Description

DEEP PURPLE are one of the alltime great and definitely quintessential British rock bands with album sales exceeding 100 million albums since they formed in 1968.Up to this point, the band is still touring the world and remains one of the most important names in rock history and topped the charts worldwide with their latest studio album ldquoNOW whatrdquo.After Ritchie Blackmore had left the band in 1975, DEEP PURPLE found replacement in the USguitarist Tommy Bolin.As a first reaction, this caused some frowns among some critics and fans, soon to be replaced with great astonishment for this highly talented guitarist. And Bolin indeed did revitalise the band, for a short period before drug abuse caused the bandacutes split and his tragic death soon after.The complete MKIV line up features, of course, John Lord and Ian Paice, vocalist David Coverdale, guitarist Tommy Bolin and bassis Glenn Hughes.ldquoLong Beach 1976rdquo, is part of earMUSICrsquos DEEP PURPLE DPO reissue series that, over the last couple years, has seen the release of rare live material from the band, including Copenhagen 1972, Stockholm 1970, Paris 1975, Graz 1975 and Long Beach 1971.ldquoLong Beach 1976rdquo features one if of the very rare shows where the MK IV line up Bolin Coverdale Hughes Lord ndash Paice performance was recorded live.The show was originally recorded at Long Beach Arena, California on February 27th for radio broadcast on ldquoThe King Biscuit Flower Hourrdquo, an American syndicated radio show that featured concert performances by various rock artists, such as The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen among many others.Three additional live tracks from another concert of the same tour have been added to the tracklist. Springfield, January 1976In this formation, DEEP PURPLE recorded only one album ldquoCome Taste The Bandrdquo featuring Tommy Bolinrsquos great songwriting talent on most songs and it was this album that was promoted through the tour. Although this twelfth DEEP PURPLE album never gained the same commercial success as their earlier releases like ldquoMachine Headrdquo or ldquoMade in Japanrdquo, ldquoCome Taste The Bandrdquo features a musically matured DEEP PURPLE and some of the best material DEEP PURPLE ever wrote and recorded and it is to this days considered a ldquomust haverdquo album, as this live document.After internal difficulties mainly due to Bolinrsquos drug addiction DEEP PURPLE decided to split up in July of the same year, seeing the members spread out to do several solo projects. Tragically, Tommy Bolin died only a couple months later through a heroin overdose.ldquoLong Beach 1976rdquo is a real jewel in a fanrsquos collection, featuring a very quirky ldquoSmoke On The Waterrdquo that morphs into a truly great rendition of ldquoGeorgia On My Mindrdquo Carmichael Gorrell, rare tracks from their album ldquoCome Taste A Bandrdquo and even a song by Bolinrsquos solo album ldquoTeaserrdquo. Deep Purple LP is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £20.53