Happy New Year 2010 guys ! Here's a Great Live Jam by Deep Purple!

Well, Here's a really scintillating and skillful performance by Deep Purple and this video is A MUST WATCH for everyone, especially if you are a musician ,no matter whether you are a vocalist or a guitarist or a bassist or a keyboardist or a drummer!

This song includes everything. Its basically a live jam of deep purple. The song is 'speed king'....

Later in the video, there's a Mind-blowing guitar-keyboard duo, then we have some really amazing bass-lines done by Glover and finally it contains a long drum solo by Ian Paice.

All you have to do is just watch this video patiently and try and admire the skills of these musicians. A very useful video for musicians overall !

Ritchie Blackmore(Deep Purple)- The Speed King of the 70's

I have read many blogs where people have admired about Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour etc but I have searched about Ritchie Blackmore and I found few people who actually wrote or admired his guitar skills elaborately. I thought to write about his specialities and contributions that he made in the rock history.

He has been majorly famous for his riff in the song Smoke On the Water but do you guys actually know what wonders he has created in other songs??? Ee was considered as the "speed king" during the 70's era. His solo's in the songs like highway star, Speed King, Space Truckin, Strange Kind of Woman, Lazy, Child In Time, Mistreated are completely different from each other. He was versatile only in one genre i.e Hard Rock and I somehow feel he has been the best hard rock guitarist.

I can surely say he was not so good in other genres and he was not so versatile, but in the hard rock genre he was the most versatile guitarist. You can learn a variety of solo's and riff's and he was truly an icon during the 70's. Apart from his famous riff of Smoke on the water, you can also try the riff of Space Truckin which I feel has the real feeling of Hard Rock.

From slow to fast, From clean to distortion, if you are a hard rock guitarist then you must cover Ritchie Blackmore.

Greatest Rock Guitarists

I Had Really A Tough Time On This One ...... There Are So Many Great Guitarists In The History Of Rock, And Picking Up Just The Better Ones Is a Much Difficult Job ....

**I Was Having a lot of trouble in finalizing a Top 5 List, And So I Have Given Some Guitarists The Same Spot Too.. But That Should Not Be Considered As If They Were Same In Their Skills And Ability ... It Was Just To Put Them In This List, Because They Deserve It .... So, Here Are The Top 5 ( In No Particular Order Though )



1. Jimi Hendrix :-
Undoubtedly , The Best Now And Forever . He Gave The World The Meaning Of Being a Rock Guitar Player . The Most Unique, Most Original And Innovative Guitar Player . His Solos Were Not Very Exceptional , Compared To Today's List Of Guitarists , But They Were Definitely Original. He Must Be Regarded As the Creator, the Inventor Of Today's Type Of Riffs And Solos . I Am Speechless To Describe Him Further .







2. Eric Clapton :-
A Very Exquisite Guitar Player. His Riffs And Solos Are So Much Expressive That You Feel His Emotions Into His Guitar. I Would Regard Him as The Best Living Legend In Rock. His Compositions Like Layla And Tears In Heaven Are So Much Beautiful And Emotional That Its Quite Impossible To Even Play These With Such a Feel And Expressions as Mr. Eric Clapton ...







3. Jimmy Page :-
A Complete Rockstar ! The Most Versatile Of The Lot . He Has Given So Deep And Soft Riffs Like "Stairway To Heaven " and Then You Hear The Hard Riffs AS in "When The Levee Breaks" And "Kashmir " . His Solos Are Also So Very Impressive and he is also Regarded As The Beginning Of The Era Of Hard Rock( Even Metal ) Music...










4. Stevie Ray Vaughan/ Steve Vai :-
Stevie Ray Vaughan Revived The Blues Genre OF The 80's .. His Songs were So Inspiring And So Magical That You Cant Omit Him From Any Such Rankings...
Steve Vai, The "Talking Guitarist " As I Call Him As Proved His Skills And Originality In Various Songs And His Live Performances At The G3 jams Were a Joy To Watch.. He Has Always Done Different Great Things With His Band And The Tremolo Has Been His Speciality ...




5. Ritchie Blackmore/David Gilmour :-
This Rank Was The Most Confusing Since There Are So Many Guitar Players Left... But Somehow I Made Up My Mind And Chose the above two...
"Smoke On The Water", "Highway Star" , "Space Truckin " And Lots More ! The List Is So Amazing That Its Difficult To Forget This Guitarist ... Blackmore Was Such An Extremely Talented Guitar Player That His Riff In Smoke On The Water Has Become The Best Guitar Riff In History , And So Does It Truly Deserve To Be ...

David Gilmour , What Can I Say About Him ! Such Beautiful Solos That You Feel That He Wants to Say Something To You via his Guitar . His Solo In Comfortably Numb And Also Time, Are Perfect Examples Of What I am Talking About... Definitely Deserves The Top 5 in any List...

Some Honourable Mentions :-

Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Brian May , Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Slash, BucketHead, Keith Richards, Eric Johnson And Kirk Hammett

Greatest Hard Rock Duo's

The initiative for the creation of a song is mainly done by the vocalist and the guitarist of a band. What mainly happens is the vocalist writes the lyrics and the guitarist gives the tune. Lets see in the hard rock genre who are the greatest duo's. Well the list is ranked on the basis of their originality, duo relation and the compilation of the songs done during their time. I've sorted out 5 greatest hard rock duo's who actually defined hard rock.


5. Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore, (Deep Purple)- As a duo they were perfect but only in the music field, Their songs really proved their outstanding efforts but they ain't the greatest duo because Blackmore left the band after few years of working with Gillan. There had been many clashes between Gillan and Blackmore which doesnt make them to get a higher position in this list. Creating only music doesnt mean that you are a great duo but both the members should compromise also and keep their relations strong for the band. In the song Strange Kind Of Woman this duo has proved that musically they had been a perfect duo but when coming to live performances of Purple I could see less participation of Blackmore with Gillan and the whole band. I didn't want to put them in the greatest 5 duo's but belive me guys its for the work that they had done in a short period of time which is completely inevitable.




4.Ozzy Osbourne and Toni Iommi, (Black Sabbath)- One of my favourite hard rock duo's ever. We cant's consider their genre as hard rock perfectly as some songs came in the heavy metal genre and some in the hard rock. These guys have created some greatest hard rock masterpieces like War Pigs, NIB, Children Of The Grave etc. These two musicians have just dominated the charts with their massive hits. I really admire their works and the power that they had in every song, it just makes be to do a headbanging. Truly they have been one of the most influential hard rock duo's till date and especially for the heavy metal fans out there, this duo is considered to be the gods of heavy metal. They really rocked in their live performances.


3. Jon Bon Jovi and Ritchi Sambora, (Bon Jovi)- It has been 23 years that the duo has been working for their band. Apart from their professional relation they are good friends and have a real strong bonding that's why they have managed to complete 23 years of their band. Not every song of their band is hard rock but the work that these two guys have done are very touching. Jon has got a huge talent of writing. His songs are very emotional and that charm is much more ignited by Richie's work. Somehow I felt that this duo is out of the track for this list but after thinking about it extensively I thought they should rule. I feel its the only band who can write love lyrics very well. Very few bands I have heard who has got a punch of hard rock with the essence of love. Overall they have sold over 120 million albums.



2. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, (Aerosmith)- A very energetic Duo when performing live. I just love to watch them on stage rather than their studio recordings. Their live performances really proves that they are a perfect duo. Apart from their live act their studio recordings are excellent. Some of their greatest works are Dream On ( probably the best work done by them), Crying, Amazing, Jaded, Love In An Elevator etc. I really like the lyrics of Steven and the way Joe adjusts his guitar according to the concept of the song, well that's an interesting thing to learn from this duo.






1. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, ( led Zeppelin)- The most versatile artists in the rock history. From hard rock to acoustic skills both were able to create wonders in any genre. Songs like Stairway To Heaven, Since I've Been Loving You, HeartBreaker, Good Times Bad Times, Communication Breakdown, Achllies Last Stand were one of the greatest Hard Rock pieces. Plant's lyrics and page's guitar wonder together made a stairway to success for their band. I dont write much about Zeppelin as the whole world knows about them except some facts. Their skills are unchallengable and unbeatable That's what makes them the Greatest hard rock duo of all time.



Honourable mentions-
Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth, (Van Halen)
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, ( Kiss)
Brian Johnson and Angus Young, (AC/DC)
Axl Rose and Slash, (guns n' Roses)
Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, (Metallica)
Rob Halford And Glenn Tipton/KK Downing, (Judas Priest)

Well this was the list of the greatest hard rock duo's but there were many duo's better than these duo's If I remove the word "Hard" from Hard Rock. Some of them are-

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, (The Beatles)
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, (The Rolling Stones)
Bono and The Edge, (U2)
Freddie Mercury and Brian May, (Queen)
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshed, ( The Who)
David Gilmour and Roger Waters, (Pink Floyd)

TOP 5 ROCK Keyboardists

This content is for all the keyboard players out there. I'm making a list of Greatest rock Keyboard Players who have proved that without a keyboard rock music can't be defined. Bands basically use keyboards as a filler but these keyboardists have dominated their songs with their keyboard solo's rather than the guitar. These keyboardists are basically ranked on their expression, originality, skills and popularity. Keyboard includes Organ, Synthesizer, Mellotron and Piano.


5. Jordan Rudess, Dream Theater- Its really difficult to search songs having keyboard solo's with the real punch of rock and thats why I have ranked Jordan in this list. After listening several keyboard players I found him very impressive and who can actually rock the Audience with his playing. His playing was original and creative and rocking. His solo's were not peppy which is the main problem I have faced while creating this list. Very few bands are there where you get to listen a dominating, rocking keyboard solo and Dream Theater is one of them.


4. Ray Manzarek, (The Doors)- He was the man during the late 60's who came up with his outstanding keyboard solo of "Light My Fire" and made people realize that its not only the guitar, even keyboards are well for solo purpose in the rock genre. His keyboard works are very creative. His solo's sounds peppy but if you want to learn keyboard then you must go through with his solo's. Must try to play his pieces. Some of his greatest works are Light My Fire, Riders On The Storm, Yes The River Knows, The End and Crystal Ship.


3. Rick Wakeman, (Yes)- Well I dont prefer to listen his tracks as I'm not that much interested in keyboards. Their songs dont have the charm of hard rock. Their keyboard solo's basically sounds peppy but I think its only his skills and creativity that he applied on his instrument for which I have ranked him at 3rd position. Well definitely this man deserves to be at the top because of his great expressions in his playing and I dont think there can be another keyboardist like him who can create such kind of masterpieces. Some of his greatest achievements were Close To The Edge, South Side Of The Sky, Roundabout, Siberian Khatru etc.


2. Keith Emerson, (ELP)- For me he is the best keyboard player!!!. If I remove the word rock from my mind then I would definitely rank him as the greatest keyboardist of all time but If I rank him according to the rock genre then I'll have to give him the 2nd place as he doesnt deserve to be the greatest in the rock genre. Though he belonged from the classic rock genre but his songs sounded very modern, like that of the space age. The only reason for which I have ranked Keith on 2nd position is because of his never ending originality. Greatest works- Tarkus, Karn Evil 9, Toccata, Take A Pebble etc.


1. John Lord, (Deep Purple)- The king of rock!!! The most unique rock keyboardist till date. The only rocker whose keyboard playing I can consider rock. His great skills and the sound that he used to create is outstanding and no other band is there who has created songs like Deep Purple. Very original very tough to cover. Players like Emerson, Wakeman, Manzarek had some kind of similarity but Lord is totaly different. He is actually the Lord of Keyboard. From child in time to Lazy, all the songs had different charm and if you are aspiring to become a great keyboard player then must listen Deep Purple. The most versatile, skillful and the most original keyboard player of all time and my Favourite too.

Greatest Rock Songs

Well this might gonna be the most controversial list but i'm ranking these songs according to its originality, musicality, creativity, instrumentality, impact and according to my music knowledge. Here it goes, the Greatest Rock songs that every rocker should listen and know about the musical depth of it.


10. Smoke On The Water(1972), Deep Purple- Well definitely I would say its not the greatest work done by this band. There are many other songs where they have showed their great musical abilities and skills but this song has really left the greatest impact on the rock generation, dont know why other songs were not able to do that. Whenever I talk about Deep Purple with people, they just start their talks about smoke on the water and specially the guitar intro. Though the song is excellent but i've ranked this song because of its guitar riff and a well balanced composition.

9. Smells Like Teen Spirit(1991), Nirvana- The Greatest song of Nirvana and one of the most memorable song for the rock history. The only part of this song which I admire is the drumming. Guitaring and vocals are fine as the solo of this song is not an exceptional one. The song gained much fame after Cobain's death. This song entered the alternative rock in the mainstream. The song has been critically acclaimed for its alternative charm and the lyrics. Overall, this song deserves to be on top ten.

8. Time(1973), Pink Floyd - Sometimes I find myself in a different world while listening to its intro. Honestly this band's musical sense is unbeatable. They have everything in this what a rock song should be compiled of. Gilmour's outstanding solo, Water's amazing lyrical work and the best part, the intro of the song makes it a great psychedelic rock song. This song has dominated the charts for over 14 years. So now you think why this song deserves to be on the list of top ten songs. Just listen to it guys and know about the greatest composition ever done by Pink Floyd.

7. Hotel California(1976), The Eagles- Two things that I really like about this song, the guitar and the vocal performance. No comparison in guitaring as one of the greatest guitar songs ever released and overall this song is a lovely masterpiece done by The Eagles. A great composition of country rock. The song's lyrical performance is well done. It topped the charts for abour 8 weeks in the early 1977. This song has now become a guitar lesson and its taught to every guitar learner.

6. Imagine(1971), John Lennon- When I say "Rock" the things that comes in my mind is a guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and vocals. But this song is quite different. I ranked this song because Sir. Lennon worked for a cause and made a change through his music. This simple song has left a deep impact on the world and Sir. John Lennon is the god for every human being. I wish this world could be the way Sir Lennon wanted. Not only for me but for the whole world this song is one of the most influential one. I want to rank this song at no. 2 but i'm ranking on the basis of everything not only on the basis of lyrics or impact.

5. Light My Fire (1967), The Dorrs- This song recieved success in many countries. The song is mostly Keyboard dominated having a very extensive solo. Lyrically very poetic, musicaly one of the finest and a great male vocal performance by the legendary Jim Morrison. This song rocked the charts everywhere and the cover version of Jose Feliciano's recieved grammy in 1969 for best male vocal performance and for best new artist. One of the best compositions of "The Dorrs".

4. Freebird (1973), Lynyrd Skynyrd - This Song featured on the debut album of this band and was the most successful song released by them. definitely its the best soft and hard rock comfination song. The song starts with a soft intro and ends with a long fast guitar solo. Its so energetic that I'm compelled to rank it on 4th as 95% it defines the rockabilty of a song. A heavy work done by the band members in this song. Their fast guitar solo is not notable only for their speed but for their musicality and its one of my favourite too. a song that every rocker must listen.

3. Like A Rolling Stone(1965), Bob Dylan- Lyrics, Lyrics and only Lyrics. I have mentioned earlier that I'm ranking the songs on the basis of everything not only on a specific field but I'm ranking this song only because of its lyrics. You will have to listen to this song for several times to understand its quality. I didn't like this song when I heard this song for the first time. I found Dylan's voice quite irritating but when I heard this song for about 15 to 20 times then I realised the lyrical ability that Dylan Showed. A simple song but a deserving rank.

2. Bohemian Rhapsody (1975), Queen ---- Well There's no one who can create a composition like Bohemian Rhapsody. The most unique song in the entire rock history. There are many rock songs where there is a sudden scale change or a sudden change in their music but no song is like Bohemian Rhapsody and that's why I have listed it at 2nd position. A unique song with unique lyrics and sound. I dont think the rock generation will get a song like Bohemian Rhapsody in future. An unforgettable song.

1. Stairway To Heaven (1971), Led Zeppelin- Just listen and know by yourself. I dont have to write on this legendary song. You know it or you will know it after you listen.

10 Greatest Rock Songs Of The 70's

Now this may be a controversial list, but I've been completely honest with it. So , here are the 10 greatest rock songs of the 70's that every rock fanatic should have heard. These songs are ranked on the basis of their originality, skills and creativity and not on the basis of their popularity. During the 70's there was indeed a huge competition and sorting out 10 songs out of thousands, was quite a herculean task. Here goes:

10. Love Reign O'er Me-

One of the finest compostions ever done by the Who. Most of the people would not agree with me and would instead want 'Don't get cooled away' over here, but this song's composition is unchallengeable and obviously the quality of Roger Daltray's vocals' is outstanding in this one. Daltray's vocals have changed this song into a power-packed masterpiece and why not, its the best rock vocal performance song till date. Keeping the vocals part aside, the intro of this song is also unique. All of the instruments had been used at their best. A fabulous song all together!

9. Highway Star-

During the 70's era, Deep purple rocked the charts but it was 'smoke on the water' which made them heavily famous because of its riff and the song was related to an incident that happened with Frank Zappa. But I consider 'Highway star' as one of the most skillful songs of the 70's. The skillful keyboard solo by John Lord, an exceptional guitar solo by Blackmore and a tight vocal performance by Gillan. This song proves to be a great hard rock piece and very few hard rock bands are there having such exceptional keyboard solos.

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8. We will rock you/We are the champions -

The anthem of the 70's and till date. They definitely rocked it in every concert and in every song. And this song has definitely rocked the 70's. Not only the 70's, even now, everybody sings this song and its the most common and amazing Rock Anthem ever.

7. Dream on-

I would say this is the best song of Aerosmith. They rocked the 80's and gave huge hits but I dont think any of their hits can be compared to 'dream on'. One of the finest lyrical, vocal and instrumental piece ever. A different song that emerged during the 70's with a great message; that's why I ranked it 7th in this list of the greatest rock songs of the 70's.

6. La Villa Strangiato-

5. Free bird -

One of the longest guitar solos in rock history. The song goes on and on and on, so fast that I feel they shouldn't stop! Boundless energy and enthusiasm fills the song completely. I 've heard many long guitar solos in many other songs, which start sounding monotonous after a while, but 'Free Bird' is sheer magic. It makes me go crazy everytime I listen to it.

4. Hotel California-

Now this is one song that every guitar player dreams to cover. Well yes, the acoustic version of this song outplayed its original studio recording. A wonderful intro and an amazing guitar solo! The guitar plucking in this song throughout is also commendable. The bass is also worth a mention. It deserves to be at No.4 for being a "Complete Composition" in terms of the instruments which are actually ahead of the vocals.

3. Bohemian Rhapsody-

How about this question : Is there any band out there that can create a song like Bohemian Rhapsody? For me, it is the most unique song in the history of rock. I'm probably at a loss of words on this one. An excellent masterpiece of of Freddie's wonderful vocals. Creativity, uniqueness and originality: this song has got everything. The Guitar Solos and the synthesizer are also very touching. What more can I say. Freddie rules !

2. Comfortably Numb-

A Wonderful Composition altogether and you can feel some kind of magic as the song progresses . While listening to Gilmour's solos, I just travel into a different world. I can feel the pain, the joy and the agony while listening to his solos. This is undoubtedly his best guitar solo. So are the vocals so mesmerizing.

1. Stairway To Heaven-

Now this one certainly needs no description. Simply the best!

Special Mentions :-

Born To Run-Bruce Springsteen, Brown Sugar- Rolling Stones ( I Really Wanted to include these two, but then, I also found it hard to remove any of the above songs in the list! ), Black Magic Woman-Santana, Fleetwood Mac- Go Your Own Way and Lots More.

*** Solo Players Like Eric Clapton and the likes have not been included in this list.

Ian Gillan( Deep Purple)- the greatest hard rock vocalist

Born on 19th august 1945, this man has changed the rock scenario to a great extent. He introduced a new kind during the 70's. His great skills to belt his vocals from head voice to falsetto is his strongest and the most notable ability.

He introduced the vocal belting technique and now he is considered as the best hard rock vocalist. Ian possessed a very wide vocal range starting from low E2 to high D6. He was associated with many bands ( like Javelins and Episode six) but havent recieved much fame. After joining Deep Purple this man created a history.

Ian was quite sucessful when he played with black sabbath but was not able to show his best. Various songs of Ian where he has showed his vocal abilities are bloodsucker, space truckin, highway star, speed king, strange kind of woman etc. Child in time, which is considered as the best rock vocal performance song after love reign o'er me byThe Who. In the song Child in time Ian showed his full vocal range and is considered as one of the best achievements of Deep Purple. Ian starts with a soft voice at the beginning and gradually shows his high A5. In this song he showed a wide vocal range.




Every song of Purple has a different spark. Gillan used different techniques in different songs for eg. Space truckin where he used his harsh pitch and even in highway star. But personally i feel Child in time is easier than strange kind Of Woman. The finest vocal ability that Gillan showed in a song is Strange kind of woman. Repeating the high notes with his voice after Blackmore hits it with the guitar, thats really something interesting to watch. Gillan proves in this song that he is the best. Hitting a B5 so easily even on a live act, Thats what Ian did and this is why he is considered as the best hard rock vocalist.


The only vocalist, I feel who can give a tough competition to Ian Gillan is Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Though both the vocalists used different techniques and no doubt both had a very wide vocal range but still we can compare them on the basis of their live acts. Robert Plant is the king of G. No one can challenge his voice. He is an exceptional vocalist. But if I have to attend a concert then I would like to attend a concert of Deep Purple rather than Led zeppelin's ( keeping in mind only the vocal part) as Plant always struggled to hit the high notes on live acts(during his active years) but Gillan does not. Gillan's Vocals were stronger than Plant's.