Woman from Tokyo
| "Woman from Tokyo" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Deep Purple | ||||
| from the album Who Do We Think We Are | ||||
| B-side | "Black Night (live)" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:48 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Deep Purple | |||
| Deep Purple singles chronology | ||||
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"Woman from Tokyo" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1973 album Who Do We Think We Are, and later as a single that became a hit, as it reached No. 6 on the Dutch MegaCharts.[1][2] The song peaked at 16 in Germany and 23 in Belgium.[3] It was a modest success in the U.S., reaching no. 60 on the charts there.[4]
Deep Purple was one of the first rock bands to perform in Japan in the early 1970s. As a tribute, the band wrote the song "Woman from Tokyo". It was one of the final songs to feature singer Ian Gillan, who departed in 1973 to pursue a solo career.[5] The song features Japanese imagery such as "the rising sun" and "an Eastern dream" and its lyrics are about a Japanese woman whose charms fascinate the band. "Woman from Tokyo" grew to be one of the band's most popular songs and received heavy radio airplay. Despite this, the band did not like the song much and only began playing it live when they reformed in 1984.[4]
The admiration of Deep Purple for progressive rock is reflected in the long dreamy break that occupies the middle of the track:[5] this break appears only on the album version and is missing from the single, which explains the sharp difference in duration between both versions.
The song was featured on the 2011 DVD Deep Purple with Orchestra - Live in Montreux where Deep Purple Mk 8 (Gillan - Paice - Glover - Morse - Airey) with a full symphony orchestra conducted by Stephen Bentley-Klein.[6]
Reception
"Woman from Tokyo" was ranked at number 3 on Ultimate Classic Rock's list of Top 10 Roger Glover songs.[7]
AllMusic said that "Woman from Tokyo" along with "Rat Bat Blue" were the only songs from Who Do We Think We Are that were good. It stated that the song "hinted at glories past with its signature Ritchie Blackmore riff."[8] On the other hand, George Starostin disliked the song, calling it boring and "just your average piece of boogie".[9]
References
- ^ a b "Stay Tuned By Stan Cornyn: Loudest Purple - Rhino". Rhino.com.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Deep Purple - Woman From Tokyo". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
- ^ Germancharts.de
- ^ a b "Woman from Tokyo Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Woman From Tokyo Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ Deep-purple.net
- ^ "Top 10 Roger Glover Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock.
- ^ "Who Do We Think We Are - Deep Purple - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
- ^ Starostin, George. "Who Do You Think You Are". Only Solitaire. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
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