Glenn Hughes

Glenn Hughes has always seemed to surround himself with the greatest guitarists and drummers of rock, including Ritchie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin, Ian Paice, Tony Iommi, and Kenny Aronoff. And on his 2006 solo outing, Music for the Divine, the string of strong supporting players remains intact, as Hughes is joined by a pair of current Red Hot Chili Peppers – guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith – and an ex-Pepper, Mr. Hollywood himself, Dave Navarro. Music certainly has a funkier edge than, say, the last few releases Hughes has collaborated on with Iommi, but this should certainly not come as a surprise to longtime fans, as his funk roots trace all the way back to his Deep Purple-era releases. Arguably, he has not played alongside musicians as fluent with the funk as his fellow travelers here, especially on the leadoff single, "The Valiant Denial," which rocks and slithers the way only a Peppers groove can. The funk continues on such selections as "Monkey Man," but just when you think you have it all figured out, Hughes and company hand in a surprise reading of, um, "Nights in White Satin." All in all, Music for the Divine is another fine release from one of rock's great (and criminally underrated) voices.

Starting out as the bassist and lead vocalist for English hard rockers Trapeze (which evolved from British soulsters the News) in 1969, Glenn Hughes achieved his greatest fame as the bass player of Deep Purple from 1974 until the group split in 1976. Hughes subsequently reconvened Trapeze (with no records resulting) and issued his solo debut, Play Me Out, in 1978. His next effort, recorded with guitarist Pat Thrall under the name Hughes/Thrall, appeared in 1983, and worked in the supergroup Phenomena in 1985.

Tony Iommi and Glenn Hughes have quite a storied history together. Both hail from the same area in England. Iommi and Hughes first collaborated together on the 1986 Black Sabbath album, Seventh Star, before reuniting in 1996 to work on some new tunes Iommi had penned. The project was ultimately shelved when Iommi reunited with his Sabbath pals, but it finally saw an official release in 2004, as DEP Sessions: 1996. During the album's resurgence, the duo decided to work on a proper album together, which resulted in Fused a year later. Joined by ace session drummer Kenny Aronoff, Iommi and Hughes made a conscious decision to come up with a heavier, more riff-based album than DEP (which Iommi felt was more melody based)…