Ritchie Blackmore Thread.

[Aquila Rossa]

This belongs in Tone and Style, because that is what Ritchie is all about.

Since the mid '60s Ritchie has been a ground breaking player with a unique sound and playing style.
He influenced countless guitarists, most notably Randy Rhoads and Ynwie J Malmsteen.

Among his earlier work there is cool stuff like "Wring That Neck", "Emmaretta", "Black Knight", "Speed King" and "Demon's Eye" and the huge "Child in Time".
Then we have the ever famous "Smoke on the Water" along with "Highway Star", "Lazy" and the later Deep Purple songs like "Burn", "Mistreated" and "Stormbringer".
Live Albums like Made in Japan and Made In Europe.
He left Deep Puple and was replaced by the late Tommy Bolin.

Highlights with Rainbow include "Man on the Siver Mountain", A light in the Black", "16th cetury Greansleeves", "Kill the King" and "Catch the Rainbow".

Deep Purple reformed in '84 to produce the brilliant "Perfect Strangers" and then "House of the Blue Light" album, until Ian Gillan was sacked yet again.

He now has a new band with his wife called Blackmore's Night that I'm yet to listen to.

It's a pity his career is often remember for his constant a public feuding with Ian Gillan.

He is truly one of THE great players of all time.

I wonder why Randy Rhoads liked white Marshalls so much?

Deep Purple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZSnAkQc4c

Rainbow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92h86t-fQb4 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkSHHK7WlAw

I highly recommend any young players on this forum who are not familiar with Ritchie Blackmore to check out all the songs I've listed above. All very good stuff.

[Stormbringer]

Comprehensive post - what more can you say? He's my number one, a very big influence. A bit of a dick in person, I gather - his ego certainly comes through on record too. But with his exciting and propulsive guitar stylings that's a blessing, cos it means we get to hear more.

When I saw a Blackmore thread I wanted to post but can't think of what to say. Oh well, guess I'll go put Made In Europe on again.

Made In Japan = most exciting live album ever. And the On Stage version of Mistreated is inspired. Ugh... head... about to... explode!

[ralley]

Ian Gillian

It's Gillan (no second I).

But agree on the rest, Blackmore is my all time favourite. Steve Morse (current DP guitarist) is doing a damn fine job as well.

Blackmore's Night is very different, renaissance based largely acoustic stuff, very different from DP and Rainbow. Still great melodies but sometimes a little cheesy.

Rob.

[Aquila Rossa]

Comprehensive post - what more can you say? He's my number one, a very big influence. A bit of a dick in person, I gather - his ego certainly comes through on record too. But with his exciting and propulsive guitar stylings that's a blessing, cos it means we get to hear more.

When I saw a Blackmore thread I wanted to post but can't think of what to say. Oh well, guess I'll go put Made In Europe on again.

Made In Japan = most exciting live album ever. And the On Stage version of Mistreated is inspired. Ugh... head... about to... explode!

People talk about Hendrix, Beck, Clapton and Page as the foundation guitar heros of the late '60s and early '70s, Blackmore "smokes" the lot of them in many ways.

He was doing Neo Classical before anyone even coined the term.

Made in Europe with David Coverdale on vocals is one of the most powerful live albums ever.
Mistreated is a highlight for sure.
I really like how the '70s bands used to extend their songs with long improvisational interludes when playing live.
Much better than just playing as it was on the single etc.

[Aquila Rossa]

I just read that Steve Morse (always been a class act) is touring with Gillan as "Deep Purple".

I'll have to find some on the Tube before I can comment.

I watched an interview with Blackmore and his wife, he's playing alot of medieval music these days.
She's farly cute. I wonder if he would be recording with her if he wasn't banging her daily though. haha.

I still think "Child in Time" was his best solo, but he did so many good ones.

If I was a living guitar legend like Ritchie, i'd probally struggle with humility as well.
He is supposed to be really difficult to work with. That may be to to with him having a clear musical vision and not being prepared to compromise going by what I have read about him.

[Bg]

People talk about Hendrix, Beck, Clapton and Page as the foundation guitar heros of the late '60s and early '70s, Blackmore "smokes" the lot of them in many ways.

I disagree, mainly because each of those players have very different styles - I don't subscribe to the whassname is better than thingy cos he plays faster theory whatsoever. I like all the above players and Blackmore as well. I've owned pretty much everything he's ever played on - except the Blackmore's Night stuff which frankly I find to be the biggest pile of wank I've heard in a long time.

Personally speaking I've always found David Coverdale to be a better singer than Gillan - just a personal taste thing, Gillan was always a bit of a wanker too. A mate of mine was signed up for the Gillan band as guitarist - then poor old Ian got something wrong with his voice which meant he'd probably never sing again. Band split. 3 months later reunion tour with deep purple - what a surprise.

Deep Purple were a sum of the parts - blackmore, paice and jon lord, it never made much difference who was singing or playing bass as long as the trio were present.

Rainbow needed blackmore and dio - they both knew how to write about elves and hobbits and all that shit

Theres a wicked version of Mistreated off a live Whitesnake album - the classic line up not the pants 80's hair metal line up

[Stormbringer]

Favourite solos for me include Gates of Babylon, Stormbringer, and the one at the very end of April.

I'm not a big fan of the neo-classical aspect a lot of people focus on - I think with regard to Ritchie it's over-emphasised. Classical influence and styles definitely come through in his playing with Purple and especially earlier Rainbow but in my view he's a rock n' roll guitarist first and foremost, who just happens to have classical influence shining through (as well as many other influences). I think that his partnership with Jon Lord helped keep the classical in there. Around the time of In Rock it was actually Ritchie reining in Jon's classical ambitions and driving the band down the hard-rock-road.

Perhaps the reason people leap so quickly to the classical side of his playing is because it was more unique in the blues-dominated world of hard rock. And because later guitarists with stronger links to classical music talked about Ritchie so much.

So who knows how to get Blackmore's tone without having to go out and get a Marshall Major? I checked to see if that one is still on trademe. It's gone lol

[Stormbringer]

Personally speaking I've always found David Coverdale to be a better singer than Gillan

I go through phases. I like Coverdale's consistently powerful voice, but Gillan's screams and more laid back sound are perfect in their place. I can't get over that scream on Strange Kind of Woman on Made In Japan.

I like Evans in his place, too, but I shudder to think of him doing the heavier stuff. Like Child In Time lol

Never liked Hughes for some reason

[Hot_Grits]

I'm a big purple fan. I love Ritchie's 70s-era sound. So (forgive me Ears) woody. It used to combine so well with the thckness of Lord's Hammond. And they were such a grooving band. Paicey is one of my all-time favorite drummers, a great combination of chops and groove.

[Aquila Rossa]

People talk about Hendrix, Beck, Clapton and Page as the foundation guitar heros of the late '60s and early '70s, Blackmore "smokes" the lot of them in many ways.

I disagree, mainly because each of those players have very different styles - I don't subscribe to the whassname is better than thingy cos he plays faster theory whatsoever.

I'm not really talking about a he's better than him kind of thing, more just that Blackmore seemed to push the envelope futher in regards to what was possible to play on rock guitar.
As far as technical playing goes there were plenty of others like Mclaughlin etc, but Blackmore was one of the first to bring it into rock music.
My favourite Blackmore piece strangly enough is very simple, "Catch the Rainbow", brilliant choice of notes and timing, not fast at all.

Favourite solos for me include Gates of Babylon, Stormbringer, and the one at the very end of April.

I think that his partnership with Jon Lord helped keep the classical in there. Around the time of In Rock it was actually Ritchie reining in Jon's classical ambitions and driving the band down the hard-rock-road.

Perhaps the reason people leap so quickly to the classical side of his playing is because it was more unique in the blues-dominated world of hard rock. And because later guitarists with stronger links to classical music talked about Ritchie so much.

So who knows how to get Blackmore's tone without having to go out and get a Marshall Major? I checked to see if that one is still on trademe. It's gone lol

John Lord influenced Blackmore for sure.
Lazy is a good example of Blackmore's unusual take on the blues. Wierd sense of phasing, totally unique. I've never attemped to play any of his stuff until recently because it was so freaky, I didn't think it was possible to play Blackmore's style because it was so freaky.
A Strat into a Plexi with a treble booster should do the sound pretty close at a guess?

[Bg]

Personally speaking I've always found David Coverdale to be a better singer than Gillan

I go through phases. I like Coverdale's consistently powerful voice, but Gillan's screams and more laid back sound are perfect in their place. I can't get over that scream on Strange Kind of Woman on Made In Japan.

I like Evans in his place, too, but I shudder to think of him doing the heavier stuff. Like Child In Time lol

Never liked Hughes for some reason

Don't get me wrong, I really like Gillan as well but I just prefer Coverdale. Recently got Gillan's Inn, some great retakes on old tracks there - but it just made me want to listen to the originals again No Laughing in Heaven was always a classic

[Hot_Grits]

I'm not really talking about a he's better than him kind of thing, more just that Blackmore seemed to push the envelope futher in regards to what was possible to play on rock guitar.
As far as technical playing goes there were plenty of others like Mclaughlin etc, but Blackmore was one of the first to bring it into rock music.

Yeah, the fusion dudes were well ahead of the curve. Di Meola, Mclaughlin and Holdsworth had pretty much developed 90% of the vocabulary of what would become modern shred guitar by the mid 70s.

Blackmore was very heavily influenced by rockabilly and good 'ol Hank Marvin. So throw in blues/rock and classical influences as well and there's quite a gene pool to work with there. That's a big reason why he stood out in the 70s.

[Aquila Rossa]

I'm not really talking about a he's better than him kind of thing, more just that Blackmore seemed to push the envelope futher in regards to what was possible to play on rock guitar.
As far as technical playing goes there were plenty of others like Mclaughlin etc, but Blackmore was one of the first to bring it into rock music.

Yeah, the fusion dudes were well ahead of the curve. Di Meola, Mclaughlin and Holdsworth had pretty much developed 90% of the vocabulary of what would become modern shred guitar by the mid 70s.

Blackmore was very heavily influenced by rockabilly and good 'ol Hank Marvin. So throw in blues/rock and classical influences as well and there's quite a gene pool to work with there. That's a big reason why he stood out in the 70s.

I saw a clip of him playing with the "Scream Lord Sutch" and you could see the Hank Marvin and even Shadows influence.

I never knew Lord Sutch was a "Singer", I only knew about the Monster Raving Loony Party. Is it the same person?

[Bg]

People talk about Hendrix, Beck, Clapton and Page as the foundation guitar heros of the late '60s and early '70s, Blackmore "smokes" the lot of them in many ways.

I disagree, mainly because each of those players have very different styles - I don't subscribe to the whassname is better than thingy cos he plays faster theory whatsoever.

I'm not really talking about a he's better than him kind of thing, more just that Blackmore seemed to push the envelope futher in regards to what was possible to play on rock guitar.

But they all pushed the envelope, just in different areas and different time periods.... its fair to say that Hendrix was quite innovative, as was the Mayall Beano album, Jeff Beck and Led Zep.

And yes its the same Lord Sutch

[rocklander]

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