Ian Gillan: “‘Smoke on the water’ is not a heavy metal song”

In an interview with Planet Rock, the singer of Deep Purple, Ian Gillanamong other things, talked about the extensive use of improvisation in concerts: “When you do so many concerts, which is our daily bread, we’ve actually always been a concert band you have to keep the energy high during a long tour. You can’t change the setlist every night because you’ve found your best setlist and you want to offer it to every audience. So, the armchair critics all say: ‘Oh, you did the same setlist’, but it’s not exactly the same.”

The 80 year old Ian Gillan he continued, “Pavarotti told me he was very envious. He said, ‘Ian, I’ve seen you sing ‘Smoke On The Water’ six times, and every time it’s different. If I did it with the same emotion or technique as any of my most famous arias, I would be crucified by the critics and the fans. It’s like that in the world of opera. But in rock and roll you have that freedom. I envy you so much.’ One of the fundamental elements of our work is improvisation. Every night there are subtle changes that keep everyone on their toes. If you are not focused, you can get lost. So everyone is involved and focused every night. I find it incredible to listen to the exchanges during jam sessions between keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Simon McBride, and the changes of rhythm between bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice, while what is happening on the surface suddenly takes a different turn. In my opinion Ian Paice is the best swing drummer alive, and with Roger they are impeccable, but there is a slight change in emphasis. It’s all very subtle, but it’s really exciting.”

The interviewer pointed out how Ian Paice makes his drum parts sound deceptively simple giving the songs the Deep Purple a unique swing. Gillan absolutely agreed. “Listen to what he plays on ‘Smoke On The Water’. Everyone thinks it’s a thunderous, heavy metal song. It’s not. Listen to the drums on ‘Smoke’. Lars Ulrich came to play it with me in San Francisco and played it crazy. I’ve worked with a lot of other drummers who have done it. And none of them realized that it actually takes a delicate touch.”

Next July 3rd i
Deep Purple
they will publish
the new album “Splat!”
. The band will also present the songs from the album in concert in Italy on 16 and 17 July, in Piazza Cavalieri in Pisa and at Castello Carrarese in Este in the province of Padua. After the two summer performances the British group will return to our country on 17 October at the Unipol Forum in Assago, near Milan.