As many of you know I am a big fan of Deep Purple and anyone connected with them. I always felt while all the core musicians walked the earth everything was in balance!
So when Jon Lord passed away in 2012 I was devastated. I was not just a fan of his work with Deep Purple etc but also his contemporary classical music which also incorporated some beautiful songs and artists.
I will be doing an overview of his solo albums in a future video but albums like Pictured Within, The Durham Concerto and To Notice Such Things are essential listening.
I went to the memorial concert in 2014 at the Royal Albert Hall so really looked forward to the release of this box set. It was a brilliant night featuring Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Glenn Hughes, Paul Weller, Rick Wakeman and many more. The box set itself did not hang around for long so it is quite hard to find now.
So here is a chance to have a look inside if you have not seen or got a copy yourself.
- Blu-ray “Celebrating Jon Lord”
- CD – Celebrating Jon Lord – The Composer
- 2CD – Celebrating Jon Lord – The Rock Legend
- Seven-inch vinyl – various artists
- Seven-inch vinyl – Deep Purple
- Exclusive T-shirt
- Reproduction of show programme
- Reproduction of an excerpt from Lord’s original handwritten music score from Sarabande, signed by Paul Mann.
Most of the media contained in this box set has been released separately now but I fully recommend the Blu Ray and CDs if you cannot find the box set. The performances are magnificent and really honour Jon Lord’s memory. I do not think there was a dry eye in the house when Jon Lord’s wife introduced the evening. There are many highlights in the show, the classical works are beautifully played and filmed and of course the rock side of his life is very well presented as well.
The two singles in the box set are interesting and are 180pm which always feels a bit odd for a single. The first one is You Keep On Moving with Soldier of Fortune and the second single features Deep Purple performing Above and Beyond with Fantasia on the B Side.
The night and show was split into three sections, there was the composer, the rock legend and Deep Purple doing a 60-minute concert in his honour. The Blu Ray also includes a 60-minute documentary. One of the highlights for me was seeing Glenn Hughes sing This Time Around and Burn with Ian Paice and Bruce Dickinson.
The show program is reproduced in full but smaller to fit in the box and as usual with these things, the T Shirt is extra large which means it looks like a tent on me!
Track Listing – The Composer (1CD)
- Fantasia from Sarabande
- Durham Awakes from Durham Concerto
- All Those Years Ago (with Steve Balsamo and Micky Moody and Anna Phoebe)
- Pictured Within (with Miller Anderson)
- Sarabande from Sarabande (with Rick Wakeman)
- One From The Meadow (with Margo Buchanan)
- Bourrée from Sarabande
- Afterwards (with Jeremy Irons and Paul Mann)
Track Listing – The Rock Legend (2CD)
CD1
- Things Get Better (feat. Paul Weller)
- I Take What I Want (feat. Paul Weller and Micky Moody)
- Silas and Jerome (feat. Phil Campbell from The Temperance Movement, Ian Paice and Bernie Marsden)
- I’m Gonna Stop Drinking (feat. Phil Campbell from The Temperance Movement, Ian Paice and Bernie Marsden)
- Soldier of Fortune (feat. Steve Balsamo, Sandi Thom and Micky Moody)
- You Keep On Moving (feat. Glenn Hughes, Bruce Dickinson, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Micky Moody)
- Burn (feat. Glenn Hughes, Bruce Dickinson, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Rick Wakeman)
- This Time Around (feat. Glenn Hughes)
CD2 Deep Purple celebrating Jon Lord
- Uncommon Man
- Above And Beyond
- Lazy
- When A Blind Man Cries
- Perfect Strangers
- Black Night
- Hush (feat. Bruce Dickinson, Rick Wakeman, Phil Campbell, Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody)
Thank you for watching
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
