Il suono ancestrale del didjeridoo fa da sottofondo alla visione del mistico Uluru (o Ayers Rock). Questa, ed altro ancora, è l'Australia. La terra dove sogno e realtà si fondono in un unico, millenario, elemento. Inconoscibile all'uomo.
Chissà se i Deep Purple si saranno posti alcune domande, o se abbiano visitato l'Australia misteriosa, quando sono approdato nel 1999. Ancora in viaggio, per continuare a suonare.
Ad esibirsi è la Mk VI, con Steve Morse, talento americano delle 6 corde, prende l'eredità di Ritchie Blackmore, che con i Deep Purple non vuole avere più nulla in comune.
Se, per molti, la dipartita di del "Man In Black" ha rappresentato la fine dei Deep Purple, sicuramente Steve Morse è riuscito a riportare quella serenità e voglia di suonare per puro divertimento ai 4 attempati colleghi. E' d'uopo affermare che il chitarrista statunitense abbia rappresentato una chiave di volta per il modo di vivere dei Deep Purple: rilasciano buoni album (nulla di eccezionale, ma ottimi lavori tecnici) e intraprendono tuor su tour.
Con Morse i Purple rilasciano i due album in studio, "Perpendicular" (1996) e il contestato "ABandOn" (1998), e un live ufficiale, "Live At Olympia" (1996).
Sul finire di millennio rilasciano "Total Abandon - Live in Australia '99", testimonianza del tour di "ABandOn". Il concerto si presenta subito come il miglior live dei Deep Purple degli anni '90 (probabilmente al pari con "Come Hell Or High Water" ai tempi di Blackmore).
La scaletta contiene solo 4 pezzi della Mk VI, segno evidente che i DP sono entrati nella fase "Hall of Famers", ampio spazio dedicato ai grandi successi della Mk II. I quattro brani dell'era Morse sono la funkeggiante e scatenante "Ted The Mechanic", il solido hard rock di "Almost Human" (riabilitata grazie a questa prestazione live), nella quale Morse ci regala una performance degna del suo talento; altro brano di successo è la dolce "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming", uno dei migliori brani degli anni nineties; spazio anche per "Watching The Sky", canzone in crescendo basata sul solido riff d'apertura.
Finite queste canzoni i Deep Purple ripropongono i masterpieces degli anni '70, ottimamente eseguiti da Steve Morse, il quale si trova a proprio agio nelle improvvisazioni con Jon Lord (del resto Satriani l'aveva suggerito ai DP proprio per questo motivo). Ecco, quindi, che in questo concerto vengono esaltate canzoni come "Strange Kind Of Woman", "Woman From Tokyo". Viene finalmente riesumata l'epica "Pictures Of Home", trascinata dai due giocolieri Lord e Morse e ben sostenuti da Roger Glover in fase ritmica (of course). In "Fireball" Ian Paice fa con un pedale e una cassa ciò che molti batteristi non riescono a fare con due mentre Glover e Lord eseguono dei solos fenomenali.
L'ampio uso del wah-ah dell'Ibanez di Steve rende "Perfect Strangers" ancor più pachidermica, un cingolato di suoni nell'aria. Lo stesso chitarrista prende spunto dai migliori riff della storia del rock per introdurre quello più famoso, i tre accordi di "Smoke On The Water", sempre potente ed esaltante, con il pubblico che canta entusiasta il ritornello.
Jon Lord apre il secondo disco (ben 16 canzoni in totale) dell'album, disegna dolci note con il piano, per poi passare senza che ci si renda conto al cadenzato blues di "Lazy". A chiudere questo magnifico concerto è quello che molti ritengono il miglior brano dei Deep Purple: "Highway Star". La giusta cavalcata verso il tripudio. Morse non fa rimpiangere nemmeno per un secondo Blackmore. Unisce in una miscela esplosiva ritmi southern, bluesy e classicismi d’alta classe.
Nonostante l'età, nonostante l’acciaccata voce di Gillan, nonostante gli album in studio poco rilevanti, i DP sono sempre i DP, signori dell'Hard Rock, maestri della tecnica e grandi intrattenitori. L'avvento di Morse è una ventata di freschezza e voglia di divertirsi (e stupire), tanto da catalizzare tra i fan tantissimi giovani. Un 4,5 abbondante.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 Ted the Mechanic (04:50)
Playing pool and drinking beer
Nothin moren the
Occasional tear
But this mans life goes on
And he gets
Greased all over
From time to time
At the strip joint, where we met
He said hi, my name is ted
See that one over there
That ball of thunder
Every time she goes vavoom,
I wiggle in my chair
Can I buy you a beer?
What a guy
Ive had a few myself he said
but I never quit when Im ahead
Too many rules and regulations
Stupid laws designed by fools behind closed doors
And another thing I wont discuss is religion
It always causes a fight
Vavoom
There she goes again
how does she do that said ted
And he told me
Of those unjustices (that)
He had suffered in his life
His wife and kids
And boss and dogs
And neighbours
Raising cain and causing strife
They were forever whining
Bleating howling yapping screeching moaning crying
Vavoom
He fed them well
He keep them warm
Thing about ted
He didnt really care
Nothing much got in his hair
And the beauty of it was
That he was right
He was big as a truck
And fast as a door
(whats that? )
He was always right
The banjo player took a hike
Whats that song
I used to like
Vavoom
He was big as a truck
Fast as a door - ted
Ted the man our ted
02 Strange Kind of Woman (06:23)
There once was a woman
A strange kind of woman
The kind that gets written down in history
Her name was Nancy
Her face was nothing fancy
She left a trail of happiness and misery
I loved her
Everybody loved her
She loved everyone and gave them good return
I tried to take her
I even tried to break her
She said, I ain't for takin' won't you ever learn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman, yes I have
She looked like a raver
But I could never please her
On Wednesday mornings boy you can't go far
I couldn't get her
But things got better, she said
Saturday nights from now on, baby, you're my star
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman
Ooh, my soul, I love you
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman, yes I have
She finally said she loved me
I wed her in a hurry
No more callers and I glow with pride
I'm dreaming
I feel like screaming
I won my woman just before she died
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, ha ha ha
Ooh, I had a strange kind of woman, yeah
She was so fat
She was the worst thing you've ever seen
Ooh, my soul, I love you, baby
03 Bloodsucker (04:56)
Gotta black breast Chinese eyes
Got an English brain that's gonna make me wise
Got a long story that I wanna tell
To a rhythm that I know so well
Really got a lot of lovin' that I wanna give
Baby I'm a mystery but you know I gotta live
I tried another but she didn't want to know
Take a hold now if you can
Take a lesson from a hard lovin' man
I'm a long way from where I wanna go
Guess I'll stay awhile I really love you so
How's about another sip of all the wine you got
Take a tip from me and give it here I'll drink the lot
I'm not a winey, I'm a puttin' on a show
You really really grab me but I've gotta move
Before they know I'm here and spread the news
Maybe in while when I've moved around
I can find a way to pay you back your twenty pounds
Really got a lot of lovin' that I wanna give
Baby I'm a mystery but you know I gotta live
I tried another but she didn't want to know
04 Pictures of Home (08:19)
Somebody's shouting
Up at a mountain
Only my own words return
Nobody's up there
It's a deception
I'm alone here
With emptiness eagles and snow
Unfriendliness chilling my body
And whispering pictures of home
Wondering blindly
How can they find me
Maybe they don't even know
My body is shaking
Anticipating
The call of the black footed crow
I'm alone here
With emptiness eagles and snow
Unfriendliness chilling my body
And whispering pictures of home
Here in this prison
Of my own making
Year after day I have grown
Into a hero
But there's no worship
Where have they hidden my thrown
I'm alone here
With emptiness eagles and snow
Unfriendliness chilling my body
And whispering pictures of home
05 Almost Human (06:16)
I know you're the only one who understands
Afore ye go, before you leave
You always shake my hand
Even when I'm crazy, on fire and naked
Just as Nature intended
No style but easily blended
You always know where I'll be found
Hanging somewhere near the ground
Help me up or help me down
Don't want to lose those days
When everything is just a haze
I'm dreaming
I believe I could walk before I learned to crawl
When I look up, the Devil's looking back
From the mirror on the wall
You can open the door
Got my feet stuck to the floor
I may have lost my way
But I didn't get where I am today
Don't want to lose those days
When everything is just a haze
I'm dreaming
You spin into my empty room
And once again I'm almost human
Almost human
07 Watching the Sky (05:46)
I sit here alone
I sit here alone
I look at the walls
Look at the walls
Look at the walls
I look at the walls
You shouldn't be out on your own
Oh no not with a condition like that
Oh no sir constant care
A condition like that, a condition so rare
A penny for the guy, a penny for your thoughts
One a penny, two a penny in your pocket
Ding dong bell, who can tell
Wild Man Fisher got nothing on me
I sit by the water
I sit by the water
Watch it go by
Clouds going by
I'm watching the sky
I left my luggage at the station
Didn't know how to say goodbye
I walked away from all the fury
And the madness and the fury
And the madness and the fury
And the madness
I smile to myself
I smile to myself
You're on the blind side, I'm on the other side
Now I'm on the outside looking for another side
Upside down side, I'm still lucid
I may be crazy but I'm not stupid
Try to get out, the parking lot's full
No matter, no matter, what's a man going to do
One two buckle my shoe
Zip my lip
08 Fireball (04:44)
The golden light about you shows me where you're from
The magic in your eye bewitches all you gaze upon
You stand up on your hill and they bebop all around you
They wonder where you're from oh yeah
They wonder where I found you
Oh my love it's a long way
Where you're from it's a long way
I tried to understand you, I tried to love you right
The way you smile and touch me always sets my heart alight
Your lips are like a fire burning through my soul
And people ask me where you're from
They really wanna know
Oh my soul it's a long way
Where you're from it's a long way
Magic woman wreckin' up my soul
Things you tell me have never been told
Magic woman I don't know
Electric before me I love you so I love you so
You're racing like a fireball dancing like a ghost
You're gemini and I don't know which one I like the most
My head is getting broken and my mind is getting bust
But now I'm coming with you down the road of golden dust
Oh my love it's a long way
Where you're from it's a long way
09 Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming (07:11)
While you were out...
the message says
You left a number
and I tried to call
But they wrote it down
in a perfect Spanish scrawl
in a perfect Spanish scrawl
Yet again
I'm missing you
King size bed
(in a) hotel someplace
I hear your name
I see your face
I see your face
(The) back street dolls
and the side door johnnies
The wide eyed boys with their bags full of
money
Back in the alley
going bang to the wall
Tied to the tail
of a midnight crawl
Heaven wouldn't be
so high I know
if the times gone by
hadn't been so low
The best laid plans
come apart at the seams
and shatter all my dreams
Sometimes I feel like...
Screaming
close my eyes
It's times like this
my head goes down
and the only thing I know
is the name of this town
is the name of this town
Yet again
I'm missing you
won't be long
O' coming home
Until that distant time
I'll be moving on
I'll be moving on
11 Smoke on the Water (09:01)
We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place in town
When some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Dragging kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
We ended up at the grand hotel
It was empty, cold and bare
And with the rolling truck stones thing just outside
We made our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We made a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
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