Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Deep Purple was one of the best concert bands in rock music. Their studio material never was such diverse, rich and profound as it was on stage. Trio of Technique Gods (a/k/a comrades Ritchie-In-Black-More, Johann Sebastian Lord and Ian-Not-That-Anderson) turned an monotonous hard rock songs into never-ending suites, played with unearthly inspiration and furious energy. Messr. Paice smashed his drums like a raging buffalo, messr. Lord raped our minds through his Hammond's weeps and caress our ears with crystal classical improvisations, while messr. Blackmore weaved his speediest solos one over another...

Jeffrey A Morton <whitesnake5@juno.com> (11.05.2000)

Well, I like alot of Purple, just don't love it. Gillan is a great singer who, live, was even better. But even Gillan forgot lyrics routinely and treated some songs VERY half assed, which led to friction with the oppressive Blackmore. However, your hatred of David Coverdale is not understandable. Instead of comparing him to Gillan, look at the vocal style as something that's not derivative. I don't particulary care for DC's turn in Purple either, but early Whitesnake was fantastic, and THAT is where he gained his voice.

<Sabbath246@aol.com> (15.11.2000)

Led Zeppelin was an amazingly talented band, but I can't for the life of me understand why people credit them as the greatest rock band of all time (Hell, Sabbath's influence was just as groundbreaking, if not more). And for every person who says Plant is the greatest vocalist of all time, I have two words for you that would make him cower and run for mommy: IAN GILLAN. Don't get me wrong, I think Rob was a fantastic singer with an astounding vocal range, but he seems almost pathetic when compared to the magnificent Ian (as does everyone else, IMHO). Yeah, I'm a huge Purple fan if you haven't noticed yet. I think Zeppelin was awesome with many killer tunes ('Stairway, 'Heartbreaker, 'Rock N Roll, 'You Shook Me, 'How Many More Times), but they can't even rate with the mighty Deep Purple. Now time for comparisons between the two groups. LIVE ALBUMS: The definitive Zep live record is Song Remains The Same, and Purple's is of course Made In Japan. As you might've guessed, I think MIJ is far better (not far better, but better nonetheless). It's really hard for me to say who's the most talented guitarist out of Blackmore & Page. In the end I'd probably have to go with ol' Ritchie, but only just! Check out the vocal/guitar duet at the end of "Strange Kinda Woman". AMAZING! Yeah, Zeppelin did it first on "You Shook Me", but Purple just simply does it better. STUDIO ALBUMS: Now to compare each group's definitive studio album. Zep's was their first album, in my opinion, and Purple's was the almighty In Rock. I honestly think In Rock is the greatest rock album on the planet, simply because of the unbelievable "Child In Time", which never ceases to leave me absolutely speechless. Gillan's singing on this song is so smooth and beautiful that it literally brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it (actually, it still does). The way he goes from soft to shrieking (all on key, mind you) is just totally stunning. Guarantee that this song had Plant shakin' in his boots! And Ritchie's speedy/bluesy guitar solo in the middle is a little better than anything Page could ever accomplish (No offense to Page, he's still one of my all time favorites). I know this was supposed to be a review of Zep, and I've mainly talked about Purple the whole time, but I just had to clarify a few things to all the people who think Zep is the greatest. As for my favorite Zeppelin tune, it would have to be either "Heartbreaker" or "Stairway". Even though Purple would blow 'em off the stage, there's no denying Zep's enormous influence and musical talent. Each band had an epic masterpiece song that set them apart from their peers. For Zep it was "Stairway" and for Purple it was the aforementioned "Child In Time". 'Stairway' is obviously more popular and well known, but to be honest, it's almost lethargic when compared to 'CIT'. As for the guitar solos in the two songs, Ritchie's is slightly better because he plays with more rhythm than Page, and Ian's ear-shattering wails are FAR superior to any other vocalist on Earth. Later. Keep the rock 'n roll alive, my friend. You have by far the best music review site I've ever been to. Yes, even better than Prindle's. Peace.

Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (28.01.2001)

Now, I like Deep Purple, y'see, but they started a very disturbing trend in rock music. Deep Purple became such a revolving door that its 1976 incarnation barely had any of the same band members as their 1968 one. Not that that's a bad thing necessarily - it certainly wasn't their mk.1 lineup that created the music that made Deep Purple, well, Deep Purple. But DP's example led to bands being marketed more or less as a brand name, various personnel changes designed to keep the franchise alive. It's the spirit that carried over to such faceless AOR bands like Journey, Styx, Foreigner and REO Speedwagon for whom few people even cared who was in the band and no one missed, say, a departed drummer or keyboardist.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (28.03.2001)

I consider Deep Purple as one of the greatest bands in the world! Deep Purple are great! Ritchie Blackmore is surely one of the greatest guitarists ever (and GENIUS), Ian Gillan has a magnificent fantastic voice, Ian Paice is a brilliant drummer, Roger Glover is an adequate bass player, Jon Lord is real virtuoso. But what the hell do you call their music heavy metal (sorry for rough phrase)????!!!! It's HARD ROCK and the trinity Deep Purple/Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath is called "Golden triarchy of hard rock", certainly not heavy metal. Like I said before, Deep Purple is a hard rock band and the best hard rock band to my opinion. I don't think, that they are less well-known than Zeppelin or Sabbath, they are quite equal in popularity.

Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (05.07.2001)

A rock steady heavy metal band. Ian Gillan was without a doubt one of the premiere voices in rock n roll. Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar work certainly rates as state of the art. The other band members filled in quite nicely as well most notably John Lord’s organ touches. Its interesting how the band’s style changed from psychedelic to metal or somewhat synthesized metal. Somehow Deep Purple’s music went beyond their style as there were just enough creative touches on enough of their songs to make them stand out from other mere mortal metal bands.

Ratko Hribar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (18.09.2001)

Deep Purple are certainly the least well-known part of the Zeppelin, Sabbath and Purple trio, which is a sad fact, to be sure. Unfortunately, that's especially evident in the U.S. where they don't rank up nowhere near in popularity with Zeppelin and Sabbath. It gets somewhat better in Europe, and it seems they're very popular in Japan. Yes, those Japanese certainly have excellent musical taste. Their musical style could explain that grave injustice, cause they, unlike Led Zep and Sabbath, rarely used fantasy or epical overblown lyrics to prove their grandness. They preferred to play simple (NOT simplistic) rock 'n' roll songs like, say, 'Highway Star'. Of course, they did record songs like 'Child In Time' and albums like Concerto or Gemini Suite. The band wasn't too diverse, but they did had their 60's pop/rock and classical expeditions which came out enjoyable enough, if not downright impressive.

Jaime Vargas <jaivarsa@hotmail.com> (06.12.2002)

I was browsing through the Highway Star site while the jam part of 'Space Truckin'' blasted through the headphones and read that apparently Jon Lord has retired, and his place is now filled by Don Airey (who has already been in Rainbow and Whitesnake, so I guess he always wanted to be a Purple anyway). So this gives the interesting trivia that only one man has played in all records and gigs by the band. Ian Paice.

Kevin MacNutt <egebamayasi@hotmail.com> (10.01.2003)

I noticed that you stated that the band never resulted into mystical or occult goofyness, but that is quite untrue. If you take a look at the original US pressing of The Book Of Taliesyn on Tetragrammaton, the timing for "Exposition/We Can Work" It Out is listed as 6:66. Also thematically there is some mysticism within the opening track "Listen, Learn, Read On." Also you could read in to the use of the Bosch painting for the self titled album as Deep Purple being musicians from hell since they did feature the hell panel of Bosch's tryptich, and they were inserted into the music section of hell for that cover (under the crucifix harp). Of course the Taliesyn references were lost in the UK pressing without the liner notes and the song timings being apparent. Oddly enough Tetragrammaton changed the title of "Wring that Neck" (an obvious guitar reference) due to it's violent nature to "Hard Road," although it was only their pressing that featured the 6:66 timing. Obviously Bill Cosby (part owner of Tetragrammaton) and his partners Campbell and Silver (whoever they were) decided that violence was much more objectionable to conjuring satan through a mediocre Beatles cover.

Patrick Hewer <PHewer@t-online.de> (29.07.2003)

Here I am, 2 years after the last poster it seems. I arrived just yesterday through a link from HighwayStar.com. Never before I enjoyed a review on Purple that much. Do I agree with you ? Well, on the good ones I shure do. On the bad ones I just have a friendlier view, altough I see your point all the time. As a little thank you here`s some information.

Lionel Maréchal <ryusenshi_2@yahoo.fr> (29.06.2004)

What about a comparison between the three "founders of heavy metal" : Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath ? Yeah, for those who have read my comments on Led Zep, I admit I changed my mind about genre names : the style of these band (powerful riffs, screaming singer, bass weighing down the guitar, pounding drums) is what defines early "heavy metal", as opposed to "hard rock" done by Hendrix, the Who, and even to a lesser extent by the Stones (in musical papers of the time, the Stones are said to play hard rock ; plus "Satisfaction" is definitely a hard rock song) ; the fact is that, as metal has become more and more brutal over the years (leading to some aberrations like death metal and the likes), people now refer to Led Zep and Purple as "hard rock" to make the difference with, say, Metallica, whereas the hard sound of the Who is now regarded as "normal" rock. But in 1970, Purple and Led Zep were said to play heavy metal for sure.

Stephen Rutkowski <a_saucerful@hotmail.com> (06.07.2004)

This note about Deep Purple will not be too long considering they are not one of my favourite bands and I do view them behind Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. But I must give credit where credit is due as I do listen to In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head quite regularly. Indeed, In Rock is masterful and one of the greatest exponents of the hard rock genre. Their line-up was immense with fantastic members in every position. Ian Gillan just might be the best singer out of the heavy metal triad (Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath) but the poor production often does him a disservice. If you held a gun to my head I would still say I prefer Robert Plant but that might just be my own bias. Paice was often thwarted by poor production too. Sometimes the drums are so low in the mix that they are inaudible (or way too tinny sounding) and other times they are so high that all we hear is something approaching white noise. Anyway, another winner is definitely Ritchie Blackmore. Each of the major hard rock guitarists of that era had something to offer (Page’s riffage, soloing and funnily enough his acoustic playing, Iommi’s riffs, riffs and more riffs) but neither of them had the pure finger flashing speed of Blackmore.

<imsoflash@hotmail.com> (22.08.2004)

in my personal opinion, the best band to ever come out of britain. 'nuff said.

Tim B. <mrpieeater@hotmail.com> (10.01.2006)

As far as I'm concerned, if we're all making comparisons between the 'big three', Led Zep, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, then I'd have a helluva time choosing between Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. But the thing is, maybe, that BS and DP are so different from one another that comparing them, or choosing between them, is a complete waste of time and thought. Black Sabbath gives me a fix with their lumbering doomy take on rock that I simply adore so much, and DP is what I listen to for mind-blowing jams, soaring vocals and a vibe of celebration, fun and pure rock n' roll enjoyment. I agree that Deep Purple are a simple band stylistically speaking, and that it is actually refreshing that they remain rooted in the real world and avoided the occult realm (though I love occult themes), just keeping it true and fun.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

An edge between late 60's psychedelic pop and classically influenced blues rock, some covers, romantic lyrics and vile, unlistenable sound (I'd joyfully cut engineer's ears if I only could). This is a debut and here we have sings of Purple's blitzing future ("And The Address", "Mandrake Root"), two excellent tributes ("Hey Joe" and "Help!"), two bad covers ("Hush" and "I'm So Glad"), and two pathetic pop ballads ("One More Rainy Day" and "Love Help Me"). Don't mention Purple's name written on the cover and enjoy it. In other hand, for Deep Purple this album is too light-weight. Best songs are "Mandrake Root" and "Hey Joe", rating is 5.

Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (20.08.2000)

This is the only period of Purple that I have any use for -- I much prefer this early, naive, psychedelic stuff, despite its flaws. Look at those frilly clothes and those poofy hairdos on the cover! And the liner notes are hopeless! The writer tries to write a story using the song titles, as if Purple had the capability of producing a concept album at this point! Very silly, but I much prefer this period over their later, screechy Ian Gillan/David Coverdale stuff, which sounds like they were drinking all the time.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

Some people believe, that Deep Purple were not popular till In Rock and that Mark I albums were mostly ignored. That's not correct. Of course, Deep Purple were not so incredibly famous till 1970, but exactly this first album helped them to gain quite decent popularity and "Hush" was certainly a breakthrough. I like this album, it's a good debut. Excellent tributes, good songwriting. "And The Address", that opens the album, allready shows a musical abilities of the band. Very good!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Shades Of Deep Purple is a strange record for this band, but let's face it, the band wasn't really itself yet. It's a little psychedelic and in the same time bluesy. Pretty enjoyable to be sure. A lot of good covers, the best being 'Hush'. That song is also the best on the album, and it's certainly the most overplayed piece from the album (too bad I never heard the original song). The soulful singer Rod Evans is absolutely adorable, he doesn't try to scream like Gillan, and doesn't take himself too seriously (how could he... they weren't popular at that time). He's got a nice lightweight voice which suits the album perfectly. Blackmore's sounds very peculiar, but the man had to start somewhere, and this is, I guess, a good place to do so. Jon Lord is acceptable, and he already sounds very much like on their classical albums. 'And The Address' gives us a taste of the future, although it's not quite on the In Rock level. 'Help' sounds terrible to me, but it is a much better version than the ones that some other artist would do. Like Tina Turner, I suppose, but she would NEVER try to cover that song, now would she ? Of course NOT. But she DID, and failed miserably, too. At least Deep Purple didn't. There's 'Mandrake Root' a nice little rip-off of 'Foxy Lady'. The rest is manly entertaining, although I hate 'Hey Joe'. Okay, okay, the poppy ballads are annoying too, but one shouldn't complain, they're not much worse than the most Led Zep ballads. The production is pretty echoic, but it's still on the level. Overall, it's a nice start, nothing groundbreaking or to impressive, but good. Perhaps a high 5, maybe even a low 6. Yeah, 6 would be just the thing.

Jaime Vargas <j.vargas@aznar.es> (17.09.2001)

It surprises me that, being Russian, you have not noticed that *all*^the melodies from 'Prelude: Happiness' are 'inspired' by Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Scheherezade'...

Glenn J. Wiener <gjw0721@optonline.net> (07.10.2003)

An unsual debut for these pioneers of Heavy Metal.  Like the psychedelic touches especially on 'Hush'. That song is truly a hidden classic. Also like their rendition of 'Help'. Lots of soul there. 'Love Help Me' has plenty of energy and 'One More Rainy Day' features llots of good dynamics and harmonies. The bonus tracks just add to the value of this CD.

Tagbo Munonyedi <grimtraveller@hotmail.com> (24.02.2006)

This was the first Purple album that I heard and it was the place to start ! I came to the album cold, with no knowledge of them or their history [ I borrowed it off a mate, together with FIREBALL - it was the artwork of Fireball that made me want to check out Deep Purple ] so my views on the album have remained relatively uncoloured since '79. I have to say that this is one of the best debut albums I have heard and a fitting place for the Purple story to begin. Every song on here is a gem to a greater or lesser extent and certainly the seeds of Purple's future greatness are firmly planted here.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

While sound is better, music is not. This album could be the second part of Shades: we still have bad covers - "River Deep, Mountain High", weak American hits - "Kentucky Woman", and pompous pop music - "Anthem", mediocre effort in Frank Sinatra-style (yeah, I knew about strings... the song sucks anyway). But keep your patience and "Wring That Neck" (the first touch of classic Deep Purple turned into a 30-minutes suite on stage) make you feel much better. The rest of album ("The Shield", "Exposition") isn't quite bad, but the complex impression of Purple's second work is hollow and uninspired. Best song here is "Wring That Neck" (and this is the only one really good song on the whole album). My rating is 4.

Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (25.08.2000)

Well, they did try to progress. But, for the most part, if they stick to what they did best on the first album, the results are better. I'm sure that "Kentucky Woman" exists because some record company guy said, "Hey, guys, we need another 'Hush" here!" But it's fun in the same way. "Wring that Neck" and "Shield" go the "Mandrake Root" route to great effect -- I think I like them both more than you do. And "Anthem" is the best original here -- very haunting, and although that string section seems to come in out of nowhere, the song really generates some genuine emotion.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

Nice listen! They really go progressive and they do it quite good. The highlights here are last three compositions. The first four composition are also vey decent. And they used to do "Wring That Neck" live sometimes. It's sort of concept album and it's not dated, it's a good album all the time. No need to say, that I like this album. But the next album is a masterpiece!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Hmm, The Book Of Taliesyn, I didn't own it until recently, to tell you the truth. I listened to it just a few times. I wasn't impressed when I heard it for the first time, and I'm not impressed now. A boring so called concept album which features a stream of covers and some uninspiring rockers, and the title is totally inappropriate. Hmm, this album is not unlike the previous one, but there the covers we're better. Blah, what am I talking about ? It's all crap. It's probably their worst album ever. Well, not really, not by a long shot. The concept itself doesn't have any sense, at least I can't find any, but it is totally pretentious just like it's supposed to be. And that's the big flaw of the album. The last one was a casually light recording which didn't really demand your attention. This one does, but when you look, you don't see anything breathtaking. The opener is a good little stomper but it's laughable if compared to the In Rock stuff. 'Wring That Neck' is really, really cute. 'Kentucky Woman' is okay, it has some very nice vocal harmonies, but that's about it. The Beatles cover is completely lame, and 'River Deep Mountain High' hits you just like a sleeping pill. At least, it gets ME every time. Oh, yeah, the 'Anthem' is rather enjoyable, although corny as hell. Lame, but it's still better than 'N Sync or other suchlike groups (hey, how come Kiss didn't call them to sing on Psycho Circus as backing vocals, or something ? They sure are talentless enough).

Glenn Wiener <gjw0721@optonline.net> (02.11.2003)

Truthfully I find this an improvement on the Shades of Deep Purple. The ballad, 'Anthem' show some depth to the Mark 1 version of the band. Like the lush strings and a romantic tone to the guitar and vocals. I also appreciate, the psychedelic touches to 'The Shield'. But the best track is the cover of 'Kentucky Woman'. Plenty of kick and drive and enthusiasm. The other tunes are creative as well. Throw in the bonus tracks 'Its All Over Now' (not the tune the Stones covered) and 'No No No' and you have a real good one here.

Joshua Hornsby <joshmygosh@sbcglobal.net> (31.01.2004)

I honestly dont see how anyone in their right mind can dislike this album. I just dont get it. To my ears, its nothing less than a masterpiece, an epic work of art. To me, mark 1 will always be the greatest lineup of the band ever. To prove to you how much I love mark 1 - I think that The Book Of Taliesyn and Deep Purple, their second and third albums, are the two greatest rock albums ever released. Ever. When it comes to these guys, The Beatles and The Stones can fuck off (and most other bands, too).

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

The best studio album Deep Purple ever did. You got me right. This is the best Purple's studio work because a) here we have no empty pop hits, no bad cover-versions, no tasteless sleeves, no vulgar lyrics, no loathsome distortions, no monotonous hard rock pieces (as on their later efforts), b) here we have a perfectly balanced and tightly played album, all numbers includes the variety of styles from gentle ballad ("Blind", "Lalena") to heavy blues things ("Rosemary", "Bird Has Flown"), the original material of the band was written with strong inspiration (there are no low points at all) and c) here we have a masterpiece "April" (lyrics was written by Jon Lord, George). This beautiful and diverse album was made on the border between Ritchie's passion for heaviest guitar's riffs and Jon's adoring for classical music. They stopped here and then turned to the pure hard rock. Crucify me, but I think that they was wrong. My rating is 9. Hope you will guess the best song.

Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.08.2000)

Wow, and I thought for sure I was the only one who thinks that this one if the group's best album, ever. Thank you, Mr. Konstantin!

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (28.03.2001)

I'm so glad, I'm so glad, that I'm not the only to declare it a masterpiece. Well, yeah, it's perfection from beginning to end. The album begins with "Chasing Shadows", groovy and interesting track. "Blind" follows - and "Blind" is one of the best ballads Deep Purple ever wrote (The vocal of Rod Evans suits the song gorgeous). Further, "Lalena", that is a cover, is also magnificent soft ballad. "The Painter", "Why Didn't Rosemary?" and "Bird Has Flown" is something, that's eternal. And closing track "April" is a real masterpiece!  It's a celestrial epic song, featuring the band with orchestra. And Deep Purple with orchestra were always great. I'd especially like to mention beginning of the song (beautiful guitar/piano interplay) and wonderful brilliant superb Ritchie's solo in the end. It proves, that he's a genius. Yeah, and the lyrics here are very good (generally, I see nothing wrong in Deep Purple lyrics, though critics tend to bash it. Decent lyrics).

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

I didn't hear the whole Deep Purple's self titled album yet, but thanks to an 'best of' compilation I heard 'Bird Has Flown', which sounds just outstanding. Later, I found an old cassette with a few more songs from that album (then I didn't know that, cause someone forgot to write the name of the album), but not all of them. I remember it had 'April', 'Lalena' and 'Chasing Shadows' on, as well as tracks from other albums, like 'Smoke On The Water', 'Child In Time', 'Into The Fire', 'Hard Lovin' Man'..... The tape itself wasn't too new, so the sound quality was quite poor. I can say one thing though, if the rest of the album is like those four songs, it could be a 7 from me.

pat shipp <perfectpitch@sbcglobal.net> (08.02.2003)

The most elaborate, magnificent album that Deep Purple ever recorded. "Chasing Shadows" opens the album on a very psychedelic note, with some awesome, haunting vocals from Evans. Ritchie throws in a ferocious wah-wah solo, too. "Blind" is a lyric epic about the mysteries of winter. One of the best written songs on the album. But it is the lachrymose "Lalena" that really steals the show. My God, I don't think I've ever heard a vocalist that so successfully managed to capture the spirit of being lovesick in the way that Evans does here. This is the most precious ballad in the history of music as far as I'm concerned. I admit that Ian Gillan has the most stunning vocal range in all of rock 'n roll, but even he never sang with such love as Evans does here. Sorry, Ian! And at the end of the song, Ritchie throws in some of the most pretty notes ever heard on a guitar, and they always bring a tear to my eye and put my worried mind at ease. "Fault Line" is more or less a splurge of psychedelic sounds, but "The Painter" is a cool, upbeat blues jam in which Ritchie finally starts to express his blues ability. "Why Didn't Rosemary" is even better, and Ritchie's jamming is so funky it just makes you want to stomp your feet instantly. "The Bird Has Flown" is another psychedelic monster, and the masterpiece "April" closes the album in top form. I swear, that opening part is so gorgeous that it always makes me think about Heaven. And the orchestra part is pretty interesting as well.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Jon Lord made his final bow. The impression of the concert is complicated and ambiguous. I don't want to dig into the discussion about classical and non-classical music deeply, so I just says that Lord's effort is very nice, but not great as followed "Sarabande". The first and last parts of the concert are beautiful while the middle part looks unfinished (Jon didn't have much time, so he must be forgiven). The low point here is a sound, the concert was recorded (or mixed) rather badly. But I love it anyway, and my favourite is last part with perfect powerful solos from Ritchie and Ian Anderson (?? - G.S.). Rating is 8.

Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.08.2000)

Again, I have an old LP pressing, so reviewing the sound quality is tough, but I suspect the live recording, 1970 vintage, is quite poor -- too much ambient echo, muddy mix, the usual problems with live albums from this period.

Alex Zaitsev <alexzaitsev85@mail.ru> (26.07.2004)

Hi, George! I've noticed that on the page with Deep Purple reader comments, Konstantin Tikhonov says something along the line of "amazing solos from Ritchie and Ian Anderson" and you "look" at him as if he were crazy. Sorry to disappoint you, but he is not. It's just that the full name of Ian Paice is Ian Anderson Paice. Just wanted to clear it up.

Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (15.10.99)

I disagree about this album being the best metal release ever, but I will acknowledge that it's one of the three most important ever made in the genre, plus it showcases Gillan back when he could actually sing and Blackmore at his jaw-droppin' best. The two keepers in my mind on this one are of course "Child In Time" - that eerie keyboard part, Gillan's powerful, desperate and PERFECTLY sung vocals, and the lengthy but astonishing Blackmore guitar solo in the song that I can't believe no one ever mentions - it's easily one of my 5 favorite guitar solos ever, so fluid and perfect. "Flight Of The Rat" is the other - it's got a very prototypical metal riff, hilarious rhyming lyrics, and a relentless chugging (plus more of that amazing band interplay!) The rest of the songs are capable, but not amazing. "Speed King", "Hard Lovin' Man" and "Bloodsucker" play at good speed and are very strong cuts showcasing their fire, and the other two numbers, "Into The Fire" and "Livin' Wreck", are decent. I give it an 8.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

The most overrated album in Purple's history. This is absolutely fantastic (technically) and extremely mediocre (musically and especially lyrically) album. In one hand we have Blackmore's, Lord's and Paice's unbelievable playing laid under Ian Gillan's immortal screams, in other hand we have classic pure (= banal and dull) hard rock with pathetic lyrics and highly-distorted sound. Of course, here are some pleasant moments like Ritchie's guitar solo in "Flight Of The Rat", Jon's trembling organ in "Hard Lovin' Man" or Ian's ecstasy voice in "Child In Time" (the one and only completely perfect song on whole album), but even nice ideas like "Speed King" are ruined by senseless, vulgar or totally empty lyrics, while monotonous numbers like "Bloodsucker", "Into The Fire" or "Living Wreck" are nothing but the fillers. My rating for this album is 6 only 'cause "Child In Time" is here.

<Sabbath246@aol.com> (27.07.2000)

I not only agree that this is the greatest hard rock album ever released, but I think it's the greatest album ever released, period. Yeah, everyone says it's Sgt. Pepper, which I can't for the life of me understand why. I mean, say all you want about Deep Purple, but they were MUCH more musically talented than the Beatles. Maybe not as groundbreaking, but definitely a more amazing band. For example: compare "I Am The Walrus" to "Child In Time". What a joke! [why are we comparing the uncomparable? I'd better compare 'Child In Time' to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', and 'I Am The Walrus' to, say, 'The Mule'. Then things would look more clear - G. S.] But anyway, back to the album. I worship Deep Purple, this album in particular. I noticed that "Child In Time" brings you to tears also, huh George? Well it does the very same thing to me every time I hear it. Simply put: Ian Gillan had the most heavenly pair of vocal cords in the world. Anybody who disagrees does not know true rock music. "Hard Lovin' Man" would have to be the second best one on here. Ritchie was and is the originator of heavy metal guitar. DP forever!

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

It's the encyclopaedia of hard-rock! It's a truly classic, no less. It seems to me, that the term "best Deep Purple album" fits better to Machine Head, but nevertheless In Rock is great. "Child In Time" is a masterpiece! This album declares Ian Gillan to be one of the best vocalists in the world (and, of course, Ritchie Blackmore to be one of the best guitarists in the world and Ian Paice to be one of the greatest drummers in the world, but we know it allready from Shades Of Deep Purple). What a fantastic voice Ian Gillan got! Nobody else could make such a classic brillian scream in "Child In Time" (and in "Bloodsucker" and other songs). Solo in "Child In Time" is gorgeous! "Living Wreck" is a hidden gem, it's glorious! Cool!

Kevin Baker <bakerspread@computron.net> (14.06.2001)

It's been far too long since I've posted over here, so I figured "why not?" I have been listening to DPIR for the last day now, and it has hit me like a ton of bricks---this is a great album! For some reason, I'd never picked up on that before. It's a riff-guidebook, with Blackmore churning out some of his best. The prodcution is poor compared to my reissue of Machine Head, but then again, Glover did go back and purposely clean it up for it's 25th anniversary edition. My favorite is of course 'Child in Time', which has one of the greatest solos ever committed to tape. Wowzers!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Okay, Deep Purple In Rock. A famous record, which doesn't really cut it for me, although it's supposed to. It is a very good album, but nothing too groundbreaking for me. The songs aren't much better than on the previous few releases. A lot of well known tracks are here, but some of them aren't all that entertaining. The production is on the level, I mean, not awful, but not to good. All the singing is awesome, but I wouldn't say that this is Gillan's highpoint in the band, cause he sings with the same conviction on a number of albums. This on the other hand might very well be Lord's highpoint, because he doesn't overdo it, like he always used to (not so much dueling with the guitar on this one). Blackmore's guitar sounds extremely improved, and yes, independent. The lyrics aren't too imaginative, they're just, well, common, which is okay by me. 'Speed King' is an instant classic, although I'm not too impressed with the beginning of the song. 'Bloodsucker' has some annoying Gillan screams rapped in it, but it's still a classic, and rightfully so (I'm not to fond of heavy metal screamers, you know). 'Child In Time' would probably be the best song here, but it's so darn long, and I don't have so much patience in me to hear it to the end. There's more annoying screaming here and that keeps me awake. Great song, though. Of course, the climax in the middle of the song is so damn good that it's really worth enduring all the roaring by Gillan on the way there. With some of the most crazed soloing Blackmore ever did it's certainly one of the best songs that the band ever made. The record isn't diverse at all, but Deep Purple we're just that kind of a band, so it's understandable. The rest of the rockers are good, but there is no reason to prefer them over the ones on Machine Head, although the song 'Hard Lovin' Man' stands out a bit. Hmm, there's the question of 'Black Night' which was a UK top 10 hit, but it was released only as a single. I have to admit it's a great song, although the lyrics are a little stupid, but the riff is awesome, although not original (it's taken from Ricky Nelson's 'Summertime', but you probably knew that already). I'll give the album a low 9.

Andrei Bushuev <andrey@surfsite.phys.msu.su> (13.04.2002)

Yes, "Child In Time" is a great song! Beyond doubt. But it is only rip-off of the song "Bombey Callin" by group "It's A Beautiful Day" (1969 - a year earlier!). I don't believe my ears, when heard familiar melody. Certainly, Deep Purple variant is much better.

Brian Adkins <Brian.Adkins@Enerwise.com> (23.09.2003)

I'm glad you encouraged me to get this album. I always listened to the critics and thought Deep Purple was simply a "wanna be" band, but after hearing this, I think it's more the other way around, they're a "i wanna be like that band" band. I'd never heard one of these songs on the radio and was very reluctant to buy it for the longest time, although the true treasures of any band are never played as much as their songs that seem to be on the radio every time you turn it on. This is a very good album for anyone that likes a good guitar. And the voice, I never knew they had such a great singer. Have you ever heard the band Sound Garden? I always thought Sound Gardens singer had the most unique voice in possibly all of rock history. But now I see he's merely a rip off of Deep Purples singer. Bare with me since I'm not really familiar enough with the band to actually call their members by name. I would go on to tell how great "Child in Time" is but if you don't get that impression from every other comment on here, you never will.  To me, it is a good album all the way through, if you like your music hard anyway. You're not gonna get the lyrical beauty of say Dylans "John Wesley Harding" but you're not gonna get that soft back-ground either. It's one of those albums you put on when you're ready to drink some beers, down some shots and energize yourself. I'm still trying to figure out a lot of the lyric but I did read them and can see the hints of cleverness, it just hasn't entirely sank in yet. Or maybe I'm just an idiot cause even after reading your review, I don't see where "Child in Time" is an anti-war song, but give me some more listens and maybe I will.  If you're into Black Sabbath, Zeppelin and a hard core, fast guitar, you can't go wrong spending some money on this album. Thanks again for the encouragement that I needed to lift the album from the shelf and put it in my shopping car : )

Stephen Rutkowski <a_saucerful@hotmail.com> (06.07.2004)

I disagree with the quality of the production on this album. I believe it is just as poor as and sometimes worse than on later albums. The band produced the album themselves and as described by the band “there were lots of hands on the mixing desk”. This does not make for great production and there are often cases approaching white noise as all the members increase the gain on their individual instruments. As far as production goes, at least Ian Gillan’s voice is audible, and yes, it is a great voice. He is absolutely fantastic in ‘Child in Time’ – people continue to be mesmerised by his moving screams and howls.

Tagbo Munonyedi <grimtraveller@hotmail.com> (15.02.2006)

When I look back on my life, I think I can say that this was for me the most anticipated album I ever looked forward to hearing. I loved SHADES OF....and FIREBALL and I'd heard that this was regarded as one of their classics........along with Fireball. I thought Fireball was immense even before I knew of it's status so when I heard about IN ROCK I wanted to hear it so so BAAAAD !! Nigeria in 1980 was a place of no rhyme nor reason and all kind of obscure and deleted books, records, films, comics, TV shows and suchlike would show up unexpectedly in the the most bizarre places.....So when I was at the Presidential hotel one day in april that year you can imagine my shock when I saw a cassette of IN ROCK !! The pres was Enugu's top hotel { some would say the only one, worthy of that name ! } and there used to be this guy who sold all these records on the floor and I was there one day, I can't even recall why but I saw IN ROCK and I just had to have it ! Rushed home, raised the cash and bought it but I couldn't listen to it for 36 hours. But when I did......WHOOOOAAAA !!! As silly as this may sound, it was almost a religious happening for me { and in those days, I was as athiest as they come }. I played it and it so moved me that I played it again straightaway. The weird thing is that it was wound to the start of side 2 so I've always known it to begin with " Flight of the rat " and end with " Child in time "......

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

First of all, the release date above is wrong. The first edition of UK CD (on RPM Records) was released in 1993, the Japanese edition (my case) was released in 1997, and the new remastered edition scheduled for release in late 2000.

No reader comments yet.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

We still have some dull pure hard rock pieces here ("No, No, No", "Demon's Eye", "No One Came"), but this album was made with more various moods, more sensible lyrics and more acceptable sound than In Rock. Love story in "Fireball" was described without the same Gillan's vulgarity, "Anyone's Daughter" frivolity perfectly shines through Jon Lord's piano chords and the Eastern passages of "The Mule" became just a little introduction for Paice's brilliant solos on stage. Best number here is "Fools" with Ritchie's blitzing guitar work and Gillan's pessimistic lyrics. My rating is 7.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

I can't say, that it's even a slight falldown from previous record, it's also a classic. By the way, it's a favourite album of Gillan. The title track rules, "No No No" is a groovy protest song; Guitar/piano duet in "Anyone's Daughter" is awesome, compared only with "April"; probably the best song here is "Fools" - resplendent! And I'd like to mention solo on cello of Blackmore in "The Mule".

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Fireball is a great follow up, but in the same time a bit of a letdown. The title track is a strong mover, but 'Demon's Eye' is even better. It's not fast at all, but so dark and bluesy. It could be the best song on the album. Another good track would be 'Fools', but 'No One Came' is kinda boring, it's too long and Gillan again screams so obnoxiously loud (like his fighting with the bizarre production). 'The Mule' is simply great, and I can't deny that I love that exotic sound. Unfortunately the album is too slow, and it can't be nearly as good like In Rock. They're still trying though, and the result is a very solid, even classical album. Gillan sounds good, but it takes some hard effort to hear his voice on this point, and Blackmore is amazing, he does riffs, solos, everything, and does it perfect. Lord starts to be a little pesky at times with his organ, but it still works, somehow. I found 'Strange Kind Of Woman' on a compilation, and it's a beautiful. It's a shame that it isn't on the same album edition like 'Demon's Eye', in that case I would give the album a 9 like In Rock. Like this, it's just a poor little 8.

Stephen Rutkowski <a_saucerful@hotmail.com> (06.07.2004)

Deep Purple lost it a bit here and it’s not only due to them trying to branch out. In fact I quite like ‘The Mule’, but it’s the rockier tracks like ‘Fools’ and ‘No One Came’ that prove to be a bit weak. Again a Deep Purple album dies at it reaches the finish line. Throw in the lethargic ‘Demon’s Eye’ and the stupid attitude of ‘No No No’ and the album is not looking strong at all. ‘Anyone’s Daughter’ shows that as far as country music goes, Deep Purple prove to be great hard rockers, but it is annoyingly catchy, and not that bad in the end. The lyrics are atrocious though. For mind, the only really great track is ‘Fireball’. It is much in the same vein as the previous album and races along at an incredible speed.

Tagbo Munonyedi <grimtraveller@hotmail.com> (17.02.2006)

" What kind of music is this ???" exclaimed my Dad back in 1979 when I was listening {on his stereo without permission } to this album for the first time. " Experimental music ", I replied. " Well will you take your exprimental music OFF ! " said he........

Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (30.09.99)

A near classic. Only seven songs but all of them are winners. I like 'Lazy' as it probably has the most creative embellishments on the record. The organ effects and the slight changes in tone and the mix add some needed creativity to this slam bam thank you maam band. These guys are damn good musicians especially Ian Gillan. Your link to the best Deep Purple Web Site is excellent. Hopefully you will provide links to other noteworthy websites like these guys and Fleetwood Mac.

Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (15.10.99)

Although the production sucks and like you said, the vocals are barely audible, I can still totally get into this album. My favorite track is not the one that every guitarist knows in their sleep, "Smoke On The Water", a classic which incidentally features laughable lyrics including the immortal line 'some stupid with a flare gun'... but who notices lyrics in Deep Purple songs anyway? Certainly not critics or arguably even Ian Gillan. Nope, my favorite is the opener, "Highway Star", which perfectly captures that 'highway' feel in the expert playing (classic performances from Blackmore Gillan, and Lord). "Maybe I'm A Leo" and "Pictures Of Home" are also great rockers, and the intro jam to "Lazy" is almost worth the price of the album alone. "Space Truckin'" and "Never Before" are a little bit average though, so I can't give it a 9 or 10 - an 8 seems perfect.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Much better than In Rock, much harder than Fireball, but still not enough to beat April (the album). Once again Purple recorded an unbalanced album full of fantastic songs and weak fillers. "Highway Star" have an immortal solo (probably the best solo Ritchie ever did) and even Gillan's stupid lyrics can't ruin it. After this masterpiece "Maybe I'm A Leo" is absolutely unremarkable, but "Pictures Of Home" is the rare example of Deep Purple's ordinary and non-banal hard rock. There's nothing great in this song, but it still stands higher than any song from In Rock (with the exception of "Child In Time", indeed). I'll never understand why "Never Before" was chosen to a single-release, not 'cause it's a mediocre song, but 'cause here we have "Smoke On The Water", Purple all-time signature-tune. Of course, this is one of the most overplayed hard rock songs, but I understand why Ritchie denied to play it in the 80's and 90's - this song is too simple to be played and played and played on every Purple's concert. Excellent vision of R&B in "Lazy" have much more space for live improvisations. The biggest low point on this album is self-parody "Space Truckin'", monotonous "Smoke On The Water" rip-off with usual empty lyrics. That's my point of view. Best songs here are "Highway Star" and "Lazy", rating is 7.

<RichardMelchior@aol.com> (28.09.2000)

I guess there's really no questioning the worth of this record, but d-double-amn do I ever hate the production. But I guess it's a testament to the strength of the songs that this album could become an HM classic in spite of such a tiny sound. "Maybe I'm a leo but I ain't a-lyin" - gotta love it...

Kevin Baker <bakerspread@computron.net> (31.12.2000)

THIS ALBUM KICKS BUTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Pardon the enthusiasm, I got carried away there for a second. But I still hold to that opinion. Deep Purple is among my favorite bands, and Machine Head is my personal favorite Purple album. Don't take this as an insult to In Rock; In Rock is a killer album as well, and 'Child In Time' is one of the greatest moments in hard rock history. However, on a song by song basis, I prefer Machine Head. I think this may mark the peak of Ritchie Blackmore's skill as a guitarist; I've heard some Purple from before this and after, and I've heard some Rainbow, but Blackmore plays to beat the band on this one. But everyone else puts up a good fight! Paice is a superb drummer, Jon Lord knows how to make the Hammond work for a heard rock/heavy metal band, Glover is a solid bassist, and as has been said numerous times before, Gillan has one of, if not the best, voices in rock. But onto the songs!

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (28.03.2001)

It's the best Deep Purple studio record and it's one of the best albums ever! It's the same level as In Rock, even a little better (though there's no denying, that In Rock is also wonderful brilliant record). Three best songs here are "Highway Star", "Smoke On The Water" and "Space Truckin'". Of course, all songs from Machine Head are good: "Maybe I'm A Leo" is a nice blues, "Pictures Of Home" rules, "Never Before" is desirable, "Lazy" is also a nice blues; but these three songs ("Highway Star", "Smoke On The Water" and "Space Truckin'") are absolute standards of good rock music. How can one resist Gillan's screaming? This guy has a gorgeous voice!!!! Ian Gillan proves in this album one more time, that he's one of the greatest vocalists. And Ritchie! Just listen to his solo in "Highway Star"! Someday I will write a composition, why Ritchie is a genius. Contribution of Jon Lord is also colossal! Passage on organ in "Highway Star" is awesome! And Paice - he was always brilliant drummer!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Hmm, Machine Head. I'll try to be analytical about this one as far I can. Hmm, okay, so I should probably say this is their finest studio endeavor, and it indeed has seven great songs, which are absolute classics. Okay, the mixing of the vocals is annoyingly bad and someone should kill the bastard that's responsible for it. Hmm, perhaps he's already dead, so never mind. I'm a little subjective with this one cause it has 'Smoke On The Water', and I had first heard that song when I was about 8 years old. At that time my brother learned to play the guitar, and he often played that particular song. Of course, that was an acoustic guitar, and he couldn't play it to good, but he did pull off the melody pretty well, so I remember it still. It's obvious I didn't know anything about rock music at that time, or music at all, for that matter, but I liked that distinguish riff very much. I still do. However, 'Smoke On The Water' is certainly not my favorite track here, that honor belongs to 'Highway Star'. I admit, that 'Smoke On The Water' has stupid, but kinda cool lyrics, and I can't bash that song because of them. 'Highway Star' is, on the other hand, the ultimate speedy rocker, without whom any car drive wouldn't be interesting at all. Unfortunately, the album is slightly unbalanced cause some songs are truly immortal, but some end up sounding like fillers, notably 'Never Before'. 'Maybe I'm A Leo' is very unbalanced, indeed, because it has a great opening riff, but it still sounds quite dull. 'Pictures Of Home' starts pretty hopeful and loses me near the end, it's still okay, but it's, hmm, a filler. The parody of 'Space Truckin' is a great one, and the song itself is a fast little bastard, although it seems kinda hollow to me. I don't know why, maybe it's the lyrics ? I wouldn't know. 'Lazy' has a nice jam section, but it seems somewhat out of place here. Oh, maybe it's just me. It usually is. 'When A Blind Man Cries' is a beautiful B side of a single that really deserved to be included on the original record, I mean, it isn't worse than 'Lazy' by any means. The band members are on their peak here. Gillan screams all the way through the record with consistency and conviction, and he doesn't overdo it. Blackmore is Blackmore, and he shines, although, Lord gives him a run for his money with some excellent organ playing. All in all, this is their best work, although it has some downsides, not a lot, though. It is an noticeable improvement over In Rock, cause the songs are overall more solid than before. Yep, the thing dreams are made of. Of course, it's a 10. And a pure one at that.

Stephen Rutkowski <a_saucerful@hotmail.com> (06.07.2004)

I’ll state it right now just to get it out of my system – I hate ‘Smoke on the Water’. No hate is too strong a word. ‘Smoke on the Water’ is in fact a good song, I just cannot stand the status that it holds in the annals of hard rock. That riff is just so dumb and primitive (and so is the irritating chorus) and survives on strength and catchiness alone. While everyone reveres the most memorable riff in history, all other great hard rock tracks (done both by Deep Purple and other bands) are consigned to the history archives for only the most determined to find. In fact, I hated ‘Smoke on the Water’ so much that I refused to listen to Machine Head, which in hindsight was a really stupid thing to do. Anyway, now I view ‘Smoke on the Water’ as more or less a better than average track. But the real interest for me in this album is the remaining six tracks. Let’s investigate.

Tagbo Munonyedi <grimtraveller@hotmail.com> (19.02.2006)

Easilly the best titled Purple album, but I have a problem with this classic collection and that problem is the live MADE IN JAPAN that follows hard on it's heels. Because 3 of the M H tracks are fried to shreds by M I J and so I tend to combine them on the tape I have to make one super album [ super on the tape, that is ]. That should not take away the fact that this is a great album. However, I've never found this LP to be that heavy ! It's 2 predocessors are heavier and the live versions are heavier. No, for me this is a classic collection because of the songs. Heavy rock is ( or at least, it was ) melodic stuff. Most of the great heavy bands in heavy rock's first 15 or so years wrote good SONGS with plenty of melody. Even Motorhead were capable of good melodies.That so many of them were able to incorporate gut wrenching, skull crushing instrumentation at high voltage and very high volume, with clever dynamics and multiple directions only demonstrates how good many of these guys were and Purple were one of the best and hottest. Try an experiment - attempt to listen to hard rock circa '66 - '83 with the volume down low. I believe you'll find a clever diverse genre here. And where Machine Head is such a good album is that it is choc full of songs. Good melodic ones. Which is not for a moment to say that it don't rock and rock hard coz it does.

José Humberto Mesquita Filho <humberto@fcm.unicamp.br> (28.09.99)

It is indeed the best first buy for Deep Purple. "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" are quite better than the studio versions. It is also the only live Purple album you should buy - simply because on this one, Gillan still has his voice. I've seen Deep Purple live twice, and altough he does a fair job singing those classics, there's no way to compare his nowadays voice to his voice back in '72. What about him screaming in the very end of "Strange Kind of Woman"? No one could do it better then. The production on this one is also awesome. There's a 2 CD version of Made in Japan that includes 'Black Night', 'Speed King' and a cover song which I don't remember now. But the single-CD one is probably all you'll need.

Ted <Tedyyz001@aol.com> (24.10.99)

The 2 CD version has 'Black Night', 'Speed King' and 'Lucille' on the 2nd disc. The first CD has 7 songs, the same as the original 2 record set from the 70's, at least in the USA, at approximately the same timings, over 76 minutes so it seems nothing has been cut as has been done with some other 2 record sets converted for CD. The 1 CD set has a gold cover like the original 2 record set. The 2 CD set is black. I think "Smoke on the Water" and maybe "Child in Time" are as good as or improved compared to studio, all the rest I prefer the original versions, but it takes a lot from a live disc to impress me or maybe not, I like strange stuff.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Their concert peak. When Purple left the studio, they left all their problems there. No dull songs, no banal lyrics (Gillan simply forgot them all), only virtuosity and energy were presented. They took their best numbers and turned 'em into the endless passion battle (unforgettable tour-de-force between Ritchie and Ian in "Strange Kind Of Woman"). Even pathetic "Space Truckin'" was reworked into the twelve minutes improvisation and completely wiped the studio version. There are absolutely no low points, except the distorted sound. All songs are great, Gillan screams higher, Paice threshes louder and Blackmore plays faster than any living person on this planet. This is the best Deep Purple's album for ever and ever (amen!). Rating is 10. Best song... hell, I don't know! I loves 'em all!

<Sabbath246@aol.com> (19.07.2000)

Hands down the greatest live album ever released. The version of 'HIGHWAY STAR' jams so much it's almost impossible to put into words. I disagree with you when you described 'CHILD IN TIME' as "more or less the same as the original". While this version of 'CIT' is very good (especially the guitar solo), it doesn't hold a candle to the original version. But then again, no other song in the world does, IMHO. This blistering rendition of 'SMOKE ON THE WATER', however, far surpasses the original. I do agree with you in you're stating that 'THE MULE' is the weakest track on here. Not because of the drum solo, which is nothing short of mesmerizing, but because on this version we're deprived of Ritchie's bone-crunching soloing that was on the studio version. And of course, this live version of 'STRANGE KINDA WOMAN' is simply mind-blowing. Gillan matches licks from Blackmore's guitar so perfectly you'd almost swear there were two guitars playing the same notes. Wow. What a vocal range! As I've said countless times before, Ian Gillan has the most astonishing pair of vocal cords on God's green Earth. Oh yeah, the versions of 'LAZY' and 'SPACE TRUCKIN' are enjoyable too.

<ScreamingIgor@cs.com> (19.11.2000)

Greetings and Felicitations!

Richard Hunt <peter.hunt1@virgin.net> (18.02.2001)

I usually find it hard to listen to Made in Japan because I find it completely BORING. 'Highway star', and 'Space Trucking' are the worst culprits for this, and 'Lazy' and the beginning of 'Strange Kind of Woman' are the only bits that don't bore me at all. When I'm in this mood I usually just listen to those two songs. I think that's my studio mood, when all the showing off just gets on my nerves and I would probably give this a 5 and listen to In Rock instead.

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

What to say ? Every song on Made In Japan is a major classic, and a lot of them sound much better and improved in the new versions. Strong stuff. I'll give it a 10. I only wish they could stay like that for a couple more albums. Oh, what can you do ? Well, listen to this album, of course. What are you waiting for ? Go !

Henrik Larsen <info@cultmovies.dk> (28.12.2003)

The original Made in Japan cd has a running time of 76min59s; the remastered 76m17s (not counting the bonus cd of course!). Nothing was cut per se, but on the remastering cd instead of the fades between each individual track they are merged into one continuous performance (why, when we already have the Live in Japan box with the authentic concert??). Some of these reedits are quite poorly done, for example the introduction to "The Mule" that now sits at the end of "Smoke on the Water".

Lionel Maréchal <ryusenshi_2@yahoo.fr> (28.06.2004)

For some reasons, I listened to the first half of this album (the first four songs) before having heard In Rock or Machine Head, and the second half after. That's infortunate, in fact because I was really disappointed when I heard the studio versions. This album is fantastic ! Let's examine it song by song:

Tagbo Munonyedi <grimtraveller@hotmail.com> (20.02.2006)

I remember buying this album right around the time of John Lennon's death with some ill gotten gains.....I have mixed feelings about it because on one hand it contains tracks that I just don't feel could ever be bettered from the studio versions { CHILD IN TIME, SPACE TRUCKIN' } mixed with established classics that these live versions rip to shreds { HIGHWAY STAR, SMOKE ON THE WATER, LAZY, STRANGE KIND OF WOMAN }. I've not heard any other live Purple albums ( never wanted to ) so I don't know if it's their best live one. I wouldn't be surprized if it is coz it is a mighty effort. I have heard live hard rock LPs I've preferred ( by Status Quo, Queen, Blue Oyster Cult, Motorhead, Kiss, Ted Nugent, The Outlaws, even Thin Lizzy ) but it's Purple we're talking about, so............

No reader comments yet.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

A rather mediocre effort. Purple began to piss on each other instead of playing music. Nobody of them was interested in further projects - while Gillan decided to leave, Blackmore with Paice did the same thing, but their managers (through Jon Lord) persuaded 'em to stay. This album isn't quite bad, some songs are good ("Woman From Tokyo", "Mary Long", "Super Trouper", "Our Lady"), but there are no moments of glory like "Highway Star" or "Child In Time". Purple never played material of this album on stage ("Woman From Tokyo" was played a few years later, but 70's Purple and 80's Purple - as people in Odessa says - are two huge differences), and I can't imagine these songs in extended live versions. We have what we have, so my rating is 3. Best song... hmmm... I can't choose. They all can't catch me.

KeithF <KeithF@nycap.rr.com> (07.11.2000)

A masterpiece... and worthy follow-up to Machine Head.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

Another great album and certainly worthy follow-up to Machine Head. All Purple trademarks are apparent here and where there are Deep Purple features, there is professionalism. And what a professionalism! "Woman From Tokyo", "Mary Long" - masterpieces! Splendid!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Man, is this an album or an open wound ? Hard to tell, really, but it hurts just the same. Who Do We Think We Are is a terrible album and I don't see what possible reason they had to record this abomination. I mean, this is just too painful to listen to. Okay, maybe it's not their worst work, because David Coverdale is yet to come, but there's no effort invested here. It's a great hit and miss album. Rather disappointing given that it was recorded shortly after the great Made In Japan, although, they we're always at their best while playing live on stage. I can still feel the hatred in the studio at that time, it rubbed on the record quite nicely. The band sounds professional enough, but somehow generic, well, in every case, there's no too positive results here. If you look in the production department, you will find a big bad mess which gave a catastrophic sound to the album, especially to Gillan's voice which is barely hearable here. On the up side, he doesn't scream that much anymore or, perhaps, I just don't hear him. And the songs ? It's sad, very sad, mediocre or worse, beside that, they're deadly slow and the band simply can't convince me that they're still Deep Purple (ya know, speed was their trade mark). Okay, at least they got the title of the album right. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE ?!!! The Who ? The Rolling Stones ? I wouldn't take this shit even from them, and I certainly wont take it from Deep Purple. Okay, 'Woman From Tokyo' is annoyingly pop-metallic and not unlike some future efforts by.... by.... by Whitesnake, yeah, that's right, Whitesnake. But still it's a pretty great song. 'Smooth Dancer' is catchy, although just a little. It's mostly downhill from there, 'Rat Bat Blue', 'Mary Long', 'Super Trouper'.... the list goes on. This would be only a 3, but hey, this is actually a very high 3. Ya know, they made a lot of great albums and now I simply expect more from them, I mean, if this was Kansas I would give it an 6. But it isn't. So I wont. We deserve better, and they should give us just that. Like this, it's indeed just a 3.

Robert Prentner <robert.prentner@chello.at> (24.05.2002)

Ok generally I enjoy your reviews very much, but for Who DO We Think We Are your effort was quite shite. You're saying you don't like Deep Purple for not making much progression and the lack of diversity. Now you get a somewhat progressiv and particularly diverse album and you think it's just bad.

Jeff Melchior <pika_chu38@hotmail.com> (12.05.2003)

Am I missing something? It's no Machine Head but it's leagues and streets above albums like Stormbringer or Come Taste the Band. 'Woman From Tokyo' is great heavy pop, 'Mary Long' is a lot of fun, 'Rat Bat Blue' is great proto-meetal and the much-maligned 'Our Lady' is great if a person gives it half a chance.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Injection of new blood made some changes. Some of 'em was good, some wasn't. First, Dave Coverdale had a very strong voice, but his vocal's technique was totally pathetic, so he looked like a loose cannon. Second, Glenn Hughes had a nice voice too, but his funky preferences spoiled Purple's studio works and his idiotic moos ruined their concerts. This album is strong enough, we have some sparks of inspiration here (title song, "Sail Away", "Mistreated"), but we have some sings of further falling-down too ("Lay Down, Stay Down", "What's Goin' On Here"). Ritchie's guitar rules, his blues direction moved Purple's music back to the diverse world of R&B, and Lord's closing instrumental ("A-200") is nice and pleasant. Lyrics isn't quite bad, but not quite good either. Anyway, this album is better than almost all their later studio efforts. Rating is 8, best song is fantastic "Burn" (one of my all-time Purple's favourite songs).

Ed Metternich <eddiemensch@hotbot.com> (06.07.2000)

Hi George

<RichardMelchior@aol.com> (28.09.2000)

I guess this is one of those strange anamolies of life that this - rather than Machine Head or In Rock - is my all-time favorite Deep Purple album. I'm not quite sure why everyone seems to think it's not a "heavy" album (Stormbringer certainly fits that description, but not Burn) because to my metallically-knowledgable ears this is probably their heaviest piece of vinyl since In Rock. 'Burn' (the song) is a NWOBHM song recorded about five or six years ahead of schedule. 'Might Just Take Your Life' is DP at its meanest and 'Mistreated' is their most intense song since 'Child In Time'. 'Lay Down, Stay Down' may be goofy cock rock, but it's GOOD goofy cock rock (we're talking Deep Purple, after all, not Warrant). Blackmore shreds with impunity throughout the record, and that's fine in my books. I'll take Burn over the tinny, tiny production of Machine Head any day.

Richard Hunt <peter.hunt1@virgin.net> (18.02.2001)

This was the first Deep Purple album that I heard by a long way and at first I was impressed, especially by the title song. I actually liked 'Lay down stay down' and 'Mistreated' (btw Rainbow completely _ruin_ this song on Rainbow on Stage, although I don't think it has much to do with the original).

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Burn, baby, burn. Well, it isn't really burning at all. Very average, like George said. Although it is a step up from the awful WDWTWA. Mark III is here for the first time and it's not all that entertaining. I heard somewhere that David Coverdale really is a proper singer, that may or may not be, but he's not in Gillan's class by any means, although, he will get better eventually. Glenn Hughes is kinda a nice singer, but please, even Coverdale sounds somewhat more enjoyable. Overall, the vocals are pitiful. The band was still recuperating from the terror that is WDWTWA, but the good news is that they did pull through somehow. That's nice to know. The album is quite strong and heavy, but most of the songs are way too slow. And yes, they are much better than on WDWTWA. After a lot of rumbling Blackmore is back as well, doing a pleasant job here, not an excellent one, though. Coverdale tries to scream his head off constantly, but that just isn't the thing I wanted to hear (most notably he does it on 'Lay Down, Stay Down'). 'Might Just Take Your Life' is a fairly melodic song, but it's beyond me why did they put it on their 'best of' collection, cause it isn't all that attractive. The title song is an absolute rocker, which rolls away with lots of conviction and power, and it gives us a nod that the band is still a force to be reckon with. Too bad that all the other tracks are promptly sinking in the sea of dullness. I admit, 'Sail Away' is some sort of a inspired song and it's moderately catchy. 'Mistreated' is a bizarre track which jams it's way very long, but it really doesn't go anywhere. Still, it's one of the better tracks here. The remaining songs go up and down like kids on the trampoline, but they don't fall off, so count me happy. All in all, not a big improvement, but an improvement, nevertheless. I do believe this is a 6.

Eric Benac <sonicdeath10@hotmail.com> (05.02.2004)

david coverdale actually isn't really a bad singer. his voice is always in tune with the melody. it's got decent range. and not bad technique...

jeremy stone <jeremystone626@msn.com> (23.08.2004)

Your critique is interesting but I think you are mistaken in thinking that Purple were EVER a 'metal' band. Only In Rock could ever fall into this catagory. Have you not noticed the FUNK on both Fireball and Machine Head? Both these albums contain very funky moments on songs like 'No One Came', 'No, No, No', 'Demon's Eye', 'Never Before' and 'Maybe I'm A Leo'. These aren't even hard rock songs; these are proto rock-funk. I don't think it is really such a leap from Mark 2 Purple to Mark 3. Granted, Stormbringer  was just not hard enough at all and Blackmore has almost side-lined, making it almost disposable but the principles of even that album are to be found in the music of Deep Purple Mark 2. Think Burn is one of the very best Purple albums. 'Mistreated', 'You Fool No One' and the title track stand up to almost anything else they did. Purple always had funk and swing. They knew that the music was all R&B.

Tim B. <mrpieeater@hotmail.com> (10.01.2006)

I'll take a break from commenting in a sec, you're probably sick of it now, but I thought I would say quickly that I think you've given Burn a bum rap. One commenter said how it was actually his favourite Deep Purple album...well...I have to agree...I love this album. It is as solid as solid comes and rocks a helluva lot, not a bad track in sight. The title track 'Burn' does exactly like that. Coverdale's voice is extremely powerful and expressive, and though Hughes is a slight git he slots in with the band excellently. The only complaint I have about Coverdale is that he is an idiot, but that surfaces mostly in this mid to late Whitesnake stuff, and even though in the later days he was spouting repetitive, stupid garbage it is certain that he was and will remain a very skilled vocalist with a great voice. Also Burn has what I believe to be the greatest solo of all time, Blackmore goes all out on this one, and that neo-classically inspired end section is mind-boggling.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Their famous show in Los Angeles (April 1974). I heard European issue of this CD, but I didn't found Japanese CD yet, so I will write my ideas later. Now I make one remark: there are only two official audio versions of this concert (it was also filmed), California Jamming 1974 in Europe and Live At California Jam in USA. All other editions are bootlegs.

Robert Prentner <robert.prentner@chello.at> (26.11.2001)

Hello, due to my personal opinion this album is the best live performance of Deep Purple right after Made in Japan. It features a great version of 'Burn' and a shivering performance of 'Mistreated'. Also did ya lisson to the solo on 'You Fool no One'? This Solo is really outstanding, it can surely compete with 'Highway Star' or 'Child in Time'! (I even mean the MiJ versions), and well another important fact is the singin. It's all about Glenn Hughes! At that time Glenn didn't ruined the show with his wanna-be screaching, which is really really terrible. He sings quite in key (okay... "you kknow we had no tiiiimmme tiiime timmme aaaa" - but I like this passage though) and also Daves voice is very strong and clear. Maybe you should give it another listen!

Henrik Larsen <info@cultmovies.dk> (29.12.2003)

Never owned this album myself, but a friend of mine back in the 80es often played this and other rare DP albums when I was visiting him and I've been looking for it ever since. Reportedly it's due for re-release in late 2004, but alreadly a remastered 2 CD edition is out in Japan, and, yes, including the legendary "lost" version of "Space Truckin'"! You can order it from amazon.com or amazon.co.uk as import - in fact I just did the latter :)

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Dave and Glenn ruined the colossus. When Coverdale and others began to reject some of Ritchie's ideas, Blackmore silently went out to make his solo record, and from this moment he didn't care about band's new album, he just laid some solos over recorded tracks, played on European tour in April 1975 and then slammed the door. There are only four good songs here (title song, "Lady Double Dealer", "The Gypsy" and "Soldier Of Fortune"), the rest is (as George elegantly expressed himself in our private discussion) prime shit. While "Burn" was ruled by Ritchie's guitar, this album rules by Dave's burdening voice. "Hold On" is pure classic Coverdale, dull and monotonous. My friend said about Dave's band, Whitesnake: if you heard one song, you heard the entire album, if you heard the entire album, you heard 'em all. He's bloody well right! So fuck Dave and fuck his pathetic music! My rating is 4. Best song is "Stormbringer".

Jeffrey A Morton <whitesnake5@juno.com> (11.05.2000)

Stormbringer may not me fantastic, but the endless Coverdale bashing is kind of nonsensical. Considering the fact that it was not Coverdale, but Glenn Hughes that was bringing the band into funk, and considering the fact that the BIG split in the band was Coverdale and Blackmore as allies ( against Hughes' funk tinged material ) makes these comments even less understandable. Blackmore was a domaneiring fuck, who managed to drive 4 people out of the band in a matter of four years by his tempermental behavior and somewhat lax attitude on NEW ideas. Come on George, new ideas is what makes good bands great, and the refusal to accept new ideas and make them exiting is what has killed the bands popularity in America. They were associated with a passe' kind of music, because when change beared it's head Purple imploded.

<RichardMelchior@aol.com> (28.09.2000)

Taken on its own terms (ie. as long as you forget it's a Deep Purple record) Stormbringer is not a half-bad album. It's also not a half-good album - at its best it sounds like Bad Company (who I like) and at its worst like the Doobie Brothers (who I most certainly do not), and occasionally tries to sound like Deep Purple.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

I guess, it's the best Mark III album! All tracks are very good with one eternal masterpiece ("Soldier Of Fortune"). Yes, "Soldier Of Fortune" is a big treasure, which will always be in a treasurehouse of rock music. When you ask me, in which composition Coverdale's voice sounds the best, I will answer in "Soldier Of Fortune". I also like "Holy Man", which reminds me of George Harrison too. Good ballad. I like the vocal of Hughes, even more than than the vocal of Coverdale. Nevertheless Coverdale's vocal sounds fine in this album. And I'd like to mention funky rocker "You Can't Do It Right" - groovy. In one word, good album.

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Yes, this is an another abomination from the Purple factory, and I find it almost impossible to enjoy. Stormbringer is an enormous letdown in every way. And even if you remind yourself this is a Mark III album, it's still a big letdown. Like always, the title track is colossal, but everything after that one is very, very lame. I'll admit one thing, though, I love the song 'Stormbringer' a lot. I don't know why but I can't but repeat the lyrics over and over again in my head. I know it's stupid, but hey, it's catchy. Further more, I'll do a big disfavor to myself by admitting it's one of my favorite Deep Purple songs and I would put it in my Top 10 Purple songs any time. Other than that, some humble highlights include 'Lady Double Dealer', 'The Gypsy' and, well, that's all folks. Thank God, Blackmore decided to leave this cradle of filth in time. Blah, a 4. Oh, hell, I forgot, this is still better than WDWTWA, and the title track is awesome. Okay, maybe it is a 5, but no more.

Tim B. <mrpieeater@hotmail.com> (10.01.2006)

Hmm, god, what a terrible review. I understand people not liking this one, with it's funkiness and such...but 'Soldier Of Fortune' a horrible whiny ballad!? Jeez man, did you write that while under the influence of a reality altering substance? Soldier Of Fortune is beautiful, the vocals are superb, it's subtle and mournful. As for the album, I can tell that the spark they had on Burn had dissipated, but I still quite enjoy this album. I liked having the chance to hear a funky Deep Purple, it didn't feel like watering down, in fact it sounded like an interesting new avenue for them. Truthfully, 'Stormbringer' is a neat song but I think it's unsuitable for the album and one of the lesser tracks, excepting the great solo. 'Love Don't Mean A Thing' is ok, but a bit repetitive...the next track is where the album picks up. 'Holy Man' is a neat track, and a good funky number. Now, 'Hold On' is where this new funky style gels together for real, it's a great great song. 'Lady Double Dealer' is way more traditionally Deep Purple though feels a bit watery production wise so not quite...'You Can't Do It Right' is another solid funk number. Skipping ahead, 'Soldier Of Fortune' is an immortal classic. BAD SITE REVIEWER, BAD. You got it wrong! Plus: 'The Gypsy' is fine.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

I almost agrees with your review, George, but while you reviewed some Mark III The Final Concerts tracks, I reviews Made In Europe only (I heard Mark III The Final Concerts already, but I didn't found Japanese CD yet, so I will write comments for Mark III The Final Concerts later). "Burn" is good, Ritchie's solo is pure gold (even when he will be bald old man with trembling hands, Ritchie wipes any other guitarist from the stage!), but when Blackmore putted his soul into "Mistreated", Coverdale's terrible singing ruined Purple's stage magic at all. Jesus, I simply can't survive his vile hoarse. Oh Ronnie James Dio, where are you?! Rainbow's version of "Mistreated" is stronger than Purple's as well as CD-player sounds superior than Edison's phonograph. And even if Coverdale could use his voice right, he couldn't sing "Mistreated". He was full of tearful pity: oh no, my lady's gone and now I'm committing suicide... Somebody shoot this idiot!!! Ritchie wrote and Ronnie James sung this song in completely different mood: yes, she's gone, but I will find her, she will be mine, and even if devil himself will stand between us, I will gnaw his throat through with my own teeth... "Lady Double Dealer" is a big disappointment, when Glenn tries to shout down Dave, you suddenly finds the banality of lyrics. But "You Fool No One" is a real masterpiece, it begins with Jon's improvisation onto "Hava Nagila", the song itself sounds much stronger than in studio, and after it we hears brilliant solo from Ritchie (his famous "Blues") and furious drumming from Paice. Excellent "Strombringer" closes Made In Europe version, so in the bottom line my rating is 8, best song is "You Fool No One".

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Blah, another one. I've heard the 2CD package, and it's just too tiresome to digest it all in only one listen. It's a fairly solid listen throughout, but it isn't on the level of Made In Japan. A decent enough try, but not a lot more than that. Really, Coverdale isn't fit to sing Gillan songs, hell, he's not even fit to sing his own tracks. It's ridiculous to hear Coverdale singing the songs of his predecessor, cause he ain't such a great singer to be able to pull it off. The only singer than succeeded in such a venture was Dio in Sabbath, and Coverdale isn't Dio by a long shot, which Ronnie himself proves singing 'Mistreated' with Rainbow. He easily blew away all similar Coverdale attempts, and he can do it even now, cause for some strange reason he still sings that song with his own band, and it's not even a Rainbow song. Back to Made In Europe.

Jeffrey A Morton <deadflowers78@juno.com> (26.09.2002)

Ummmm...I'm wondering if David Coverdale killed a member of your family George? Or maybe he ran over your dog? Such intense hatred is beyond me. These are rehearsals, never intended to be released. And DC's voice is rough. In fact, Coverdale's voice improved mightily after he left Deep Purple. Who care's if you don't like the standard love and love lost stuff? Purple was never the most intelligent band in the world (lyrically speaking that is) and frankly if you think that gems such as 'Nobody's Daughter' and 'Highway Star' are somehow more "intelligent" than 'Mistreated' or 'Soldier of Fortune'..well then, more power to you. 'The Orange Juice Song' is the best one on here...and frankly I don't mind Coverdale's voice on any of the other tracks (like I said...they're a little rough)

Jim <Bolinhed@aol.com> (06.10.99)

Your review of CTTB does the inevitable: it assesses the album mainly as a comparison to DP Mark II. To really "get it" I think you need to re-listen to it with fresh ears; as its own beast. Songs like "Owed To G" and "You Keep On Moving" deserve it at the very least. The singing on "This Time Around" sounds stragne because it is Glenn Hughes, not Coverdale, singing. I got into this album late in the game, and as a Bolin fan more than a Purp fan. It took quite some time to catch a few things: one thing is that it has some of Ian Paice's best drumming ever, hands down. The second thing is that as a groove album, like any groove album, it needs some listening to distinguish what become VERY evident differences and details in all the songs. Bolin's opinion, post-DP? He felt that they shouldve re-named the band rather than have to deal with assessments that would inevitably be made from an "I am expecting the classic Purple sound" direction. He was right. As you correctly stated, this was not his or Purple's finest moment. I advise you to check out Bolin's TEASER or better yet one of the fifteen (15!!!!) CDs of previously unreleased stuff that the Bolin Archives have released in the past 6 years!! Nice work overall, this page has been giving me loads of enjoyment.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Very strange, but I'm still agreeing with George. He's completely right, this dull effort could be named as anything but not Deep Purple. Blackmore left, and without his signature guitar Purple turned into the ordinary funky band. Just one objection (as always): "You Keep On Moving" is masterpiece. But even this song didn't save all that garbage. My rating is 3.

Jeffrey A Morton <whitesnake5@juno.com> (14.05.2000)

Again, George you go on comparing Coverdale to Gillan, and wrongly blame Coverdale for the funk element in the band. First of all, it's Hughes that sings "This Time Around", and second of all, if you listen to some concert recordings from this peroiod, David Coverdale's voice is at it's worst. Cracking and breaking, it signaled what every singer goes through called "Vocal Change." His voice was maturing, but it had to go through some sort of second puberty to get to it's "peak" which was in early Whitesnake.

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Well, Come Taste The Band is just to much for a man to take. It's even worse than WDWTWA, and doesn't that says it all. I didn't really believed this is possible, but now I learned my lesson. This isn't Deep Purple at all. I even think this isn't really an album. It's just a strange attempt to make a imitation of a Purple record. Was I clear enough now ? Who cares. Undisputed their worst album ever. Okay, Coverdale is getting better, but not quite there yet, and Hughes is, well, Hughes. Paice drums like a madman, and Bolin is a solid replacement for Blackmore. But there's something missing. It's a pretty heavy album, but a funky one, and I don't like funk AT ALL. Hmm, what about the songs ? Yeah, there's some minor triumphs here like the frantic opener 'Comin' Home' and, say, for example 'Drifter'. 'You Keep On Moving' sucks ass, but I wouldn't say it's the worst song here. Different, yeah, that's an acceptable word, it's different. Overall, the album is bad, but not puking bad, just bad. I'll give it a 2, but you funksters would probably give it a 5. I wouldn't blame you if you do.

mahatma1960 <mahatma1960@msn.com> (18.11.2002)

As a Bolin freak,I thought this was a Great album.I was 15 when it came out and thought it was better than stormbringer.The thing about Funk is that it is based on syncopation and Grooves.Tommy is a Master Musician/Guitarist,listen to "Dealer" or the slidework on "comin home".I feel Purple did the music world and Tommy a Great disservice when they made him play like Ritchie on the old tunes.I also think the song selection was real cheesy ,how could any self respecting guitarist play "Smoke.." or 'Lazy' without getting Bummed out.As mentioned before Check out Teaser or Cobhams Spectrum for some of the best Guitar ever.

<Donald.Downs@ocfl.net> (13.03.2004)

I seem to be of the minority on several of these sights. Maybe it's because I didn't get into Deep Purple until Stormbringer, so I didn't unfairly compare it to what came before. But I love Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band. When those albums came out when I was a teenager into partying and chasing girls and getting high. Music was just part of the party. And if the rock and roll had a little funk, then the girls liked it more too. By the way, I just bought the double CD that pairs Burn with Stormbringer. When listened to these back to back, I think Stormbringer totally out rocks Burn. Burn is just too slow and plodding. Still like it though, it's only rock and roll.

Tagbo Munonyedi <grimtraveller@hotmail.com> (09.02.2006)

I think this is a superb album. I shouldn't, but I do. I think that it's because at the time I heard it, I was in love with Shades.... In rock & Fireball and a host of other heavy rocking albums. But I'd heard Styx and Jethro Tull were heavy bands and the first albums I heard from each of those bands were anything but......however, I got out of my initial disappointment and grew to dig Cornerstone and Heavy Horses and this gave me a slightly different take on albums by " heavy " groups. I discovered that a number of heavy bands did have a different side to them, experimental, mellower - it's something that I grew to appreciate pretty quickly. Now, Deep Purple were the first heavy rock band I got into and I loved their debut and the legendary MK 2 albums and I was drawn to this one by the snazzy cover, priceless ! So I traded my copy of the Stones' " Black and Blue " for this [ the guy I lent it to never gave it back, so I kept this ! 26 years ago !! ] and listened......it wasn't the heavy extravaganza some of the MK 2 stuff was, but it had 10 fine songs. David Coverdale sings brilliantly and actually writes some good lyrics. Of course Tommy Bolin is no Ritchie Blackmore [ no one could be. He was a one off as far as I'm concerned ] but he was also a good writer and he played some lovely guitar, very different guitar. Sure, he was funky [ he'd had plenty of time to be - he'd played on one of Billy Cobham's albums and at the time, Cobham was the funkiest drummer on earth; he was too damn funky ] but he didn't seem to waste a note.....Glenn Hughes was a great vocalist too and gave Purple a very interesting sound. He was never a great bassist, but he did make the most of the little that he had in that dept [ I loved his singing and playing with Trapeze, a criminally ignored and underated group ] and he had a fantastic tone on some of the numbers. Funnilly enough, Lord and Paice seem strangely subdued on this album...........or so I thought. Hundreds of listens over the years have shown me that their work on " Come taste the band " is the opposite of the kind of sparks that had made their name. On this one, they play subtly, mature. I disagree with George in his assessment of Jon Lord as "just a good organ player..." I think he was a magnificent hard rocker with many strings to his bow and to a large extent, for me anyway, defined the playing of the organ in heavy rock. His duels with Blackmore were some [ are some ] of the most fascinating in the annals of popular music. Too high praise ? Well, I dig them anyhow. But here it's like he and Paice decide to go downmarket to let the others shine. Or maybe they were uninspired with loss of Blackmore and could see the writing on the wall and decided to have one last fling of the javelin.... " Going home " - a delightful singalong opener, the lyrics are dumb on first listen but they remind me of " Speed King " and have really grown on me. I love the song, ditto " Lady Luck ". This is funk, sort of hard rock funk with the rhythm of the words and the way they scan more important than their actual meaning. The opening words to " Getting Tighter " are among the best in the Purple catalogue [ " when nighttime comes, and I'm 10,000 miles away....." ] - it's such a shame that the rest of it doesn't match, but it's still a brilliant song. " Dealer " is a funny one, it seems like a nondescript sleazy crawler that goes nowhere at first. But after about 3 years, I REALLY listened to it [ I was on the old 28 bus in London in the days when it was a double decker ] and the riff that runs through it is insane.....but superb. I've never heard it the same since, it's a great piece. " I need love " is the weakest offering on the album for me, it reminds me of what Whitesnake would become in the lyric stakes. Yet, again, the overall sound of the song is such that it turns it around into a good track. The 2nd side is consistently good IMHO...." Drifter " has great words put to a simplistic riff that is just so rugged, it's amazing that they get it to work, but it does and Paicey shows how subtle dynamics can create different impressions without seeming to move away at all. The riff of the album is found in the beautiful " Love Child ". Once again sporting a great set of lyrics [ at least in the first verse ] and singing, the only disappointment is the solo, not because it's rubbish [far from it , it's lovely ], but because such a mood has been established that bringing it down IMO just was not the place to go. The tension is lost.....However, still a grand song. " This time around " is so unpurplelike, but once more, the different side to the band pays dividends. It's a piece that is hauntingly sad and beautiful [ as for different, try " anyone's daughter " or " never before "; both great MK 2 tracks ] and the instrumental that it segues into, " Owed to G " is equally so. More than any other track on the album it transports me back to when I was 17 and getting cynical ! I don't know why. It's one of those tracks that just tugs and tugs at the emotions. " You keep on moving " I think is a worthy closer. I think the melody is wicked and the chorus has the most gorgeous hook and good lyrics to match with fine and imaginative ensemble playing. I've not thought about whether it's a minor classic before [ in fact, I've never thought of CTTB at all in this way....strange, that, because it seemed to go without saying on their other albums ] but I do love it and Hughes' bass tone here is THE LICK ! All in all then, a grand album. In my perfect world, the Purple story would've ended right here. Maybe this album is best listened to pretending it's someone else, but I respect the guys for this and I think it is a worthy addition to the Purple canon.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Purple's all-time low concert effort. I don't want to discuss this shit at all, I just makes a few corrections. A) Coverdale and Hughes NEVER sung the third verse of "Smoke On The Water". Dave sung the first verse, Glenn sung the second, and together they sung the first verse once again. B) Purple Mark IV played in American tour (early 1976) much more tightly. Their Long Beach gig was released as Deep Purple In Concert in USA by King Biscuit Flower Hour and as Flying On The Wings Of Russian Foxbat (Live In California 1976) in Europe. If you Tommy Bolin's fan, you'll better find this concert. C) George said that 1976 tracks on his CD sounded rather badly. The first release of Deep Purple In Concert by KBFH (in white sleeve) was deleted 'cause its' sound quality was absolutely terrible. The sound quality of the second release (black sleeve) is much more improved, so I think that your CD was copied from the first release, George. D) Don't die of laughing, George! There is extended 2CD release of Japanese concert coming! Yes, I'm thinking the same thing...

Gary Kritcher <MTVTXNetherlands.@mtvne.com> (06.11.2000)

Hi, the reason that the album is dominated by Jon Lord's keyboards was that just prior to the gig (and therefore the recording) Tommy fell asleep on his arm and couldn't get all the feeling back into it by the time he went onstage that night. Consequently, his guitar playing was not exactly 100%! For the album release they had to cover this up somehow, the only way of doing that was to boost Lord's keyboard and wind down Tommy's guitar. And now you know!!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

WHY ??? WHY ??? Purple obviously completely lost it during this show. To be more precise, they lost it even BEFORE the show began, with Tommy Bolin being stoned like a mountain. Yeah, it's terrible, even Glenn Hughes said this shouldn't have been released at all. And when he thinks that, you can imagine how f***** horrendous it is. Now, we all know what was happening with Bolin, but didn't they knew it to? So why ? Even Jon Lord later said that they dragged Bolin all over the world destroying Purple's name. Now, I have to ask again. Why the hell did they insist to continue touring, when it was clear that Bolin can't cut it anymore ? I don't know. And I suppose they also don't know why. At least they amplified Lord to the maximum, so you can't hear too much of Bolin's "creative noises", and that's a good thing. Oh, well, whatever. I don't care anymore, cause they did, eventually, made up for this '75-'95 album accidents with Purpendicular. And this ? This is a big fat ZERO.

No reader comments yet.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Fantastic live rarities. "Hush", "Wring That Neck", "Child In Time" and "Black Night" are masterpieces. Two studio outtakes didn't catch me, there is nothing spectacular in it. Your review is acceptable, George, but here are a few remarks: a) your (or your CD's) track order is wrong, the right order is "Painted Horse", "Hush", "Wring That Neck", "Child In Time", "Black Night" and "Cry Free", b) live performance of "Child In Time" isn't the definitive, version from Scandinavian Nights is much more extended (around 18 minutes!) and Ian's singing at the second part of the song is his strongest vocalise for ever and ever, c) this CD was re-released in Japan around a two years ago in original cardboard sleeve, so now it stands on my shelf among others and it still available in record stores. My rating is 8, best songs here are "Child In Time" and furious "Black Night".

Henrik Larsen <info@cultmovies.dk> (28.12.2003)

I bought this on vinyl many years ago, lost it, finally regained it on cd this Christmas (the Japanese release). Not only is it a great collection; track this one down and you have no need for buying the current remastered releases of dull albums (IMHO) Concerto for Group & Orchestra and Who Do We Think We Are. Plus no stupid Roger Glover remixes!

Matthew Spaltro <ferretface40@hotmail.com> (17.12.2002)

Good sound quality? You have got to be kidding me Mr. Starostin. Everything is mushed together in one big mess like virtually every 70s rock album before and after it. Anyway about the album.

Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (15.10.99)

I pretty much agree that the band simply doesn't have half as much power as it used to, but I'd give it a 6 because none of the songs are particularly nasty or dull (except possibly "Wasted Sunsets" and "Under The Gun"), and I love "Knockin' At Your Back Door" (astonishing intro and truly memorable sing-along chorus... maybe a little like 'metallized Yes', but still a great song) and the title track (again, great melody and epic feel, but not totally a "Kashmir" knockoff). The rest of it is very passable, with the lyrics being a particular lowpoint. Can't argue with you that Gillan's voice is shot either, or that the rest of the band plays like they simply don't care most of the time.

Glenn Wiener <Glenn.Wiener@Entex.com> (15.10.99)

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Deep Purple does not comprimise their style for no one. The guys reunited and what did they give us. The same slam bam thank you maam style that they had in 1971 with Machine Head. The songs are good but like you mention the songs are considerably slower with a little less feeling put in by the band. But for the most part they are all good. A few synthesizer effects but nothing like the way other classic rock bands embraced the eighties.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

The monster woke up. Somebody enjoyed it, somebody didn't. Old problems: Gillan lost his voice forever, lyrics are vulgar and senseless, sound is clear, but the mix is unexplainable weird, guitar, voice, organ, everything drowns into hammering drums. Oh thank you very much, Roger Glover, Mr. Fucking Great Producer! New problem: band's new material sounds like Ian Gillan's dull solo projects ("Under The Gun", "Mean Streak", "Not Responsible"). Of course, here we have some nice moments (title song, "Hungry Daze", "Wasted Sunsets"), but the whole album looks shapeless and idle. My rating is 5. Best song is "Perfect Strangers".

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

It's a good comeback. All the songs are good, even VERY good, except "Under The Gun" and "Nobody's Home", which are not bad, but fail in comparision with others. The best three songs here are the title track, "Knocking At Your Back Door" (a masterpiese, along Deep Purple bests!) and "Wasted Sunsets". It sounds like something between Rainbow and solo Gillan, well, it isn't bad, I like Rainbow (especially late-Rainbow) and solo Gillan.

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

It's sad, really.

Jesse Sturdevant <jsturdevant@mchsi.com> (22.06.2005)

Just FYI, Jon Lord had been working with Whitesnake up until the reunion and Ian Paice was with Gary Moore (he had a brief stint in Whitesnake around 1979-80--3/5 of the Mark III lineup---yay). If you're interested, I have several of Gillan albums on disc I could send you. I know they're hard to find.

<Endaveur@cs.com> (03.12.2005)

I think it was a year later that the album Perfect Strangers was released and if you think Ian Gillan lost it by that time, well that's all you have to say for me to know you pretty well. The song itself "Perfect Strangers" is also in the top five. Imagine, Ian Gillan having 2 of the top 5 kickass songs of the last 25 years. And I'm not even that huge of a fan of his.

Henry Koedam <koedam@home.com> (06.11.2001)

Hi, I enjoyed reading your Deep Purple reviews. In The Absence Of Pink meaning females absent from the audience due to the fact of heavy rainfall before and during that show. As i am sure you know girls hate rain. As for the CD it is the better of the two live releases of that time period, the other being Nobody's Perfect. That title is true to its words. Also your site is great.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Harder than the predecessor, but problems are the same. Ritchie did some fantastic solos and saved some songs. While "Bad Attitude", "Spanish Archer", "Strangeways" and "Dead Or Alive" are full of strong and energetic playing from Mr. Blackmore, the rest of the album still looks like pathetic Ian Gillan's solo efforts. This is the best Purple's album from 80's (could somebody imagine that in 1972?). Rating is 6, best song is "Strangeways".

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

Very decent album. I will not contemplate every song (only will say, that the best song here is the opening track "Bad Attitude"). Deep Purple trademarks are apparent here and I see no problem with this album. There are no such masterpieces like "Highway Star" here (maybe only "Bad Attitude" is a masterpiece), but it's a good, exciting and worth buying album. I like it. But the next album (Slaves And Masters) is a real MASTERPIECE despite what a lot of people think about it. Yes, Slaves And Masters is one of the greatest Deep Purple albums!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Much better than Strangers with 'Strangeways' being the best track by far. 'Spanish Archer' is kinda nice, and 'Bad Attitude' rocks as well. Another good track is 'Black & White', which has that cute harmonica that adds diversity to the album. The rest is very much acceptable and I would say that it deserves to be considered a minor classic. Now, it isn't groundbreaking, but it's certainly a bit better than the previous one. House Of Blue Light, indeed, I see the light, and it's quite strong. A solid 6.

No reader comments yet.

Bryan Boyd Jackson Jr. <bjackson@brandywine.net> (25.07.2001)

I don't rememeber any of these songs either! Actually, I do remember the ones I liked and disliked. "Breakfast In Bed" and "Fortuneteller" were excellent songs, and reminded me of the Purple of the early 70's. "King Of Dreams" made me vomit. "Love Conquers All" sounds like "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. And the rest sound exactly the same. Overall, I'd give it a 6.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (30.08.2001)

I adore this album! I know, not a lot of people like it, but this fact always seemed strange to me, 'cos IMHO Slaves And Masters is the best Purple album since Machine Head. The first and the main reason of liking it is magnificent Joe Lynn Turner's vocal. He's one of my most favourite all-time vocalists, the kind of vocals I like. Joe comes close to matching Gillan as a singer and he's way better than Dio at this point (though Ronnie James Dio has got good impressive vocals as well). For instance, Turner performed "Catch The Rainbow" better than Dio in Tokyo 1984. So the best man to replace Gillan was Joe Lynn Turner and you're right on the money, that perhaps Coverdale could ruin these songs (at least Burn - typed Coverdale, 'cos Coverdale's vocals improved during Seventies).

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Slaves And Masters is just Rainbow in disguise. This album, along with Straight Between The Eyes and Bent Out Of Shape might as well be a trilogy and exactly that is the problem here. This sounds like late Rainbow, and I don't like late Rainbow at all, so I'll give this album a really low rating, but if you like Joe Lynn Turner, you'll definitely like Masters. I don't, but I will acknowledge it's a pretty solid album. Turner is a quality singer, but much lower down the echelon if compared with the likes of Gillan and Dio. He's an even more capable vocalist than Coverdale and Hughes, and he does give some human features to this material. But the problem is that this same material has been used, well, a million times in Rainbow. Further more, the lyrics here must have been written by Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons, cause they're crap. Blackmore is, I suppose, good enough here, but he sounds so, dammit, average. I don't know which song is the best, cause they're all generic and boringly similar so I just wanna puke my head off and then take a vacation to recuperate. Perhaps I'll go to Moscow and see the Winter palace, or something. Yeah, I wouldn't mind to take a trip to Russia, why not ? After that highly artistic smash (s)hit 'Wind Of Change' by the Scorpions I'm very interested to see it. Or I could just go to Germany and find those Scorpions members and drag them to the street and have them SHOT one by one. But I digress.

Liljana <liljana.bazzara@ri.hinet.hr> (24.02.2002)

For an late period Rainbow, this one would probably be a milestone album - for Deep Purple it isn't. However, late period Rainbow wasn't that good to start with. Slaves and Masters suck as a Deep Purple effort 'cos there is no real input from Jon Lord or Ian Paice - their role here is to be the best possible session/back-up musicians for Ritchie's riff fiesta, but one must remember that Ritchie's riff fiesta is the best riff fiesta on the face of earth, so it kinda saves the album. But still, it is Ritchie Blackmore's solo album, as far as I'm concerned, so in the context of Deep Purple I will rate it a poor 3 (overall 5). And, yeah, the title is good - Masters and Slaves. It would be even closer to the thruth if it was named Master and Slaves, geddit?

Alexandr Zaitsev <zaitsev@perm.ru> (22.05.2003)

Hi! So, here comes the worst Purple album ever. This is not mediocrity, this is disaster. The whole CD of monotonous heavy metal. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who can't tell the songs apart. The songs are dumb and obscene(guess what 'Fire in the Basement' is about.:). Joe has that " wanna be a popstar" voice. Horrible. Much worse than Rainbow. IMHO,the rating should be much lower. Can't help singing along to the 'King of Dreams', though. A silly pop-hard or pop-metal, however you put it, but it has got its hook. And its rather humorous,too as Joe seems to be singing about himself.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Gillan out, Gillan in. Nothing changed and I can't say more that I said about Perfect Strangers and The House Of Blue Light. Ritchie's solos still rules sometime (title song, "Anya"), sometimes they did some nostalgic R&B pieces ("Ramshackle Man"), sometimes they makes me funny ("Time To Kill"), curios ("A Twist In The Tale") or sad ("Solitaire"). All unmentioned songs are unremarkable, still makes in Gillan-style. Ritchie was damn right when he said to others, "You can continue to screwing yourselves, but I'm leaving!" My rating is 6, my favourite song is "Solitaire" (only 'cause it is not quite usual as all others).

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Another bad reunion album from Mark II in the form of The Battle Rages On. This time, it's even worse than Perfect Strangers. It's disappointing, although expected. They're all professionals, but the album doesn't sound too imaginative after a careful listen. Too bad. I like only three songs here. The title track, 'Anya' and 'One Man's Meat'. 'Anya' is probably the best, cause I've always been a sucker for Blackmore's eastern oriented compositions, like, you know, all that Rainbow stuff. It's still bad, though. My rating is 4.

Scott <scottwil@eden.rutgers.edu> (07.12.2001)

Mark II reunited once again, but ended up with a very uninspired mess of an album! But, don't let that fool you; every single band member does their best on here to turn out a new product, except maybe for Ritchie.

Alex Zaitsev <zaitsev@perm.ru> (23.11.2003)

I'd like to add a little piece of trivia. The Battle Rages On was originally recorded with Joe Lynn Turner, who was fired when this album was already recorded. The record company refused to publish it and demanded to bring Gillan back to the band. Glover had no choice. He went to England and re - recorded 'Solitaire' and 'Time to Kill' with vocals and lyrics by Gillan. When he showed that stuff to Ritchie, Richard said: "Gillan fucking sucks!!! I know a guy who'll do the job much better". He then suggested some unknown singer. Well, you know what happened later: Gillan returned. For better. I'll never understand why you give this album a lower rating than the utter horror of Slaves and Masters. Note that this has nothing to do with my own opinion. The contradiction is in the reviews. You count 0 good and 1 bad song in Slaves and Masters. The Battle Rages On gets 2 good songs, 0 bad ones and a lower rating. Maybe I'm a moron, but that equals 1 bad song > 2 good ones. Weird, huh?

Robert Prentner <robert.prentner@chello.at> (24.05.2002)

Listen again to Ritchie Blackmore! Maybe he hasn't got his heart into it, but when he's on, his playing is shit hot!!

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Only Purple stands on the same rake twice. It's a good album, but not Steve Morse, not any other guitarist will never be a replacement for Ritchie, and without his guitar this is a completely another band, tightly played band, but not Deep Purple. New Purple couldn't (and will never) catch me as old Purple did. My rating here is 5. No best song. PS. Purple tries hard, but Blackmore's solo projects (Rainbow / Blackmore's Night) still wipes 'em anyway.

Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (02.05.2000)

My personal tastes say this album is actually better than In Rock and Machine Head! Even though I had read glowing reviews of this one, I'm still quite shocked at how consistent and high quality most of it is. Maybe it's because I'm blown away by Steve Morse's knack for creating great riffs and playing melodic solos that serve the song perfectly (see the amazing mood piece "Loosen My Strings"). Maybe it's because the lyrics are actually good. Maybe it's because the production values are much better than their earlier stuff. And finally, maybe these guys may not have as much speed as before, but technically, they've still got it, particularly the rhythm section of Glover and Paice (the powerful, fun grooves of "Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic", "Rosa's Cantina", and the not as substantial but still good "The Purpendicular Waltz").

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

I've haven't heard this album, but I've heard the song 'Ted The Mechanic'. Also, I have Abandon, which should be a lot like this album. Based on my opinion of 'Ted' this album could be their best in a long, long time, I would even dare to say, since Machine Head. The song itself is absolutely unlike anything they ever did, even in their funky days with Coverdale. Funky riff, groovy atmosphere, quite an up tempo song., but of course if the rest of the songs is similar in construction and somewhat slower, than this album surely suffers of the same problems as Abandon. It's probably a little monotonous, because all of the songs have similar funky patterns, but on the other hand they have some amazingly fresh riffs. Now, Steve Morse is a capable guitarist, perhaps not like Blackmore but better than Tommy Bolin, and his technique most certainly is impeccable. Unfortunately, some of his soloing and riffs do sound quite robotic sometimes, but I can't say that I don't like them. The band is still Deep Purple as they use a limited amount of power chords and distortion. It would be honest to say that 'Ted The Mechanic' isn't a highlight in the manner of 'Highway Star', 'Burn' or 'Stormbringer', but astonishing in it's own right. The band sounds very unlike any other contemporary band with this song (and by that I mean Aerosmith, AC/DC, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bon Jovi as much as the likes of, I dunno, Matchbox Twenty and Barenaked Ladies). Of course, that might very well be because of Lord's organ, which you can't find on your average big bad hard rock band. It is a wonder how the guys still hold on, as much as it's a wonder that they still use the organ, which is really great. Did I mention that Jon Lord is my favorite band member ? I didn't ? Well, he is, especially after Blackmore left. With him, the band still maintains some traces of their classic sound, especially when he does a solo. In every case, his organ really reminds us that this is still Purple and not some shitty pop-metal band. And, yes, we have Ian Gillan. I never liked his screaming all that much, so I'm rather content with the current state of his voice. It's more rough, screechy and gruffer. Older, for sure. Anyway, if the songs on Purpendicular are like those on Abandon, then I would give it a 9.

Scott <scottwil@eden.rutgers.edu> (17.10.2001)

When I bought Purpendicular, I had no idea what to expect. I only started getting into Deep Purple in 1999 and only purchased Machine Head beforehand. When I popped this sucker into my car on the ride home from the mall, I was blown away. After getting back home, I restarted the whole cd and listened to it all the way through. It was certainly one of the freshest, energetic, and diverse records I had ever heard. Before Purpendicular, I had never felt the demand to listen to a whole album in its entirety on that same day. Now, almost two years after first listening to Purpendicular, and having bought the whole DP back catalogue, I can honestly say that this is my favorite DP record. It's really very hard to say that this is their best record, considering the awesome metallic crunch of In Rock and Machine Head. But, for me, this is their best. It's their best because I never heard a 30+ year hard rock band ever sound as diverse, energetic, and just plain rockin.'

Dan Miller <Dan.Miller@phs.com> (26.08.2002)

I've been kind of old school about it all - "No Ritchie, no Deep Purple - end of story!" (though that logic never inspired me to get Slaves & Masters), and though I really like The Battle Rages On, I could sense the end was near and could never accept a Blackmore-less Deep Purple. Plus, a new label, a good but I-once-thought-unremarkable guitarist named Steve Morse and a new album with a stupid name and ugly cover artwork, I said to myself, "My, how the mighty have fallen." Well, I'll be damned! Damn me to the darkest pits of hell for writing off Deep Purple! I saw them (together with Dio and the Scorpions), liked Steve Morse's contributions to the band and rediscovered my dedication to get all the worthwhile Deep Purple CDs. So there I was one day standing in line to buy gasoline at a Shell station, and there sat Purpendicular on a CD display case with all sorts of cut-out-bin losers like the Gin Blossoms and Meredith Brooks. Offended, even hurt, that the great Deep Purple could possibly be relegated to gas-station status, I bought the CD and hoped for the best ... and damn near got it. This is quite possibly the most solid and consistent Deep Purple effort in years. After quite a few listens, the impact has not lessened, and I strongly believe there are no fillers in here. I won't waste space and list the best tunes, but I have to give props to "Loosen My String" (I was astounded to hear what sounded like a Celine Dion-type keyboard intro morph into a moving up-tempo Purple ballad) and "A Touch Away" (an excellent pop showcase with a sensitive, moving vocal performance by Gillan). Yes, Blackmore is gone, but listen to how Gillan, Glover and Lord really step up for this album! And Steve complements Lord's hammond with some brilliant, slithery leads and colorful full-chord passages. Oh, and check out what has to be the best production EVER on a Deep Purple album. A masterful "comeback" for a band that has to keep coming back to remain relevant. And in a rock 'n' roll world dominated on one side by Aeroshit and the other by Stinkin Park, it's a struggle that Deep Purple does not deserve.

No reader comments yet.

Tikhonov Konstantin <heavy-horses@mtu-net.ru> (02.04.2000)

Pathetic copy of Purpendicular. While Purpendicular was fresh and diverse, Purple's next effort is uninspired and dull. If they will make another album in this monotonous pseudo-hard style, I'm think that I will die somewhere in the middle of the listening. Hey, men, be honest, you're NOT Deep Purple anymore! My rating is 2.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

Deep Purple still rule and still play fabulous! They still sound marvellous! Steve Morse is a a good choice to replace Ritchie, even Ritchie himself likes him and says, that he's a brilliant guitarist. Ian Gillan screams almost as good as he did it thirty years ago. What about album itself, it's very good. Especially I adore beautiful bluesy ballad "Don't Make Me Happy" and "Fingers To The Bone". Deep Purple rule! I saw them in Moscow last year, it was awesome!!!

Thomas Paar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (06.09.2001)

Hmm, excellent. Hmm, maybe not. Okay, it starts aggressive with another Mark IV classic, 'Any Fule Kno That'. It goes on with the equally powerful 'Almost Human' and another up tempo classic 'Seventh Heaven'. Now, I'm quite surprised that you didn't pointed out this gem. Okay, it is a lot like other songs, but it's still the first song that got in my ear, besides 'Any Fule Kno That', which I previously heard. And, in fact, it's because of 'Ted The Mechanic' and 'Any Fule Kno That' that I realized the band still has something to offer. After realizing that, I tried to find Purpendicular but I had no luck, so I bought Abandon. Wow !!! Superb. Tightly played, groovy, funky album, and I liked it a lot. Awesome. On the downside, it's plagued with fillers like 'Watching The Sky' (I detest that song mostly because of the awful lyrics), 'Evil Louie' and the completely unnecessary twins 'Whatsername' and 'She Was' (one of those two songs would be enough). On the other hand, I can't say that any of those songs is truly bad, cause they are cleverly constructed and well played, and filled with quality riffs. But still, they sound somewhat unnecessary. Okay, I'm probably a little insane, cause I kinda enjoy 'Jack Ruby'. Oh, well, what can I do ? Nothing, I guess. The ballads are nice, certainly not groundbreaking, but refreshing since most of the other songs are mid tempo. In every case, I would rather listen to 'Don't Make Me Happy' than Aerosmith's 'Crying' or 'I Don't Want To Miss The Awards' The rest of the album is simply amazing with Purple rocking hard on tracks like ''69' and 'Bludsucker'. Overall, the album has it's boring moments, being quite slow and not at all diverse. I would say it is a masterpiece, if taken on it's own terms. One of their best, and by that I mean I would rank it up their five best records any day. That said, I'll give it a 9. And if it wasn't for that awful midtempo and similarity I would probably give it a 10.

Scott <scottwil@eden.rutgers.edu> (17.10.2001)

Hey, George. Before I give my thoughts on Deep Purple's Abandon, I have to say that I enjoy your witty reviews and your impeccable knack for being blunt.

Patrick <pmid@telus.net> (12.11.2003)

I have long enjoyed your review page and think your assessment of my favorite band is fair, balanced and well thought out. Oh, there are a few points of discourse. I don't quite think the Coverdale era is as horrible as you make out, but other than that...

<siddharta@gmx.net> (15.11.2003)

Jon Lord wasn't sacked. He retired because he didn't want to tour anymore. Please correct that mistake and don't make people believe in things that aren't true. Except that, your site is really good. [Sorry! Correction made! - G.S.]

Youri Volyansky <yourivolyansky@hotmail.com> (18.11.2003)

Thank you for the beautiful site and nice extensive review. Unfortunately you forgot to mention the new Purple's sound producer - Michael Bradford. It seems that Bananas sound owes much to this guy. Read his interview on http://electricbasement.com/interview_michaelbradford_july2003.htm

Ainars Zhebeerklis <ezelitis@one.lv> (21.11.2003)

The band has truly put out an effort of rather high standarts but I still somehow think that reviewing new album you tend to follow your own attitude towards records from the early Sixties - telling the reader to remember "it ain't no masterpiece but it ain't no 1967 either". It might be actually true but I still cannot agree that Bananas are in the league of In Rock and Machine Head. Although I have no complaints about any extremely bad songs that would ruin the disc, sometimes the Purple Ones sound like old generic rockers (which they actually are). And the line "Mama don't take that train" by the way it's sung reminds me of "Hit the Road Jack", whoever performed that one.

Jeff <historynut@bright.net> (22.01.2006)

Well George, I just read all of your reviews of Deep Purple's "Steve Morse Era" if you will, and by George, I believe there is hope for you yet! I half expected you to trash him! Congradulations for being able to recognize and appreciate perhaps the most amazing person to ever pluck a guitar string. I saw him live twice - once during his brief stint with Kansas back in the mid-80's and with his old band The Dregs a few years later. You gotta SEE to BELIEVE! And I'm not so sure I still believe......................