Roger Glover And Guests - The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast (1974) [2008, Japan, K2HD] Re-up

×

Roger Glover And Guests - The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast (1974) [2008, Japan, K2HD] Re-up

Close

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 book of the same title (The album cover design is from Alan Aldridge's design for the book).

It was originally conceived as a solo vehicle for Jon Lord and to be produced by Roger Glover who had recently left Deep Purple, but 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 track 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. Its accompanying animated short movie also gained unexpected success in France, where the newly launched second TV channel Antenne 2 used it as a fill-in every time it experienced "technical difficulties". These random airings, together with the psychedelic tone of the clip and the lack of subtitles, made it very popular amongst young viewers. In 2006 the song was used by the Dutch political party CDA in its election advertisements for the 2006 Dutch General Election. Many Americans in the late 70's, 80's and 90's recall seeing the animated song clip Love Is All being regularly played in children's TV programs like the The Electric Company and Nickelodeon morning shows.

Love Is All and its animated music video was also given wide exposure in the southern hemisphere. It became something of a favourite well into the 1980's on pioneering Australian music show Countdown (1974 - 1987). With its rousing lyrics and parade of animals marching through the forest on their way to the mythical Butterfly Ball, the song attained Top 10 status 'Down Under' four years after it was recorded.

On October 16th 1975, a one-off performance at the Royal Albert Hall took place. Again it had a star-studded cast of rock musicians, most notably Ian Gillan who was drafted in at the last minute and received a standing ovation on his entrance. He replaced an unavailable Ronnie James Dio who had commitments with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (although Dio did eventually get to perform the song at the Royal Albert Hall in 1999 as the guest of Deep Purple). Gillan had not performed since leaving Deep Purple in 1973. Also notable was the appearance of Twiggy as singer and actress and Vincent Price as narrator. The live concert was filmed and released in 1976 produced by Tony Klinger. Unfortunately, the excellent live performances were marred by interjecting scenes with actors in cheap looking animal costumes cavorting around in total dissonance with the songs.

Wiki

×

Roger Glover And Guests - The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast (1974) [2008, Japan, K2HD] Re-up

Close

Roger Glover:

Born: November 30, 1945, Brecon, Wales
Active: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
Genres: Rock
Instrument: Bass, Synthesizer
Representative Albums: "Elements/Mask", "The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast", "Snapshot"

Biography:

Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover was born November 30, 1945, in Brecon, South Wales, earning his musical education from the area bands that played his family's pub. During the early '60s, he formed the popular local band the Madisons, which in time merged with fellow Brecon favorites the Lightnings; in late 1963, the group rechristened itself Episode Six. A year and a half later, vocalist Andy Ross left the lineup and with new frontman Ian Gillan in place, Episode Six issued its debut single, "Put Yourself in My Place," in early 1966. A series of singles followed, the pop sound of early efforts eventually giving way to psychedelia and even prog rock, but none generated much commercial interest and in early 1969, the group dissolved. Glover and Gillan then reunited in Deep Purple, making their debut on the Deep Purple in Rock LP. Gillan's powerful vocals and an ear-shattering live show soon established Deep Purple as one of the world's most popular acts, with 1972's Machine Head cracking the U.S. Top Ten on the strength of the AOR staple "Smoke on the Water." However, personality conflicts between Glover and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore precipitated the bassist's departure from the group in mid-1973, and in addition to co-writing and producing material with fellow Deep Purple refugee Gillan, he also produced a number of hard rock acts, including Judas Priest, Nazareth, and Elf, and in 1974 scored the animated feature The Butterfly Ball. Glover's first solo LP, Elements, followed in the spring of 1978 and later that year, he reunited with Blackmore in Rainbow. After completing the 1983 solo effort The Mask, he joined the re-formed Deep Purple for their comeback album Perfect Strangers.Upon completing 1987's The House of Blue Light, Glover and Gillan again exited the group, jointly recording the album Accidentally on Purpose. Glover's departure was brief and he returned to Deep Purple in 1990 for Slaves and Masters, with Gillan returning to the fold a few years later for The Battle Rages On, the last album that would contain the classic '70s line up. Glover issued a new solo album, Snapshot, in 2002 and continues to tour and record with the current line up of Deep Purple.

~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

×

Roger Glover And Guests - The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast (1974) [2008, Japan, K2HD] Re-up

Close