An Evening with Rock Legend

A short trip to the east from here is the town of Montreux. Situated at the foot of the Alps, it offers some of the most breath-taking sights of the Lake Geneva. For the lens-enthusiasts, it’s a dream come true. Travel a little distance up in the mountains, and they say you can see the entire Lake Geneva. We couldn’t really do that this time around, but there will be plenty more chance.

What makes Montreux really special is its culture in music and its association with two rock legends. Deep Purple made the town famous with their song “Smoke on the Water”, which tells the events of 1971, when a Frank Zappa fan with a flare gun set the Montreux Casino on fire. Don’t worry, the casino was rebuilt and is in a fantastic condition now, we saw it! The song goes something like this…

“We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline / To make records with a mobile - We didn't have much time / Frank Zappa & the Mothers were at the best place around / But some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground / Smoke on the water, fire in the sky”

The second rock legend associated with this little town is none other than Freddie Mercury of the band Queen. The band recorded an album in 1978 in Montreux. Apparently, Freddie so was taken in by the beauty of the town, that he bought an apartment overlooking Lake Geneva. The band later bought the Mountain Studios, where they recorded their later works including the final works of Freddie in the album Made in Heaven, released much later by the remaining member of the band. In 1996, a bronze statue was erected facing the lake as a tribute to the legendry singer.

The town also hosts the famous Montreux Jazz Festival every year in the month of July every year. What started as purely a jazz festival in 1967 has expanded over time to include every imaginable music style. The repertoire of musicians that have played at the festival over the years includes the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa (of course!), Queen, Van Morrison, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, BB King, Ray Charles, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Keith Jarret, Miles Davis, Santana, Steve Miller Band and many more. The festival today stretches over two weeks of absolute delight. So that’s gonna be one more trip for me surely.

(Check out the pictures we clicked. All pictures courtesy my dear friend Aditya. Check the following link for more pictures - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/tarunchow/MontreuxJan07)