Glnn Hughes - Soulfully Live...

[ElectricWiz]

Still in my Iommi/Hughes-Fused "WOW," mode, and in my Glenn Hughes discovery mode here. Picked up Soulfully Live in the City of Angels today, and it's as good as I hoped/expected. Nice package too, two CDs and a DVD for $20. Why I wasn't previously educated about this man I can't begin to say, but this is probably my personal biggest discovery in 4 or 5 years, if for shear depth of catalogue alone.

Anyway, got me to thinking that an obscenely high amount of my favorite records are made by about, oh, say ten or 12 people - namely the always rotating lineup changes between Rainbow/Deep Purple/Sabbath and so on. This group of Englanders (mostly) quite simply have success (making good records anyway) more often than is understandable with the revolving door policy they all seem to live under. Half of the people who have been in each band have been in one of the others, if not all at one time or another. And it makes little difference.....they make records that are mostly strangely good. Anyway, weird. Somebody should draw up a family tree.

Oh, and lastly, Glenn Hughes ain't exactly an old man, but he is getting on in age....so what the hell is up with that VOICE?????? He sings like a man half his age. Juheezus! I take that back, he sings better than just about every man half his age.

 

[SoundMaster]

Still in my Iommi/Hughes-Fused "WOW," mode, and in my Glenn Hughes discovery mode here. Picked up Soulfully Live in the City of Angels today, and it's as good as I hoped/expected. Nice package too, two CDs and a DVD for $20. Why I wasn't previously educated about this man I can't begin to say, but this is probably my personal biggest discovery in 4 or 5 years, if for shear depth of catalogue alone.

Anyway, got me to thinking that an obscenely high amount of my favorite records are made by about, oh, say ten or 12 people - namely the always rotating lineup changes between Rainbow/Deep Purple/Sabbath and so on. This group of Englanders (mostly) quite simply have success (making good records anyway) more often than is understandable with the revolving door policy they all seem to live under. Half of the people who have been in each band have been in one of the others, if not all at one time or another. And it makes little difference.....they make records that are mostly strangely good. Anyway, weird. Somebody should draw up a family tree.

Oh, and lastly, Glenn Hughes ain't exactly an old man, but he is getting on in age....so what the hell is up with that VOICE?????? He sings like a man half his age. Juheezus! I take that back, he sings better than just about every man half his age.

I swear we share the same musical mind, at times.

For one, I've always considered England to the home - the heaven even - of all that's great in music. From the Beatles on, the UK simply dominates.

And I've also always considered the "Blackmore" family, as I call it, to be the cornerstone of metal. I define this, of course, as Richie & Deep Purple. From which came Dio (through Rainbow); from which came Coverdale & Hughes (through Purple Mark III) and the subsequent work they've done (yes, Whitesnake kicks ass). Running parallel to this, is Tony Iommi's apparent infatuation with Richie (working with Dio, Gillan, Hughes, etc). Everything Iomm's ever touched has been golden, of course. And if you really want to stretch things a bit, Halford has sung for Sabbath twice, to my knowledge! Add Priest to the family tree! And, of course, Coverdale created an AWESOME, heavy record in the early 90s with Jimmy Page! Can we add Zep to the Tree, too! HA!

Anyway, as for Glenn, "Soulfully Live" is an awesome package. I, too, have the set you purchased (for about $16). Oddly enough, in Europe they're released separetely. Anyway, that set covers his entire career, including his days with Trapeze (pre-Purple), then Deep Purple, then the one-off he did with Pat Thrall in the early 80s and then a small handful of his solo tracks.

The version of Purple's "Mistreated" is just blistering.
Anyway, I'm glad you picked this up and enjoy it! You really need to delve further into Glenn's solo career. I'm still picking up his discs: I just received his 1997 live tribute to former Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin. Awesome stuff.


With all of this talk, I'm thinking the time may be right to look up Ian Gillan's solo material from the late 70s / early 80s. Have you ever heard any of it?

 

[ElectricWiz]

Actually Soundmaster, I've you to thank for the Glenn Hughes suggestion! You've given me a monster here!!!
Second, the addition of Whitesnake is more than warranted, and yes they do kick ass, especially the early stuff. This also adds Thin Lizzy into the revolving door mix owing to John Sykes etc.
My fave tracks on Soulfully Live so far are Medussa, Wherever You Go, Seafull, ah hell, it's all cool.

As to the Gillan stuff, it's funny you should ask. I bought a retrospective only two or three weeks ago, it's called Second Sight. I bought it knowing one track in particular was good (having had an MP3 laying around from somewhere); Men of War. I was pleased to see this song, incidentally, was chosen for the upcoming Gillan's Inn CD (a solo release forthcoming on which Ian re-records a bunch of stuff spanning his career, including Purple stuff, solo stuff, and even Trashed from Born Again - guesting Tony Iommi no less!)
Aaaaanyway, Gillan's solo stuff, from my experience, can be brilliant, but is spotty for sure. Most of it is hard to find unless you get one of the retrospectrives like Second Sight, of which there are several. Most notably, there was a period in the 80s where he was recording with Janick Gers, and this is probably the best. Men Of War comes from this period - there is a record called Double Trouble which is probably your best bet. One half is live: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...9/002-0364900-3263253?s=music&v=glance&n=5174

Gillans solo stuff is actually not that different that Glenn Hughes. Some of it is very Purple-like, some heavy, some is veeeeery melodic. He probably hasn't been at good at picking band members as Glenn has though, and Glenn's songs are better generally speaking.

Anyway, I love to listen to him sing (Ian), so I like pretty much all of Second Sight. But I have to admit that 10% of it is nothing special - just rock boogie numbers or something. Still, the 90% that is great...is GREAT! Plus there's live versions of Helter Skelter (!), Black Night, and Child of Time, so that's kind of a bonus. Gillan is probably my fave singer. Well, there's no probably about it.

LAST - Jannick Gers having worked with Ian (and I don't know who else) brings Maiden into the whole family tree!

Truly Last - Since we are exchanging suggestions, I have to admit I'm completely in the dark on Hughes era Purple! Help me out. Does he actually sing on anything? A dumb question maybe, but at the record store last night I browsed a bit, but got confused a bit since the songs that gave him writing credits usually listed David Coverdale as well. I'm assuming Glenn just plays bass on such records (and I'm also assuming David Coverdale never lets anybody else sing...hehe). I'm also under the impression that I should own some of the Coverdale stuff, but I was on a Hughes quest. I'd appreciate thoughts on both!!!!!

AND, did you know Opeth is releasing an expanded version of Ghost Reveries with the Live from the BBC session of late, on which there is a version of Soldier of Fortune from Stormbringer? They did it when I saw them with Porcupine Tree, and this might even be on Lamentations (I'll have to look), but still cool to have a live in the studio version.

 

[SoundMaster]

Actually Soundmaster, I've you to thank for the Glenn Hughes suggestion! You've given me a monster here!!!

You're more than welcome. I'm just happy to see Glenn attract new fans, after all these years.!

Second, the addition of Whitesnake is more than warranted, and yes they do kick ass, especially the early stuff. This also adds Thin Lizzy into the revolving door mix owing to John Sykes etc.

Indeed. I love their older stuff, and, to be honest, aside from the cheesy radio tracks, the 1987 record has some cool tunes!

My fave tracks on Soulfully Live so far are Medussa, Wherever You Go, Seafull, ah hell, it's all cool.

It IS all cool! I love every track there, but on that particular record, I'd probably say "Mistreated".

As to the Gillan stuff, from my experience, can be brilliant, but is spotty for sure. Most of it is hard to find unless you get one of the retrospectrives like Second Sight, of which there are several. Most notably, there was a period in the 80s where he was recording with Janick Gers, and this is probably the best. Men Of War comes from this period - there is a record called Double Trouble which is probably your best bet. One half is live: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000025AZ9/qid=1137259401/sr=1-19/ref=sr_1_19/002-0364900-3263253?s=music&v=glance&n=5174

Thanks. I WILL check this out, for sure. I totally love Ian's voice....he's right there with Dio, Glenn, Bruce, Plant, Halford in the upper eschelon of vocal gods! Coverdale's not bad, either!

LAST - Jannick Gers having worked with Ian (and I don't know who else) brings Maiden into the whole family tree!

Ok, Maiden's in! And Blaze Bayley's band, of course. And Joe Lynn Turner after working with Rainbow joined up with Yngwie, so he's in too!

Truly Last - Since we are exchanging suggestions, I have to admit I'm completely in the dark on Hughes era Purple! Help me out. Does he actually sing on anything? A dumb question maybe, but at the record store last night I browsed a bit, but got confused a bit since the songs that gave him writing credits usually listed David Coverdale as well. I'm assuming Glenn just plays bass on such records (and I'm also assuming David Coverdale never lets anybody else sing...hehe). I'm also under the impression that I should own some of the Coverdale stuff, but I was on a Hughes quest. I'd appreciate thoughts on both!!!!!

Glad you asked! The Mark II version of Purple is (or was) simply astounding! Glenn does sing some, too. He sings the bridge on the track "Burn". On the Strormbringer record, he was given two tracks to sing solo - both are soulful, bluesy, very similar to what he does today. Check out "Holy Man".

All in all, I consider these two records on par with the Gillan era Purple....perhaps a hair behind. I do consider both of these records better than "Who Do We Think We Are", however. Seriously - the tracks "Burn", "Mistreated", "Sail Away" from the Burn album are metal/hard rock classics, all being better than, say Smoke on the Water.

There was also a 3rd Coverdale/Hughes record with Tommy Bolin taking Blackmore's place after he left to form Rainbow entitled "Come Taste the Band". As I see it, it's got a great groove to it....and the heavy blues that Coverdale's always done. The tracks "Getting Tighter" and "You Keep On Moving" from the live record are from this album!

AND, did you know Opeth is releasing an expanded version of Ghost Reveries with the Live from the BBC session of late, on which there is a version of Soldier of Fortune from Stormbringer? They did it when I saw them with Porcupine Tree, and this might even be on Lamentations (I'll have to look), but still cool to have a live in the studio version.

Yes, I just read that. Although I cant see buying it again for the 2 or 3 BBC tracks. We'll see.

 

[TheWhisper]

All in all, I consider these two records on par with the Gillan era Purple....perhaps a hair behind. I do consider both of these records better than "Who Do We Think We Are", however. Seriously - the tracks "Burn", "Mistreated", "Sail Away" from the Burn album are metal/hard rock classics, all being better than, say Smoke on the Water.

'Burn' is as good, maybe better, than anything Purple did with Gillian, imo. It is my fave Purple album. Hughes is the MAN!

 

[SoundMaster]

Wiz,

You can actually pick up a recently released "twin pack" which contains both Burn and Stormbringer. Please note, however, that these are the original presses and not remastered versions.

"Burn" was remastered last year - with additional remixed versions of most of the songs - and it's a great package. Get this first!

Rumour has it that "Stormbringer" will be remastered w/remixes later this year.

Both are pure classics!

 

[ElectricWiz]

Yes, I just read that. Although I cant see buying it again for the 2 or 3 BBC tracks. We'll see.

Not really planning on buying it myself. However, Ghost Reveries was on iTunes on its release date, so I think it's possible one could just download the one song there. We'll see. Thanks a ton for all suggestions. Stormbringer has entered my reading and line of sight many times, so seems an obvious purchase (as well as the others you listed). I think I'll make a trip to the sto' today. Despite Glenn's non-lead-vocal (excepting the tunes your mentioned) I will indeed dive in. I too think David Coverdale is no slouch, and so have no problem with that! I remember when first I heard Slide It In, I was blown away. I was still in my early discovery of metal phase, hell metal was really just being born, and for instance didn't know that Sabbath had a singer before Ronny James Dio. haha. Anyway, I was a Whitesnake addict for awhile, and can't really say why I didn't chase down the Purple stuff. No telling. I was running down the Rainbow trail probably, and the Gillan trail. And every other trail.
Bless those men from old blighty.

Always more to buy....

 

[ElectricWiz]

It IS all cool! I love every track there, but on that particular record, I'd probably say "Mistreated".

Yeah, Mistreated is awesome. Also, I really dig the Beatles reference of sorts, "How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people," in Written All Over Your Face....Baby, you're a rich man being a fave from Magical Mystery Tour for me.
Not a big thing really, but it's those little layers that make an already pure, awesome performance a special treat, and a window into what moves the performer. Already on a bit of a high with the albums sound and songs, I kinda did a little flip when he did that the first time around.

 

[SoundMaster]

Wiz,

I've just discovered that Hughes did the vocals on two recent metal records for a band named Voodoo Hill.....guitarist is an Italian named Dario Mollo who made a record or two with Tony Martin.

I do not know how this slipped under my radar, but I shall have to check these out ASAP!

 

[ElectricWiz]

I'll start watching myself, but let me know if you come up with them. I picked up Stormbringer and Made In Europe last night. Made In Europe rivals Made In Japan, which I didn't expect. Glenn sings a fair bit on it, but David Coverdale is awesome too.

 

[SoundMaster]

Great haul!

Storm is a great record...hope you like it. If you dont, I'd still not ignore "Burn", which is a better, heavier record!