The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast
Studio album by
Roger Glover
Released18 November 1974 (UK)
16 October 1975 (US)
RecordedSummer 1974
StudioKingsway Recorders, London
Genre
Length48:28
LabelPurple Records (United Kingdom)
UK Records (United States)
ProducerRoger Glover, Alan G. Rainer
Roger Glover chronology
The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast
(1974)		 Elements
(1978)
Singles from The Butterfly Ball
  1. "Love is All"
    Released: 8 November 1974[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast is a concept album and subsequent live rock opera written by Roger Glover. It appeared in 1974 and 1975 respectively, and was based on the children's poem of a similar title. The album cover design is from Alan Aldridge's design for a 1973 book based on the poem.

Origin and production history

The work was originally conceived as a solo vehicle for Jon Lord to be produced by Roger Glover who had recently left Deep Purple. However, Lord proved too busy with Deep Purple, and Glover took up the reins on his own. Using his connections, Glover recruited a large cast of noted rock musicians, with a different vocalist for each character, including David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.[3]

An accompanying animated short film, The Butterfly Ball, was made by the Halas & Batchelor company.[4]

On 16 October 1975, a one-off performance at the Royal Albert Hall took place. Again it had a star-studded cast of rock musicians, most notably Ian Gillan who was drafted in at the last minute and received a standing ovation on his entrance. He replaced an unavailable Ronnie James Dio who had commitments with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (although Dio did eventually get to perform the song at the Royal Albert Hall in 1999 as the guest of Deep Purple). Gillan had not performed since leaving Deep Purple in 1973. Also notable was the appearance of Twiggy as singer and actress and Vincent Price as narrator. Apart from most of the musicians involved in the studio recording, the concert also featured Jon Lord. The live concert was filmed and released in 1976, produced by Tony Klinger.[5]

Later appearance

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists has used the piece as intro music for the band's shows.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roger Glover except where noted

Original album
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."Dawn"  1:21
2."Get Ready" Glenn Hughes2:06
3."Saffron Dormouse and Lizzy Bee" Barry St. John, Helen Chappelle1:25
4."Harlequin Hare"Glover, Ronnie James Dio, Micky Lee SouleNeil Lancaster1:26
5."Old Blind Mole" John Goodison1:11
6."Magician Moth"  1:33
7."No Solution" Soule3:28
8."Behind the Smile" David Coverdale1:46
9."Fly Away" Liza Strike2:22
10."Aranea" Judi Kuhl1:37
11."Sitting in a Dream" Dio3:40
12."Waiting" Jimmy Helms3:11
13."Sir Maximus Mouse" Eddie Hardin2:35
14."Dreams of Sir Bedivere"  4:09
15."Together Again"Glover, Dio, SouleTony Ashton2:05
16."Watch Out for the Bat" John Gustafson1:41
17."Little Chalk Blue *"Glover, HardinJohn Lawton3:44
18."The Feast"  1:48
19."Love is All"Glover, Hardin, DioDio3:14
20."Homeward"Glover, HardinDio4:12
1995 Reissue Bonus Tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Love is All (Demo Version)"3:04
2."Dawn (Remix)"1:35
3."Magician Moth (Remix)"1:37
4."Harlequin Hare (Remix)"1:33
5."Magician Moth (Remix)"1:34
6."No Solution (Remix)"3:58
7."Waiting (Remix)"3:58
8."Fly Away (Remix)"2:24
9."Aranea (Remix)"1:38
Film version from the concert 16 October 1975
No.TitleLength
1."Dawn (feat Vincent Price)" 
2."Get Ready (feat Glenn Hughes)" 
3."Saffron Dormouse and Lizzy Bee (feat Helen Chappelle and Barry St. John)" 
4."Together Again (feat Tony Ashton)" 
5."Old Blind Mole (feat Earl Jordan)" 
6."Magician Moth (feat Vincent Price)" 
7."Watch Out for the Bat (feat John Gustafson)" 
8."Aranea (feat Judi Kuhl)" 
9."Sir Maximus Mouse (feat Eddie Hardin)" 
10."Behind the Smile (feat David Coverdale)" 
11."Little Chalk Blue (feat John Lawton)" 
12."Waiting (feat Al Matthews)" 
13."Sitting in a Dream (feat Ian Gillan)" 
14."No Solution (feat Micky Lee Soule)" 
15."The Feast (feat Vincent Price)" 
16."Love is All (feat Ian Gillan )" 
17."Homeward (feat Twiggy)" 
18."Love is All (encore)" 
  • = Little Chalk Blue is on CD Reissue only

Charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 12

Personnel (original album)

References

  1. ↑ Bloom, Jerry (2015). The Road of Golden Dust (1st ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-908724-23-6.
  2. ↑ "Roger Glover The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Dave (2004). Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story. ECW Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-55022-618-8. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Cowie, Peter (1978). International Film Guide 1979. Tantivy Press. p. 451. ISBN 978-0-498-02241-8. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Donnelly, Kevin (26 February 2002). Pop Music in British Cinema: A Chronicle. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-85170-863-8. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Schweber, Nate, "The Making of Meloy", The Montanan, Winter, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 321. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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