DEEP PURPLE

The dedication to Tommy Bolin does not, unfortunately, change the fact that 'Last Concert in Japan' is one of the weakest releases of the entire Deep Puprle canon, a 1977 live album capturing the last gig of the Mark IV lineup in Tokyo, is a muddy recording that does not really present any of the appeal of this particular iteration of the band, and if their then-last studio album had been a fine exercise in funk-rocking, this live release seems to have almost nothing to do with 'Come Taste the Band', the album supposedly supported on that tour. The final product here is a dreadful recording of an obviously poor concert, with Bolin virtually missing, his playing is by far one of the most abysmal guitar recording to have ever appeared on a Purple album, with Glenn Hughes later claiming that the band's axe-man had been "out of shape" that very evening, confirmed by the really bad recording. He is, of course, covered up excellently by Jon Lord, who seems to steal the show in Tokyo, even getting a solo spot that goes under the name of 'Woman from Tokyo' on the official tracklist.

And this is where the other major source of confusion comes from as half the selected setlist is made up of songs that were not recorded by this lineup of the band. The hefty but unsuccessful trials of 'Smoke on the Water' (which is relatively acceptable here) and the really tasteless playthrough of 'Highway Star' prove why such recordings should not have been included on the live album. Below-par performances of other classic tracks recorded by the MKIII lineup grace the setlist, like 'Burn' and 'You Keep On Moving', while Bolin even gets to play a song off of one of his solo albums, completely irrelevant here. The only decent recordings seem to be the ones of 'Love Child' and 'Lady Luck', quite expectedly. Just a very poor and confusing live album, far off the excellence and liveliness of 'Made in Europe', for example, released some years prior; perhaps this project should have been abandoned by Deep Purple as it hardly serves them any favour in documenting them as a solid and exciting live force.

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

Using as cover a section of the triptych painted in oil on boards "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch of the XV century, Deep Purple published in the epilogue of the sixties the last chapter of the trilogy that marked the point and apart of their first stage, simply titled "Deep Purple" (1969).

An album that maintains that explorer and psychedelic spirit sprinkled with traces of classical music of its predecessor "The Book of Taliesyn", in themes that include African percussive elements by the hand of Ian Paice in the tribal "Chasing Shadows", Jon Lord's warm harpsichord notes on the baroque "Blind", Rod Evans' Greg Lake-esque Crimsonian singing on the delicate cover of the Scottish Donovan "Lalena", and schizoid studio tricks using reverse tapes on the brief instrumental "Fault Line"; and also shows Ritchie Blackmore very involved in the composition with a rich display of riffs and distorted guitar solos interspersed with Lord's hammonds, especially in the funky "The Painter", in the bluesy "Why Didn't Rosemary? " (with an alternative thematic approach to Roman Polasky's creepy film "The Rosemary's Baby"), and in the thick, lingering cadence of the narcotized "The Bird Has Flown".

And if there is a song that could summarize the first stage of the band, that would be the mini-suite "April": the interest in experimental atmospheres in the medieval and beautiful introduction of church organs and acoustic guitars, Lord's persistent concern for incorporating classical components with the arrangement of violins in between, and the incipient hard rock still to take off that appeared in the final stretch of the long track.

Given the scarce commercial repercussion of the album and convinced that the band would not have much more future in the cloudy paths of psychedelia and sixties sonorities, Blackmore and Lord then incorporated Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, dispensing with Rod Evans and Nick Simper in the search of hardening their sound, more in accordance with the powerful style piloted by the overwhelming Led Zeppelin. Thus ended the appreciable formative stage of Deep Purple.

3.5/4 stars

"The Book of Taliesyn" (1968), a title whose origin comes from a medieval manuscript attributed to the Welsh poet Taliesyn (6th century), is the second chapter of Deep Purple's formative trilogy, and where, despite its still very rudimentary production, the great potential of the duo Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord, protagonists of this work, can be glimpsed, after the primitive and agitated pounding rock of "Listen, Learn, Read On", spirited and generous virtuoso displays as in the instrumental "Wring That Neck", a combination of jazz and blues marked by the incontinent interplay of guitars and keyboards, and replicated in the middle section in the country pop of the festive cover of Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman".

On the other hand, "The Book of Taliesyn" also has an important experimental component taken from the psychedelic sixties aesthetics, in tracks like "Exposition", the hyperventilating instrumental intro of the interesting adaptation of the Beatles' classic "We Can Work It Out", in the intriguing "Shield" with Ian Paice incorporating percussive world music sounds, and ventures even further combining it with baroque renaissance elements so admired by Lord who explores with mellotrons, church organs and a violin arrangement in the relaxed "Anthem", and where the robust voice of Rod Evans hits with an Elvis-style imposition, surely the best and most progressive track of the album.

And the cover composed by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich for Ike & Tina Turner, "River Deep, Mountain High", is the band's excuse to indulge in another experimental lysergic dalliance based on a tenebrous wind blowing and with some nods to The Doors, concluding an album that has few intersections with Deep Purple's seventies works, but is nonetheless extremely interesting.

3/3.5 stars

This may be Deep Purple's greatest album, and if not it still certainly has their masterpiece on it: the brilliant epic Child in Time, a ten-minute musical journey featuring my favorite guitar solo of all time. Blackmore plays with such emotion on this track, not to mention speed and technicality, it just amazes me. Gillan's vocals are so awe-inspiring it is hard to believe. It is not natural how well he sings here. The dueling guitar/organ solo in Speed King is quite fine too. My second favorite track, however, would have to be Hard Lovin' Man, which also includes a brilliant solo by Blackmore.

Rightfully proclaimed one of the first true heavy metal albums, In Rock is one heavy mother. Blackmore moves to the front of the mix, while Lord creeps further below (but still with a strong presence). Let us not forget Gillan's first (and one of his best) appearances. Another must get.

All in all, one of the greatest hard rock albums of all times. It is a landmark of rock 'n roll music. 5.0

With the auspicious and revitalizing "Burn", it seemed that the winds were blowing again in Deep Purple's favor but, as in other occasions in the band's history, particular situations ended up influencing the final result of the following album, "Stormbringer" (1974), the ninth of their discography. The personal problems of Ritchie Blackmore immersed in a hard divorce process derived in his little implication in the creative process of the album, assumed mainly by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, inclined towards more Funky and soulful sonorities in demedro of the hardrock rispidness.

Although, as in "Burn", the auspicious beginning with Blackmore's guitar deployment in the homonymous and robust "Stormbringer" (the best song of the album), the proposal is nevertheless heading towards more accessible harmonies, as with the cloying "Love Don't Mean A Thing", the innocuous "Hold On", or the inconsequential "You Can't Do It Right", accompanied by the lightened boogie rock of the agitated "Lady Double Dealer" and "High Ball Shooter", the latter featuring one of the sporadic appearances of Jon Lord's hammond on the album.

And both the peaceful semi-ballad "Holy Man" with Hughes' spirited vocals, the misty half-time of "The Gypsy", and the melancholic "Soldier of Fortune" with Blackmore's delicate acoustic arpeggios and the best Coverdale on vocals, balance a little more a work that Blackmore belittled with insulting terms.

A few months after the recording of "Stormbringer", whose imposing cover is a colored adaptation of a photograph of a tornado in Minnesota (USA) in July 1927 complemented by the winged horse 'Pegasus' from Greek mythology, the irascible man in black would leave Deep Purple for the first time to form Rainbow.

2.5/3 stars

The entry of Glenn Hughes (ex - Trapeze) on bass and vocals and the little known David Coverdale on vocals (chosen after Paul Rodgers declined the invitation) to replace Roger Glover and Ian Gillan respectively, helped not only to bring harmony back to the heart of Deep Purple, but also added new nuances to the band's sound universe with the release of "Burn" (1974), their eighth album and first of their second reincarnation (Mark III).

A mixture of influences and styles inhabit the album, which oscillates between the elaborate hard rock of the homonymous "Burn" with the baroque keyboards of Jon Lord and the guitar exhalations of Ritchie Blackmore in the frequency of "Highway Star", the festive boogie of "Lay Down, Stay Down" and "What's Goin' On Here", the groove- heavy funk of the sludgy "Sail Away" with Lord's hypnotic keyboards, and the witty "You Fool No One" with a great solo by Blackmore over Ian Paice's dynamic percussive base, and the meditative blues of the mournful "Mistreated" with another very good solo by Blackmore and Coverdale's most accomplished vocal participation in the work.

And to complete the palette of colors, the instrumental "'A' 200" (name taken from antiparasitic disinfectants), starred in good measure by the keyboards and especially Lord's lysergic moog and Paice's percussive evocation of Maurice Ravel's 'Bolero', adds the experimental and progressive touch to "Burn" in its final stretch.

Commercially "Burn" did well (#3 on the UK charts and #9 in the US), and while it doesn't reach the heights of "Deep Purple in Rock" or "Machine Head", it's a few notches above "Fireball" and several more above "Who Do We Think We Are".

3.5/4 stars

As far as Deep Purple live albums go, their third one 'Made in Europe' attempted to be as commercially successful is its 1972 predecessor and semi-namesake, featuring recordings from the band's European tour from 1975, with the fantastic MK 3 lineup with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes in the front. While the scope of this live release might generally seem more limited compared to that of 'Made in Japan', the album absolutely manages to present the power and ambition of the band during their 1974-75 period, featuring just five songs from their incredibly strong pair of 1974 albums 'Burn' and 'Stormbringer'. Some of tracks are faithful to the album versions, while others see the extended jamming sections that Purple had become quite notorious for, and the overall impression is of a very solid and recognizable live sound, full of great playing and mesmerizing vocal performances.

Opening up the album with a killer version of their iconic track 'Burn', Purple set an explosive tone for the rest of this rather short release (purposely omitting songs from the previous lineup with Gillan and Glover) - the live version here is an invigorated rendition of the classic track, generally respectful of the original sound and structure of the song. Next up on the tracklist is a recording of the heavy blues number 'Mistreated', the version here is really powerful, with the performance of Coverdale being particularly noteworthy. Glenn Hughes' bass parts are also incredibly animated and upfront, which is a very welcome treat to the audiophile here, his playing shall be lauded for its technicality, precision and energy. The track gets extended by a fine Blackmore solo moment and an interpolation with classic blues number 'Rock Me Baby', here playing an interesting role in the context of the wallowing tones of 'Mistreated'. 'Lady Double Dealer' is excellent, while 'You Fool No One' gets an improvised extension through a Jon Lord solo opening spot, a Ritchie Blackmore string of guitar pyrotechnics, and the inclusion of Ian Paice's drum solo from 'The Mule', concluding the 16-minute-long version. A gorgeous 'Stormbringer' run-through closes off the overall excellent live album, eventually passed through extensive studio editing that had in any case failed to harm the recording's grit and liveliness, indicative of the powerhouse that Deep Purple is as a live act.

1972's 'Made In Japan' is undeniably an iconic live album that captures Deep Purple in their prime, unhinging their full potential live while playing and improvising over some of the best cuts from their string of classic albums released in the early 70s, this is a fantastic document of its era indicative of just how manic, heavy and experimental Purple really were in their finest days. Recorded at their Japanese tour, this second live album from the legendary British band presents a selection of material recorded at three particular shows - at the Budokan in Tokyo and at Festival Hall in Osaka. The compositions featured here are not necessarily run-throughs of the album tracks but instead go into a guitar and keyboard-heavy jam session-kind of playing, with the band playing extended instrumental improvisations within the framework of their songs, and with just seven tracks spread over the two sides of an LP, one can imagine the rattling ambition of this live album, vivid, powerful and really, really loud.

A thumping version of 'Highway Star' opens up the album, this is a fantastic way to kick off the show on a high note, the energy is excellent, the playing is excellent, and the dominant wailing screams of Ian Gillan impress all throughout. Lord and Blackmore are quite generous with their soloing, and the entire band locks in for a classic night of heavy rock. This is followed by a triumphant and rather exhilarating performance of 'Child in Time', graced by the frantic banshee wails of Gillan once again, all performances are beyond description here. The mandatory inclusion of 'Smoke on the Water' brings a rampant playthrough of the iconic rock anthem, while the following track 'The Mule' features the six-minute-long drum solo of Ian Paice, really entertaining and impressive to hear. The next tracks feature long and improvisational instrumental sections, with wide, stabbing solos from both Blackmore and Lord, working brilliantly within the jam-based setting here. The final and most expansive piece on the album is the 20-minute recording of 'Space Truckin', definitely a fantastic and explosive rendition of the otherwise tremendous song from the 'Fireball' album. The entire 'Made In Japan' set is perfect, from the inclusion of iconic tracks from the DP catalog to the incredible performances of each band member, to the degree of experimentation and flamboyant energy with which each song is tackled, and finally, because of the fact that this is arguably the most significant live recording of the Mark II lineup of the band.

The last studio album released by Deep Purple in the 1970s is 'Come Taste the Band', an LP that is still an odd occurrence within the catalogue of the band, featuring a rather disjointed and unique lineup of Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale and the mysterious, exotic guitar player Tommy Bolin, a guy previously known for recording guitars for Billy Cobham's 'Spectrum' album. Perhaps the two most notorious musical aspects regarding this album are the absence of Blackmore and his signature playing as well as the much stronger leaning towards funk rock (as we eventually get its proto-version here), a stylistic lineage that had been propelled by Bolin and Hughes, the two most troublesome personalities of the band by 1975. The entire record is this intertwining between the funk-infused style of rock that the band had been exploring recently, and an attempted resonance with their previous works.

'Comin' Home' and 'Lady Luck', positioned at the beginning of the album, are upbeat and fast-paced rockers that have a more ostensible classic rock sound, with Bolin's fiery riffs making their way through the tight rhythm section, while Coverdale's vocals definitely impress. 'Getting' Tighter' is a generally enjoyable funk-ride, yet an odd entry on a Deep Purple album, while the much more improvisational track 'Dealer' features some of the more exciting and unpredictable playing of both Bolin and Lord on 'Come Taste the Band'. This is one of the tracks indicative of the possible direction this iteration of the band could have taken had it continued its existence - the song, however, is followed by the slightly tedious and once again very funky 'I Need Love' and the forgettable song 'Drifter', both of which offer nothing overly exciting. 'Love Child' is a classic from this album, while the mini-suite 'This Time Around/Owed to 'G'' is the most unusual entry on the album but also a very welcome experiment on a generally stale and one-dimensional studio album. Closing track 'You Keep On Moving' is another one of the better-known Purple songs from that period, which is closed off by an album that is somewhat confusing, but also never really as bad as people say it is. It just a pretty good rock album but not necessarily an incredible DP album.