Deep Purple - Concerto For Group And Orchestra - Royal Philharmonic 1990 - [MP3 @ 320](oan)
Review
by Bruce Eder
Back in 1970, it seemed as though any British group that could was starting to utilize classical
elements in their work -- for some, like ELP, that meant quoting from the classics as often and
loudly as possible, while for others, like Yes, it meant incorporating classical structures into
their albums and songs. Deep Purple, at the behest of keyboardman Jon Lord, fell briefly into
the camp of this offshoot of early progressive rock with the Concerto for Group and
Orchestra. For most fans, the album represented the nadir of the classic (i.e., post-Rod
Evans) group: minutes of orchestral meandering lead into some perfectly good hard rock
jamming by the band, but the trip is almost not worth the effort. Ritchie Blackmore sounds
great and plays his heart out, and you can tell this band is going to go somewhere, just by
virtue of the energy that they put into these extended pieces. The classical influences mostly
seem drawn from movie music composers Dimitri Tiomkin and Franz Waxman (and Elmer
Bernstein), with some nods to Rachmaninoff, Sibelius, and Mahler, and they rather just lay
there. Buried in the middle of the second movement is a perfectly good song, but you've got
to get to it through eight minutes of orchestral noodling on either side. The third movement is
almost bracing enough to make up for the flaws of the other two, though by itself, it wouldn't
make the CD worthwhile -- Pink Floyd proved far more adept at mixing group and orchestra,
and making long, slow, lugubrious pieces interesting. As a bonus, however, the producers
have added a pair of hard rock numbers by the group alone, "Wring That Neck" and "Child in
Time," that were played at the same concert. They and the third movement of the established
piece make this worth a listen.
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From Wiki
The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written
by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. The
release was the first Deep Purple album to feature Ian Gillan on vocals and Roger Glover on
bass. After the score was lost in 1970, it was performed again in 1999 with a recreated score.
01. [12:51] - Wring That Neck [Bonus Track]
02. [12:27] - Child In Time [Bonus Track]
03. [19:06] - First Movement - Moderato - Allegro
04. [19:01] - Second Movement - Andante
05. [15:25] - Third Movement - Vivace - Presto
Playing Time.........: 01:18:41
Total Size...........: 180.76 MB