California Jamming
Encyclopedia
California Jamming is a live album
by British
hard
rock band
Deep Purple
, recorded in 1974 and originally released in 1996, it was re-released as a remastered edition in 2003 with the bonus track "Lay Down, Stay Down".
The album is a live recording of Deep Purple's infamous appearance at the California Jam
Festival on April 6 1974, which was televised by ABC-TV in prime time. At the end of the show, guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore
first attacked one of the network's video cameras (which had been getting between him and the audience) with his guitar, and then had his amplifiers doused with gasoline and set on fire, which caused an explosion.
'74", "Live at the California Jam" and finally "California Jam 1974" (not counting successive re-releases, mostly Japanese). While all of theses releases are culled from the same performance, most of them don't feature the full show, with edits and most importantly, missing a full song: "Lay Down, Stay Down."
While the successive re-releases have attempted to improve the sound quality (which was poor on the earliest ones), the show itself suffered from technical failures, making it impossible to fully correct them, a fact most notably evident during opening number "Burn", where the guitar is barely audible and then gradually gains volume.
, Ritchie Blackmore
, Jon Lord
and Ian Paice
except where noted.
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
hard
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, recorded in 1974 and originally released in 1996, it was re-released as a remastered edition in 2003 with the bonus track "Lay Down, Stay Down".
The album is a live recording of Deep Purple's infamous appearance at the California Jam
California Jam
California Jam, also known as Cal Jam, was a rock music festival concert held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. It was produced by ABC Entertainment, Sandy Feldman, Don Branker and Leonard Stogel...
Festival on April 6 1974, which was televised by ABC-TV in prime time. At the end of the show, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
first attacked one of the network's video cameras (which had been getting between him and the audience) with his guitar, and then had his amplifiers doused with gasoline and set on fire, which caused an explosion.
Releases
Deep Purple's performance at the California Jam has been available over the years in several different releases with various names, among them: "California Jamming", "Live at the Ontario SpeedwayOntario Motor Speedway
The Ontario Motor Speedway, located in Ontario, California, east of Los Angeles, was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: IndyCar Series and USAC for open-wheel oval car races; NASCAR for a ...
'74", "Live at the California Jam" and finally "California Jam 1974" (not counting successive re-releases, mostly Japanese). While all of theses releases are culled from the same performance, most of them don't feature the full show, with edits and most importantly, missing a full song: "Lay Down, Stay Down."
While the successive re-releases have attempted to improve the sound quality (which was poor on the earliest ones), the show itself suffered from technical failures, making it impossible to fully correct them, a fact most notably evident during opening number "Burn", where the guitar is barely audible and then gradually gains volume.
Track listing
All songs written by David CoverdaleDavid Coverdale
David 'Jack' Coverdale is an English rock singer, most famous for his work with the his own hard rock band Whitesnake which achieved massive commercial success.-Early life:...
, Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
and Ian Paice
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...
except where noted.
1996 original release
- "BurnBurn (Deep Purple song)"Burn" is a song by British rock band Deep Purple. It was released on the album of the same name in 1974, and was the first song by the Mark III lineup.The song remained the band's concert opener for the next two years, taking over from "Highway Star". It opened Deep Purple's set on the California...
" - 6:21 - "Might Just Take Your Life" - 4:41
- "Mistreated" (Coverdale, Blackmore) - 10:13
- "Smoke on the WaterSmoke on the Water"Smoke on the Water" is a song by the British hard rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head. In 2004, the song was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Smoke on the Water"...
" (Ian GillanIan GillanIan Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
, Blackmore, Roger GloverRoger GloverRoger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
, Lord, Paice) - 8:26 - a) "You Fool No One"
b) "The Mule" (Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice) - 18:42 - "Space Truckin'Space Truckin'"Space Truckin" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple. It is the seventh and final track on the Machine Head album. Its lyrics talk of space travel and it showcases the vocal abilities of singer Ian Gillan and powerful drumming of Ian Paice...
" (Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice) - 25:13
2003 remastered edition
- "Burn" - 6:20
- "Might Just Take Your Life" - 4:49
- "Lay Down, Stay Down" - 4:45
- "Mistreated" (Coverdale, Blackmore) - 10:24
- "Smoke on the Water" (Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice) - 8:55
- a) "You Fool No One" (Coverdale, Blackmore, Lord, Paice)
b) "The Mule" (Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice) - 19:08 - "Space Truckin' (Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice) - 25:12
Credits
- David CoverdaleDavid CoverdaleDavid 'Jack' Coverdale is an English rock singer, most famous for his work with the his own hard rock band Whitesnake which achieved massive commercial success.-Early life:...
- lead vocals - Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
- guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Glenn Hughes - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Jon LordJon LordJonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
- organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, backing vocals - Ian PaiceIan PaiceIan Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....