Dan, thanks for this. Deep Purple In Rock was a treasured possession of mine as early as 1974, and though I later swapped it for something - I hope it was at least The Who - I bought a CD re-issue/remaster down the line. 'Child In Time' is just epic. Absurd? Well, maybe, but I will love it always. As a child in that time, I had no idea what the lyrics represented. Thanks for the important elucidation.
And as for your incredible rambles around Greece, I have but one question:
Hahaha - yes, a mere lad of 15 I was! Aristotle’s fluency in Greek and the fact that he’d been there many times before (and had family in Athens) were the primary reasons our parents signed off on it. I am ever grateful that they did, as it was an incredible experience.
I remember a friend of mine buying “In Rock” - I guess around the time it came out. There were half a dozen of us who used to meet up at one house or another, and share/listen to the vinyl we’d bought. The Groundhogs “Split”, the first 2 Black Sabbath albums, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, were all in regular rotation as well, so I guess around 1970. In the UK I went in a school cruise around the Med - including Athens, the Corinth Canal and the Palace of Knossos on Crete, and a wander around Santorini as well, and your story just brought a bunch of memories of a 14 yr old back in the mists of time, to a guy fast approaching 69 with no brakes! I’m a widower and retired these days, but still listen to music on a daily basis, and sing with a blues band along the South Coast of England. Thanks for the memories!
Right on, Mike! We made it to Knossos as well - I still have the photos somewhere. And I was just listening to Split the other day, now that you mention it!
From November 1, 1969 the album Deep Purple first UK pressing with one of the more amazing covers, Hieronymus Bosch. By this point Deep Purple had become very comfortable working in a studio and this record is a great example of their use of all the technology that was available at that time. Another record that needs to be played loud and devote the time to listen to both sides. Their cover of Lalena is stunning. Finding a good copy of the original UK vinyl pressing might take some time, but your perseverance will be rewarded.
“ I remember going to Greece. I didn’t want to go to Greece because the colonels were in power there and I didn’t want to spend any money in Greece. I didn’t want to aid their economy in anyway. So I went as far as Thessalonki, Which is a Macedonian town near the Bulgarian border and sold my blood to pay for a bouzouki.”
You did what?!
“I just went to the Hospital and they take your blood and give you $20 or something. Enough to buy a bouzouki anyway. I new a guy before I left Ljubljana with five dollars in his pocket and by the time he got to Athens he had $150 and no blood. He was sick as a dog. Jeezus, I wouldn’t do it now. There were these awful stories about giving your blood in Turkey. You had to put your arm through a hole in the wall, so you never knew how much they were taking.”
The whole interview is remarkable. I'd known that Andy Irvine took a long trip through Eastern Europe, loved the music, and Integrated some of that into the Irish folk he played.
I hadn't thought about the fact that he hitchhiked and busked his way, behind the Iron Curtain, a few years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, without speaking the language.
Amazing Greek adventure, it fills in some holes of my understanding of that era, my mothers parents were Greek immigrants and a lot of Greek relatives were coming over then, it wasn't clear to me then that they were escaping rather than emigrating. A generation before, my Great uncle was studying at university in Italy when the Greek communists tried to take over, a cousin got shot (and many others) for refusing to join their military. My uncle's sister warned him to not return to Greece and he emigrated to Chicago, moved to bay area and had a very successful life. I've only been once in the early 90's, can't wait to spend a lot of time there as soon as I can work it out.
Did you get on to the DP MK II era mid-90's Roger Glover remixes? That was/is a great dive-in, a lot of sonic revelations.
Yeah, I remember enjoying those remixes — though as is usually the case for me, I ultimately still kinda preferred the originals. The big revelation for me from those CDs was “Painted Horse,” the outtake from Who Do We Think We Are; I guess it had already appeared on a compilation or two, but I’d never heard it before. What a great track!
Damnit Dan you've done it again! I didn't remember "Painted Horse" so I had to go dig it out! I think I was distracted by "Smooth Dancer" - another tune I didn't pay attention to until the remixes, I never realized it was a Ritchie dis. I didn't pay much attention to this album too much, probably the least interesting of MK II era. "Woman From Tokaayo" on "Live in Japan" was all I needed! My first DP was the 1980 vinyl comp "Deepest Purple - The Very Best of DP" which was yet another revelation found at Rolling Stone Records on Irvine Park, I think one of the longest vinyl albums ever, almost 63 minutes! Killer MKII comp.
As a Greek, I would praise the great writing and welcome the interesting viewpoint about the impact of military junta in the relationship of Greek youth with western music and particularly rock. I was born after the fall of Junta (hence I'd rather stay neutral here) but there is a very popular opinion which argues that the colonels actually tolerated western music and especially rock in order to act as an "exhaustion valve" for any accumulated youth frustration. It was rather during the post Junta years when rock (and any kind of western influenced music in general) was marginalised in favour of more revolutionary, communist themed anthems sung in Greek. For a country surrounded by sea and "iron curtain" neighbours logistics made it difficult to enter the concert maps of big names and it took really until the end of 80's for this to change.
Thank you for your perspective on this — and I had no idea that western music was more marginalized during the 80s. During the summer of my visit, it seemed quite omnipresent...
This is a part (unfortunately the full concert is not preserved) of a live concert that Socrates (the most legendary Greek Hard rock group) gave in 1973 (during the Junta) and it was broadcasted by the military second channel of Greek state TV ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqVNVZZD3TQ
Dan, thanks for this. Deep Purple In Rock was a treasured possession of mine as early as 1974, and though I later swapped it for something - I hope it was at least The Who - I bought a CD re-issue/remaster down the line. 'Child In Time' is just epic. Absurd? Well, maybe, but I will love it always. As a child in that time, I had no idea what the lyrics represented. Thanks for the important elucidation.
And as for your incredible rambles around Greece, I have but one question:
15?
Hahaha - yes, a mere lad of 15 I was! Aristotle’s fluency in Greek and the fact that he’d been there many times before (and had family in Athens) were the primary reasons our parents signed off on it. I am ever grateful that they did, as it was an incredible experience.
I remember a friend of mine buying “In Rock” - I guess around the time it came out. There were half a dozen of us who used to meet up at one house or another, and share/listen to the vinyl we’d bought. The Groundhogs “Split”, the first 2 Black Sabbath albums, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, were all in regular rotation as well, so I guess around 1970. In the UK I went in a school cruise around the Med - including Athens, the Corinth Canal and the Palace of Knossos on Crete, and a wander around Santorini as well, and your story just brought a bunch of memories of a 14 yr old back in the mists of time, to a guy fast approaching 69 with no brakes! I’m a widower and retired these days, but still listen to music on a daily basis, and sing with a blues band along the South Coast of England. Thanks for the memories!
Right on, Mike! We made it to Knossos as well - I still have the photos somewhere. And I was just listening to Split the other day, now that you mention it!
Great times for music in general!
I knew there was more to those guys than just "Smoke On The Water" and "Hush".
Oh, much more!
yur just gettin bettr and bettr!
Thank you, Toni!
Sick story! The hand-drawn zine was pulling at my heart strings.
From November 1, 1969 the album Deep Purple first UK pressing with one of the more amazing covers, Hieronymus Bosch. By this point Deep Purple had become very comfortable working in a studio and this record is a great example of their use of all the technology that was available at that time. Another record that needs to be played loud and devote the time to listen to both sides. Their cover of Lalena is stunning. Finding a good copy of the original UK vinyl pressing might take some time, but your perseverance will be rewarded.
I know (and dig) that LP, but I’ve never heard the original pressing!
That's a great story, and tribute to Deep Purple-- a band that I've never paid much attention to, but you are convincing that they deserve better.
I was also interested because, last month I was doing research for a post about British folk music and surprisingly the Greek junta came up in a story about a classic album of traditional Irish music -- https://andyirvinenews.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/archive-interview-folk-roots-magazine-august-1992/
-‐‐------------------------
“ I remember going to Greece. I didn’t want to go to Greece because the colonels were in power there and I didn’t want to spend any money in Greece. I didn’t want to aid their economy in anyway. So I went as far as Thessalonki, Which is a Macedonian town near the Bulgarian border and sold my blood to pay for a bouzouki.”
You did what?!
“I just went to the Hospital and they take your blood and give you $20 or something. Enough to buy a bouzouki anyway. I new a guy before I left Ljubljana with five dollars in his pocket and by the time he got to Athens he had $150 and no blood. He was sick as a dog. Jeezus, I wouldn’t do it now. There were these awful stories about giving your blood in Turkey. You had to put your arm through a hole in the wall, so you never knew how much they were taking.”
Whoa!!!
The whole interview is remarkable. I'd known that Andy Irvine took a long trip through Eastern Europe, loved the music, and Integrated some of that into the Irish folk he played.
I hadn't thought about the fact that he hitchhiked and busked his way, behind the Iron Curtain, a few years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, without speaking the language.
That's bold.
"I celebrate absurdity in rock n’ roll like I celebrate hot sauce on my sandwiches"
Love this. Thank you for giving me a way to explain some of my 'guilty pleasures' in music to skeptical friends!
Hahaha — my pleasure! This principle is also at the very root of my Doors fandom...
Amazing Greek adventure, it fills in some holes of my understanding of that era, my mothers parents were Greek immigrants and a lot of Greek relatives were coming over then, it wasn't clear to me then that they were escaping rather than emigrating. A generation before, my Great uncle was studying at university in Italy when the Greek communists tried to take over, a cousin got shot (and many others) for refusing to join their military. My uncle's sister warned him to not return to Greece and he emigrated to Chicago, moved to bay area and had a very successful life. I've only been once in the early 90's, can't wait to spend a lot of time there as soon as I can work it out.
Did you get on to the DP MK II era mid-90's Roger Glover remixes? That was/is a great dive-in, a lot of sonic revelations.
Yeah, I remember enjoying those remixes — though as is usually the case for me, I ultimately still kinda preferred the originals. The big revelation for me from those CDs was “Painted Horse,” the outtake from Who Do We Think We Are; I guess it had already appeared on a compilation or two, but I’d never heard it before. What a great track!
Damnit Dan you've done it again! I didn't remember "Painted Horse" so I had to go dig it out! I think I was distracted by "Smooth Dancer" - another tune I didn't pay attention to until the remixes, I never realized it was a Ritchie dis. I didn't pay much attention to this album too much, probably the least interesting of MK II era. "Woman From Tokaayo" on "Live in Japan" was all I needed! My first DP was the 1980 vinyl comp "Deepest Purple - The Very Best of DP" which was yet another revelation found at Rolling Stone Records on Irvine Park, I think one of the longest vinyl albums ever, almost 63 minutes! Killer MKII comp.
As a Greek, I would praise the great writing and welcome the interesting viewpoint about the impact of military junta in the relationship of Greek youth with western music and particularly rock. I was born after the fall of Junta (hence I'd rather stay neutral here) but there is a very popular opinion which argues that the colonels actually tolerated western music and especially rock in order to act as an "exhaustion valve" for any accumulated youth frustration. It was rather during the post Junta years when rock (and any kind of western influenced music in general) was marginalised in favour of more revolutionary, communist themed anthems sung in Greek. For a country surrounded by sea and "iron curtain" neighbours logistics made it difficult to enter the concert maps of big names and it took really until the end of 80's for this to change.
Thank you for your perspective on this — and I had no idea that western music was more marginalized during the 80s. During the summer of my visit, it seemed quite omnipresent...
This is a part (unfortunately the full concert is not preserved) of a live concert that Socrates (the most legendary Greek Hard rock group) gave in 1973 (during the Junta) and it was broadcasted by the military second channel of Greek state TV ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqVNVZZD3TQ
Wow — heavy stuff!