I first learned about Deep Purple in 1982, long after they had broken up in 1976. The burst onto the rock scene as more of a progressive, psychedelic band in 1968, but after replacing vocalist Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively, they formed, along with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, organist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice, the incredible "Mark II" lineup, which I continue to declare the greatest rock band of all time.
By 1973, Gillan and Glover had departed, replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, respectively, and in 1975 Blackmore left to form Rainbow, replaced by Tommy Bolin, who's untimely death a year later marked the end of Deep Purple - or so it seemed...
In 1984, the Mark II lineup reunited, and I got to see them live, twice. Those remain the best two concerts I've ever attended. Since then, I've seen them close to 20 times, and though Gillan, Glover, and Paice remain in the lineup, Don Airey is now on keyboards, and Simon McBride took over on guitar last year from Steve Morse, who had been in the band just about since the time Blackmore left, again, in 1993.
The Deep Purple of 2023 is not the same band. Gillan no longer delivers melodic screams with the power and finesse no one has ever equaled. In fact, he barely screams at all. Thus, songs like Highway Star and Space Truckin' are somewhat different, and they've long stopped playing Child in Time.
Instead, Gillan now flaunts a wonderful lower register, putting great emotion into classics like "When a Blind Man Cries" and "Pictures of Home." Glover and Paice remain elite in their respective roles. Airey is the only keyboardist who could've stepped in for the legendary Lord, and Simon McBride has not only given the band new energy, but he's got Blackmoresque qualities that Morse - a fine guitarist in his own right - never did.
They're not merely "good for a bunch of 70-somethings," nor is it all nostalgia. Concert after concert, I've heard people who've seen them play for the first time exclaim: "this band is REALLY good!"
And so they were, in St. Petersburg on February 20.