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Smoke On The Water: The Deep Purple Story Dave Thompson ECW Press, 402 pp 
If only Deep Purple's best known song had been called The Band
Everybody Left, Then Rejoined, Then Pretty Much Left Again. Not
only would it have made for a far more appropriate bio title, but
also a far more interesting lyric. It even fits with the music. In
fact, next time you hear Smoke On The Water, try singing it
over the chorus: "The band everybody left, then rejoined, then pretty
much left again / A fire in the sky." Actually, the Deep Purple saga makes for a surprisingly interesting read. Formed around a core membership of over-adept session musician types in the late 1960s, the band has endured a panoply of ructions and a series of oddly-configured (actually, evenly-configured to be precise) line-up changes. The original singer and bass player were ousted simultaneously to then be replaced by a duo who also departed simultaneously a few years later. Curiously, the next changeover was singular and the guitarist in question died shortly after. Spooky coincidence or sinister conspiracy perpetrated by an asymmetry-hating universe? You be the judge, though at this stage, it perhaps seems prudent to make a suggestion to the band's most recent solo acquisition, Steve Morse: watch your back. Author Dave Thompson brings a satisfying level of nerdishly over-informed passion to his subject, lovingly detailing and lauding the various members' extra-Purpicular projects. A nice balance is struck between his occasionally wry, 'semi-informal' reportage (ie: neither black tie nor shirtless and wearing thongs, but more like the 'casual Friday' attire of a mid-level manager haplessly bent on winning over the hipper and more confident counter staff who he just knows have been doing frowny-faced, finger-pointing impressions of him behind his back) and the band's own anecdotal accounts, with neither getting tiresome. Unlike that last sentence. And, ironically, as you'll soon doubtless be irritated to discover, the one after next. Which brings me to my only real criticism: while the book as a whole is utterly consumable, there are some convoluted passages here that have ended up, for want of a slightly less charitable editor, if not quite knocking on the door of unintelligibility then at least daring each other to touch its driveway. See, don't say I didn't warn you. To be frank, despite having always harboured a clandestine love for the whole 'frivolous rock bio' genre, I kind of expected this book to suck or be annoying or both. I'm delighted to say that it doesn't and isn't. It's actually an entertaining read and would no doubt be far more so to an actual Deep Purple fan. It even has a 'further reading' list and an index containing the most consecutive entries in any index ever: supergroups (243, 305, 306) followed by superstar jam sessions (91-92, 158-162, 310). I mean, what more could you ask for?  |
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