Warhorse (1970)

Warhorse was sort of the B Team to Deep Purple. When Rod Evans and Nick Simper were dismissed from that band, both decided to strike while the iron was hot and release something before their names disappeared from the record. Both were largely unsuccessful in different ways.

Briefly, Rod Evans, ousted from Deep Purple for being too "mellow" for the direction Blackmore, Lord, and Paice wanted to take the band, released an extremely obscure single and briefly dropped from the scene. He relocated to the US and teamed up with a couple ex-Iron Butterflies and formed Captain Beyond, then disappeared once again after two albums. In 1980 he was lured back into music as part of the "bogus" Deep Purple and vanished forever after that (the location of Rod Evans today is one of music's most hotly debated topics).

Nick Simper fell out of favor with Blackmore, Lord, and Paice over his perceived "plain" bass playing techniques, not well suited to the re-imagined Deep Purple. In fact, he was fired with no replacement in mind and only when Roger Glover joined the band on a session basis for their first single did a replacement come to mind. Quite angry about his dismissal (he has been on record as also wanting to "get heavier") he kept busy first by backing Marsha Hunt in 1969, and from there putting together his own band.

The thing with Warhorse is that the five are all good musicians, but just a cut below their Purple counterparts as of 1970. In fact, Ashley Holt was under consideration for the vocalist spot prior to settling on Ian Gillan. Rick Wakeman initially served on keyboards, but that didn't work out (tough break!). Ultimately the album itself sounds like a cross between Uriah Heep (another band inspired by Deep Purple's lead) and the Deep Purple album The Book of Taliesyn. While all good songs in their own right, there are clear parallels between "Wring That Neck" and "Ritual", "St. Louis" and "Kentucky Woman", and "River Deep, Mountain High" and "Woman is the Devil" in song structure. Although Nick Simper has been very clear in his dislike of Deep Purple, particularly Jon Lord and Ian Paice, he wasn't proving himself musically distinct from his old band.

Alas, Warhorse suffered terribly from lack of success to the point where they disbanded in the wake of their second album, Red Sea and the departure of their drummer. They had already lost their guitarist. His replacement would stick by Simper throughout the 1970's in a series a sort-lived projects. That would pretty much define Nick Simper post-Purple as nothing really caught fire for him. There was some hope for a Quatermass II project, but it too wrapped after a single album.

As I enjoy to collect from all of the former Purps, Warhorse had always been a band I wanted to hear but couldn't find for the longest time. Thankfully the mp3 era has brought both albums back to light. Oddly enough, I think the responsible part was Angel Air Records, best known for releasing material from Ian Gillan without his knowledge or authorization. Anti-Purple forces of the world unite!