Work on the California Jam book is nearly done, and having been invited down to the print facility last week and seen over half the book as proof pages I can say we were very impressed by the sheer variety of material as well as many of the incredible photographs, most of which have never been published before. What works for me is all the stuff you tend to forget about; shots of the stage going up, site plans, the huge crowds, helicopters landing the group members, etc. There is also loads of rare memorabilia; posters, press ads, tickets, passes, local news cuttings, reviews, tour schedules, and so on. Some rare rehearsal shots were found only two weeks ago and these show the band walking round the stage, muffled up against the cold, and checking the set-up. The guitar destruction scenes are intense, much more so somehow than the video. Up close you get to see everything that’s going on, with photographs from both the stage side, behind the guitar amps and out front. Extracts from letters detailing the camera damage and how this was sorted are also featured.
The publishers have now put some preview pages up on their site (although it should be noted these are earlier layouts and many have been altered since, but it gives you a flavour of the book). Follow the link here, but if you’re not used to ebook technology, then you need to hold the mouse down, and drag the pages across (the on-screen instruction confused me and others!). There will also be coverage in the pre-Christmas issue of Classic Rock magazine. Plans for the limited edition vinyl are also looking good. Rather than include the discs inside the book, the publishers are instead producing a hard back cased album which will sit alongside the book inside the slipcase. They have also gone the extra mile to ensure the vinyl is pressed in the UK. The discs will be in purple wax as well. The shot here will feature on the LP front, and shows just some of the speaker array on one one of the towers. Apparently the engineers measured levels of over 100dB a mile from the stage while they were checking it all out…
For earlier information on the book and ordering information check out the page on the site here.
http://www.rslimitededitions.com/deeppurplesample/book_normalscreen.html
Tags: California Jam, deep purple
May 9, 2013 at 2:50 pm |
Quick question. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My site looks weird when browsing from my Apple iphone. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to fix this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Thank you!
May 9, 2013 at 3:25 pm |
I’ve had a look round the software. Because the site is not hosted by me, I am not able to add the plug-ins which help display the site better on a mobile. I have just tried adding an RSS feed from the site, which is said to work better for mobile phone users – you subscribe to the feed. If anyone else has any suggestions do let me know.
January 5, 2013 at 12:10 am |
Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
January 8, 2013 at 2:36 pm |
No.
December 22, 2012 at 5:12 am |
Looking forward to receiving my signed copy. Had a note from the publishers saying there is a delay so won’t be getting this in time for christmas. They said they tried very hard to get the missing signature but as I replied “good luck with that” it turned out to be as I expected. Even impending death couldn’t stop Jon signing even though he was very ill and wouldn’t live to see the finished book. Shame on you Ritchie.
November 26, 2012 at 10:21 pm |
There should be an accompanying pen with each set (same sort that the other wrote with) for anyone who would want to track the fifth signature down …
November 26, 2012 at 3:38 am |
I have no problem with Ritchie not signing. Everything after Lord’s signature was just an amazing bonus.
November 22, 2012 at 2:12 am |
Would love to have this, but alas it appears that I’m skint (thanks to the tumble dryer breaking for the final time and I had to give in and buy another!). I presume Ritchie decided not to join in with the other members and sign any copies, or did his mother-in-law / manager decide for him?
November 23, 2012 at 10:04 am |
Tumble dryer? We just didn’t replace our thirty two year old (and second hand then!) one when it finally conked out last year. And when the clothes need washing, I just trundle down to the river with a bar of soap. I better not comment on the last sentence, and leave that delicate task to the publishers.