Reviews and press

First published in 2014, a second edition appeared in April 2017. Read what people said about the book (a couple of the images look fuzzy but click on them and they can be read clearly!):

July 2017 – “If you’re a fan you’ve got to have it…” a nice review, from the Woman Driver blog of all places! Liz Turner interviewed Jon Lord years ago about his car history, so Steve Clare asked her about this, and she offered to do a review! Great blog too.

Wait For The Ricochet was reviewed in:
Red Hot Rocks (USA), Hush (Spain), Classix (Italy), Classic Rock Society (UK), PoeiraZine (Brazil), Slam (Austria).

You can read what other magazines have said at the bottom of the page:
Classic Rock (UK), Record Collector (UK), Rockpages (Greece), Fireworks (UK), Beatleg Magazine (Japan), Goodtimes (Germany),

DEEP PURPLE – WAIT FOR THE RICOCHET
Simon Robinson/Stephen Clare

“One of the many joys of being a fan of Deep Purple over the years has been the steady tide of archive material which has been prised from the vaults and presented in almost uniformly stunning quality both in terms of material and packaging. Past releases have been lapped-up by eager fans primarily of course for their musical content, but also for the comprehensive sleeve notes and photo-memorabilia, the latter of which has been largely down to Simon Robinson. It’s a joy to report therefore that this new book which relates the genesis, birth and aftermath of Deep Purple’s seminal ‘In Rock’ album is a kind of massively expanded version of the thickest such CD booklet you could imagine – over 150 pages worth (and each page almost 4x the size of a CD). Aided and abetted by co-author Stephen Clare, Simon has gathered together quotes about the album from all the players down the years from both contemporary magazine articles etc, to more recent look backs and some interviews conducted specifically for this book – including one by Stephen Clare (which by the sound of it would make a fascinating interview CD in its own right) with Jon Lord, shortly before the musical icon’s passing.
The work includes a track-by-track analysis of the embryonic beginnings of each ‘In Rock’ track – the information on how and where some of the material was road-tested and developed prior to recording makes for fascinating reading.
There’s the expected wealth of photos (some familiar, many not) and memorabilia, press-cuttings etc. Indeed, you can pretty much have a look through this as a photo-book as well as a mine of Purple facts.
Chart positions, alternate versions, outtakes are all detailed, along with a gig list, and whilst the timeline jumps about a bit, on balance this is preferable to talking about all aspects of each track in infinite detail before moving on.
Elsewhere there’s a wealth of (not too heavy) technical info for musos on the recording of the album and even the cultural influences on the musicians up to that point. The aftermath of the album’s release is examined (and the effect its success had on the group and their live set-list). Indeed, you’ll come out of the other side of this entertaining read feeling as though there is nothing more to know about Purple’s pivotal album, such is the comprehensive and detailed breadth of material on offer – Ozzy Osbourne’s views on ‘Black Night’? – check – the connection between ‘Speed King’ and dirty laundry? Yep, it’s all here. Having read this you’ll also no doubt have a strong urge to rediscover the album and listen again to the ‘BBC Sessions’, ‘Concerto’, ‘Green Bullfrog’, ‘JC Superstar’ etc as well. No bad thing… Tim Summers

“DTB man Simon Robinson, alongside Stephen Clare have turned up trumps with a glorious book all about the creation of the Deep Purple album “In Rock”.
Yes, you right that right. 160 pages all about one album. Even I now know more than I ever wanted to about Ritchie Blackmores amps. Thankfully, the story of the album is rounded out with the villainous buildup to the sacking of Simper and Evans (boo), and the nasty shenanigans surrounding the arrival of Glover and Gillan, setting the album in context with a look at the Concerto recording, as well as the touring, radio and TV appearances, and the piecemeal recording and writing.
Even if you’re not that interested in the album, the book looks fantastic, chock full of rare photographs and memorabilia. The late Jon Lord was interviewed specifically for the book, Roger Glover has also provided new insights on the writing of the album and Ian Gillan offers a fresh look at Child In Time. There are also contributions from studio personnel, former managers and others. It’s a joy to flick through and savour, even if the resulting album was no “The Book of Taliesyn”! Stuart Hamilton [http://www.the-rocker.co.uk]

It is also receiving great comments from people who have bought it:

I had to read it from beginning to end, couldn’t lay it aside. t’s an astonishing labour of love, so much detail and very well written. Nice to see that this very important album gets the treatment it deserves. Thank you so much for this beautiful book. Adri Karsenberg.

Simply fantastic piece of work, well done and thanks to Stephen and Simon (and the others that lent a hand too). Can’t believe I managed find the self-control to leave it in its cardboard wrapper all day at work (having picked it up at the sorting office on the way in) but it was worth the wait! Peter Judd

…a superb publication. Full of fascinating stuff; some I know, lots I didn’t. That is praise indeed from a Purple aficionado of over 40 years. Tom Dixon

I was anticipating an informative read, but flipping heck, the detail (without being train spotting) and general level of love and almost but not quite reverence is to be praised. The fact that you’ve woven the technical input with your own stuff is a triumph. The amount of new images (to me) is a pleasure, although some of the hair dos are quite scary – thank god someone eventually invented non-frizzy shampoo! Timothy Campbell

Deep Purple In Rock book review External Terror webzine