I liked Rod Evans vocals but I also liked the early lps better than the later ones which went into hard rock/metal area. When I play Purple I pull out the 'Bosch art lp' or In Rock.....to me they eventually turned into a hard rock mainstream radio friendly band....not necessarily a bad thing when one has bills to pay.
I play the first 'Captain Beyond' more than any Purple lp and imho its far more interesting/diverse on multiple levels except for maybe 'In Rock' which has some interesting attempts at prog metal and the 'Bosch lp' which has many psychy proggy things.
Another case of a former valued band member being treated poorly either by accident or on purpose.
From WIKI:
"It had been decided by
Ritchie Blackmore,
Jon Lord and Ian Paice that Evans' pop vocal style would not be suitable for the heavier
hard rock sound the band wanted to achieve moving forward.
[5] Another factor in Evans' dismissal from Deep Purple was his desire to move to the United States.
[6]
In 1971, Evans recorded a solo single for Capitol,
[7] titled "Hard To Be Without You" (b/w "You Can't Love A Child Like A Woman"). That same year, he went on to form
Captain Beyond, along with former
Johnny Winter drummer
Bobby Caldwell, former
Iron Butterfly bassist
Lee Dorman and guitarist
Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, who also was part of the last incarnation of Iron Butterfly.
Evans left Captain Beyond and the music business after two albums. He acquired a medical degree and became a director of respiratory therapy at a California hospital until 1980
Evans has not appeared publicly since the 1980 court case and his current whereabouts have been of considerable interest to fans of early Deep Purple online since at least the late 1990s.
[9]
In 2015, Ian Paice said, "If anyone knows where Rod is or even if he is still on the planet, that would be good news. We haven't had contact with him since the late 1970s. Nobody seems to know where the hell he is, or even if he is still alive. Not a clue."
[11]
In a 2015 interview, Captain Beyond drummer Bobby Caldwell mentioned that he was in touch with Evans, saying that Evans is "just doing fine these days" and had gone back to working in
respiratory therapy for a long time.
[12] Caldwell similarly confirmed in September 2017 that Evans was "doing great", adding that Evans, who is married to another respiratory therapist, was residing in
Northern California and had no plans to perform again.
[13]
Evans was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple in 2016 but, despite being invited, he did not attend the ceremony."
en.wikipedia.org
