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THE BOOK OF TALIESYN

Deep Purple

Proto-Prog


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Deep Purple The Book of Taliesyn album cover
3.23 | 607 ratings | 37 reviews | 11% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 1968

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Listen, Learn, Read On (4:04)
2. Wring That Neck (also known as "Hard Road") (5:13)
3. Kentucky Woman (Neil Diamond cover) (4:44)
4. Exposition / We Can Work It Out (Beatles cover) (7:07)
5. Shield (6:06)
6. Anthem (6:31)
7. River Deep, Mountain High (Ike & Tina Turner cover) (10:12)

Total Time 43:57

Bonus tracks on 2000 remaster:
8. Oh No No No (studio outtake Dec '68) (4:25)
9. It's All Over (BBC Top Gear, Jan '69) (4:14)
10. Hey Bop a Re Bop (BBC Top Gear, Jan '69) (3:31)
11. Wring That Neck (BBC Top Gear, Jan '69) (4:42)
12. Playground (remixed instrumental studio outtake, Aug '68) (4:29)

Line-up / Musicians

- Rod Evans / lead vocals
- Ritchie Blackmore / lead guitar
- Jon Lord / Hammond organ, backing vocals, string arrangements (6)
- Nick Simper / bass, backing vocals
- Ian Paice / drums

Releases information

Artwork: John Vernon Lord

LP Tetragrammaton Records ‎- T-107 (1968, US)
LP Harvest ‎- SHVL 751 (1969, UK)

CD Passport Records ‎- PBCD 3607 (1988, US)
CD EMI ‎- 5216082 (2000, Europe) Remastered by Peter Mew with 5 bonus tracks

Thanks to momomo for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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DEEP PURPLE The Book of Taliesyn ratings distribution


3.23
(607 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(11%)
11%
Excellent addition to any rock music collection(31%)
31%
Good, but non-essential (42%)
42%
Collectors/fans only (14%)
14%
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
1%

DEEP PURPLE The Book of Taliesyn reviews


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Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Zitro
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 2 3/4 stars

This is probably Deep Purple's weakest album (along with the self-titled album) of their early years and successful years together. The album seems very incoherent for its diverse musical styles, and the compositions are not very strong at all. This is a psycheledic-classical-hard rock fusion with heavy emphasis on hammond organ.

The songs vary ... there are straight-rock songs in the vein of the debut album (Kentucky Woman, and the Opener). There is an amazing instrumental (Wring that neck) that only was surpassed by the superior "A 200" in the album "Burn". There is also a song divided in two that begins as a common Deep Purple rocker and ends as a beatlesque section of music. Shield is a strange mellow track with a good bass riff and some nice guitar playing. Anthem is the other highlight of the album. IT is proggy and symphonic and contains nice melodies and good arrangements... its middle instrumental section is the big highlight of this album. The closer of the album is an epic that doesn't justify its length ... it has neat parts here and there, but it is not as good as an epic should be. There are also bonus tracks which may be interesting for some.

1. Listen, learn, read on (5.5/10) 2. Wring that neck (instrumental) (8.5/10) 3. Kentucky woman (4.5/10) 4. Exposition / We can work it out (6/10) 5. Shield (5/10) 6. Anthem (7.5/10) 7. River deep, mountain high (5/10)

Get it after you get all their other albums in the early-mid periods of their career.

My Rating : C-

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
4 stars With their second album , Purple went on to confirm their adventurous psych-laced proto- prog rock ! Clearly , the album was axed more towards experimentation and this album deserves to be regarded highly by all progheads.

The opening track Listen, Learn And Read On gives indirectly the name of the album by mentionning the Book Of Taliesyn (and the superb artwork sleeve , we are still in 1968 and they dared such a great cover). Wring That Neck is another track bound to become a live favorite (expanded to almost 30 min also) and shows the full capacities of this combo. The obvious single is Kentucky Woman (a hit in US only though) , but the other incredible moment is the purple-signed intro (Exposition) to yet another Beatles cover. In those 2,5 mins , Purple explodes into a full-blown prog outfit!

Side 2 starts with a superb Anthem already forcasting Jon Lord's envies of foraying into classical orchestras , something more evident with the next album. Anthem is the cornerstone of this album while The Shield is a strange but interesting track exploring somber moods. Finishing out the album is a long version of Ike And Tina's River Deep, Mountain High. Although not-always successful (and a bit ill-advised) it does show some limitations to Evans's voice compared to Tina's.

I am tempted to give this album another halfstar , but will not do so because some tracks are flawed. But clearly all progheads discussing whether Purple was prog should get a full listen to this album before answering honestly to this album. And I dare say the answer should not be negative.

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars For me this is the greatest musical achievement of Deep Purple along with their "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" recordings. A-side opener "Listen, Learn, Read On" is a very good psychedelic song with a chaotic and hazy feeling, playing with classic myths and hippie mysticism. "Wring That Neck" blows a quite basic bluesy jam, but I love the sound band managed to create for this LP, so it's a pleasant track to listen though. "Kentucky woman" is a bit boring filler, and the following medley "Exposition / We Can Work It Out" does not completely gain the potential of the arrangement's prospects. But the B-side of the LP is then almost pure gold; "Shield" has a very interesting feeling in it, with lot of percussion, raw keyboard sounds and great melodies included. Then "Anthem" is for me the best song this band has ever recorded. It has influences of ancient English music, the composition is witty (and very beautiful) and it has even mellotrons in it. The final track on the original LP is "River Deep, Mountain High" which has a grand intro resembling the start of Richard Struss's "Also Spracht Zarathustra" opening. I loaned the re-mastered CD of this album from library, in order to get hear the bonus tracks, and I recall they were decent but not essential. There's also a silly anecdote about this album; I got my copy from a flea market, and it was an American vinyl press of the album. "Wring That Neck" goes here with a name of "The Hard Road", and the length of the song "Shield" is indicated as 6:66.
Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars "Taliesyn" is probably the weakest of the three first Purple albums. It is quite pyschedelic and the influence of "Vanilla Fudge" is obvious. The sound in general is quite outdated : the proof of time has not worked in favour of this release. I already mentioned that vocals from Rod Evans were too monocord and kind of boring on "Shades". The same applies with this album : just spin "Listen, Learn, Lead on" and you'll know what I am talking about. "Wring that Neck" is a good intrumental : it starts with a rageous keyboard solo in which Jon is pumping everything he can get out of his organ. Ritchie will follow with a great guitar break. This will be the trademark of the Purple for the years to come : same structure (but with vocals) for "The Flight of The Rat", "Highway Star" etc.). This track will be a classic in their live performances but extended quite a bit (to say the least! The version on "Scandinavian Nights" will get as long as thirty two minutes )! Listen carefully around 3'50" and 4'30" : these guitar notes will be re-used in "Smoke" during their 1972-1973 "Made In Japan". "Kentucky Woman" (a cover from a Neal Diamond song) is not a bad rock song : great rythm, good keyboarding from Jon. A powerful song and a mini-hit peaking at spot 38 (in the US since the band was still quite obscure in Europe). "Exposition" is an explosive instrumental piece (rendering part of Beethoven's Seventh !) leading to the Beatles cover "We Can Work it out" (the second one in two albums). Although it is not bad a cover, it is not so well achieved as "Help" from "Shades". Side B starts with the hypnotic "Shield" : a very good bass riff and a psyche organ sound make this track one of the best of this record. "Anthem" is a mellow song with some violin and a kind of a church organ in the middle section. Ritchie plays a nice guitar solo at the end. This track is quite enjoyable. The song I prefer on this effort is their cover for "River Deep, Mountain High" from Phil Spector (as a co-author) and popularized by Ike And Tina Turner : again an impressive Jon Lord during the intro (four minutes) which is built crescendo (I like it very much). It ends in a ferocious tempo. We are not far from what ELP will deliver. For once, the vocals are bearable. It will be released as a single and peak at Nr. 53 in the US (the original from Ike & Tina Turner will reach Nr. 88 only). There are five bonus tracks on the remastered version. Two leftovers from the studio sessions "Oh No No No" and "Playground" (instrumental) of which the intro sounds as "Hush". Both have some pyschedelic flavour, but this also applies to the whole album.. There are three songs from the BBC Top Gear Sessions : kind of studio "live" songs. "It's All Over" has a nice keys introduction, but "Hey Bop a Re Bop" is rather poor. Finally, there is a "human" version for " Wring That Neck" (same lenght as the original - even shorter) with good guitar work (Hendrix oriented) from Richie. The sound of these three tracks are poor. The album will only chart in the US (Nr. 54). I guess that this is due to their Vanilla Fudge oriented music more popular on this side of the Atlantic in those ancient times. Two stars.
Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars I do believe this is better then their debut but not much better.The improvements they have made are in their own songs like "Wring That Neck", "Shield" and "Anthem" which are all good tunes.This record still feels restrained like the first one and there are covers songs here too, just not as many this time.

"Listen, Learn, Read On" is a psychedelic sounding tune with some prominant drumming throughout, and check out Blackmore's solo 2 minutes in. "Wring That Neck" is an instrumental and Lord's organ solo is followed up immediately by a Blackmore solo. "Kentucky Woman" is a Neil Diamond song that they cover very well. I like the way Blackmore lets loose 2 minutes in. "Exposition" builds beautifully and the drum and organ play is outstanding. The B side of the song is a BEATLES song "We Can Work It Out", and they do it justice unlike their cover of "Help" on "Shades Of Purple". This is a great version and the guitar playing has a blues style to it.

"Shield" features some good percussion and a lazy guitar solo 3 minutes in. Nice. "Anthem" is a ballad-like tune with good harmonies.This is the first time that Lord would use mellotron and I like the way the guitar comes into the strings section later in the song. "River Deep,Mountain High" is a cover that actually works quite well, and sounds really interesting to listen to. Lots of guitar and organ as well as harmonies. Good song.

I think if your a fan of the band you need to check this out.

Review by Chicapah
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Symphonic progressive rock owes a debt to early Deep Purple. They were one of the first bands to attempt to meld orchestral concepts and themes with rock and roll. I'm aware that listening now to "The Book of Taliesyn" is like revisiting the Bronze Age of music production (when the luxury of eight recording tracks was considered state-of- the-art technology) but you can't deny the fact that in 1968 this group was bravely doing their best to open some new doors. They had managed to score a top five hit single with their snappy cover of Joe South's "Hush" from their debut but in those days one-hit wonders were a dime a dozen and it's doubtful that two people out of ten could have told you what the name of the band was. Yet that commercial success allowed them to go into the studio again, this time to try to make music that would set them apart from all the pretenders who would soon fade away.

"Listen, Learn, Read On" is a dynamic, adventurous song to start things off. The verses are spoken by vocalist Rod Evans from way down inside some very deep reverb and, while the effect sounds ridiculous today, it definitely gives the tune some gravity and drama. Considering the Camelot subject matter you might even call it medieval prog. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore provides one of his unconventional leads and drummer Ian Paice plays like a madman when necessary. Nick Simper even manages to throw in some psychedelic fuzz bass toward the end. "Wring that Neck" (or "Hard Road" as it was titled on the US release) is a rocking instrumental that holds up well even today. I've always thought the opening lick had to have been inspired by Woody Woodpecker's trademark laugh and I still feel that way about it. (For those of you too young to remember, WW was a wise-ass cartoon character that was as popular as Bugs Bunny back then.) Anyway, it features Jon Lord ripping into his Hammond organ and more blistering guitar work from Ritchie, including a tricky false ending. It's important to mention that, while most axe-men at that time were trying to imitate either Clapton or Hendrix, Blackmore didn't sound like either (or anyone else) and his solos were anything but typical. His work on this tune is a good example of his individual technique. Since they had gotten lucky with a song from across the pond earlier they cover yet another Yank's ditty next, Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman." With a beginning and end that reminds you of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, they perform a pretty straightforward rendition of the song except for the guitar and organ fills, of course. And it worked nearly as well as before by climbing to #38 on the charts. The following track is "Exposition," in which they take huge liberties with the second movement of Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Again, though, it just goes to show that they were determined to blend classical with rock and roll rather than pop (as the Moody Blues were doing). It's an exciting prelude but, unfortunately, the main course of Lennon & McCartney's "We Can Work It Out" with its "groovy" feel doesn't hold up its end of the bargain. There are some nice vocal harmonies on the bridge and Lord flies across the keyboard on the organ ride but it's not enough to save the song from being a letdown. "The Shield" has a fast "walking" beat and a very intriguing musical theme that fluctuates between the minor and the major. It also has some Hammond- generated percussion (as utilized on "Hush") and another inventive guitar break. "Anthem" is a decent song but it tends to stray too far into cabaret for me. That being said, the middle section features a terrific baroque-sounding treatment impressively arranged by Jon. It's a great marriage of a string quartet with Blackmore's tasteful electric guitar that I wish had gone on a little longer. Since Kubrick's revolutionary film "2001: A Space Odyssey" opened that same year it's no surprise that the band incorporated Richard Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra" into the beginning of the final song. It fits what they were trying to do perfectly. But when they arrive at the singing part of "River Deep, Mountain High" they lose the big sound and the momentum they had built up fades away quickly. Ritchie adds some nice harmony guitar parts but when you compare Rod Evans' voice to Tina Turner's well. forget it. A big gong crash ends the album fittingly.

Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord had both studied classical music styles so it's only natural that they would take their band down this progressive road. Ritchie was quoted as saying that, while Jimi was the rage at the time, it was New York's Vanilla Fudge that had the most influence on them and it shows. Both groups were taking traditional song structures and enhancing them with other styles, creating their own epic versions of well-known tunes. I was still in my teens when this was released and I played the LP until the grooves wore out. Sadly, I was in the minority and mediocre sales of Deep Purple's early efforts were soon to convince them to steer towards a harder rock sound. But albums like this one sowed the very seeds that would soon grow into the symphonic progressive rock movement. It may not be a great album but it's good and a genuine trailblazer, nonetheless.

Review by Seyo
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars The second album of DEEP PURPLE's Mark I line-up follows the suit of their successful debut.

Again, large portion of the record was reserved for covers. This time, however, these attempts were less interesting and under- devised. While Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman" and THE BEATLES' "We Can Work It Out" are at least decently performed, Phil Spector's masterpiece done for Ike and Tina Turner - "River Deep, Mountain High" ends the album on a low note. Vocal parts are poorly sung so even the bombastic Hammond intro which resembles the "Zarathustra" theme from the concurrent successful movie "2001: Space Oddissey" cannot justify its inclusion.

On the other side, original PURPLE tracks are much better. The opener "Listen, Learn, Read On" is excellent song with reamarkable riffs and catchy chorus, only a bit too long. Instrumentals "Wring That Neck" and "Exposition" show the early prog-leanings of the group with Blackmore and Lord utilising solo adventures on their instruments. One can still hear that the bad were looking for their right direction, wondering between heavy blues-filled acid-rock of CREAM and classical and symphonic influences of THE NICE. "Anthem" is a nice, organ-led ballad under the obvious THE BEATLES influences, although a bit too soft for my taste. Finally, the best track of the album is unusual piano-driven arrangement "Shield", which is filled with psychedelic references ("I can smoke the pipe of sweet and better life and trust in the strength of the shield... trust in your love and Lucy of above..."). Very good performance, arrangement and singing, so one wonders why this title has been deeply buried in the past of the band, never gaining attention which deserves.

Overall, "The Book of Taliesyn" is not as good as the debut album, but it is still a convincing effort that mirrors the extremely adventourous and prolific rock scene at the end of the 1960s. This album is not essential, even below average at certain points, but for the prog rock scene it is useful to see the roots of the genre.

PERSONAL RATING: 3,5/5 P.A. RATING: 3/5

Review by Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars An album of old Welsh poetry? Not exactly!

Deep Purple's second album retains the Mark 1 line up which includes bassist Nick Simpler and vocalist Rod Evans. Once again, the band go for a combination of their own compositions and a handful of covers. The title is taken from a famous Welsh book (spelt slightly differently as "Taliesin") which contains some of the oldest poems written in the Welsh language.

The album kicks off in what in retrospect sounds like full Spinal Tap mode, the spoken introduction to "Listen, learn, read on" now inadvertently having all the seriousness of "Stonehenge". The track has distinct similarities with the type of music Atomic Rooster would develop slightly later, this being emphasised by the driving Hammond organ.

The fine instrumental "Exposition" sees Blackmore already pushing his guitar much further forward than it was on the band's debut. This leads into a frantic organ driven quasi-classical rendition by Jon Lord, similar to much of what appeared on Beggar's Opera's debut album. The piece acts as an introduction to the first cover version on the album. Lennon McCartney's rather funky "We can work it out" is perhaps a less obvious choice to cover that the first album's "Help". The interpretation here is surprisingly faithful to the original, Blackmore's guitar inflections being the only real difference until Lord finally lets go with a improvised run on organ.

As a closet admirer of the work of Neil Diamond, the cover of his "Kentucky woman" is rather enjoyable. Whether this through and through pop rendition actually adds much to this album though, is a matter for debate. The instrumental soloing does however distinguish it from the crooner's original. The vocals here are at times particularly reminiscent of the sound of the Doors.

The Lord/Blackmore/Evans composition "Shield" at first sounds deceptively simple. However, this six minute piece turns out to be a finely crafted number with slightly understated vocals and some excellent guitar work. The following "Wring that neck", like "Mandrake Root" from the debut album, was developed into a never ending live monster. Listening to this relatively brief 5 minute version, it is easy to see why it was subsequently developed, the track being quite simply an opportunity for the band to let their hair down and jam along in fine boogie fashion.

The final cover is a 10 minute interpretation of Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep mountain high" (although Ike did not actually appear on the recording), a song written by Phil Spector in partnership with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. The wall of sound, which was the key characteristic of the original, inspired George Harrison on his "All things must pass" album. Here, that wall of sound is largely replaced by the Hammond organ, this version initially being a slowed down, elongated dirge of the type Vanilla Fudge created so perfectly. As the track progresses, it becomes a more orthodox cover of the original.

The album closes with the Lord/Evans composition "Anthem". This delightful ballad features what is arguably Evans finest vocal performance, supported what sounds like the rare appearance of a mellotron. The middle section is a classically based amalgam of strings, organ and guitar which combine in true prog fashion to create a wonderful whole.

In all, "The Book of Taliesyn" may not see Deep Purple moving on significantly from their debut album, but it still contains a wealth of music which was well ahead of its time. Anyone with any residual doubts about why Deep Purple are listed on this site should investigate this album, along with the previous release, for the reassurance they seek.

Note that this review reflects the order of the tracks as they appeared on music-cassette.

Review by Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars It's so classic that I am now listening to the album of late 60s by Deep Purple titled "Book of Taliesyn" and it has always been a joy listening to vintage rock music like this one. For sure this was not the first album that I knew Deep Purple for the first time because it was "Fireball" that introduced me the band. But I think the music of the early Deep Purple was progressive in nature, or to be specific in symphonic style. Look at the opening track "Listen Learn Read On" which has all the energy and drive of dynamic rock music with some changes in styles and tempo. The music is raw and uplifting. I guess you would enjoy this vintage record as it's quite original in composition. There are raw guitar solo and organ plus some breaks that remind me to symphonic prog music. Ian Paice drumwork indicates his talents really well.

The next track "Kentucky Woman" follows the same energy and drive as previous track. Paice continues with dynamic work while Nic Simples walking bass work does not serve the purpose as beat keeper only but it flows beautifully with the music. Rod Evans indicates his transparent vocal quality while Blackmore's guitar solo is still rough and does not show his uniqueness yet. The organ solo in the middle of the track is truly progressive in nature. In here I can smell the unique organ work quality of Jon Lord which is heavily influenced by classical music. It's stunning.

"Wring That Neck" is truly a symphonic progressive rock track. Liste to how Jon Lord opens the track with his inventive Hammond organ solo which is very dynamic, followed with a blast of rhythm section that follows, combining tight bass lines and dynamic drumwork. Right after long organ solo, Ritchies provides his guitar solo stunningly. It's really an excellent track and everlasting, because you still can enjoy this track nicely even nowadays. Jon Lord enters again and this time combined with Ritchie's guitar. The end of the song has timpani that make it uplifting track.

As usual with previous album, Deep Purple also covers The Beatles song "We Can Work It Out" performed differently with ambient nuance - darker than the original version. It starts symphonic with "Exposition" exploring Jon Lord's organ work combined with Nic Simpler's bass lines. You can see how prog this part is, because the music flows dynamically in inventive notes. When the song moves into "We Can Work It Out" Ritchie provides guitar melody while Rod Evans sings.

The rest of the songs : "Shield", "River Deep, Mountain High", and "Anthem" are also excellent tracks.

Overall, this is a very good early album by Deep Purple which has strong progressive rock elements especially through the work of Jon Lord and also mostly on the structure of the song that most of them are not straight forward. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Review by Tarcisio Moura
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Purpleīs second album was always my favorite of the three albums released by DP MKI. It is a big improvemnt over the debut album, with better original songs and less obvious choice of covers. The group sounds much more confident on the studio and more bold on the arrangements. Jon Lord kind of dominates the album throughly, but Blackmore is also becoming the driving force behind the bandīs sound, with some already original and powerful guitar licks.

Donīt expect the heavy rock powerhouse of later classics like In Rock or Machine Head. The band still had to find its own way, and the songs flow through differeent styles: a mix of hard rock, pop and progressive. And, like everything done by Deep Purple, it is very well done. The backing vocals are also fine (and, unfortunatly, were latter abandoned).

The Book Of Taliesyn was another step towards their definitive sound, but showed the band in a creative period anyway, and I should point out the fact that they could handle almost any style in rock music. It was a matter of time to find their unique sound (and right line up), but they left quite a good impression by the time they release this LP. Highlight: The Shield.

I canīt call this LP essential, but it was very good. 3,5 stars.

Review by obiter
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Nice intro ... now where are my dungeons & dragons rules??

Big Heads up to all you Tool/Amplifier fans ...... (you will hate this)

I'm a fan but let's face it this is not very good. Yes it's DP (with what sounds like a little bit of glam rock) ... cos there's our Lord: not the heights of Burn but all the elements of what to come are here. It's always a bit odd reviewing an album you've listened to a zillion times but hey four glasses of Chimay Tripel (including that sugar puff moment) (PS i you dont understand it you either haven't had Sugar Puffs or Chimay ..God help you).

Back to the the Dark Lord Richie as he wafts his fretboard at the Good Lord. It's harsh to say but Rod's not in same league as some of the legendary vocal beasts that follow him. Somehow through all this fairly decent proto heavy rock Richie manages to get every other instrument faded out when ever he deigns to play a lick. if he was in my band i would reckon that was a bit egotistical and we'd get Ray Winstone to get medieval on his ass but hey what do I know.. (reminds me Fix Bayonets!!!) for those of you who ahve seen Love Honour and Obey.

it all gets a bit over the top - look at us we're really classical dramatic 1812 - nah let's break the mood with an appalling Beatles cover [aside -- was there ever a world in which this was OK???] .. anyway let's face it a few snippets of Jon may well be worth it. Nah Nah it's just a Fucglyd up cover.

Buy Burn Buy Strombringer (Hoorah!!!)

Review by poslednijat_colobar
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Good second album for Deep Purple, that marks progress for the band in comparison with the first one. Fewer covers, better guitar solos by Ritchie Blackmore, better original songs, more clear sound - all these news make the album better as whole, than the first one for the band - Shades of Deep Purple. Deep Purple has revealed its potential with some classical and progressive elements, but anything like hard rock is away from the album. This is one of the first progressive albums of all time and that's the importance of it. Typical proto-prog album. It's interesting how one of the pioneers in progressive rock music - Deep Purple - got away very fast from their roots and become one of the greatest hard rock bands. Interesting... I will mark the best song on the album - this is Anthem - Deep Purple's original song with strong classical/progressive influence. The interpretation of River Deep, Mountain High is worth, too! 3 full stars.
Review by tarkus1980
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars So apparently the band thought that their first album was good enough to warrant a "concept" album for their sophomore effort. What a bunch of maroons. The "concept" is actually limited, more or less, to the opening track, which strangely turns out to be the most enjoyable thing here. Yeah, the voice-of-God speaking sounds like a bad parody of contemporary Moody Blues poetry, but at least there's some crunchy guitar sounds here and there, and the chorus is disturbingly fun to sing. If you're a total dork, that is.

The rest of it, though, just sounds like the first album gone slightly sour, only forgetting to rock. Except for the good instrumental "Wring that Neck," based around a nice organ riff, there isn't a single piece here that can keep my mind from wandering more than, say, 50% of the time of the given track. Lessee, we have a Neil Diamond cover, "Kentucky Woman," which is ... ok. We have an extremely mediocre Beatles cover, "We Can Work it Out," preceded by an introduction that sounds to me like Jon had decided that keyboard parts that would sound like the blueprint for the more mediocre Van Der Graaf Generator organ breaks would be a good idea. It also shows Paice, in a rare lapse of judgement, trying to make his drum parts more "profound" by making them as loud and echoey as possible. Meh.

Lessee, then there's "Shield," which starts off with a nice bassline, decent minimalist guitar, a decent vocal melody ... and just gets insanely tedious over six minutes. Then there's "Anthem," which is actually quite pleasant, even though it's dripping with schmaltz (and since it's over six minutes, naturally, this becomes a problem, which isn't really remedied by the sudden appearance of a string section in the middle). At least it has a pretty guitar solo, one of very few on the album. And finally, there's the band's cover of "River Deep, Mountain High" (by whom, I have no clue), which, excluding yet another silly, tedious, long organ-based introduction, is ... ok. Not memorable at all (except for the chorus), but pleasant in the slow parts and amusing in the fast parts.

You know, looking back at this review, I'm amazed that I give it as high a rating as I do - some reviewers absolutely trash the hell out of this album, and I can definitely see where they're coming from. Still, I don't outright hate anything on this album, except the disgraceful Beatles cover, and besides, the total hilarious naivety of the band in regards to what actually consists "good" music is at least somewhat charming. At the same time, it's still a rather tepid massacre of good taste, so I can't really put it in the "so awful it's great" category, like I do with ELP's Pictures at an Exhibition. If you see it in a cutout bin, consider it, but otherwise, don't bother.

Review by Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Book of Talysien is a pleasant early Purple album. It's still very much a rock'n'roll album that reminds as much of Elvis Presley as of the Deep Purple as we know it. But it already shows the known heavy rock interplay between Blackmore, Pace and Lord.

Listen Learn Read On is a steaming heavy rock track with a very high Deep Purple stamp. Only Rod Evans' vocals are still rooted in earlier rock traditions. He's a fine singer of course but his Elvis style dates this a bit. The instrumental Wring The Neck is classic Blackmore Purple, with sharp guitars that are both full of bite and melody. Like all tracks, also this one drowns in 60's reverb, but apart from that production choice this track could have fitted easily on Fireball.

After those two strong openers Kentucky Woman is a rather average 60's pop song. Exposition makes a bit more room for classical organ playing from Jon Lord. It's like a take on Rondo from the debut of the Nice. It leads into the psychedelic pop blues of We Can Work It Out.

The Shield offers a dreamier mood. It's a straightforward pop song again but I quite like this one with it's snake-charming Eastern melodies. Anthem however is probably the weakest link on this uneven album. There's a classical musical bit in the middle but basically it is a plain sugary crooner. River Deep is a 10 minute song which is sure deserving of the proto-prog tag. Hailing from 1968, only the Doors had similar long composed pieces. Unfortunately none of the melodies or playing is really heart-warming.

A good early Purple album, but with too many prevailing 60-ties rockabilly and pop elements to stand-out from their contemporaries.

Review by Matti
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars This is the one in the middle of PURPLE's three early albums, before their rise to fame with the new heavier direction (which was to produce some of the most respected classics of heavy rock genre). Having heard 'Anthem' in the radio I thought this early Deep Purple stuff would be quite pleasant, and more arty, with Jon Lord's leanings to classical music. But I was perhaps expecting too much for my anti- heavy rock taste.

The vocals are not Ian Gillan's yet, but the singer Rod Evans actually has very similar vocals to Gillan. Also the bassist was to change. It's so easy (and it wouldn't be very wrong either) to say that these early albums are done by a band who haven't yet found their musical direction - or even the right line-up. Well, I just wish they would have continued developing things heard here instead of becoming heavy legends. If only Jon Lord's creative participation wouldn't have taken the back seat (after the Concerto For Group & Orchestra, of course)... There are glimpses of classically influenced innovation, but no more than that. The rather under- developed state of their writing skill is also visible in the large portion of recycled song material. It seems that with the songs 'We Can Work It Out' (Beatles) and 'River Deep, Mountain High' they dared to stretch boundaries more than with their own compositions.

Ritchie Blackmore (whose biography I read recently) always needed to show off his skills as a guitarist, and here he does it most openly with the hard rocking instrumental 'Wring That Neck'. I think in the end already here Blackmore with his ballsy playing is more dominant musician than Lord. A pity. The CD reissue has several bonus tracks (three live ones and two studio outtakes). Maybe this album is best described as promising. It's kind of a fall-in-between case. I like the fantastic cover drawing more than the music. But 'Anthem' is a fine ballad-ish song anyway, and 'Exposition' (instrumental long intro to the Beatles cover) is surely Proto Prog worth noticing.

(I want to remind you of the subjective nature of my ratings, and this is not such a classic that makes me rate it higher than I personally enjoy it. Done that too as a PA reviewer...)

Review by Conor Fynes
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars 'The Book Of Taliesyn' - Deep Purple (6/10)

The second album from Deep Purple is also one of their most underrated albums. Like 'Shades Of Deep Purple', fans look back on this record and dismiss it, in no small part due to the fact that it features more cover tracks. Although there is a greater wealth of original material here, it is hoped that a band would have started focusing solely on their own material by this point, but in any case, 'The Book Of Taliesyn' is a small step in the right direction for this archetypal hard rock ensemble. Another psychedelic-tinged, organ driven slice of hard rock, Deep Purple's music may still not have been golden at this point, but contrary to the disdain that the album has received, there is some great stuff to behold here.

All things considered, the album is fairly diverse for its time. 'Listen, Learn, Read On' has a few psychedelic effects on the vocals to make things sound a little spacier, and the lyrical themes revolve around medieval, fantasy based topics that really add to the charm of the band. 'Wring That Neck' is an instrumental that shows the heaviness of the band, as well as the great talent of their keyboardist (and brightest shining star at this point) Jon Lord. Richie Blackmore has some nice solos on this album finally, but it would be a while before he started really coming onto his own as the guitar hero he is considered today. 'Shield' and 'Anthem' are two strong tracks that aptly describe the band's sound at the time, even bringing sounds of classical music into the mix; something that was not heard much at the time. Deep Purple even bring their own unique sound to the Beatles cover 'We Can Work It Out', adding a long proggy instrumental introduction that really makes the track their own.

A problem that 'The Book Of Taliesyn' really does struggle with is the production, which often feels a little too ambitious given the technology at the time. While Deep Purple can't be put down for wanting to incorporate alot of sounds into their album, 'Taliesyn' does tend to get a little muddy and too distorted at times, especially with the dense organ sounds. Deep Purple's sophomore is a very good album, but this is a problem that does tend to take away from the ferocity of the performance, and there were parts where the production really felt as if it got in the way of enjoyment. Deep Purple would keep getting better from here, taking this potential and running with it a little more on their self-titled follow-up to this album. 'The Book Of Taliesyn' is a good album on its own merit though, and while it is not excellent or particularly engaging, Deep Purple does deserve more credit for this album than what they get.

Review by Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Their second album still has the band playing music with some mixed styles: Psychedelic Rock, Rock Pop, Prog Rock, Classical Music and Hard Rock. It was recorded in late 1968 with some pressure from their U.S. label which wanted more musical material for their next U.S. tour. They had more time for the recording of this album than in their first album, but they really were under pressure for new material. Still, the recording of this album, while they had more budget to record it, still does not sound very well, and the music still sounds very "sixties".

"Listen, Learn, Read On" has some Psychedelic influences and "sound effects", but also some Pop Rock influences.

"Wring that Neck": an energetic instrumental musical piece with good riffs and some Blues and Hard Rock musical influences, with Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore playing the riffs together with some Prog Rock influences. Blackmore`s guitar sounds better in this album than in their first album. This is maybe the best song from this album.

"Kentucky Woman": a very Pop Rock song composed by Neil Diamond, but played with good arrangements. It sounds more like Rod Evans`s singing style was more adequate for this kind of songs than for more heavy songs.

"Exposition / We Can Work It Out": "Exposition" is an intro which uses arrangements from some Classical Music excerpts from works by Beethoven and others. "We Can Work It Out" is a cover from a song composed by Lennon and McCartney, with a very Pop Rock arrangement. I don`t like both tracks very much.

"Shield": another Pop Rock song with some Psychedelic influences, not very interesting for my taste.

"Anthem": a ballad with some acoustic guitar and Pop Rock influences. Very mellow. I don`t like it very much. Lord plays some Mellotron in this song.

"River Deep, Mountain High": a Pop Rock / Psychedelic arrangement for a song which was originally recorded by IKE AND TINA TURNER in 1966. They also used a Classical Music theme ("Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss) in some parts of this song.

As a whole, I think that their first album was better than this album. There is also a very often use of "dramatic percussion" playing (A timpani? A gong?) by Ian Paice, which maybe was suggested a lot to be used by the producer of the album (Derek Lawrence) which really sounds "pompous" most of the time. There is also a very often use of some reverb in the vocals which I also don`t like very much.

For collectors / fans only.

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
3 stars Recorded only three months after their debut, DEEP PURPLE quickly released their sophomore followup THE BOOK OF TALIESYN which continued all the traits of "Shades Of Deep Purple" with a mix of originals and covers, however despite the basic similarities that include different styles such as psychedelic and hard rock mixed with classical music arrangements interspersed throughout, THE BOOK OF TALIESYN nurtured these ideas even further with more sophisticated compositional approaches that are now regarded as some of the earliest proto-prog archetypes of the late 60s despite the fact that the album was mainly aimed at the hippie crowds in the US where it was released in October 1968. DEEP PURPLE surprisingly was completely ignored in the UK (where it was held back until 69) with their earliest albums until they became so popular in a few short years (with "In Rock") that they could not be ignored any longer.

The album title is a slightly alternate spelling taken from the 14th-century Book Of Taliesin which is one of the most famous of all Middle Welsh manuscripts that were attributed to the bard which was famous for setting a wide number of moods in the Medieval courts in the days of King Arthur in Camelot. Likewise the album THE BOOK OF TALIESYN is a loose concept album attempting to evoke the same sense of diverse mood shifts that a bard would propose in the context of the situation. The album contains seven tracks that range from spunky little blues rockers such as the opener "Listen, Learn, Read On," "Exposition" and other segments in different tracks which all all tinged with a period glaze of psychedelic keyboard embellishments that deviate into fantastic classical musical expeditions which finds Jon Lord dishing out some impressive keyboard playing that was only rivaled by Keith Emerson in The Nice.

The original tracks were composed by Ritchie Blackmore, original vocalist Rod Evans, Jon Lord and Ian Paice making the early episodes of DEEP PURPLE very democratic in nature. Ironically the album cover art (which is my favorite of the DP canon) was created by John Vernon Lord (no relation to the keyboardist). There are three cover tracks as well. The most popular track of this album is the Neil Diamond cover "Kentucky Woman" and the two part track that begins with "Exposition" cedes into a woefully out of place more bluesy rendition of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." The final cover and in my opinion, the best track on the album comes as the closer and is an excellent cover of Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High" which introduces a new highly developed progressive rock approach to the band's resume as it churns out over ten minutes of satisfying musical changes taken Ike & Turner's funky soul domain into surreal psychedelic and classically tinged progressive rock territory.

At this point DEEP PURPLE was far from a household name and listening to THE BOOK OF TALIESYN these days give few clues to the world class act they would become in their Mark II days. While this album is satisfying on many levels, it feels like they were trying to pull off too many ideas that never feel resolved. The mix of psychedelic bluesy rock mixed with outbursts of classical keyboard segments display veritable exciting ideas gestating in the midst and there are even moments where the chugging of the guitar and riff sound like they are ready to break into such classics as "Highway Star" however for the most part the album soars along in psychedelic blues rock mode and while Rod Evans certainly had the perfect voice for the 60s hippie scene, he lacked the overall powerful effects that Ian Gillan added down the road. Fans of DEEP PURPLE should certainly check out these interesting origins even if all the proper elements hadn't quite coalesced in a totally satisfying way. Not a bad way to get your groove on. The newer remastered versions are quite superior to the original as far as i've heard.

Review by TCat
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Deep Purple's 2nd studio album "Book of Taliesen" was released in 1968, recorded only 3 months after their debut album's release "Shades of Deep Purple". Even though the band at that time was not having successful record sales, the record company could see the dollar signs because their concerts were well attended and they were considered one of the top underground bands. The band blamed the record company that they didn't know how to sell records. Of course, we all know that later they became megastars, but for now, they were just trying to discover their sound.

The line up of the band during this time, remained the same for their first 3 albums which were all recorded and released within a year's time. The lead singer at the time was Rod Evans, who in 1980, during the band's first hiatus, tried to tour under the name Deep Purple and was sued for it to the current equivalency of two million dollars. After this, Rod has never appeared in public and has faded into obscurity. It was after his departure that Deep Purple really became popular, and the lead singer at that time, Ian Gillian, was the one that carried the signature DP sound during the height of their popularity. But for now, we have to be satisfied with Rod Evans.

For this album, the sound is very psychedelic and their target market was the hippies. The sound is similar to "Vanilla Fudge" and that seems to be the style they were shooting for at the time. This comes instantly apparent in the first track "Listen, Learn, Read On". The vocals are spoken on the verses and sung on the choruses with a lot of reverb. The music is strong psychedelic rock and unpolished, but that give it a certain charm and mysteriousness. I remember turning in several potato chip bags to get 10 free singles which I had to send in for, and this was one of the singles which was released with "River Deep Mountain High". I wish I still had that because it's probably worth a lot now. As a 10-year-old child who barely had any musical knowledge, I found this song very interesting and was curious about it, but I didn't dare turn it up too high because my parents might think I was high or something. But the song has definite personal meaning to me.

Next is "Wring That Neck" which is an instrumental, mostly lead by the signature organ of Jon Lord. This is followed by a blistering guitar solo from Ritchie Blackmore. It's really great to hear them in their early days and how they were really the best talent of the band even though the recording has much to be desired. The remastered version sounds better, but still has that slightly prehistoric sound.

Deep Purple's first two albums were made up of original songs and covers, in the case of this album, of 4 original songs and 3 covers. The next track is their cover of Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman". Deep Purple's psychedelic rocked out version of this track is the much better version, but it is still obviously meant to be a single. Rod even gives his best "Psyche-Presley" impersonation, at least one of Elvis going over the edge. The organ solo in the middle is excellent, as to be expected. Of course, that is edited out of the single version.

"Exposition/We Can Work it Out" is a split track that starts with a DP original instrumental that has a Spanish Bolero feel to it that eventually quickly increases in speed to a dramatic organ solo that flows into The Beatles cover, which is a fairly boring and lifeless track. Paul McCartney expressed his appreciation of the band's cover of "Help!" on the debut album and suggested they do this cover on this album.

"The Shield" is a midtempo track which is surprisingly underwhelming. "Anthem" comes off as a ballad in a Spanish style with acoustic guitar and bass. Percussion and organ join in later. This track probably has the best vocals on the album, but unfortunately, the melody isn't really that interesting. In the middle section, a small string ensemble gives the track a nice baroque feeling over which we get a nice electric guitar solo.

"River Deep, Mountain High" is the Ike & Tina Turner cover, which is the highlight of the album. It starts out with an obvious Strauss inspired opening. It slowly builds in tempo and intensity with a long introduction which eventually returns to the fanfare intro again. Jon Lord's classical training really comes out on this one and his desire to make Deep Purple a Symphonic Rock band is apparent. About 4 minutes in, vocals start with a dark undertone on the first verse and full fledged rock on the chorus and after. The instrumental break features a great guitar solo before coming back to the chorus.

The remastered version has 5 more bonus tracks with the same psychedelic rock style as the rest of the album and definitely help add to the album. There are 3 radio sessions and 2 studio outtakes that didn't make the original album.

The album definitely shows more maturity than the debut, and it also shows that the band is having more input as the tracks are generally longer with more soloing and development. However, the album was done quickly, and it shows. The songs are better, just not necessarily done better. I find the album worth while for the tracks "Listen Learn Read On", "Wring That Neck", and "River Deep, Mountain High". The other tracks could have used more work as they seem more mediocre. Still, this is a good album, especially if you are a DP fan, and those that love psychedelic jam music will enjoy it. The progressiveness of the band shows better development in this album than in the debut, and things would continue to get better, especially after Ian Gillian joins the band with a much more dynamic voice with a wider range.

Review by A Crimson Mellotron
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Deep Purple quickly followed up their decently-received debut album with 'The Book of Taliesyn', recorded some three months after the release of 'Shades of Deep Purple'. This second studio release by the then-up-and-coming British band expands on the psychedelic rock sound of its predecessor, this time throwing some hard rock and prog rock in the mix, as well as some classically-arranged episodes (mostly intros) by Jon Lord. As for the lineup, there are obviously no changes, as Rod Evans, Nick Simper, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice embark on another psych-rock journey.

'The Book of Taliesyn' has a similar album structure as the debut album - comprised of original compositions, this time not reminiscing Vanilla Fudge that evidently, as well as some covers, with the band deciding to cover The Beatles, Ike & Tina Turner, and Neil Diamond. The quick scoop-up after the first album justifies the fact that the two do not sound dissimilar at all. It's just that 'The Book of Taliesyn' is better. The band sounds more in control, maybe more focused on what they want to achieve and showcase with these seven new songs, and maybe a tint more aggressive. This can easily be backed up by the loudness of songs like 'Listen, Learn, Read On', 'Wring That Neck' and 'Shield', all great tracks off Purple's second LP. Other highlights would be 'Kentucky Woman', one of the covers but also one of the songs that many have grown to love, and a rocker on which Rod Evans seems to enjoy himself even more than usual, and probably 'Exposition'/'We Can Work It Out', although I feel like this one and the third cover ('River Deep, Mountain High') are miles behind the band's original compositions this time, in terms of quality and energy.

So, to briefly sum it up, 'The Book of Taliesyn' is another really good album by Deep Purple, maybe not essential but an important part of their development as a massive rock act; Slightly better than the debut, as it is more refined, more enjoyable even, and a tad bit more focused. I would even go on and claim that this might be the best of the first trio of Deep Purple albums, all of which are very similar and at the same time hugely different from what would come out of this band in the 70s.

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Report this review (#569325) | Posted by toroddfuglesteg | Thursday, November 17, 2011 | Review Permanlink

4 stars I consider "The Book of Taliesyn" one of the best Proto-Prog albums of all of the times, and I find very superior in relation to the other 2 albums of DEEP PURPLE"S MK-I phase. In spite of still to present strong influences of the Flower-Power movement as for instance, the use of elements of t ... (read more)

Report this review (#502402) | Posted by maryes | Saturday, August 13, 2011 | Review Permanlink

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Report this review (#379278) | Posted by 1967/ 1976 | Thursday, January 13, 2011 | Review Permanlink

5 stars This has to be one of THE most underrated albums of all time, as exemplified by all your negative reviews and my own subsequent rebuttal. A masterpiece within the undercurrent of petty reviews. Man, I tell ya Rod Evans is f***ing incredible. I sat there for 45 minutes in absolute awe of his ... (read more)

Report this review (#332001) | Posted by sarge | Tuesday, November 23, 2010 | Review Permanlink

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Report this review (#220279) | Posted by eddz | Monday, June 8, 2009 | Review Permanlink

3 stars Well well... This Purple was a different beast than the classic Purple, and it isn't fair to judge their albums comparing them with the Mk II and Mk III ones. In Mk I terms this is the most irregular one. Weak is a strong word for it and I believe that irregular is more adequate. Production is ... (read more)

Report this review (#199738) | Posted by moodyxadi | Monday, January 19, 2009 | Review Permanlink

3 stars This album was published in October 1968, a mere three month after the first DP record (I am talking of the U.S. releases here). It is therefore obvious that THE BOOK OF TALIESYN is basically in the same vein as its predecessor: self-penned material is alternating with cover versions. IMHO this ... (read more)

Report this review (#162122) | Posted by strayfromatlantis | Monday, February 18, 2008 | Review Permanlink

2 stars "Book of Taliesyn" follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, however it is even more adventurous with less pop covers and more original compositions of extended forms. "Listen Learn Read On" is heavy track dominated by heavy guitar and hammond, with archaic reverb on the vocals, nevertheless it ... (read more)

Report this review (#134040) | Posted by Salviaal | Tuesday, August 21, 2007 | Review Permanlink

5 stars Even though the band and the album are a bit problematic, I gave "The Book of Taliesyn" the 5-star rating. The band is problematic because the band members change once every few years. "Taliesyn"'s Deep Purple isn't "Machine Head"'s Deep Purple, and "Machine Head"'s Deep Purple isn't "Bananas'" ... (read more)

Report this review (#129360) | Posted by abenhur | Friday, July 20, 2007 | Review Permanlink

3 stars I haven't heard any of Deep Purple's oldest stuff before. From the Psychedelic Pop era (Proto Prog), if've only heard before "Wring That Neck", "Shield" and the most known of that era, "Hush". Capitalising on the success of the first record, a second album, "Book Of Taliesyn", was recorded before ... (read more)

Report this review (#101807) | Posted by Barla | Wednesday, December 6, 2006 | Review Permanlink

2 stars Despite fantastic cover art (some of Deep Purple's finest), and an intriguing album name, this is not a great album. The sound quality is absolutely terrible, the songs aren't very innovative or fresh, but rather bland and unnecessarily chaotic at times. But, there are some good points. There is ... (read more)

Report this review (#89993) | Posted by Shakespeare | Monday, September 18, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This album was my first introduction to progressive rock. The band's preceding debut album was a stateside smash, due to its pop orientation. Book does make the occasional foray into cover-song pop - side one's "Kentucky Woman" -- but the bulk of this album goes much further into experimentati ... (read more)

Report this review (#87782) | Posted by ldlanberg | Monday, August 21, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Deep Purple's second album isn't quite as good as the first, but it does the trick quite well. Jon's keyboard mastery keeps getting better and better with every note. Ritchie's guitar solos are also more impressive than the first album (listen to Wring That Neck, kick-ass, man!!!) Ketucky W ... (read more)

Report this review (#46715) | Posted by uriah561 | Thursday, September 15, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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