WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE

the time 1973 rolled around, Deep Purple was exhausted after constant touring and the tensions in the band were making things very difficult for the band to work together. The Mark II line-up still made up the band and was continuing to be very successful despite all of the tensions. This was true all through the recording sessions of their 7th studio album. The band couldn't work together, so studio time was split up on an individual basis. They were also having a hard time agreeing on what songs should go on the next album 'Who Do We Think We Are'. Rumors were that Gillan and Blackmore were not getting along, but the band blames the countless hours that they were pushed to continue pumping out albums for the corporate labels. After their extensive touring, they were pushed into the studio to make this album. However, even with all the tension in the band and the fact that the critics didn't like the album much, it still was one of the band's biggest selling albums.

It starts off with their hit single 'Woman from Tokyo', and this starts thing off very promisingly with one of my favorite introductions from the band and the excellent contributions from everyone involved from Gillan's dynamic vocals, Lord's excellent organ and piano work and the driving guitar riff and passages. It's interesting that the single version of the song leaves out the psychedelic section in the middle of the track. 'Mary Long' is not quite as interesting a song, a little more of a less interesting hook and instrumental backup, and sort of a less engaging vocal, even though the lyrical content was pertinent with a chastisement at the hypocrital moralities of the older generation of the time. The chorus is much less interesting, though it is effectively damning. The tracks continue to stay around the 3-4 minute duration for a while, with the uninteresting 'Super Trooper' that even the psychedelic effects added to the vocals in the chorus can't save this one. In fact, it takes the steam right out of the song. 'Smooth Dancer' finishes off the first side (What? Already?). This one is definitely more solid, but it's also lacking anything original or interesting. It's okay, but nothing special, except for the instrumental break which is too short, but has also been done before, but much better.

The 2nd side has the longer tracks on it, but even then they are still between 5 ' 7 minutes and only has 3 tracks. I can imagine a big complaint here would have been the short duration of the album. The movement from the psychedelic sound to a more blues-rock sound is quite apparent on this side, though the songs are a bit better with a little more jamming and a great vocal by Gillan on 'Place in Line' where he sings in an atypical lower register on the verses. It's a pretty great change up, and probably the best track on the album, especially when the tempo picks up towards the middle to more of a peppy boogie/swing beat and a nice fusion sounding guitar (and later organ) solo. 'Rat Bat Blue' is also pretty good, but is mostly saved because of the instrumental section which at least is a little big longer than the ones on the first side. 'Our Lady' ends the album with a rather mediocre track unfortunately.

The 2000 remastered edition adds seven bonus tracks that help to lengthen the duration of the album. It starts with the '99 Remix of 'Woman from Tokyo' which gives it a brighter tone and certain things stand out a bit more, with a longer jam session at the end. Then there is an alternate bridge section (only that section) from 'Woman from Tokyo', just the part that slows down with a more ambient style. This is followed by an out-take that was not used on the album called 'Painted Horse'. This is an okay track that probably would have been a better choice for a closer than the 'Our Lady' track. It features some harmonica use and a great guitar solo. There is a '99 remix of 'Our Lady' that adds another minute to the original, but still doesn't do much to make the track much better. There is a short clip from the writing session of 'Rat Bat Blue' followed by the '99 remix of that song with that brighter sound that makes the individual instruments stand out better. This all accumulates to the long, 11 minute 'First Day Jam' that helped to generate a lot of the ideas for the final album, and actually shows the band working together (which was a rare occurrence at this time). The only member missing was Roger Glover who was apparently stuck in traffic. Blackmore plays the bass for this session. It's nice to hear the band actually work together here. This, along with the outtake song, are the main reasons to search out this remastered version.

After the release of this album, it would seem that the Mark II version of the band was finished. Ian Gillan would leave the band right after the release to try for a solo career. Bassist Roger Glover would also leave the band at this point. Yes, replacements were made, yet it would be difficult to match the excitement of the Mark II lineup. Eventually, however, this lineup would return for the comeback album 'Perfect Strangers'. As for this album, though, it just isn't the band's best, and, understanding the turmoil in the band, it is easy to see why. It's still better than some other albums that strove for a more commercial or 'time-appropriate' sound, but they have definitely done better too. It's a good, average album, so 3 stars.