Purple Tracks
Fireball
Black Night
Strange Kind of Woman
Hush
Speed King
Funky Junction
Plays a Tribute to Deep Purple
UK 1973 Stereo Gold Award MER 373 [1LP]Performed by Eric Bell (guitar), Brian Downey (drums), Dave Lennox (keyboards), Phil Lynott (bass) and Benny White (vocals).
The first known Purple tribute was recorded as early as 1972. An unknown, starving band named Thin Lizzy (which consisted of Bell, Downey & Lynott) were offered a lump sum of money to record some Deep Purple songs. (The album contains also a few non-DP tracks.) They did - with the help from two Irish guys. The album came out in early 1973. It wasn't a success. In February, Thin Lizzy had a top ten hit with a single of their own.
Purple Tracks
Smoke on the Water
Space Truckin'
Child in Time
Black Night
Lazy
The Mule
Pictures of Home
Strange Kind of Woman
Burn
Highway Star
Fireball
Coda and Reprise
The Moscow Symphony Orchestra
in Performance of the Music of Deep Purple
Japan 1992 Zero Records XRCN-1022 [1CD]UK 1992 Cromwell Productions CPCD 018 [1CD]
Performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Constantine Krimets. Arranged by Stephen Reeve and Martin Riley. Produced by Bob Carruthers. Recorded live (in the studio with no audience) during April 1992.
No drums, no drum machine, no guitar - in fact, no rock instruments at all, just a symphony orchestra. Or as the sleeve notes say: "With the addition of bass and drums rock orchestrations often sound like the worst imaginable elevator music." Some tracks have been re-arranged, others sound more faithful to the originals. Child in Time is particularly successful, building up slowly and nicely. The Mule and Pictures of Home are also very good, much thanks to the melodies. "Interestingly many of the players came to the sessions already knowing the music ... [eventually] even the maestro began to smile"
Purple Tracks
Speed King
Space Truckin'
Stormbringer
Rat Bat Blue
Lazy
Maybe I'm a Leo
Smoke on the Water
Fireball
Hush
Woman from Tokyo
Smoke on the Water - A Tribute
US 1994 Shrapnel Records/Roadrunner Records RR 8967 2 [1CD]Performed by Dean Castronovo (drums), Jens Johansson (keyboards), Todd Jensen (bass) and Russ Parrish (rhytm guitar) as the backing group. Featuring Reb Beach (guitar), Don Dokken (vocals), Paul Gilbert (vocals/guitar), Tony Harnell (vocals), Glenn Hughes (vocals), Kelly Keeling (vocals), Richie Kotzen (vocals/guitar), Yngwie Malmsteen (guitar), Tony MacAlpine (guitar), Robert Mason (vocals), Vinnie Moore (guitar), John Norum (guitar), Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Joe Lynn Turner (vocals), Mike Varney (guitar) and Kip Winger (vocals). Produced by Mike Varney.
There are no particular re-arrangements involved at all here. An ordinary cover album, with all tracks being fairly faithful to the originals. It seems to be a rather routine work. Still, there are some pretty good moments here, especially Lazy (Turner/Malmsteen) and Rat Bat Blue (Kotzen).
Purple Tracks
Hush
Highway Star
Black Night
Smoke on the Water
Woman from Tokyo
Strange Kind of Woman
Burn
Fireball
Child in Time
Air Jazz Quartet
Jazz Tribute to Deep Purple
France 1995 Air Transe Music ATM 523322 [1CD]Performed by Philippe Ballot (drums), François Barisaux (piano), Alain Gaillet (bass) and Philippe Miraille (tenor & soprano sax). Recorded live in the studio during August 1995.
This represents the "Jazz standards of Deep Purple." But, you're hard pressed to recognize some of the songs due to heavy re-arranging. Black Night turned out rather nice. The riff itself is played slightly differently than in the original, but oh so good. If you don't mind not recognizing some of the songs and if you don't mind jazz, this should be a rather good addition to your CD catalogue - whether or not you like Deep Purple. "Everybody will be swinging on earth".
Purple Tracks
Black Night
Strange Kind of Woman
Fireball
Smoke on the Water
Child in Time
Woman from Tokyo
Space Truckin'
Stormbringer
Speed King
Burn
Deep Purple NY
Black Night
Deep Purple Tribute according to New York
US 1996 Revolver Music REV XD 202 [1CD]Performed by Cindy Blackman (drums), Will Calhoun (drums), Cory Glover (vocals), Simon Gregory (guitar), Tony Harnell (vocals), Richie Kotzen (vocals/guitar), Lars Y. Loudamp [= Yngwie Malmsteen] (guitar), Vinnie Moore (guitar), Al Pitrelli (guitar), Van Romaine (drums), Stevie Salas (guitar), T. M. Stevens (vocals/bass), Joe Lynn Turner (vocals) and Bernie Worrell (keyboards). Produced and arranged by T. M. Stevens.
Funky Deep Purple. ("This is the way we do Deep Purple".) Some tracks have been re-arranged, Child in Time in particular. Kotzen's solo is much different from Blackmore's but very very good. Burn sounds like it has never sound before, or after - brilliant. Other tracks sound fairly faithful to the originals. There's some good singing on this album.
Purple Tracks
Burn
Speed King
Lay Down Stay Down
Strange Kind of Woman
Child in Time
Lazy
Lady Double Dealer
Woman from Tokyo
Fireball
Highway Star
Who Do They Think We Are?
A Tribute to Deep Purple from Japan
Japan 1996 BMG Victor 7432-1-37905-4 [1MC]Japan 1996 BMG Victor 7432-1-37905-? [1CD]
Japan 200? BMG Victor BVCR 746 [1CD]
A Japanese tribute album with players from bands like Loudness, Zodiac, and others: Toshio Egawa (keyboards), Taiji Fujimoto (guitars), Genki Hitomi (vocals), Nobuo Horie (drums), Shigehisa Ikeda (guitars), Akira Kajiyarma (guitars), Furnihiko Kittaka (guitars), Demon Kogure (vocals), Yoshihiro Kudo (drums), Takanobu Masuda (keyboards), Eiichi Miyanaga (vocals/drums), Minoru Morikawa (vocals), George Murasaki (keyboards), Hideaki Nakama (guitars), Masashi Okagaki (keyboards), Naoto Shibata (bass), Norifumi Shima (guitars), Konzo Suganuma (drums), Yoshiro Takahashi (bass), Sgt Luke Takamura III (guitars) & Yuichiro Uchida (bass). Recorded during early 1996 and produced by Uli Kawamoto at/for Mandrake Root Corp.
(Not heard.)
Purple Tracks
Highway Star
Black Night
Maybe I'm A Leo
Demon's Eye
Hush
Child In Time
Space Truckin'
Smoke on the Water
Perfect Strangers
Live Demo
Spain 1998? NB Music Productions [1CD]Performed by Cesar Munoz Azorin (gtr), Peter Mayr (kbr), and others.
A tribute album recorded live in 1998 by a Spanish tribute band called Perfect Strangers. They've recorded more than one -- see below entries.
(Not heard.)
Purple Tracks
Hush
Highway Star
Woman from Tokyo
Space Truckin'
Smoke on the Water
Strange Kind of Woman
Demon's Eye
Stormbringer
Black Night
Burn
Fireball
Speed King
Bass Purple
Miami Black Night
Japan 1998 Warner/East West Japan AMCY-2751 [1CD]Performed by Sniffing Divers & Dubrotherz. Arranged by Sage Koizumi. Produced by Shusuke Nagato.
Deep Purple goes techno. Heavy drumming, lots of bass, little singing (save Black Night). Slight re-arrangements here and there, but not much. Not a bad album in case you like techno. Nice album to dance to. Interesting cover art, er... tits and ass.
Purple Tracks
Highway Star
Black Night
Maybe I'm A Leo
Demon's Eye
Hush
Strange Kind Of Woman
Child In Time
Space Trucking
Smoke On The Water
Perfect Strangers
Purple Party
Spain and/or US 1999? NB Music Productions [1CD]Performed by Cesar Munoz Azorin (gtr), Peter Mayr (kbr), and others.
The second tribute album by Perfect Strangers. Recorded live in Spain in 1999.
(Not heard.)
Purple Tracks
Burn
Bloodsucker
Woman From Tokyo
Perfect Strangers
Into The Fire
Rosa's Cantina
Lazy
Bouree
Speed King
Highway Star
Perfect Strangers
Volume 10: Live in Europe
Spain January 2001 NB Music Productions NBPM-0101-PS [1CD]Performed by Cesar Munoz Azorin (gtr), Peter Mayr (kbr), and others.
The third tribute album by Perfect Strangers. Recorded live in Graz, Austria, during Perfect Strangers' first European tour in 2000.
(Not heard.)
Purple Tracks
Maybe I'm A Leo
Demon's Eye
When A Blind Man Cries
Perfect St. Rangers
Plays A Tribute to Deep Purple
Norway 2001 (private distribution via perfects@start.no) [1CD]Performed by Knut Johnny "Knuppen" Franck (drm), Tore Grøtte (bss), Magnus Langli (kbr), Ottar Pettersen (vcl/gtr) and Lars Ytterstad (gtr). Produced by Kjetil Linnes.
Not only do the Norwegians ski and bath in their own oil -- they can play Deep Purple, too, as proved on this 3-track CD sampler. The tracks sound fairly close to the originals, but the singer uses a different phrasing and they play their owns solos.