Ritchie Blackmore's tribute to Jon Lord owes a lot to Cozy Powell (and Max Middleton)

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      Ritchie Blackmore released a new Blackmore's Night album last week, Dancer and the Moon, and it includes a tribute to his old Deep Purple bandmate Jon Lord—who passed away last year—called "Carry On... Jon".

      It's a beautiful, heartfelt instrumental, but man, does it sure sound a lot like "The Loner", a tune written by jazz-rock keyboardist Max Middleton, and first recorded as a dedication to Jeff Beck on Cozy Powell's 1979 album, Over the Top.

      I first heard "The Loner" when Gary Moore recorded it on his 1987 album, Wild Frontier, which was dedicated to Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott. It's probably one of my fave guitar instrumentals of all time.

      Without getting too technical, it sounds to me like Blackmore just replaced the last note of the "The Loner"'s main seven-note lick to come up with the underlying idea and feel for "Carry On... Jon".

      But hey—I'm gonna let that one slide. As soon as Blackmore recorded the guitar parts for "Highway Star", he was forever immune from negative comments in my books.

      Comments

      5 Comments

      liberato

      Jun 18, 2013 at 5:43am

      cary on jon is more better , emotional and sensitive ! perfect ! ritchie blackmore is very well here!
      just amazing .... JUST A GUITAR TALKING ! incredible

      Patrick

      Jun 18, 2013 at 4:55pm

      Another tribute appears on the recent Deep Purpe album, "Now What!?". The song "Above and Beyond" is dedicated to Jon and a great piece of music. Disappointed ther was no review of the album in the Straight.

      David

      Jul 4, 2013 at 9:24am

      Beautiful song from a great musician to his missed friend. Lovely subtle organ work (of course).

      Vladimir

      Apr 4, 2014 at 2:20am

      Stuart Smith, 1999 - Heaven And Earth album, track 12.Road to Melnibone (Instrumental)