The most famous song groups deep purple- Smoke on the Water was written on the basis of real events, which are based on the fire in the casino of the Swiss town of Montreux, which occurred on 12/04/1971.
Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water: the story
In 1971, British musicians arrived in Montreux to begin recording their third album in gold lineup. Along the way, they rented a mobile studio from the Rolling Stones and prepared for recording at a local gambling house. The last concert in the hall before the start of the recording was the performance of his team The Mothers of Invention. It was during this performance that a fire broke out, presumably from a shot from a rocket launcher into the roof. The casino building and all the equipment of The Mothers burned to the ground. But in the Montreux casino it was possible to play live roulette or poker. But now it can be done online at http://slot-club-online.com/ without fires and under famous song Deep Purple about the casino. The Deep Purple musicians were present at the concert, and the final scene of the fire was already observed from their hotel.
Text Smoke on the Water
We all came out to Montreaux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a Mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
And fire in the sky
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky and Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
And fire in the sky
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know we'll never forget
The most popular "thing" of Deep Purple, which is undoubtedly a real legend of hard rock, is the song "Smoke on the Water". She collected many prestigious music awards, broke sales records, and numerous covers were recorded on her. Moreover, the “golden” single of the “dark purples” has a monument erected in Montreux, the city where he was born.
Perhaps there is no person who has not heard this song, and a musician who has not tried to play it.
Unexpected successes of "Smoke on the Water"
"Smoke on the Water" (translated from English - "Smoke on the Water") was recorded in December 71st. In March of the following year, the song was released as part of the full-length release "Machine Head". And in 1973, she made her debut as a single: on one side of the record her "clean" version was placed, on the second - a live recording from the album "Made in Japan" ("Made in Japan").
The record with the single was immediately snapped up by music lovers. And this despite the fact that the track has been spinning for two years from any device capable of reproducing sound.
Based on sales results Deep Purple single "Smoke on the Water" awarded the title of "gold". It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard charts, settling at number 434 out of 500 greatest songs of all times and peoples and slipped into the top twenty the best compositions on BBC radio. According to music critics, it was this track that made the album "Machine Head" platinum.
The history of "Smoke on the Water" is marked by numerous covers. It was not quailed except by the lazy one. Rock legends Yngwie Malmsteen presented their versions of the song, Iron Maiden, Jon Bon Jovi, Sepultura, Santana, Dream Theatre, Brian May, Soulfly, Vains of Jenne, Six Feet Under and many, many others.
The most interesting thing is that the creators of the track did not expect such success. They relied on "Never Before" and "Maybe I'm a Leo", while the song "Smoke on the Water", in their opinion, should have become a passing one.
What is special about her, besides a simple catchy melody?
Birth of a legend
Those who have long wanted to know what the song "Smoke on the Water" is about will be disappointed. No allegories, metaphors and hidden meaning . Everything is as simple as time signature four quarters. Same as the legendary track.
Text "Smoke on the Water" reflects the events that actually happened to the band in the city of Montreux, in the west of Switzerland.
The story of "Smoke on the Water" begins in the winter of 1971. The musicians came to this town to record their next album. They planned to set up recording studio in the entertainment complex "Montreux Casino". But they did not immediately unload the equipment, but decided to wait until the end of the Frank Zappa concert.
It turned out that this decision was fateful. During the performance, one of the spectators present fired a flare gun upwards and hit the ceiling, causing the bamboo hanger to catch fire.
Zappa announced the fire was starting and left the stage. At the same time, the director of the jazz festival, Claude Nobs, began to lead the audience out of the hall. In the track, a line is dedicated to him - "Frightened Claude ran back and forth."
The fire flared up gradually, so many guests, like stubborn sheep, demanded the continuation of the concert.
One of these "rams" was Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover. He returned to the complex building to admire the two brand new synthesizers.
But soon a small fire turned into a real disaster and the complex burned to the ground. And over the waters of Lake Lac Léman a thick smoke spread out, which lasted for several days. It is this "smoke on the water" that is implied in the song "Smoke on the Water".
The musicians “admired” the apocalyptic view from the window of the Europe Hotel. He especially impressed Glover.. In a few days he woke up with the words "smoke over the water". And during breakfast, I sketched the text "Smoke on the Water" on a napkin.
The rest of the band was initially reluctant to use the phrase "smoke on the water". They considered her a "drug addict". Roger Glover agreed with this opinion. But a better comparison could not be found.
After the fire, the musicians began looking for a new building to record the album. Initially, Nobs negotiated the lease of the theater "The Pavilion". But the conservative Swiss rebelled against the loud nightly rehearsals in the heart of the city. And they called the police.
The service personnel managed to hold back the onslaught of law enforcement officers. Thanks to their efforts, a pre-recording of the future Deep Purple hit "Smoke on the Water" with the working title "Title # 1" appeared.
The musicians had to look for other options. A week later, they looked after the Grand Hotel. Out of season it was empty. And it didn't heat up.
One of the lines - "We settled in the Grand Hotel, / It was empty, cold and poor" - describes exactly that uninhabited hotel.
At first glance, the cold seems like a trifle. But playing in such conditions is almost impossible: the fingers become stiff, the hands cramp, and the equipment is constantly upset.
And yet it was here that the entire Machine Head record was recorded. The work was carried out in the lobby of the hotel. And only the drum parts were writing in the corridor of the Grand Hotel. Ian Paice liked the sound in the lobby between rooms.
Lyrics were also added to the demo recorded at The Pavilion. And they made the translation of “Smoke on the Water” from a working track into a full-fledged one.
monumental memory
Deep Purple hit "Smoke on the Water" was not spared accusations of plagiarism. The similarity was found in the album of Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto and American pianist Gil Evans - "Look to the Rainbow", recorded five years before the appearance of "Smoke on the Water". A motif that almost completely coincides with the famous "dark purple" riff sounds in the intro of the song "Maria Quiet" (Maria Moite). The coincidence is so striking that it is not particularly believed in chance.
Richard Blackmore laughed off this comparison, saying that he had actually just played Beethoven's Fifth Symphony backwards.
Basically, it doesn't really matter was it a coincidence or deep purple really plagiarized. After all it was they who made the legendary motif famous. So much so that it has been immortalized.
In that fateful city of Montreux erected a kind of monument dedicated to the "golden" single British group : on a metal stave, entangled in ivy, the notes of the famous riff are inscribed.
Thanks to this monument, the song "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple left its mark not only in the hearts of music lovers around the world, but is also immortalized in physical world which is pretty a rare achievement for musical works.
Last updated: August 9th, 2017 by rock star
Almost every rock music lover who decides to master the guitar learns one of the first tunes the famous riff from “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. It sounds spectacular, but at the same time is so technically simple that Ritchie Blackmore is said to be embarrassed to present the composed melody to his colleagues, considering it too primitive for a musician of his level.
So much has been written about the history of the creation of the song “Smoke on the Water” that I didn’t really want to take it on, but it would be unfair to leave such a famous composition without attention. In addition, I will try to please you with a couple of not-so-well-known facts.
As you know, the text of the song tells about the fire, which members of Deep Purple witnessed in the Swiss city of Montreux. They were there to work on a new album in a mobile studio rented from The Rolling Stones. For these purposes, a room was rented in a local casino.
December 4, 1971 at the theater of this gambling establishment Frank Zappa gave a concert. After that, the hall was to be taken over by Deep Purple. But fate decreed otherwise. During Zappa's speech, a fire broke out in the room, the cause of which is said to be a rocket launcher shot into the ceiling. It all ended with the fact that the entertainment complex was completely destroyed by fire to the ground.
Musicians from Deep Purple watched what was happening from the window of the Europe Hotel, which is located on the opposite shore of Lake Geneva. So smoke over the water, after which it was named new song, creeping over its smooth surface.
Naturally, they had to record the album in another room. The corridor of the Grand Hotel, fully rented for this purpose, acted as an impromptu studio. But we are more interested in the history of the song "Smoke on the Water".
One morning a couple of days after the fire, Roger Glover, who was lying in bed and still not really awake, came up with the phrase “smoke on the water". He described it this way:
I was alone in bed... at that mystical time between deep sleep and waking up when I heard own voice pronouncing these words aloud. I woke up and asked myself if I really said them, and decided that I did. I thought about it a lot and realized that this could be a potential title for a song.
A little later, he told Ian Gillan about this, but in a conversation they came to the conclusion that such a phrase is more suitable for some kind of drug addict song, and therefore decided to refuse it. However, the idea of a song describing that fire did not leave them, and over time they realized that “Smoke on the Water” would be the best title for it.
The lyrics of the song not only talk about the sad incident, but also generally describe the band's stay in Switzerland. Behind almost every line are real events and their members. For example, "Cool Claude" is the head of the jazz festival in Montreux, who helped to get people out of the burning hall.
The same guitar riff Ritchie Blackmore composed during improvisations, which he often arranged with drummer Ian Paice. It is widely believed that he borrowed it from the song "Marie Moite" by the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, recorded in 1966.
The members of Deep Purple did not believe in the success of "Smoke on the Water" and did not release it as a single until the release of the album "Machine Head" (early 1972), on which it was included. But a year later, the single was still released and performed well on the charts in different countries.
Over time, "Smoke on the Water" has become Deep Purple's most recognizable composition, which Rolling Stone magazine placed at number 434 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Roger Glover described her as follows:
I think "Smoke on the Water" is the most important song Purple has ever had. It is constantly required to be performed, but this is not best song for live concerts. This good song, but playing it is somewhat tedious. The excitement comes from the audience.
It is very difficult to list all the covers of “Smoke on the Water”, because so many bands and performers have covered it. Among them are Iron Maiden, Metallica, Sepultura, Bon Jovi, Carlos Santana and others.
Interesting Facts
- Once, on television, Ricci Blackmore joked that the famous riff from the song was the introduction of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony played backwards, adding that he owed the composer a lot of money.
- On the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux, a statue was erected with the name of the band and song, as well as the notes of the guitar riff.
- In 2008 among students music schools London conducted a survey to identify the most famous guitar riff. The melody from “Smoke on the Water” won the first place.
- In 2010, while performing near Samara as part of the Rock Over the Volga festival, Deep Purple performed the song, changing the words of the chorus to “Smoke on the Volga”.
We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile - We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa & the Mothers were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground
We all came to Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva,
To record songs on a mobile studio. We had little time
Frank Zappa & the Mothers played in the best room
But some jerk with a flare gun burned the hall to the ground
Smoke on the water
smoke on the water
Smoke on the water. fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
They burned down the gambling house — It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out, pulling kids out of the ground
When it all was over, we had to find another place
Swiss time was running out - It seemed that we would lose the race
They burned down the gambling house. It collapsed with a terrible crash
Cool Claude was running back and forth, pulling people out of the hall
When it was over we had to look for another place
Our time in Switzerland was coming to an end. It seemed like we couldn't do anything.
We ended up at the Grand Hotel - It was empty, cold and bare
But with the Rolling Truck Stones Thing just outside making our music there
With a few red lights an’ a few old beds, we made a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this, I know… I know we'll never forget We finally arrived at the Grand Hotel.
It was empty and cold.
But by launching The Rolling Stones mobile studio to play music,
Turning on a few red lights and installing a couple of old beds, we set up a place to work in the sweat of our brows.
It doesn't matter how we got off the ground, I know... I know we'll never forget it
Song quote
… since then, I have always listened to my random thoughts.
Ian Gillan
Roger Glover
Jon Lord
Ian Paice
Smoke on the Water(With English- "Smoke on the Water") is a song by the rock band Deep Purple, recorded in December 1971 and first released on the album machine head in March 1972. It was released as a single only in 1973; the second side of the single was occupied by her live version from the album Made in Japan.
History of creation[ | ]
The song describes real events. The band decided to record their new album outside of England to avoid unnecessary taxes, and in December 1971 the musicians gathered in the Swiss town of Montreux to record an album on a mobile studio rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile. It was decided to record in the entertainment complex of the Montreux casino (in the song - "the gambling house"), in which they had already been to concerts. On the eve of the studio session, on Saturday, December 4th, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention played a concert at the Casino Theater as part of their European tour. It was last concert in this hall, after which he was supposed to be at the disposal of Deep Purple to record an album. The group decided, in order to avoid misunderstandings, not to unload the equipment for the time being, which later turned out to be a happy decision.
Claude Nobs (photo 2006)
About an hour into the concert, during a synth solo on King Kong, sparks appeared from behind the suspended bamboo ceiling and then a fire - apparently, one of the audience (who could not be found) fired a flare gun at the roof ("some stupid with a flare gun"). Zappa calmly said “don't panic, we're on fire” (maybe they didn't notice anything and told them themselves), after which the musicians left the stage. Spectators were evacuated in a fairly organized manner, there were no casualties. The song mentions "funky Claude" who "ran in and out" - this is the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival Claude Nobs, who helped the audience out of the hall. Among the audience were members of Deep Purple. According to Glover's memoirs, the fire was initially so weak that during the evacuation he managed to re-enter the hall during the evacuation, get closer to the empty stage, examine Zappa's equipment with the band, and be impressed by the two newest synthesizers.
As a result of the fire, the entire multi-storey casino complex burned to the ground, along with concert hall and The Mothers' equipment (which was insured, but concerts in France and Belgium had to be cancelled). From the Europe Hotel where the members of Deep Purple were staying, the musicians watched through the restaurant's large window as the casino was engulfed in flames (helped by the wind blowing from the mountains) and saw a curtain of smoke over Lake Geneva.
The group, which had already rented an expensive studio, had to look around the city for new premises. Nobs soon found The Pavilion Theater for them, located in the city center. The equipment was moved there and work began in the middle of the day on an instrumental track with a new riff prepared by Blackmore, still without lyrics, under the working title "Title # 1". Debugging the equipment and developing arrangements took the rest of the day, and the actual dubs began to be recorded already after midnight. The third double was successful, and they stopped on it. As it turns out, all this time service staff tried to keep the police squad behind the locked doors, which was called by the neighboring residents because of the noise. It was thanks to the fact that the police were detained that it was possible to finish recording the track.
Since working only during the daytime did not suit the musicians, they had to look for a new hall. There were many requirements for the premises, and its search took 5-6 days. On one of these days of waiting, Glover woke up in a hotel room, uttering the words at the moment of awakening smoke on the water. When he later reported these words to Gillan, he said that they sounded like “drug” (“sounds like a drug song”), and, referring themselves exclusively to “drinking” groups, they initially rejected these words.
Cover versions [ | ]
In live performance, the song was subsequently recorded by later Deep Purple lineups with vocalist David Coverdale, as well as the Ian Gillan Band, Gillan and Rainbow. It was released in 1989 as a compilation Rock Aid Armenia, as well as a separate single performed by Deep Purple musicians and a combined group of famous rock musicians; Proceeds from the sale of the single went to the Victim Relief Fund
"Fireball" (1971)
Success immediately tightened the concert schedule, so the material for the new album was composed and recorded in fits and starts during and between concerts. Maybe that's why Blackmore considered the next disc "Fireball" a failure. And, it's true, it came out not as rocky as "In Rock", but I personally liked it more. By the way, Gillan still calls "Fireball" his favorite album. The listeners also voted "yes" - it was the first DP album to reach #1 in the UK.
Despite the stylistic diversity of the record, it opened traditionally - with a fast-paced track with by the same name. Literally "Fireball" is " fire ball”, but in this case it means a comet or a meteor, which can also be seen from the cover of the disc. Gillan's lyrics were inspired by his unrequited love for a girl, about which he said: "She was a complete mystery to me." However, the text of the DP was rarely important. Is it the music...
The song opened with a strange sound. Although the musicians for a long time told reporters that it was a “special synthesizer”, in fact they simply recorded the hum of the air conditioner turning on (oh, and the air conditioners were loud then!).
Then came the frantic drumming of Jan Pace.
Jan Pace.
As a child, there was a legend among music lovers that Pace was able to hold a coin on the wall with sticks. I don’t know how it is with the coin, but the curious calculated that at the beginning of “Fireball” he knocks out 240 beats a minute! It is also a rare song of the group where the drummer used two drums (the extra drum was even specially taken out during concerts only for the performance of this song).
In terms of energy, the song was in no way inferior to "Speed King", even seemed more energetic due to the lack of a traditional guitar solo (a rare case!). Instead, they play energetically at the end: Glover on bass, Lord on organ and Gillan on tambourine. True, in the bins of rarities there is a version with a guitar solo (bonus "Fireball instrumental" to the reissue of the album).
"Smoke on the Water" (1972)
If in the West the favorite guitar move was “too-doo-doo” from “Stairway to Heaven”, then for the Soviet music lover it certainly was “tam-tam-tam, tam-tam-tam” from the song “Smoke on the Water” » manufactured by DEEP PURPLE.
As I wrote before, the lyrics of the Deep Purple songs were for the most part artless. So the text “Smoke over the water, fire in the sky ...” did not contain any symbolism at all, but was a scrupulous documentary description of the events that happened to the group in Switzerland at the end of 1971 ...
In the resort town of Montreux, DEEP PURPLE was driven by the desire to record a new record. There was a mansion on the shores of Lake Geneva, where on the second floor there was an excellent recording studio. Unfortunately, there was a casino on the first floor. And when Frank Zappa's band played there on December 3, one zealous fan fired a flare gun into the air. The ceiling of the building was bamboo, and soon it was on fire like a matchbox. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the casino, along with the studio, burned to the ground. All of Frank Zappa's equipment worth $50,000 was also destroyed.
The DEEP PURPLE musicians contemplated the fire from the window of their room at the Grand Hotel with horror. Fire lit up the sky, and smoke drifted over Lake Geneva. According to legend, vocalist Ian Gillan heard bassist Roger Glover muttering in a sleepy delirium: "smoke on the water ... smoke on the water ...".
The same smoke over the same water.
In the morning, Gillan sat down and began to record all of the above events in poetic form on a napkin. He did not forget to mention even Frank Zappa, who distinguished himself in the fire, and the organizer of the concert, Claude Nobs, who were able to bring out all the people in an organized manner.
“SMOKE OVER THE WATER” (translated by A. Evdokimov)
We all went to Montreux
On the coast of Lake Geneva.
To make travel notes,
There wasn't much time.
Frank Zappa and the Moms
Got the best spot in the area
But some dumbass with a rocket launcher
Burnt it all down.Smoke over the water
Fire is in the sky.
Smoke over water.They burned down the gambling house,
He died with a terrible sound
Funky and Claude ran back and forth
Pulling the guys out of the danger zone.
When it was all over
We had to look elsewhere
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we could not win this race.
And indeed, with the death of the building, the situation with the new album was up in the air. Sound recording equipment DEEP PURPLE managed to borrow from groups ROLLING STONES. But the question remained open - where to find a room to record loud hard riffs? Finally, we decided not to go far and took off for recording ... "Grand Hotel". Fortunately, it was winter and the hotel was empty. But the room was not heated at all and had terrible acoustics. Covering themselves with mattresses and turning on the heaters, the group heroically set to work. The last verse of “Smoke on the Water” tells about all this:
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty, cold and bare.
But we're rolling with the freight
Stones thing at the gate
They made our music.
In the dim light of red lanterns
and in the presence of several old beds,
We made everyone around sweat.
It doesn't matter what we got out of it
I know one thing - I will never forget.
"Grand Hotel", where the recording of "Machine Head" took place.
As a result, the album "Machine Head" was born, containing, among other things, the story of its appearance in the form of the song "Smoke on the Water". Ritchie Blackmore recorded the famous riff of this song before coming to Switzerland.
True, nosy music lovers managed to find the song of the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilbert "Maria Quiet" in 1965, the loss in which strongly resembles the riff of "Smoke on the Water". However, as for me, both songs are very different and their similarity is purely accidental.
Compare:
When Machine Head was released in 1972 (1st in England, 7th in the US), the musicians assumed that the songs "Maybe I'm a Leo" and "Never Before" would become hits. But the listeners fell in love with "there-there-there, there-there-tatam" ...
R. Blackmore:
“Simplicity is the key to the success of this song. People still play it in guitar shops today. I started writing after hearing things like "I Can't Explain" and "My Generation". They are built on very simple riffs. I then thought: “Well, if Pete Townshend has songs coming out, then why am I worse?”.
"Smoke on the Water" will forever remain a symbol of DEEP PURPLE. In 1989, she became the center song of the album "Rock Aid Armenia", the proceeds of which went to the fund for the victims of the terrible earthquake in Armenia in 1988.
Then in the recording of "Smoke on the Water", in addition to the group DEEP PURPLE, many famous performers Cast: Bryan Adams, Keith Emerson (ELP), Tommy Yommi (BLACK SABBATH), Brian May and Roger Glover (QUEEN), Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN), David Gilmour (PINK FLOYD) and others.
"Highway Star" (1972)
Since the members of DEEP PURPLE almost unanimously consider "Machine Head" as their reference album, one more famous track of this record cannot be left out.
On the cover of "Machine Head" the faces of the musicians are reflected in a sheet of metal.
We are talking about a song with the eloquent name "Highway Star" ("Freeway Star"). It was the fastest track on the album and therefore, by tradition, was the first track. The meaning of "Highway Star" was simple: "I'm a cool guy and I'm rushing in a cool car."
The music, as usual, was much more interesting. The song was rehearsed first, before the Swiss session. It was written, however, almost by accident - during the 1971 tour. One of the journalists asked the musicians to show how they write songs. Blackmore took acoustic guitar and began to play a riff based on one G major chord, and Gillan immediately composed the text.
Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore.
R. Blackmore:
“I was working on a solo for this song before we even started recording it, which I don't usually do. And I wanted to put "a little Mozart" on the chord progression."
John Lord.
True, Lord said that the chord progression was "Bach-like", but that didn't change the essence. The academic classic fit perfectly into the rock rhythms, becoming a kind of hallmark of the group's style.
Subsequently, this technique became so familiar that some, not without reason, believed that it was "hard rock" that became the refuge of the European academic tradition and helped the classics to maintain their relevance in the modern world.
A couple more great songs from Machine Head:
