Deep Purple
Concerto For Group And Orchestra

Mixing two quite different music genres like rock and classical is known to be a risk. Sometimes the results are top-notch, as seen in albums like "Days Of Future Passed" by the Moody Blues and "Concerto Grosso per i New Trolls," where the interaction between the symphonic orchestra and the rock band almost merges, almost finds an understanding. Other times, the results are the complete opposite, as in the case of Ian Anderson rearranging old Jethro Tull pieces orchestrally, with terrible results, and, as for him, the same goes for many others. Orchestration has now become a trend for many bands, just as acoustic unplugged or cover albums were, especially in recent years.

But going back to orchestral rock, there are also cases where one remains perplexed. And this is specifically the case with "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" when Jon Lord's Deep Purple was dragged into an endeavor with fluctuating results, with some quite remarkable moments here and there. It all stems from the keyboardist's dream of bringing to life some of his orchestral compositions, trying to integrate it all with Deep Purple, to which Ian Gillan and Roger Glover had recently been added.

The expectation of a perfect blend between orchestra and band is not fully satisfied. In short, it's more an alternation between orchestra and group than a perfect integration. The recording quality, in my opinion not of the highest choice, does the rest. Fortunately, Deep Purple considered those not familiar with classical music: two good versions of Wring That Neck and Child In Time, performed by the band alone, introduce the three movements. In the two-CD version released in 2002, we find the complete concert: on the first CD, the band plays alone, beyond the songs mentioned above, also a version of Hush.

The second CD contains the three symphonic-orchestral movements. First Movement, Moderato Allegro: the orchestra starts playing, and only at the eighth minute does the band join in, with Blackmore's solo being as usual sublime, but also totally disconnected and unrelated to the rest of the classical composition, except at the end, where occasionally band and orchestra play simultaneously or with rather effective call and response. Second Movement, Andante: here too, it starts with the orchestra weaving refined textures, and finally, Ian Gillan's singing finds space on a few occasions. Despite this, it doesn't stray much from the first movement. Third Movement, Vivace Presto: the compositional formula is the same, only the fairly brisk pace of the composition makes it less tedious and perhaps a bit more catchy, also because the symphonic intro is shorter. The scattered intermezzi, like the Hammond organ intervention and Ian Paice's drum solo, are beautiful. It can be said that of the three, this is the one that succeeded the most.

I won't be so harsh as to say that the album is saved only thanks to the tracks played by the band alone, but overall it sounds very redundant. The artistic effort is nonetheless remarkable, Jon Lord indeed manages to write classical music as well, so much so that thirty years later, in 1999, there will be a grand live celebration, complete with filming ("In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra"). However, listening to the 1969 record today, very mixed feelings cannot be avoided. It's not surprising that Ritchie Blackmore took the reins of the group and, the following year, gave birth to the myth of one of the greatest Hardrock bands in the world, releasing the masterpiece "In Rock." In a way, the first official album of Mark II, which is also the first live in Deep Purple's history, is still the epitaph of Mark I, a rather singular way to break away from the proto-prog of the first albums and open a completely different chapter.