First: The Who’s, What’s, Where’s & Why’s of the Headliner 6@6 Poll
In an attempt to squeeze as many bands in the shortest amount of time possible, The Tuesday 6 @ 6 Polls include a Headliner poll. This Deep Purple poll, like the featured Doors thread will be closed and tallied 7 days from today, Tuesday October 12, 2004 at or about 6PM EDT. Results from all the polls will be posted a few minutes later on that same day in Week #44’s Featured Bo Diddley 6 @ 6 Poll. Why you ask? After the ZZ Top poll, sometime this decade, the plan is to compile all the votes from the SDMB & post them in a few threads. Then I’ll burn a several volume CD set & mail ‘em out to the voters who helped keep these threads going.
Second: The Poll & How it Works
All you have to do is list your six favorite tracks from this week’s featured artist. If you’d like to add your own liner notes or opinions, please go right ahead – I, for one, love reading them. If you specify a live version, it will be noted, but tallied with the studio version. Cover versions (performed by the artist we’re polling) are acceptable, as are duets and off-shoot projects. Please try to be as accurate as possible when naming your favorite tracks. No need to include Richie Blackmore / Rainbow tracks - We’ll poll them in the R’s.
Lastly: The Week #43 Headliner Poll Artist of the Week
Without further ado: The Deep Purple Headliner 6 @ 6 Poll…
The Spanish Archer (tucked away on House of Blue Light- this was the song that made me realize that my inexplicable crotch-melting crush on Ritchie Blackmore was a direct result of his guitar work. Those lead lines that wrap themselves around your cerebral cortex, then slither down your spine and run a finger up the inside of your leg…)
Why Didn’t Rosemary?
Demon’s Eye
Child In Time
No One Came (Would somebody please call David Lee Roth and tell him he needs to cover this song?)
Smoke On The Water (Made In Japan version - gives Ritchie Blackmore some much needed breathing room)
Highway Star
Space Truckin’
And The Address (I love that the shot which launched their whole career was an instrumental)
The Shield (especially the organ-as-percussion-instrument approach in the fade after the false ending)
As you can tell, I’m a fan of the Mark I lineup. Note for the curious: the band’s first U.S. label, Tetragrammaton, was part-owned by Bill Cosby (I think he owned a third, to be specific). I always wondered if that relationship helped grease the wheels to get their contract with Warner Brothers.
Speed King
Woman from Tok-ay-o
Strange Kind of Woman
Rat Bat Blue
Highway star
and
Burn
Sometimes I think I’m the only one who liked the line up with Hughes and Coverdale. It doesn’t match the classic Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice, but is sorely under appreciated. The title track is possibly the best on the album, but there are several more.
Let’s face it, they only had 2-4 really good songs on any of the classic albums, but these were so great, that what came post ‘Who do we think We Are’ are diminished.