Getting into Blackmore's Head

[Zzzptm]

KDC brought up an interesting point in the Machine Head thread - namely, Blackmore did not like sharing the spotlight. More to the point, Blackmore didn't like sharing the spotlight in a way that made him look like an equal of the rest of the band. He had to be first among equals at the very least.

But, at the same time, I'd point out that Blackmore also had an eye for business - you can't fill seats in halls with just a guitar player and a mediocre backup band, not all the time. So he's got the competing thought that he doesn't eat if the band's not amazing enough. That's a very narrow edge to run, no overshadowing him, but the band should be as close as possible to that position to be successful.

Which would explain all his fine-tuning lineup changes in Rainbow. Also explains replacing Gillan - who he wanted to work with, but on his own terms, not Gillan's - with Blackmore and Hughes. 2 singers play against each other, not against the guitar hero.

Elf was too far in the mediocre direction. Good players, but not WOW players except for Dio.

Rising lineup was too far in the awesome direction - Tony Carey had to go, so he got teased mercilessly. Jimmy Bain went out as well and journeyman Bob Daisley showed up to do a job.

Dio worked very well with Blackmore, as he was willing to create a mood with his voice and then hand things over for a monster solo - we see that in Black Sabbath, as well. Soaring, majestic, emotional vocals and then 10 minutes of guitar work to build on that foundation.

Gillan, on the other hand, wanted simpler songs. Gillan's "Our Lady" has no instrumental solo showcases, for example. In the Mk2 reunion albums, it's clear who wrote which songs based on where the emphasis is on the guitar solo. Lord gets to solo here and there, but he's pushed to the back by Blackmore's running things in that era.

And that's where Joe Lynn Turner comes in. Well, after Graham Bonnett... Blackmore wanted more money, so Rainbow needed to be more about radio-friendly pop tunes than D&D epic tunes. Dio walks away from that and we get a pretty good Aussie singer Bonnett to fill in. He's not amazing, but he's journeyman good. Of all people to show up to do bass, it's Roger Glover, who Blackmore once labeled redundant as Mk2 was coming apart.  Well, if you don't need a bass+vocals guy to play off the prima donna lead singer, Glover's a fine bass player who doesn't have a large personality, and he also doesn't do a half bad job in the production booth. OK, so Glover's in.

And then on the next album, we get Joe Lynn Turner. JLT has a great voice for ballads and pop tunes - and I see the connection back to Rod Evans from Mk 1 in that. And with a rotating roster of keyboards and drummers for the next few albums, we really don't have anyone doing anything memorable on those albums except for Blackmore's guitar work.

Rainbow's pop reign peaked with Stone Cold and then fell off, so Blackmore needed to get more money and do that reunion thing. Gillan is ready to kill Blackmore again after 2 albums and gets fired. In comes JLT to fill in and makes one of DP's most disappointing albums - but if you look at it as a Rainbow JLT-era album, it's one of the best of that lot. Fans don't buy those tickets, though, so the rest of the band tells Blackmore that Gillan has to be back for the 25th anniversary of DP or it's a non-starter.

And that gives us TBRO, which I can't listen to. Just too much conflict in that album, it's not a healthy thing. Blackmore's totally pissed off and Gillan and the rest of the band are putting their foot down. Wheels finally come off in the supporting tour and the band gets Joe Satriani to finish it off (GREAT concerts, BTW) and then Steve Morse to be more of a good buddy than a domineering personality.

Blackmore goes back to his Rainbow brand and gets people we've never heard of to do a bunch of songs. Then it's off to medieval faires and Candace Night who literally becomes Blackmore's Night. That acutually suits Blackmore down to the ground, because everyone is there for him and nobody else.

And when he needs more money apparently, he gets a Rainbow lineup for a tour and picks a pretty good singer who can kind of sound like either Dio or JLT as needed, but who more importantly doesn't outshine the lead banjo player in the band.

And that's how I see it, happy to change anything if I'm wrong about it. Discuss.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

You know far more about that than I do, I couldn't argue with those thoughts.

[Zzzptm]

Wondering how much of Blackmore's approach was influenced by his days with Screaming Lord Sutch and that band's revolving lineups.

[Charger]

Ritchie was always a bit of a diva there's no question about that. And he wanted the big light to shine on him and only him. And when things didn't go his way he let people know it...in the band, the crew or the audience. If he was having a bad day he sure as hell made it sure everyone else was having one too.

I think the happiest I've ever seen Ritchie was with Blackmore's Night. And that's understandable as that was all about him. Sure Candice is an incredible singer and songwriter but let's be fair the people came to see Ritchie not his band of merry background players. But he had his off days then too..leaving the stage in the middle of the show or playing only acoustic songs with zero emotion or feel...

I do admire Candice though...can't imagine it being easy to live with a man like Ritchie...AND be in a band with him. Or who knows maybe they found a way to make it work..well obviously they did.

It's funny Ronnie always talked about the idea of getting Rainbow back together but Ritchie never wanted anything to do with the idea...until Ronnie passed...then he was all for it. Obviously he didn't want the situation where he'd have to share the stage with someone of equal standing and popularity. Instead he waited and then put "Rainbow" back together with unknowns so that he could still be the top dog.

[Zzzptm]

Blackmore has a certain look in his eye when he's about to start some shit, doesn't he?

[Jack the Stripper]

Stumbled upon this while watching something else and thought here was the perfect spot to post it. A compilation of Ronnie’s thoughts on Blackmore. He obviously respected him as a musician but harboured a lot of bitterness towards him even though he mentions in one of the grabs he wasn’t  bitter lol.

In terms of fan appreciation I don’t think there’s many better than Ronnie, but man could he bear a grudge

[Charger]

Well everything he says is pretty much 100% accurate.

Also it was Ronnie who was open to the idea of a Rainbow reunion before his passing but it was Ritchie who wanted nothing to do with it...

[Zzzptm]

I follow Ronnie's rules: the fans are what make you, give them kindness and respect. Not that I'm a fan demanding those things: when I'm a performer, be it a teacher or a DJ or tech support, I want to give my best to the people who are there for me.

[Vyn]

So as not to munge up the Car Tunes thread, I thought I'd quote part of Charger's latest comment and respond to it here.

The thing with Blackmore was that when he wasn't feeling it he half assed everything...

Absolutely. I think this echoes everything that has been said in this particular thread.

Blackmore's self-centered nature was/is so strong that he struggled to keep it under control, and once he made a name for himself he simply didn't need to bother trying.

For as much of a "star" as he is, from my perspective he could have been much bigger. His musicianship is royalty but his selfishness is baseborn.

[Zzzptm]

I'm wondering if there was a day when he woke up and decided his shit didn't stink, was that a gradual process, or had he always been that way since starting with Lord Sutch's Savages and doing session work?

[Scott]

I'm wondering if there was a day when he woke up and decided his shit didn't stink, was that a gradual process, or had he always been that way since starting with Lord Sutch's Savages and doing session work?

Does make you wonder if it was his time with Lord Sutch and his session work that gave him the ego. I can see how session work might leave some with an inflated ego.

[Zzzptm]

Maybe he was still a young fresh kid with Lord Sutch, flying all across England in the back of a van. But session work is where one could easily develop an attitude that everyone else is garbage. Why? It's because I'm recording the guitar part that will go on the record instead of the guitarist that plays for them on stage. But even then, it's not like there's just a guitarist in a band.

Wondering also if Blackmore's opinion of a musician dropped if and when said musician was tired of dealing with his personality. I know that when he left Deep Purple in the Come Hell or High Water tour, the rest of the band was relieved. Aside from Big Ian forgetting lyrics here and there and laughing it off, the rest of the band was as tight as ever. Paicey had gotten over the difficulties he'd had in the 80s, Lord was still king of the Hammond, and Glover played clean. So if Blackmore couldn't work with them, it was a Blackmore problem, not a DP problem.

But, in Rainbow... different story, there. Blackmore owns that show, and he'll put whoever he wants in the band. First album, he kept his promise to Dio to retain Elf. Second album, yeah nah we're gonna replace all those guys. Third album, can't work with Tony Carey, so let's get a quieter guy from Canada on keyboards and good ol' Bob Daisley for bass. Fourth album: surprise! Totally different band now! Remember that bass player for DP I once said was "redundant"? Well, he's back!

In fact, Roger Glover was on 4 of the 7 original Rainbow albums. Dio was on 3, Cozy Powell on 3, and Joe Lynn Turner also 3. Glover was the longest-lasting of any of that band's lineups... wonder if it was because Glover could just roll with things better than most?