Ian Gillan on Ritchie Blackmore

In a recent interview with Swedish magazine METALSHRINE, Ian Gillan expressed his thoughts in a rather tactful manner regarding the current creative endeavors of his former DEEP PURPLE colleague Ritchie Blackmore. In particular, Ian noted that while he considers Ritchie an outstanding composer and one of the most technically skilled guitar masters, he is nonetheless inclined to think that Blackmore is not quite in his element within the well-known formation BLACKMORE'S NIGHT. The acoustic guitar, on whose sound most of the band's recent compositions are built, is not the instrument, in Gillan's opinion, that would foster Ritchie's growth as a guitarist. To hear what a true acoustic guitar should sound like, one need only listen to Jeff Buckley, he believes. While ambiguously hinting that Ritchie is simply wasting his time, Ian nonetheless expressed hope that his former bandmate would finally channel his unique abilities into some hard rock project along the lines of DEEP PURPLE — especially given that the circumstances and conditions for such a move are now quite favorable.