Classic Rock – Turn it up, go wild and blast off!

I was 13 in 1972 when my older brother bought the album "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Before then we had only listened to classical music at home – with the exception of Dalida, Mireille Mathieu and the Beatles. My brother had warned me that this music was not for little children, but one time when he was gone I was much too tempted and I put the record on. Right as the first chords of the title song rang out, I started losing control. I ran up the stairs, stopped in the middle, slid back down, jumped around and felt like I was floating above the floor. Good thing nobody was home!

Later in 1978 I was on a trip in the United States with some friends from school. We were 18 and wanted to discover the world. I had made a new friend during my travels who gave me an album from Crosby, Stills and Nash as a gift when I left. At the time this music was symbolic of a free America– of carefree wandering with friends and philosophizing about life. The album combined thoughtfulness with really good musicianship. After I'd returned home, this album provided me with a daily escape from a senseless world.

In 1991 a friend and I were at a festival with Iggy Pop and other "questionable" music. To be honest, at that time I believe I had strayed from the right musical path. In the evenings we would discuss the unusual music we had experienced during the day. On one of these evenings my friend put on a CD from the group Boston. The song "More Than a Feeling" starts softly as lead singer Fran Cosmo begins the first verses but then the music starts to get louder and faster like real rock music should– classic! His voice and lyrics take your thoughts to unknown places and you can feel yourself becoming one with the guitar– craziness! Why did it take me 15 years to discover this music? I love playing it loud in my car!

Sent by: Kristo frpm Belgium
Edited by: Kerstin Boljahn

The hard rock band Deep Purple was founded in 1968. The foundation of their unmistakable sound is an organ paired with guitar riffs and musical scales that are not usually heard in rock music.