Roger Glover And Guests - The Butterfly Ball (1974) {1999, HDCD, Collector’s Anniversary Edition, Remastered}
BAND/ARTIST: Roger Glover And Guests
- Title: The Butterfly Ball
- Year Of Release: 1974 / 1999
- Label: Connoisseur Collection #EVSOPCD 265
- Genre: Rock
- Quality: EAC Rip -> FLAC (Img+Cue,Log) / MP3 CBR320
- Total Time: 48:48
- Total Size: 363 / 162 Mb (Bonus Video & Full Scans)
- WebSite: Album Preview
The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast is a concept album and subsequent live rock opera appearing in 1974 and 1975 respectively, based on the children's poem of a similar title. The album cover design is from Alan Aldridge's design for a 1973 book based on the poem. The work was originally conceived as a solo vehicle for Jon Lord to be produced by Roger Glover who had recently left Deep Purple. However, Lord proved too busy with Deep Purple and Glover took up the reins on his own. Using his connections, Glover recruited a large cast of noted rock musicians to perform on it, with a different vocalist for each character, including David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. The single "Love Is All", with vocals from Ronnie James Dio, made a minor impression in the UK but reached number one in The Netherlands.
Of all the multitudinous highways and byways down which the enterprising Deep Purple collector can travel, none, perhaps, is so surprising as The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, Purple bassist Roger Glover's first "solo" album, and -- almost incidentally -- one of the most delightful children's records ever made. Yes, a children's record. In 1973, Glover was approached about creating a musical adaptation of artist Alan Aldridge and poet William Plomer's book of the same name -- a commission that surprised him, but which he nevertheless accepted. The book itself is delightful and, while Glover's work is unquestionably more heavily flavored by the near-psychedelia of the illustrations, the spirit of the text is retained as well, to create an album that stands among the few truly successful musical adaptations of an existing story yet committed to vinyl. Although Glover, as the album's premier composer, takes the bulk of the credit for this success, his co-conspirators, too, merit praise. Convening what resembles one of the greatest all-star lineups in heavy metal history -- and then banning them from even glancing toward their usual territory -- Glover is joined by Purple stalwarts David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, future Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio, session stars Eddie Hardin and Tony Ashton, soul singer Jimmy Helms, Roxy Music's Eddie Jobson and John Gustafson, and three quarters of funk-rock aspirants Fancy. Each was given his own role to play and the resultant album is a tremendous mishmash of musical styles, from folky balladeering to psychedelic whimsy, but leaning most heavily toward an early-'70s pop/rock vibe -- for some reason, one could imagine the early Queen spending an awful lot of time listening to The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. Given the heavily narrative nature of the project, it is best listened to in one session -- a handful of tracks certainly exist more to carry the tale than make a musical impact. Highlights, however, leap out from across the platter, with the macabre "Old Blind Mole" and the positively buoyant "Love Is All" the twin extremes around which the action revolves. Gustafson's hard rock "Watch out for the Bat," meanwhile, must surely have induced nightmares within the album's younger fans, while Dio's closing "Homeward" all but predicts the course of arena rock during the '80s. The original vinyl packs 19 tracks; the 25th-Anniversary CD adds one, the European B-side "Little Chalk Blue," together with a fabulous enhanced multimedia clip ("Love Is All" again) taken from a projected animated TV series. It's a great package, as well as a chance to reacquaint yourself with one of childhood's most treasured tales.
~ Wiki
Of all the multitudinous highways and byways down which the enterprising Deep Purple collector can travel, none, perhaps, is so surprising as The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, Purple bassist Roger Glover's first "solo" album, and -- almost incidentally -- one of the most delightful children's records ever made. Yes, a children's record. In 1973, Glover was approached about creating a musical adaptation of artist Alan Aldridge and poet William Plomer's book of the same name -- a commission that surprised him, but which he nevertheless accepted. The book itself is delightful and, while Glover's work is unquestionably more heavily flavored by the near-psychedelia of the illustrations, the spirit of the text is retained as well, to create an album that stands among the few truly successful musical adaptations of an existing story yet committed to vinyl. Although Glover, as the album's premier composer, takes the bulk of the credit for this success, his co-conspirators, too, merit praise. Convening what resembles one of the greatest all-star lineups in heavy metal history -- and then banning them from even glancing toward their usual territory -- Glover is joined by Purple stalwarts David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, future Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio, session stars Eddie Hardin and Tony Ashton, soul singer Jimmy Helms, Roxy Music's Eddie Jobson and John Gustafson, and three quarters of funk-rock aspirants Fancy. Each was given his own role to play and the resultant album is a tremendous mishmash of musical styles, from folky balladeering to psychedelic whimsy, but leaning most heavily toward an early-'70s pop/rock vibe -- for some reason, one could imagine the early Queen spending an awful lot of time listening to The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. Given the heavily narrative nature of the project, it is best listened to in one session -- a handful of tracks certainly exist more to carry the tale than make a musical impact. Highlights, however, leap out from across the platter, with the macabre "Old Blind Mole" and the positively buoyant "Love Is All" the twin extremes around which the action revolves. Gustafson's hard rock "Watch out for the Bat," meanwhile, must surely have induced nightmares within the album's younger fans, while Dio's closing "Homeward" all but predicts the course of arena rock during the '80s. The original vinyl packs 19 tracks; the 25th-Anniversary CD adds one, the European B-side "Little Chalk Blue," together with a fabulous enhanced multimedia clip ("Love Is All" again) taken from a projected animated TV series. It's a great package, as well as a chance to reacquaint yourself with one of childhood's most treasured tales.
~ Dave Thompson, All Music
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Track List:
01. Dawn [01:22]
02. Get Ready [02:13]
03. Saffron Dormouse and Lizzy Bee [01:23]
04. Harlequin Hare [01:28]
05. Old Blind Mole [01:08]
06. Magician Moth [01:35]
07. No Solution [03:29]
08. Behind The Smile [01:47]
09. Fly Away [02:22]
10. Aranea [01:39]
11. Sitting In A Dream [03:41]
12. Waiting [03:12]
13. Sir Maximus Mouse [02:35]
14. Dreams Of Sir Bedivere [04:39]
15. Together Again [01:33]
16. Watch Out For The Bat [01:44]
17. Little Chalk Blue [03:46]
18. The Feast [01:46]
19. Love Is All [03:18]
20. Homeward [04:17]
Enhanced Multi-Media Track
21. Love Is All - Video [03:14]
Personnel:
Glenn Hughes - Vocals on 2
Helen Chappelle - Vocals on 3
Barry St. John - Vocals on 3
Neil Lancaster - Vocals on 4
John Goodison - Vocals on 5
Mickey Lee Soule - Vocals on 7
David Coverdale - Vocals on 8
Liza Strike - Vocals on 9
Judi Kuhl - Vocals on 10
Ronnie James Dio - Vocals on 11, 19, 20
Jimmy Helms - Vocals on 12
Eddie Hardin - Vocals on 13
Tony Ashton - Vocals on 15
John Gustafson - Vocals on 16
John Lawton - Vocals on 17
Roger Glover - Synthesiser piano, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, backing vocals
Eddie Hardin - Piano, organ, synthesiser, backing vocals
Les Binks - Drums
Ray Fenwick - Guitar
Mo Foster - Bass guitar, double bass, fingerpops
Mike Moran - Piano
Liza Strike, Hele Chapelle, Barry St.John, Judy Kuhl Kay Garner, Joanne Williams - vocal backings
Ann Odell - Piano
Mike Giles - Drums
Nigel Watson - Saw
Eddie Jobson - Violin
Jack Emblow - Accordion
Chris Karan - Tabla
Robin Tompson - Bassoon
Production credits:
produced by Roger Glover
recorded at Kingsway Recorders in London during 1974
engineered by Lou Austin and George Sloan
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