pat if I could use this particular cut and he said 'Go ahead!'. But I do particularly like this version. [KJ] You also do another Deep Purple tune! [GH] That was initially done for a Japanese bonus track, but when I finished it, my engineer and co-producer Mike Scott said 'That's too damn good to be used Just for Japan, you should put it on... It's a great version of the song, you sing great on it, it's got a great vibe, and it sits on the album.' So, another old Purple song, but I think it shows what a good song it was and is. [KJ] That's about the 2nd time in about you've done an old Deep Purple song! [GH] I've done about 3 now. [KJ] I got the Voodoo Hill album you did last year, about a week after we spoke then, and you did 'Gypsy" on there, and it's excellent! [GH] You know Dario Mollo, he wanted to do a Zeppelin song, and I declined. I don't want to do Zeppelin covers. It's not right for me to do that. And I said 'I'd much prefer it if we did an old Purple cover.' , and then he gave me a couple of suggestions, and I said 'let's do Gypsy!' [KJ] That's a great song! It sounds good there. [GH] Thank you. [KJ] You got a number of guests on this [new] album too!? [GH] We got Pat Travers, who's a dear friend of mine for years; also one of my dear close friends - Bobby Kimball from Toto. He actually asked me to write him a part to sing, because he's always to sing on a record with me. I love Bobby very much, he's got such a distinctive voice, so I wrote the part for him on "Don't Let It Slip". Brett Ellis plays acoustic guitar on "Big Sky", and John Beasley, famous keyboard player plays on "I Will Follow You"; plays the Hammond. He's just an amazing keyboard player, and Vince DiCola is my new Hammond player on the album. [KJ] I notice a good bit of Hammond. The Hammond is a bit more prominent with the heavy guitar and that. [GH] I wanted that. I thought my previously couple of albums were lacking in Real Hammond playing by Real Hammond players. It's like, Hammond organ is an instrument that has to be played with the right guy playing it, and with Vince DiCola, he plays it better than Jon Lord or Keith Emerson - To Me. I mean, on this particular album, he plays it devastatingly brilliant. And I knew when I heard him play that I had to get him to play on this record. [KJ] Where did he come from? [GH] He's a guy from LA. He's a session guy. [KJ] "Beyond The Numb"... [GH] My favorite. [KJ] Who's it for, JW ? [GH] OK, a friend of mine - Pete Way from UFO, his wife passed away. She was a friend of mine, and I was really really upset when I heard the news. And I wrote that song about that incident. Because, let me just say that I was close to them in a spiritual way, but I couldn't get too close because I don't use drugs, so I was hoping that my recovery would rub off on them, or her, and unfortunately she had to be another statistic to drugs. And I'm not being negative or anything like that, because she was a very very nice person; it just really hurt me when she passed away, and I was a bit angry about that. And this track deals with that subject. [KJ] How's the response been as far the main stream media and reviews and that..? [GH] This is the truth, this album, Building The Machine has got the greatest response from critics, and I think from fans as well, in the last 10 years I've read reviews, like Q Magazine, and more cross-over ones that would review Sting or Madonna have been reviewing this record, so it's getting a wider span of reviews and a wider recognition from the man on the street. People who haven't heard Glenn Hughes before are hearing and going 'this is great, who is this?' What's it given me is it's given me the ammunition to write rock music in the form, which I think, is appropriate for me. As I've said before I'm my worst enemy in a way that I've been very gifted in that I can write and sing and play in 4 or 5 forms of music. Most, let's call them 'heavy metalists' from 70s, can play Hard rock well, but they don't play jazz or R&B, or soul as well, but with me I can paint in all those pictures and I like to do that. And I think on this album I've done something that no one else has done yet. I'd like to continue that. [KJ] Can I ask you about the artwork for the album? Where is that taken? [GH] It was taken in my wife's office, in Venice Beach, California. I just wanted you and everyone to perceive that I was walking this stairway that's never going to end, really. What Building The Machine means, 'Building The Soul Machine', Building The character which one has been given or one is working on, and mine is blood boiling all the time. I'm a flyer that continues to grow rapidly, so I'm always working on something, musically, and I'm this is the machine that I continue to build. I'm on my way to building that machine on the cover. [KJ] It's a unique picture.... [GH] If you look at it, it's not meant to be G-Q; I'm not really that sort of person. It's basically an artistic cover; it really isn't anything other than....it's almost a stark photograph, I'm standing still, but I'm moving. It's a good fit. [KJ] You do a lot of photo-shoots for the albums, and obviously a lot of different outfits and stuff...Are you in to the fashion stuff? [GH] Yeah, I do have a lot of ... materials [ha ha] [KJ] What else do you going as far as promotion goes? I know you did some touring, but nothing up here... [GH] Well, what I'm going to do in North America, is promote via radio and maybe some TV promotion. As far as the live work, more will reveal as we see the sales. As you well know it's difficult to tour in North America, unless you've got massive tour support from a record company. And that would mean having to be in a band, like a younger band where big companies get behind, like Universal Records or Interscope, someone that signs younger bands. So, for older artists like myself, who don't have the promotional campaign and marketing campaign that younger artists have these days - it's difficult to tour. So, the chance of seeing Glenn Hughes in a live situation is kind of difficult. My desire is to tour extensively around the world, but I only get to do that outside of North America where I have tour support. But, we'll see... [KJ] Regarding Voodoo Hill, how did you come across Dario Mollo? [GH] My office in Germany, sometimes we get like 5 or 6 artists a year that want me to sing on their albums - at least 5 or 6! And I normally decline them all because 1 - they're not brilliant, and 2 - I can't have that much more work going on. But when Dario Mollo sent me these 10 or 11 cuts without vocals, I heard them. And I thought, this is obviously Hard rock, not funky, soulful stuff, it's more hard rock, which I did with Tony Iommi almost, and I said 'this would be a chance for my classic rock fans to get in to this type of album', and I did it for that reason, and also because Dario's a really gifted writer and guitar player. It was a lot of fun working with him; I went to Italy and did the thing. They're probably be another one coming soon; we'll probably do another one next year. [KJ] Did you do any gigs with him? [GH] No. That could probably happen next year too. [KJ] It's a great album. I really like "Sensitive" and "Disconnected"... [GH]Thank you, I like it too! [KJ] A lot of people liked it, but I think it slipped by a lot of people because it's under another name. [GH] Yeah, I don't know what's going to happen next time around, but I think you might know it's me next time because Voodoo will represent me as well, you'll know. People should keep their eyes open in the next 6 months or so. [KJ] I also got the new Nazareth tribute that you are on... [GH] Those guys are good friends of mine. The producer [Lea] sent me the rough backing track, and to be honest with you, at the time, there was no background vocals, and it was very raw guitar, bass, drums, and it was more retro and edgy than the finished product. The finished product to me sounds to me sort of generic. It didn't turn out as good as I wanted it to. The performance was OK, but the production was a bit too 'white'. [KJ] I want to touch a bit on Trapeze and related... Have you ever heard of a guy named John Lawton? He used to be in Lucifers Friend and Uriah Heep in the 70s. I got a CD of his and he does a version of "You Kill Me" on it. [GH]Lawton!!? Yeah, he's a nice guy. I haven't seen him for years! Actually he's a good singer. [KJ] He's a great singer. He's a fan of yours, and I got his live album that's got a good version of You Kill Me on it. [GH] Really!? [KJ] Do you recall back after your Trapeze days they carried on and made a couple more albums? What did you think of those albums? [GH] I loved those albums. I think "Hot Wired" is f**king tremendous! I wish I could've been on that album; really - I mean that sincerely! I think when I left the band Mel Galley really strengthened himself as a writer. The songs on Hot Wired were amazing! And the album "Running", which I actually helped write a couple of songs and never got credit for, I thought was brilliant. [KJ] Which ones? [GH] "Running" and another song "Breaking My Heart"? [or something... KJ- "Don't Break My Heart"] And then the Trapeze record that I sang a couple of cuts on when I left and I was in Purple. Trapeze was my baby, that was the band I formed when I was very young, and anything to do with that now always comes back to Glenn Hughes. I sometimes get people who mention Trapeze before they mention Deep Purple, which tells me they're a big fan of Trapeze. [KJ] Do you recall seeing them away back at the Lafayette Club in Wolverhampton? [GH] You saw that??? [KJ] No, ... but I know of it. I'm talking about the late 70s when the new line-up came out. [GH] I'd already moved to America in the late 70s, but I used to go home at Christmas, and I saw them a couple of times back then, yeah. [KJ] What did you think of the singer then? [GH] Pete Goalby!? [KJ] Yes. [GH]Good singer! A different sort of singer to me, but I recall him more of a pop-rock singer. He was a great interpreter. He wasn't a bluesy singer, but he was a great rock singer in that gandre, very much so! And a nice guy! [KJ] What else have you got on the go? [GH] I've just done a new record with Joe Lynn Turner, and it's called 'H.T.P.' [Hughes-Turner-Project]. It comes out in the spring and it's f**king great! I will say this; it's a classic rock masterpiece. For me it's a very strong vocal-rock record. For anybody who likes the Deep Purple - Rainbow, and the modern rock stuff, they will love this album. It features 2 big voices, and I think it's going to creep up on people. [KJ] Does it have a lot of Guests on it? [GH] My band, the same guys as the Building The Machine record, and as Guests and solos we've got John Sykes, Paul Gilbert, and there's others that you'll probably know of. [KJ] The last time I touched base with you, you mentioned being a 'fan of Ken Hensley's writing'. Can you give me any songs or anything? [GH] Well, what it is about Uriah Heep stuff for me is it's "Gypsy",..It's the way those guys wrote very, and I say this very loosely, those very simple melodic rock tracks like Gypsy and "July Morning" - all these sweet classic songs. And I don't know if Ken knows this, or the guys in Uriah Heep, but I thought they were very good! World's apart from what I do or what I listen to normally, I have to say that I thought Uriah Heep, in the early years were very much overlooked. They were always looked upon like a '2nd rate Deep Purple' - that's what people thought of them, but I thought they had a place in rock, and I want to wish all the guys in Uriah Heep and Ken Hensley all the best because they're good guys. [KJ] He's got a new album coming out. [GH] He just made a left turn I guess, he was working at Ampeg for years, and now he's playing and singing. I think it's great! [KJ] Anything else you wish to add? [GH] Just to say 'Hi' to all my fans and tell them to look out for 'Big Daddy', he's coming to get you! From: funkluv73@go.com [mailto:funkluv73@go.com] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: Updated Bios Found these GLENN and TRAPEZE up-to-date biographies recently, although not totally accurate they are extremely detailed and worth holding onto if for no other reason! TRAPEZE BIOGRAPHY ----------------- LINE UP: Glenn Hughes (vocals / bass), Mel Galley (guitar), Dave Holland (drums) A highly respected trio of elite players that, although held in high esteem by their musical contemporaries, would never reap the just rewards their undoubted talent deserved. Instead, TRAPEZE would found a loyal sales base in the Southern States of America and after their break up go on to influence the platinum hued careers of acts of such status as DEEP PURPLE, JUDAS PRIEST and WHITESNAKE. TRAPEZE were formed around the nucleus of ex PINKERTONS ASSORTED COLOURS drummer Dave Holland, ex RED CAPS guitarist Mel Galley and bassist / vocalist Glenn Hughes. The trio originally came together to form FINDERS KEEPERS with guitarist Alan Clees and vocalist Ian 'Sludge' Lees. The latter individual later found success out of the Rock n' Roll field as a comedian. Hughes, Holland and Galley split to form TRAPEZE with ex MONTANAS vocalist Johnny Jones and keyboard player Terry Rowley. With this line up the band appeared on the TV show 'Colour Me Pop', scoring interest from Threshold Records. This was a new label set up by MOODY BLUES bassist John Lodge. Terry Rowley took over production duties in order to record the debut 'Trapeze' album in 1971. The album was a noted success, with Radio One actually playing the album in its entirety from start to finish! Despite this straight out of the box success all was not well within the band as Jones and Rowley quit. Coincidentally, when TRAPEZE slimmed down to the more familiar trio Jones followed Ian Lees into a comedy career. TRAPEZE's second album, 'Medusa', was another success and the single 'Black Cloud' gained the band valuable American airplay. TRAPEZE by now specialised in hard Funk Rock workouts and achieved remarkable success in Texas, so much so that the band relocated to the US state. This would lead to TRAPEZE touring America six times in three years. Needless to say, the band played infrequently in their home country due to concentrating on America. When the band did undertake the occasional club gig it was known that LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham would often jam with them for encores if they were playing in the Midlands. TRAPEZE only really came to public attention in their home country when Hughes left to join DEEP PURPLE following the 'You Are The Music, We're Just The Band' album. Hughes, after a creative if turbulent spell in DEEP PURPLE, was also to turn up later in various shades of distinction with HUGHES/THRALL, BLACK SABBATH and GARY MOORE. TRAPEZE soldiered on, adding guitarist Bob Hendrick and bassist Pete Wright. The band's profile was kept high by the release of the compilation album 'The Final Swing' in 1974, which featured two new tracks in 'Good Love' and 'Dat's It'. It was the band's first album to crack the national American charts, peaking at number 172. The new line up signed to Warner Bros. Records to release 1974's 'Hot Wire', another chart album reaching number 146. A further two albums followed with TRAPEZE maintaining their cult status in the southern states. Having added vocalist Pete Goalby and bassist Peter Mackie, both previously with Wolverhampton band FABLE, in 1978 TRAPEZE debuted their new singer with a show supporting HUMBLE PIE before touring as support to NAZARETH. During the same year Holland upped and left to JUDAS PRIEST, a stay that lasted until 1990 and included platinum albums such as 'Screaming For Vengeance' and 'Turbo'. The 1981 TRAPEZE live album therefore featured drummer Steve Bray as Goalby quit, briefly joining RAINBOW before finding a more solid base with URIAH HEEP. TRAPEZE reassembled the same year with Galley, Bray, ex BIG DAISY vocalist Mervyn 'Spam' Spence and erstwhile MAGNUM keyboard player Richard Bailey. This line up toured Britain supporting EDGAR WINTER. Bray was replaced by another ex MAGNUM member, Kex Gorin, and the band began recording for a projected album. However, Galley was also working on the PHENOMENA concept album project and was eventually lured to WHITESNAKE. Bailey teamed up with ALASKA. Many of the TRAPEZE recording session songs from this time were to turn up on the next WHITESNAKE release and the PHENOMENA album. TRAPEZE toured in 1992 with the addition of ASIA and YES keyboard player GEOFF DOWNES. TRAPEZE eventually reformed as the classic trio in February 1994 when the band played a New York show in tribute to former BADLANDS and BLACK SABBATH vocalist RAY GILLEN. Rumours of a more permanent Hughes/Galley/Holland reunion in 1993 finally bore fruit in mid 1994 with a batch of American dates. During 1994 ex TRAPEZE man Pete Goalby teamed up with German guitar guru ULI JON ROTH for dates in Europe in a vocal quartet that also included JOHN PARR, ex ZENO vocalist Michael Flexig, former V2 and FAIR WARNING frontman Tommy Heart. Whilst Hughes is still pursuing various solo projects Dave Holland manages Rock act THE LOVEGARDEN and has been planning to record a solo album. The drummer emerged onto the scene once more in 1998 when he teamed up with a fellow ex JUDAS PRIEST member AL ATKINS for his solo album 'Victim Of Changes'. Somewhat surreally the album is made up of early JUDAS PRIEST re-works, none of which Holland played on originally. The pair are apparantly working on new material, possibly under the band name of STEELFORCE. GLENN HUGHES BIOGRAPHY ---------------------- Considered to have god-like qualities by his many admirers, Glenn Hughes' legend began with stints in both DEEP PURPLE and TRAPEZE. Indeed, the man can be heard on the TRAPEZE albums 'Trapeze', 'Medusa', and 'You Are The Music...' and DEEP PURPLE albums 'Burn', 'Stormbringer', 'Come Taste The Band'. 'Made In Europe' and 'Last Concert In Japan'. Whilst a member of DEEP PURPLE Hughes also contributed lead vocal to bassist ROGER GLOVER's solo concept album 'The Butterfly Ball' and also two tracks on Eddie Hardin's WIZARD'S CONVENTION eponymous album in 1976. Hughes had already been planning his solo career whilst still a member of the by now fragmenting DEEP PURPLE and, initially, no less a figure than DAVID BOWIE had agreed to produce the first solo album, but further touring with DEEP PURPLE put the plans on ice. Still, Hughes' debut solo foray turned up in 1978 . Titled 'Play Me Out', the album was much more of a Soul record than Rock yet featured his old cohorts from TRAPEZE; drummer Dave Holland, guitarist Mel Galley and keyboard player Terry Rowley. Additional drums were supplied by ex RAINBOW drummer Mark Nauseef. Following completion of the album Hughes rejoined TRAPEZE for an American tour, but quit before it's finish having also contributed lead vocals to the 4 ON THE FLOOR project comprising of guitarists Jeff Baxter and Al Kooper. In 1982, after five years as a virtual recluse, Hughes made his comeback with the critically acclaimed 'Hughes-Thrall' album recorded with AUTOMAIC MAN and PAT TRAVERS guitarist Pat Thrall and ex RAGAMUFFINS drummer Frankie Banali. This was the first of Hughes post DEEP PURPLE projects to come to fruition as he had previously attempted to establish bands with Ray Gomez and Soul man Narada Michael Walden, but ultimately to no avail. The 'Hughes-Thrall' album, handled initially by former producer Bob Fraboni but finished by Andy Johns, remains a classic to this day. Banali joined QUIET RIOT midway through recording and the album also has contributions from drummers Gary Ferguson (BLACK ROSE) and STEVE MILLER BAND man Gary Mallaber. HUGHES/THRALL debuted with live dates supporting SANTANA in America on which drummer Tommy Aldridge sat in on the drum stool prior to leaving for OZZY OSBOURNE. Despite laudable press attention the album failed to sell well. Hughes next appeared contributing vocal tracks to the first 'Phenomena' concept album in 1984, which saw the singer reuniting in the studio once more with Mel Galley. In early 1985, following an offer to reform TRAPEZE with Galley and ex MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP drummer Ted McKenna, Hughes joined GARY MOORE's band for a brief if volatile period. The singer was then tapped to replace David Donato in BLACK SABBATH, a liaison that saw Hughes put in a stunning performance on the 'Seventh Star' album but saw him quitting the group in less than amicable circumstances. Following his saga with BLACK SABBATH Hughes contributed to the 1987 'Phenomena Dream Runner' concept album then reacquainted himself with Pat Thrall to record the track 'City Of Crime' for the 'Dragnet' movie soundtrack. In 1991 Hughes was to turn up on another soundtrack album, this time contributing 'Haunted' to the 'Highlander II' movie. With the dawn of a new decade, Hughes recorded a further solo effort with production from ex MAGNUM guitarist ROBIN GEORGE, but this album remains unreleased. Still, Hughes added his talents to ex EUROPE guitarist JOHN NORUM's 'Face The Truth' album in 1992, co-writing six of the songs and performing lead vocal on the majority of tracks. Interestingly, Norum's album featured a re-working of the PHENOMENA track 'Still The Night'. The same year saw Hughes pop up unexpectedly on the KLF single 'America: What Time Is Love?' credited as "The Voice Of Rock"! In 1993 Hughes not only emerged with a new solo album, the Roadrunner issued 'Blues', but also contributed vocal tracks to ex DOKKEN guitarist GEORGE LYNCH's solo album 'Sacred Groove' on Elektra Records and also the STEVIE SALAS, Japanese only, release 'Electric Pow Wow' on Polystar. Hughes released a brand new album in 1994 and the record, titled 'From Now On', featured many name guests including contributions from JOHN NORUM, RATT's Warren De Martini, GREAT WHITE's Mark Kendall, POISON's RICHIE KOTZEN, LOVE/HATE guitarist DARREN HOUSEHOLDER, MÖTLEY CRÜE's Mick Mars and former THE FIRM / BLUE MURDER bassist TONY FRANKLIN. Initially this record was only released in Sweden on Empire Records, but was swiftly re-issued through Roadrunner and this version added the DEEP PURPLE classic 'Burn' whilst a Japanese only release on Zero Corporation Records has another DEEP PURPLE number, 'You Keep On Moving'. Hughes assembled a new band in 1994 featuring ex EUROPE men Ian Haughland on drums), John Leven on bass and keyboard player Mic Michaeli together with guitarists Thomas Larrson and Eric Bojfeldt. This line-up put in a successful appearance at the 'White Nights' festival in Russia. The same year Hughes reunited once more with his erstwhile TRAPEZE colleagues guitarist Mel Galley and drummer Dave Holland for a farewell tour of the southern states of America. Later the same year the man debuted his new solo band on a highly successful British club tour, during which he performed many DEEP PURPLE and HUGHES/THRALL classics. Almost as if to honour Hughes comeback RPM Records reissued the debut Hughes solo album, 'Play Me Out', with the full endorsement of Glenn. The reissue featured four extra tracks comprising of 'Getting Near To You' and 'Fools condition' from a 1978 session and two brand new recordings 'Take Me With You' and 'She Knows'. 1995's 'Feel' album saw Hughes once more reuniting his songwriting partnership with Pat Thrall and the man's latest touring line-up included ex HELLANBACH guitarist Dave Patton. The following year Glenn contributed lead vocals to three tracks on ex NINA HAGEN BAND guitarist Billy Liesegang's 1996 solo album 'Leese-Gang' and also to BRAZEN ABBOT's 'Live And Learn' album. The singer's own effort, 'Addiction', found Glenn working with guitarists MARC BONILLA and Joakim Marsh together with drummer Joe Travers. In 1996 Hughes teamed up with BLACK SABBATH guitarist TONY IOMMI and his former TRAPEZE band mate drummer Dave Holland (more recently with JUDAS PRIEST) to cut tracks for a proposed album. The union failed to get to release stage as Iommi pursued a different direction but the tapes were released in Japan as the bootleg 'Eighth Star'. As 1997 drew to a close it was revealed that Hughes had founded a fresh band project with noted guitarist STEVIE SALAS and former THE CULT and GUNS N'ROSES drummer Matt Sorum. The man also took time out to record lead vocals on a record titled 'Tribute 1997', a homage to Hughes late DEEP PURPLE partner guitarist TOMMY BOLIN. The record found Bolin's brother Johnnie on drums. These sessions evolved into the 1999 album 'The Way It Is'. Other notable contributors included ex GARY MOORE drummer Gary Ferguson and EMERSON LAKE & PALMER's keyboard guru KEITH EMERSON. This connection was retained when Hughes sessioned on the EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER tribute album 'Encores, Legends & Paradox'. Hughes also featured on MARC BONILLA's 1999 live album 'Middle Of A Dream' performing the ALLMAN BROTHERS 'Dreams I'll Never See', MONTROSE's 'Rock Candy' and PROCUL HARUM's 'Whiter Shade Of Pale' amongst others. Hughes added his deft touchs to ERIK NORLANDER's 2000 album 'Into The Sunset', CRAIG ERICKSON PROJECT album 'Shine' and NIKOLO KOTZEV's 'Nostradamus'. Touring in 2000 found Hughes as special guest on UFO's European dates. One of the last shows of 2000 had Hughes in a welcome reunion with his erstwhile DEEP PURPLE partner DAVID COVERDALE after more than two decades for a one off radio show performance. Hughes would actually undertake his very first American tour as a solo artist in early 2001 putting together a trio including guitarist George Nastros and former FOREIGNER / ZAKK WYLDE drummer Brian Tichy. In March an odd twist the singer would grace many of America's national papers- albeit mistakenly. Picture editors had mistaken Hughes for the Glenn Hughes of camp Disco band THE VILLAGE PEOPLE who had recently died. Hughes himself passed on his condolences whilst informing everyone he was very much still alive! Hughes returned to the Funk Rock area of operation with his September 2001 outing 'Building The Machine'. Alongside Hughes the album, which saw a remake of DEEP PURPLE's 'Highball Shooter', credited guitarists PAT TRAVERS, Brett Ellis and J.J. Marsh, keyboard players Vince DiCola and John Beasley with Gary Ferguson once more on drums. Russian live dates announced for November would see COSMOSQUAD drummer Shane Gaalaas joing Hughes' band. Hughes next move was to pair up with another former DEEP PURPLE vocalist, JOE LYNN TURNER, for the 2002 HUGHES TURNER project album. BEHIND THE MUSIC ---------------- Thanks to Panos from Greece for transcribing this from some recent Greek editions of Metal Hammer magazine. They contain an interview with Glenn where he talks about some of his albums and reveals some unknown and very interesting stories behind each one... You Are The Music We Are Just The Band "This was the beginning of everything for me .If you are a real Glenn Hughes fans then you know that the magic starts from here. My wife last Christmas bought 20 copies and she offered them to friends, writing in each one: "This is how everything started". The photo of the cover was taken in one of the most historic shows we have ever given, in Overton Square Park in Memphis Tennessee. The show was sold-out, 5000 people were there." Burn "One of us has kept the candles of the cover until today." Stormbringer "Now I will tell you something that most people don’t know. When the Deep Purple reunion took place in 1985, the main reason that I was not invited was: When I entered the band in 1973 I was with a girl called Vicky. So I introduced her sister to Paice and soon enough they became a couple too. A little before DP’s split-up I recorded Play Me Out. When I finished the recording I was going to travel back to Italy where I would have to meet Ian with the two girls. I will tell you one thing: Jon Lord is still married with one of them! They say that women, drugs and drink can destroy everything. When somebody that you consider a friend f**ks your wife, you feel a stab in the back. Anyway I have forgotten everything. Today I am with a girl that I love very much. When I saw Jon in 1999 in a TV show we were like old friends, but he doesn’t seem to have passed it yet. As you understand there was not a single chance of me going back to Purple." Come Taste The Band "Great Album, Great Years". I went with Tommy in Germany to celebrate our birthday. We were staying in the hotel Arab Ella House in Munich for six weeks until I went really mad and so the owner through me out. Don’t ask me how, but I destroyed the door of a room on the 20th floor and threw it in the street!!! I almost killed a passenger." Phenomena "This album is a black page to my history. Mel Galley’s brother came to me saying that he had written some songs for me to sing. I didn’t have a reason to decline. But I must inform you that until today I haven’t received a single penny, although the album has sold about 500,000 copies worldwide! I was ripped off by my best friend’s brother! And the guy has built a house with the money. Before I agreed to sing, the guy had a negative answer from Bronze Records. It was because of me that the album was finally published. I remember that we shook hands and I told him that I didn’t mind to be paid after the album would have been published." Seventh Star "It was when Tony Iommi had divorced with his wife and he was with Lita Ford. We were all crazy at the time. We were organizing parties every single day! During the recordings we were constantly drunk!" Blues "I will never forget the way that Mick Mars appeared. He came in the studio with ten sound engineers and some HUGE security guys carrying walkie-talkies etc. Then he asked the producer to put Marshals all over a wall. They had 50,000 Watts of power!!!" Burning Japan Live "The two guitarists, Thomas Larsson and Eric Bojfeldt had gone out for a drink the night before the show. But someone put acid in their drink and next day they were feeling awful. I was very anxious but luckily everything went fine and they were great." From: oliviertiberius@aol.com [mailto:oliviertiberius@aol.com] To: ctc@ghpg.net Subject: CTC: MK4 Purple fans everywhere! A big hello and happy new year to everyone at this excellent web-site - and to Mk4 Purple fans everywhere! At last the brilliant work of the Deep Purple Appreciation society has stabalised the balance with their superb releases in recent years. Legend has it that Deep Purple Mk4 were a failure. Despite those stunning explosions of colour, despite the thrusting hips behind those rythyms, despite the sassy grit in those voices; despite the energy, the power, the sheer talent! Of course Deep Purple upset the head-bangers when they started to pull the bands' artistic direction into line with the times by fusing the chaos and force of the Purple machine with the sensuous, groovy funk and soul of the streets. I know one thing: their had to be a lot more women in the audience with Glenn and Tommy pumping out the finest funk/rock crossover ever captured! Women like to shake their backsides rather than bang their heads (and I for one would rather be gettin' tighter with the girls than sweating it out in a hall full of greasy freaks!) Legend plastered Mk4 with the 'drug excess' tag, and that was pretty much all that had survived (even though 'Come Taste the Band' was the most up-beat and up-lifting album that the band had ever recorded). Now, finally, the truth is out. The 'On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat' and 'Days May Come' CD's proved in dramatic fashion just how powerfully beautiful Mk4 really were. And now the 'This Time Around' release has added the most sensationally emotional epitaph to what has to be the most criminally under-appreciated Rock band of all time. Glenn has said that the 'Last Concert in Japan' album should never have been released. Those of us who loved him were only glad that it had been circulated despite it's technical failings because it represented a snap-shot in time that would always be very special to us. Now the very same concert has been released in a mind-bending and heart-rendering tribute to the finest band to have made music together. Now we know the truth: it wasn't a disgraceful performance on that 'Last Concert' lp, it was a disgraceful mix. The new mix shows the band (a little nervously, for sure) hitting incredible highs and some breath-taking grooves. Bolin was said to have been a mess. Glenn was said to have been a liability away from the bass and mic. Coverdale, Lord and Paice were said to be dissillusioned. Legend has very clearly treated Mk4 far worse that Mk4 ever treated the fans. Reading the interviews given at the time you can hear loud and clear how deeply impressed the band really were with Bolin, and how very excited they were by the artistic possibilities that Bolin presented them with. The new release of the final Japan gig brings tears to my eyes because I can feel how broken-hearted Glenn must have been when Bolin died. The rest of the band talk alot about the music (or at least they think they do). Glenn has always seemed to talk about the people. I admire him for that, more than I can say. Glenn's bass always rose to the occassion. Without doubt the most enigmatic player of all the big-name acts of the seventies. Speak to any muso about Glenn's bass playing and you will see a stern nod of the head coupled with an almost dismissive comment along the lines of, "Yeah, solid player, very solid." The truth is that they shy away from Glenn's playing because they know that he had something that very few Rock bassists have ever had: FEEL. Glenn could lay a note on the 'one' with the physical passion of a Bootsy Collins, tone it with the open-trebled growl of a John Entwistle and finish it with the fiery artistic flourishing of a Stanley Clarke. All of this in a Heavy Rock sound? No wonder he fused so well with Bolin, who seemed to possess a knowledge of Blues and Jazz way beyond a man in his early twenties. Listen to 'Made in Europe' and every live recording featuring Glenn and you hear bass that pumps the body and enthrals the mind - and nothing less. It makes you wish that he had played on the 'Fireball' album as well! Of course the Deep Purple organisation were quick to start rubbishing Mk4 the very second the engine seized: they knew that the big money would be in a Blackmore/Gillan reunion; it suited their greed to blacken the memory of a band that had bravely dared to experiment with a fomula set in stone. Thank God Glenn didn't hang around for the appalling 'Perfect Strangers' spectacle. The man had too much class - and Gillan would never have handled Glenn's vocal brilliance as graciously as Coverdale had. It is no surprise to me that Glenn has so many web-sites dedicated to him. He was a special musician in a special era. He dragged Deep Purple into fashion and the result was some of the most stunning and beautiful Rock ever laid down on tape. Listen to the way that street and film music was going at the time. Funkadelic, James Brown - and Lalo Schiffrin's amazing 'Dirty Harry' soundtrack. You see how desperately necessary it was for Deep Purple to evolve before they got buried in their own legend. Given the way in which Jazz and R'n'B were colouring culture it was no wonder that Glenn arrived at his mesmerising 'Play Me Out' album. I've heard no recording that so beautifully captured the emotive qualities of the Fender Rhodes electric piano. It is haunting and inspiring, tranquilising and electrifying. Glenn Hughes is about as cool as cool can get before it gets out of hand. We know that Glenn beat the inevitable excesses of the time - the excesses that took Bolin. We can be proud to be his fans. We can be proud that we discovered him, and proud that no other musician really captured what it was thst we wanted from music. Glenn actually said, on Gettin' Tighter, "Just loose yourself, and watch the band kick back and play!" He was somewhere special, and that is something that those of us lucky enough to be able to feel it should be thankful of for the rest of our lives. I must wish all Mk4 fans peace and happiness in the year ahead; and I sincerely hope that "we all can be found in love". Your friend, Olivier Tiberius. UK 'Building' REVIEW BY MARISA ------------------------------ GLENN HUGHES - BUILDING THE MACHINE Track list: Can't Stop the Flood (4.11), Inside (4.53), Out On Me (5.32), I Just Want To Celebrate (3.23), Don't Let it Slip Away (4.58), Feels Like Home (4.38), High Ball Shooter (4.29), When You Fall (4.58), I Will Follow You (6.11), Beyond the Numb (7.52), Big Sky (4.38). The musicians on the majority of Building the Machine with Glenn Hughes - who sings lead and backing vocals, plays bass and is the supplier of the funk - are Joakim J Marsh on guitars and drummer Gary Ferguson (both of whom appeared on Hughes' Return Of Crystal Karma album) together with Vince DiCola on keyboards. A selection of other musicians and singers also appear on some of the tracks. The pages of the booklet that accompany this CD are presented like a fashion shoot. The svelte Hughes with chiseled cheekbones and sculptured sideburns wears a selection of suede and leather clothing with flowered shirts - each photo tinted a different shade. No lyrics are printed, but these are available from the man's websites. The album opens with a funky bass riff, soon joined by Hammond sounds, that sets the tone for what's to come... This first song, Can't Stop the Flood, clearly demonstrates Hughes' vocal talents as he sings both the melody and counterpoint against a strong instrumental backdrop ... an excellent start. Heavy rhythms usher in Inside, a song featuring Bobby Kimball (Toto) on backing vocals. Some nice guitar work provides a lighter midway break in the driving rhythmical music with Hammond highlights. The next track, Out On Me, is cited as Hughes' favourite song from the album. This is a smooth, moody number with a full on blues feel and guitar-led instrumentation. I Just Want To Celebrate is a cover of the Rare Earth song. Pat Travers plays guitar on this one as well as providing vocals, while additional background vocals come from David Tedds, Lol and Cindy Tolhurst. This version is generally pretty true to the original - although Hughes stamps his own vocal mark strongly. Don't Let it Slip Away is the second track with Bobby Kimball singing backing vocals. Superb funky instrumental work supports and enhances the great vocals. A change of pace and mood with Feels Like Home. The more subtle vocal line is set against acoustic guitar work for the first half of the tracks. Then more instruments are layered onto the backing track, creating more texture while retaining the delicate and understated ambiance. And it's back to the more upbeat sound with High Ball Shooter - a Deep Purple song from the album Stormbringer - featuring lots of Hammond organ. When You Fall is a truly soulful number with totally yummy, spine tingling vocals. A fabulous guitar-led instrumental sector makes it even better! JJ Marsh and Doug Bossi (of David Coverdale's band) supply backing vocals on this one ... a wonderful song. A more mellow mood is invoked in I Will Follow You. This begins quietly and the pace changes throughout the piece. The sublime vocals are supported by some satiny guitar playing, while the keyboards from John Beasley fill out the sound. You can really chill out to Beyond the Numb. A tinkling piano calls attention to the rich instrumentation which blends jazz and bluesy sounds effectively, creating a warm ambiance which cradles the yearning vocals. The concluding track, Big Sky, is listed as Hughes' favorite ballad on this CD. Brett Ellis plays the pure and clear sounding guitar that provides the backdrop for this track together with the merest touch of keyboards ... a lovely song, a fabulous end to the album. Glenn Hughes says about Building the Machine, "I felt good going into the process of making this CD ... I believe this is the most solid album as far as songs, that I have done in the last 10 years" ... I think he's right. This is a superb set of songs and comes highly recommended. MANGE OF HAIR AND A SCREAM FROM CAL JAM A Deep Purple review by Ken Boyd concerning April 6th 1974 ----------------------------------------------------------- What was I doing then? Well, unfortunately I was not at THIS show! In fact I was but a wee lad. But thanks to the magic of video conversion I was able to EXPERINCE this show in all its glory you possibly can without actually being there. The opening shot starts out with the colorful rainbow arching across the stage. The sun is dropping just as they come on, a gray dampness is across the horizon. But it is tainted with shades of purple! Today it is funny to see the dress of the day. Glenn decked in a white polyester suite slacks and jacket, and hair flying haphazard and no shirt! Blackmore, we see, in an open black jacket and black jeans, reaffirming to us the long adhering title of THE MAN IN BLACK. Ian Paice is going nuts playing his ASS off, not often seen in his renditions of those old tunes today. Coverdale sets the tone of the era with his flared bell-bottoms and the butterfly-covered sweater, distinctions of the boom mic he often used. Jon Lord seems his usual cool self in a toned down blue suit of the day. Opening with BURN! What a great choice to get a crowd of THIS size up on their feet and ready for some hard core rock and roll. "You know we had no time!!" Glenn screams! Setting the mood for what is to come for the rest of the show. I find it interesting that the camera spends a LOT of time on Glenn when normally the bass player is essentially discounted as an evil necessity to the rhythm section. But, being a fan of Glenn, particularly of this period in his career, I certainly won’t complain. Might Just Take Your Life, is broken into next as Coverdale introduces this he seems just so wrecked. Though, I have to say likely due to years of practice under the influence, his guttural crooning seems quite in tact. Naturally Glenn does a fantastic backing on this to meld with Dave’s voice at the right parts and hold up his own selections quite well. No wonder they call him the voice of rock! Going into the solo Jon Lord seems to put it on so much more energetically than Ritchie—it makes me wonder if he was he bored and ready to leave at this point? Well we know it DOES happen before the year out. Also as I watch I noticed that the crowd is so far away that it must have been so hard to connect with them easily. Glenn introduces the next blues song, Mistreated! As Ritchie brings in the six string introduction there is no mistaking this guitar maestro, bored or not, is REALLY on top of his game. It absolutely gets your blood flowing unless you are flat out DEAD! I still find it quite unusual to hear David’s voice kicking in on those vocals, it always seemed so much a stronger hit for Rainbow (and later in Ronnie Dio’s solo career) than it was by that of Deep Purple. Likewise of this show it should be noted that Coverdale is so adept at Walking in the Shadow of the Blues, you cannot help but be mesmerized by his talented vocal skills. I find myself of two minds in my fandome, you know that feeling of a loyalty to a certain song a certain way? Well, it CAN be done more ways than one and done WELL! And this video has a prime example of that proof. At this point Ritchie goes into his guitarical tirade while Dave moves to the motions of the feel!, kicking back in with those great pipes at just the right time. Watching that mic bounce off his lower lip in those early day trademark motions (as if he had a dip of chew that MADE the sound he evokes from within) you know he is not just going through the motions. Then, without a doubt one of the most interesting parts, the Ooh ooh ahh ah section and you can hear Dave and Glenn just melding, Glenn spiking that signature scream now and again! Before you know it, Dave calms it down, "woman, I been losing my mind and I don’t know where I am going", he adlibs and brings the crowd back to a hypnotized state. Bringing it all to a close with a closing fist is just so appropriate for a song that CAN evoke such emotion - done deal here. As the music comes to a close, Dave says something about swallowing flies and such, LOL! Okay there DAVE! I really have to wonder if they are really there or just a figment of the old induced imagination. Jon turns things a little more normal when he introduces the band: Deep Purple is: Ritchie Blackmore on guitar Dave Coverdale on vocals Glenn Hughes on bass guitar and vocals Jon Lord on keyboards Ian Paice pounding the drums. Amusingly, Jon refers to Glenn as the "Gentleman selling ice cream", though you cannot hear the crowd, they MUST be rolling. So apparently it was not so every day dress even then. Jon then introduces the next song, Ritchie coming in with a guitar intro that just RIPS right into the ever accepted and anticipated Smoke on the Water! Though that guitar, snare jog, and keys are SO distinctive it is still a hit to me to hear Dave Coverdale kick in the lyric. I think this is one point that Ian Gillan is a bit missed, but the track is pulled off with near-epic proportions. Glenn sings the second verse (same one Ronnie does in recent Deep Purple orchestra tours in which he guested). Paice is seen really bobbing and rocking for this tune, while again Ritchie is little personally/bodily mobile, the solo is as usual quite outstanding and meticulous, nothing unexpected. Naturally, Jon Lord really rocks on those keys we know him to have played SO many times over and over, yet evokes a nice level of energy for the performance and goes a bit further when he starts rocking the whole key rack back and forth on its stand! AMAZING! Glenn introduces the next double tune intro featuring Jon Lord’s key signature work. With this you KNOW why this man is still in the rock business after all these years, pure talent. Lazy comes in instrumentally, followed by a highly recognizable Zeppelin riff, finally going into some vocal oriented tune with some more blues based crooning by Coverdale. A fairly ripping, but mostly too long guitar solo by R