Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast
Roger Glover
℗ 1974 Purple Records TPSA 7514 / © EMI Records
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. |
- 1. Dawn (Roger Glover) [01:21]
- 2. Get Ready (Roger Glover) [02:06]
- 3. Saffron Dormouse and Lizzy Bee (Roger Glover) [01:25]
- 4. Harlequin Hare (Micky Lee Soule — Roger Glover — Ronnie James Dio) [01:26]
- 5. Old Blind Mole (Roger Glover) [01:10]
- 6. Magician Moth (Roger Glover) [01:33]
- 7. No Solution (Roger Glover) [03:28]
- 8. Behind the Smile (Roger Glover) [01:46]
- 9. Fly Away (Roger Glover) [02:22]
- 10. Aranea (Roger Glover) [01:37]
- 11. Sitting in a Dream (Roger Glover) [03:39]
- 12. Waiting (Roger Glover) [03:11]
- 13. Sir Maximus Mouse (Roger Glover) [02:34]
- 14. Dreams of Sir Bedivere (Roger Glover) [04:09]
- 15. Together Again (Micky Lee Soule — Roger Glover — Ronnie James Dio) [02:05]
- 16. Watch Out for the Bat (Roger Glover) [01:41]
- 17. Little Chalk Blue (Eddie Hardin — Roger Glover) [03:45]
- 18. The Feast (Roger Glover) [01:48]
- 19. Love is All (Roger Glover — Roger Hardin) [03:14]
- 20. Homeward (Roger Glover — Roger Hardin) [04:14]
Участие в альбоме:
- Roger Glover: vocals, synthesizer, bass, guitar, percussion, piano, keyboards, background vocals, producer
- Tony Ashton: vocals
- Les Binks: drums
- The Brighton Children: vocals
- Helen Chappelle: vocals, background vocals
- David Coverdale: vocals
- Ronnie James Dio: vocals
- Jack Emblow: accordion
- Ray Fenwick: guitar
- Mo Foster: bass, double bass
- Kay Garner: vocals, background vocals
- Michael Giles: drums
- John Goodison: vocals
- John Gustafson: vocals
- Eddie Hardin: keyboards, organ, synthesizer, piano, vocals, background vocals
- Jimmy Helms: vocals
- Glenn Hughes: vocals
- Eddie Jobson: violin
- Barry John (St.): vocals, background vocals
- Chris Karan: tabla
- Judy Kuhl: vocals
- Neil Lancaster: vocals
- John Lawton: vocals
- Mike Moran: piano, arranger, conductor, keyboards
- Mountain Fjord Orchestra: orchestra
- Martyn Ford: arranger, conductor
- Del Newman: arranger, conductor
- David Woodcock: leader
- Ann Odell: piano
- Micky Lee Soule: keyboards, vocals
- Liza Strike: vocals, background vocals
- Robin Thompson: bassoon
- Nigel Watson: saxophone, saw
- Joanne Williams: vocals, background vocals
Тексты:
Love is All
(Roger Glover — Roger Hardin)
Love Is All Everybody's got to live together All the people got to understand So, love your neighbour Like you love your brother Come on and join the band Well, all you need is love and understanding Ring the bell and let the people know We're so happy and we're celebratin' Come on and let your feelings show Love is all, well love is all, Love is all, can't you hear the call Oh, love is all you need Love is all you need at the Butterfly Ball Ain't you happy that we're all together At the ball in nature's countryside And although we're wearing different faces Nobody wants to hide Love is all and all is love and It's easy, yes it's so easy At the Butterfly Ball where love is all And it's so easy All you need is love and understanding Hey, ring the bell and let the people know We're so happy and we're celebratin' Let your feelings show Love is all, yes love is all at the Butterfly Ball Love is big, love is small Love is free, love is all At the Butterfly Ball When you back's to the wall When you're starting to fall You got something to lean on Love is everything It can make you sing at the Butterfly Ball Love is all, I say love is all, yes love is all At the Butterfly Ball