News The John Lennon song Ritchie Blackmore criticised for being “semi-pro”
The classic rock era produced many outspoken figures. This is only natural, given that it was a period of immense cultural change wherein the younger generation broke the shackles of the past and moved into a future where individualism was paramount. One of the most opinionated icons this juncture produced is Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore.
Blackmore is one of the most accomplished guitarists of his generation, meaning he has more right than most to comment on the story of popular music despite his naturally blunt character. He has provided many notable hot takes in his time, which range from calling his contemporary guitar hero, The Who’s Pete Townshend, “overrated” to revealing that he never saw what the fuss was about when it came to Eric Clapton.
However, it is not just other musicians to whom Blackmore has directed his critiques. He’s also acutely aware of the parameters of his own talent, and over his career, he’s slammed an array of cherished efforts by Deep Purple. For instance, he once admitted to hating the song ‘Space Truckin” from the band’s acclaimed record Machine Head. Not only does it deeply embarrass the Lononder, but it is also truly “awful”.
With that said, no one would doubt that Blackmore’s critiques of other artists aren’t the most fascinating aspect of his character. One of the best he’s delivered to date is regarding former Beatle John Lennon’s acclaimed second solo album, Imagine. As well as being home to the title track, it contains classics such as ‘How Do You Sleep?’ – which features personal attacks on his ex-songwriting partner Paul McCartney – as well as ‘Jealous Guy’.
When featuring in Melody Maker in October 1971 as part of their Blind Date segment to rate the month’s music, Blackmore gave his thoughts on Imagine and the song ‘Gimme Some Truth’. While he said he liked the new album and was going to buy it, he didn’t enjoy ‘Gimme Some Truth’, and called it “very average” as it sounded “semi-pro”.
Blackmore said: “It’s John Lennon. I’ve just realised. Is it his new LP? I really like it. I have heard three tracks off it, but not this one. I am going to buy it. All the tracks are pretty good, especially that one about Paul McCartney.”
He continued: “If it didn’t have so much bad feeling about it, it would be a great record. This track, I didn’t enjoy that much. It sounded like a semi-pro group to start with. It was very average. The musicianship is not great, but that’s not where John Lennon is at.”
