464 – [Daniel Glass Show]: A Tribute to Ian Paice

If all you know of Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice is “Smoke On the Water,” then you really MUST listen to Daniel’s tribute of this highly influential but oft underrated master of hard rock.

What’s covered in this session:

• Daniel shares how as a 9-year old burgeoning drummer, he was introduced to the hard rock sounds of Deep Purple. Drummer Ian Paice not only became his first drum hero, but is the reason why Daniel chose to set up left-handed.
• Daniel recounts Paice’s early years working in his father’s jazz big band. American jazz, big band, and early rock’n’roll played an influential role in the sound of the heavy rock drumming that emerged out of England in the late 1960s.
• The formation of Deep Purple in 1968, and how the band’s sound combined a wide variety of influences (including blues, classical and Renaissance music) with some unforgettable guitar riffs and intense power.
• DP’s “Mark II” era introduced the screaming style of vocalist Ian Gillian and launched the hard rock sound for which the band became famous, most notably with “Smoke On the Water.”
• A discussion of DP’s legendary 1972 album “Made In Japan,” and why it still makes Daniel’s “desert island disc” list after all these years.
• A breakdown of Ian Paice’s drumming style over a variety of Deep Purple tracks from 1969-1974.
• Daniel recounts the two times he met Ian Paice and how he (almost) managed to “play” Highway Star alongside Ian as part of a SkyArts drumming program.

Resources/Links/People Mentioned:

• A 1969 performance of “Hush” by Deep Purple on the TV program, “Playboy After Dark.” Despite the lousy audio quality, this clip provides a sense of the intensity that Ian Paice would bring to his stick work with Deep Purple.
• An absolutely INCENDIARY live version of “Speed King” from 1970. This song launched the “Mark II” lineup of Deep Purple, and put everyone on notice that “the world’s loudest band” had arrived.
• Incredible live performance of “Fireball” from 1972. I was not aware that Deep Purple had ever included this song in their live set, but as you can see from the video, the drum tech brings out a second bass drum just for this one song. Paice’s drumming here is ridiculous!
• The famous “Copenhagen Concert” in its entirety from 1972. This concert was filmed the same year that Purple recorded their legendary live album “Made In Japan,” and features a comparable set list.
• Live version of “The Mule” from the 1972 Copenhagen concert. Ian Paice’s tremendous solo here puts him in the same league as any of the great British drummers of that era.
• Deep Purple Mark III’s live version of “Burn” from Cal Jam in 1974. Epic!
• Daniel and Ian Paice – backstage at the Beacon Theater after a Deep Purple concert in 2011.
• Here’s an article Daniel published about Ian Paice in Modern Drummer magazine in 2011.