Fan Club Interview: Yngwie Talks About the Inspiration Album

Interviewer's Note: This album had been in the conceptual stages for a long time. When his own Studio 308 finally became operational in 1995, all Yngwie needed was time and the help of some old friends to get the project moving. Release date was September '96.

Fan Club: Let's start with your overall purpose for this new album. Why an album entirely of cover songs?

Yngwie Malmsteen: This isn't just an album of cover songs--it's my way of saying thanks to the bands that influenced my development the most, both as a guitarist and a performer. But even more than that, it's my chance to take those songs I've loved for so long and put my own stamp on them, so to speak. This would be a pretentious thing to do if I were still early in my career, but at this point I feel it's the right thing for me to do.

Fan Club: Who's involved in the project besides yourself?

YM: A lot of people, and some you won't believe! (laughing) My old drummer, Anders Johansson, plays all the drum tracks, for example. And Jens cut some of the keyboards, along with David Rosenthal, and of course, Mats.

Fan Club: Was it fun to work with Jens again?

YM: Oh, sure, he and I have stayed in contact all these years--we're good friends and always will be.

Fan Club: Your lineup of vocalists will surprise and delight a lot of your old fans. Some people think you should call this the "reunion" album!

YM: [laughing] Yeah, it does seem that way. Well, let's see, Jeff Scott Soto does three songs, Joe Lynn Turner does three, Mark Boals sings four, and I do one.

Fan Club: Which one are you singing?

YM: Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression." It's a song I've always grooved to, and it fits my range well. And not a lot of people have covered that song. Joe, of course, is doing "Spanish Castle Magic."

Fan Club: To back up a bit, which bands are covered on the album?

YM: Well, Deep Purple, naturally, and Jimi Hendrix. Also, there's Rainbow, Rush, U.K., Kansas, and one from the Scorpions. I play bass on all the tracks except "Carry On My Wayward Son," which has my old bass player Marcel Jacob on it. He was visiting me while Jeff was there recording his vocals for the song, so Marcel played on it as well.

Fan Club: Was it hard to decide which singer would do the vocals for each song?

YM: I gave it a lot of thought, of course, and tried to fit the best traits of each vocalist to the requirements of the song. For example, Joe's voice is great on songs that are more pop or blues-oriented like "Spanish Castle Magic," or DP's "Pictures of Home" and "Demon's Eye." That song's an obscure track that is on my original vinyl copy of Fireball, which is now 25 years old! On many of the guitar solos I really get into them and put my own stamp on them, but for this one I stuck very close to the original version, because it was one of the first ones I learned way back when I was totally immersed in Deep Purple's music. I used to practice late into the night, and I would fall asleep bent over the guitar. I guess you could say that song deformed my body, because as a young teenager, I was still growing and it caused my ribs on that side to cave in slightly to the shape of the guitar!

Fan Club: Now we know why you always say that the Strat fits just right when people ask why you only play Strats!

YM: [laughing] Right. Well, getting back to the vocalists, I tried to fit the qualities of the singer's voice with the songs, so Jeff does songs that need a strong, full-bodied voice with the lower range, like Rainbow's " Gates of Babylon" and Purple's "Mistreated." Mark sounds absolutely superb on the high vocals in "Anthem," "In the Dead of Night," and especially "Child in Time." That song will send shivers down your back. And when I played our version of "Sails of Charon" for Uli Jon Roth, he said it was much better than the original!

Fan Club: Who does the keyboards for the album?

YM: It's pretty evenly split between Jens, Mats, and David Rosenthal. And I play all the guitar parts [huge laugh].

Fan Club: Any other comments on the album?

YM: I'm happy that Chris Tsangarides was able to come back, overseeing the mixing of the master tape. It was all recorded at my own studio, you know, and mixed at Criteria. I've had a lot of fun making this album, performing all the great old songs I grew up with and working with some of my old bandmates. We all got along splendidly, and I think this album is a great collaboration for us all.

Bands Covered on Inspiration:

Deep Purple: "Pictures of Home," Machine Head (JLT, Mats, Anders, YJM); "Child in Time," In Rock (MB, David, Anders, YJM); "Mistreated," Burn (JSS, Mats, Anders, YJM); "Demon's Eye," Fireball (JLT, Jens, Anders, YJM)

Jimi Hendrix: "Manic Depression," Are You Experienced? (YJM, Anders); "Spanish Castle Magic," Axis: Bold As Love (JLT, Anders, YJM)

Kansas: "Carry On My Wayward Son," Left Overture (JSS, David, Anders, Marcel, YJM)

Rush: "Anthem," Fly By Night (MB, Anders, YJM)

Rainbow: "Gates of Babylon," Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (JSS, Jens, Anders, YJM)

U.K.: "In the Dead of Night," U.K. (MB, Jens, Anders, YJM)

Scorpions: "Sails of Charon," Taken By Force (MB, Anders, YJM)

"Inspiration" Mini-Review, from Dragon's Fire

First of all, this is NOT just a cover album. It's 11 of your most cherished rock anthems, played full-out, balls-to-the-wall Malmsteen style, with most of your favorite Rising Force performers thrown in for good measure! This rockin'/sockin' collection of songs is an album you'll play over and over, because it's so much fun. The musicians involved had a blast recording these songs and it shows--the performances are spontaneous and fresh-sounding, with interesting new presentations of the music. Some versions you may even prefer to the originals. We had a hard time picking our favorite cuts, but some highlights are "Gates of Babylon," "Mistreated," "In the Dead of Night," "Child in Time," and "Pictures of Home." Each singer is instantly recognizable, especially the soaring tenor of Trilogy vocalist Mark Boals. The depth and intensity of Yngwie's inspired guitar and bass playing shows how much he loves these songs; he pays tributes to them, then makes them totally his own. For fans who were wondering what Deep Purple would have sounded like if Yngwie had replaced Ritchie Blackmore, now you know.