«That one was just down to good timing actually. Uli came down to see us playing in Plymouth and, as often happens, musicians say to each other, 'If ever you need me…' Most times these conversations don't go anywhere beyond the pleasantry, but this time I could fire straight back and say, 'Actually, Uli …' So, Uli gave me two marvelous solos for the record. Wait until you hear them, they are just wonderful.»

«Well, 'Smoke on the Water' is a big, big part of my history and a big part of why I'm here and able to do what I do. I couldn't really ignore that, but at the same time, you have to recognize that a lot of those songs, [like] 'Smoke…' , 'Child In Time' , 'Highway Star' , etc. are snapshots in time and cannot be improved. They are what they are. It would be foolish to try and recapture that magic, because you can't. So, what I did with 'Smoke on the Water' was to treat it respectfully, it's a fairly regular version, but use it as a showcase for some of the guitarists to work with. On there you have Jeff Healey , Steve Morse , Joe Satriani … The talent there is incredible.»

«How could I resist? Look, I love that record and have nothing but great, great memories of my time with BLACK SABBATH . Tony was really busy but got his solos to me at the last minute as he promised and they are just fantastic. I think BLACK SABBATH fans will be over the moon when they hear what he's done. As for Roger and Ian , well, they just sound great on this song so it really did become 'Black Purple'. Personally, I love the irony of it all.»