A Sneak Peek ...
How about a supergroup that unites members of "Deep Purple", "Black Sabbath", "Iron Maiden", "Metallica" and "HIM"?
So, on July 13, 2012, an album called "WhoCares" was released, featuring a collaboration between Ian Gillan (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitars), Jon Lord (keyboards), Jason Newsted (bass), Nicko McBrain (drums) and Mikko Lindström (guitars).
The truth is that after the 1983 album "Born Again" we did not think we would ever see Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi collaborate again, but apparently, the help needed to rebuild a music school in "Gyumri", Armenia, which was destroyed in the 1988 earthquake, is a goal Important enough to unite the two. They came together to write the song "Out Of My Mind" and managed to harness the respectable bunch of musicians we mentioned above, to record it. The song was released as a single on May 24, 2011, along with another new song called "Holy" Water", which Ian Gillan co-wrote with Steve Morris and Tony Iommi co-recorded.
In light of the success of the project, the two decided to expand it to a full album that was eventually released as a double album, under the title "Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares".
With the exception of the two new songs mentioned, the album includes familiar songs in different and rare versions, which Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi have collected and compiled especially for the album. For example, you can listen to the original take of "Zero The Hero" from "Born Again", "Trashed" from the same album re-recorded for the album "Gillan's Inn" and featuring Roger Glover and Ian Paice (which sounds much less like "Black Sabbath" and more like "Deep Purple"), "Slip Away" and "Let It Down Easy" recorded during the sessions of "Fused" by Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes, "Don't Hold Me Back" taken from Gillan's solo album "Toolbox" which you must not miss, "Smoke On The Water" recorded with "Deep Purple" and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and including a guest performance by Ronnie James Dio, "Anno Mundi" by "Black Sabbath" with drummer Cozy Powell and singer Tony Martin and more and more surprises.
It is interesting to note, that the album version on "Spotify" includes only 13 songs, while the full double album can be found on "Apple Music".
Sadly, keyboardist Jon Lord passed away just three days after the album's release, making "WhoCares" the last recording to be released in his lifetime.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music