On Track – Deep Purple (from 1984) / The Beatles 1962-1966 / Porcupine Tree (revised edition)

Author:Phil Kafcaloudes, Alberto Bravin & Andrew Wild, Nick Holmes

2024 not only saw the release of Deep Purple’s 23rd studio album, it also marked the 40th anniversary of the 1984 reunion of the classic line up. Since that time there have been no less than 13 albums released, with, I think it’s fair to say, varying degrees of quality and success. The reformation album, Perfect Strangers, was certainly quite promising but inevitably it wasn’t too far in the future when Blackmore once more departed, leading to the beginning of the Steve Morse era, which produced the longest lasting line up in their history. This whole era is one that is often overlooked but it produced some great songs along the way, even if they were all too often tucked away on somewhat nondescript albums. This is a book I really enjoyed, with the author going through each record song by song, including the numerous live releases, and at the same time looking at what was going on in the ranks of the band behind the scenes. It’s very well worth looking out for this comprehensive and well researched effort if you’re a fan, as this era is often overshadowed when compared to the band’s glory days in the 70’s, even though there’s still plenty of fine music to be found – and all credit to them for continuing to record new music and tour in support of it rather than becoming simply another nostalgia act..

Obviously there’s no shortage of books on The Beatles, but I guess there’s always room for one more! This book covers up to the Revolver album, and illustrates the leaps and bounds by which their song writing and recording progressed in such a short time, compare and contrast for example Love Me do with the likes of Rain and Tomorrow Never Knows. It’s always refreshing to read some new opinions on songs that have become part of our national culture over the years, and this book offers precisely that. I expect a further edition to cover the 67-70 period in due course, but for now dig out the Red album or even better the original lp’s and listen along as you read and enjoy the authors’ views.

Porcupine Tree are one of the most musically interesting and innovative bands to appear in the last 30 years or so, with their style constantly evolving from psychedelic to electronic to metal to prog with a few more variations along their epic journey. This book is a revised and updated version that now includes an additional chapter on 2022’s Closure/Continuation album, as well as forensically looking at all the preceding releases including ep’s, bonus tracks etc. If you’re a fan then this book is certainly worth your time with it’s comprehensive writing producing some interesting insight into the band and its music. With Steven Wilson about to release and tour his new solo effort, The Overview, I wonder if we’ll ever hear another album from this fascinating band.

Length of Read:Short

Might appeal to people who enjoyed…

The work of these artists who want to learn more.

One thing you’ve learned

The co-author of the Beatles book, Alberto Bravin, is a former PFM member and current Big Big Train vocalist, but for many years played in a Beatles tribute band on the side!

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