“The Battle Rages On...” is the fourteenth studio album
by the British hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1993. It is the last
album recorded with the band's classic Mk II line-up, which reunited for a
second time (the first reunion being for 1984's “Perfect Strangers”). Even
though Mike DiMeo was initially chosen as the singer for the album after Joe
Lynn Turner was fired, Ian Gillan eventually returned to the band in late 1992
and had to rework much of the material already existing for it, which had been
intended for Joe Lynn Turner and DiMeo. After his firing, Turner would admit
Ritchie Blackmore referred to the album as "The cattle grazes on".
Blackmore became infuriated at the non-melodic elements and quit mid tour after
the show of 17 November in Helsinki, Finland. American guitarist Joe Satriani
joined Deep Purple as a temporary replacement for the duration of the tour. A
handful of working tracks written during “The Battle Rages On...” sessions
would turn up on subsequent solo releases by Turner, under different titles. “The
Battle Rages On...” contains the song "Lick It Up", which should not
be confused with the song of Kiss.
“The Battle Rages On…” este al paisprezecelea album de
studio al trupei britanice de hard rock Deep Purple, lansat in 1993. Este
ultimul album inregistrat cu formula clasica Mk II, care s-a reunit pentru a
doua oara (prima reuniune fiind in 1984 la “Perfect Strangers”). Chiar daca
Mike DiMeo a fost ales initial ca solist vocal pentru album, dupa concedierea
lui Joe Lynn Turner, Ian Gillan a revenit in cele din urma in grup spre
sfarsitul anului 1992 si a trebuit sa reface mare parte din materialul care
deja exista pentru album, fiind destinat pentru Joe Lynn Turner si DiMeo. Dupa
concediere Turner a admis ca Blackmore s-a referit la album ca “turma la pascut”.
Blackmore s-a infuriat pe partile nemelodice si a parasit grupul la jumatatea
turneului, dupa spectacolul din 17 noiembrie de la Helsinky, Finlanda.
Chitaristul American Joe Satriani s-a alaturat trupei pana la terminarea
turneului. O mare parte din piesele lucrate in timpul sesiunilor pentru “The
Battle Rages On…” vor aparea pe lansarile solo ulterioare ale lui Turner, dar
sub titluri diferite. “The Battle Rages On..” contine si cantecul “Lick it Up”,
care nu trebuie confundat cu cantecul celor de la Kiss.
List of tracks
1. "The
Battle Rages On" (Blackmore, Gillan, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) 5:56
2. "Lick
It Up" 3:59
3. "Anya"
(Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord) 6:32
4. "Talk
About Love" 4:11
5. "Time
to Kill" 5:49
6. "Ramshackle
Man" 5:34
7. "A
Twist in the Tale" 4:17
8. "Nasty
Piece of Work" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord) 4:43
9. "Solitaire" 4:42
10. "One
Man's Meat" 4:38
Personnel
Deep Purple
Ian Gillan – vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Jon Lord – keyboards
Roger Glover – bass
Ian Paice – drums
Production
Produced by Thom Panunzio and Roger Glover
Basic tracks produced by Thom Panunzio at Bearsville
Studios in upstate New York (engineered by Bill Kennedy, assisted by Mike
Reiter)
Vocals and overdubs recorded at Red Rooster Studios
(engineered by Hans Gemperle) in Tutzing, Germany, and Greg Rike Studios
(engineered by Jason Corsaro, assisted by Wally Walton and Darren Schneider) in
Orlando, Florida.
Mixed by Pat Regan with Roger Glover at Sound on Sound
Recording (engineered by Pat Regan, assisted by John Siket, Devin Emke and
Peter Beckeman) in New York, and at the Ambient Recording Company (engineered
by Pat Regan, assisted by Mark Conese) in Connecticut
Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York.
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