A fan’s notes. Excerpt:
There only two camps as far as the Grateful Dead were concerned. You either loved em or you hated them. Hip journo’s and most of Camden Town had an affection for their Kesey/Keroac credentials but Ritchie Blackmore took a different view. Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with ‘‘if the Grateful Dead can make [it], anyone can’’ Deep Purple’s infamous guitarist reckoned that playing extended Chuck Berry riffs for a couple of hours was not a sign of gifted musicians.
New Riders and GD are on the May 7 page.