The guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was a fundamental element for Deep Purple to become one of the most influential bands of all time. Without his riffs and guitar solos the band would have never been the same and after they really became a Hard Rock band from "Deep Purple In Rock" (1970) on, he became a guitar hero. But as most musicians, they are not always really big fans of everything they wrote and played, even if those songs were successful. There is one Deep Purple track in particular that Blackmore said he can't stand. The Deep Purple song that Ritchie Blackmore said he can't stand Although it is one of the most famous Deep Purple songs, Blackmore is not a fan of "Woman From Tokyo", released by the band in 1972. He mentioned that track. in an interview in 1983 made available by Backstage Pass, when talking about Rainbow's hit version of "Since You Been Gone". The musician said he was more proud of tracks like that and "I Surrender" than many he recorded with Purple, one of them being "Woman From Tokyo. "I first heard it in my manager's house and I said: 'It's a hit, let's do it'. He was totally: 'What? You want to do it?' (I said): 'Yeah, of course'. So we did it, I think in about two takes because Cozy (Powell) hated it. It was released and it was a hit, which we knew all along. But it was a way of getting in our foot in the door. getting a broader public. At the same time we were letting the side down because 'I Surrender' is a similar type of song, I'll always stand by those songs, they're great songs." "People say: 'How can you do that? How can you sell out? You're a Heavy Metal guitarist, known to be uncommercial'. That's rubbish, I'll play anything if it has a good melody. Even if is 'Over The Rainbow' like Judy Garland. If it has a good melody, that's all that matters. That's one of the reasons why I did 'Since You Been Gone'. I thought it was an extremely good melody." He continued: "I think is a very good song, I listen to it now and I'm quite proud of it. I'm more proud of that song than I am with some of the Deep Purple songs that were kind of underground hits. Things like 'Woman From Tokyo'. I can't stand things like that," Ritchie Blackmore said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). As the guitarist said, "Woman From Tokyo" was released on Deep Purple's seventh studio album "Who Do We Think We Are" in 1972. That was the final album to feature the singer Ian Gillan and the bassist Roger Glover before they returned in 1984. The song was inspired by their concerts in Japan in the early 70s. They were one of the first Rock bands to play in the country. At the time, the band had it's Mark II line-up with: Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. Jon Lord loved the song and once explained why Blackmore didn't like it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8acJqJ4tbgs&list=RD8acJqJ4tbgs&start_radio=1&pp=ygUQd29tYW4gZnJvbSB0b2t5b6AHAQ%3D%3D The late Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord talked about that track in an interview a few years before his death. He explained why his former bandmate Blackmore didn't like the song. According to him, the guitarist's initial idea for the song was for it to be more "bluesy". But the rest of the band took it in another direction. "I think one of the great Deep Purple classics is on 'Who Do You Think We Are'. That is 'Woman From Tokyo'. It's a terrifically well made song. Another classic Blackmore riff to start it off. But I love the way it departs from what was probably Ritchie's original intention with the song. I think he saw it as more of a bluesy thing. Where we actually took it was, especially with that delightful middle passage, which works really well, and piano solo of which I'm not particularly proud. It's not the greatest piano solo I ever played in my life but it's all right. But made under very difficult circumstances," Jon Lord said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Since Blackmore didn’t like the direction the song was taking, he distanced himself from the rest of the band while the tracks were being recorded. According to Setlist.fm, the song was played almost 900 times by Deep Purple on stage. But, after the song was released, in the 70s, the group only played four times with Blackmore. The track only started to be played frequently in 1985, when the group was in their reunion tour. The last time the group played that song was in 2016 in Tokyo, Japan.The post The Deep Purple song that Ritchie Blackmore said he can’t stand appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.