DEEP PURPLE

The third and final album from Deep Purple mark 1 lineup was different from the first two in that it was virtually all original material. The only cover being a slow Donovan track Lalena. The original material had a more progressive rock feel as on Taliesyn than the poppy sound of Shades. The opening cut Chasing Shadows is a Lord/Paice composition and not only showcases Ian Paice's undoubted claims to be one of rocks premier drummers but also makes you wonder why Jon Lord never contibuted more to the lyric writing department. The second track Blind, a Lord solo composition, adds strength to this argument and is in my opinion hugely underrated. Why Didn't Rosemary is quite possibly Rod Evans finest contribution to Purple with both interesting lyrics and a good delivery. Bird Has Flown is another interesting composition, a different version was recorded as a B side and is possibly better than the album version. There is also a version with an Ian Gillan vocal recorded sometime later which is also worth tracking down. The main cut on the album though is the epic closer April. A spectacular rock opera track with orchestra and a particularly pleasing vocal it serves as a perfect appetiser to the Concerto.

During the recording of this album Blackmore/Lord and Paice decided that Rod Evans was struggling with the heavier material and needed replacing. Nick Simper too was declared surplus to requirements and they were subsequently replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, thus giving birth to the greatest ever band in the history of rock. In fact Gillan and Glover were already on board before this album was officially released in the UK.

Rod Evans is often given a bit of a rough deal by fans and press alike presumably because of the so called Deep Purple scam of 1980. However, it is worth pointing out that he was a vital member of the legend that is Deep Purple and his part in the building of that legend should not be forgotten. The early success of Hush in US was due more to his 60's pop crooner delivery than the musical talents of Blackmore and Lord. Without that early success there is no guarantee that Blackmore/Lord/paice would have stuck at it through three commercially unsuccessful albums. It was unfortunate for Evans that whilst Blackmore Lord and Paice were waiting to embrace the heavier sound with open arms he was much more at home with the soon to be outdated sixties sound. It is somewhat ironic that his final Purple album was probably his best individual performance and that his next musical project "Captain Beyond" is still regarded by many as a prog classic. The same can be said of Simper and "Warhorse". With regard to the 80's scam looking back at it now it is difficult to see what the fuss was about. He was after all an original member of the band and there was no other Deep Purple around at the time. I am being purely mischevious here but you would think that a good lawyer would be able to argue that there is as much validity in a Deep Purple which features Rod Evans as the only original member as one which features only Ian Paice from the original line up. As if that would ever happen...

4.5

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