DEEP PURPLE

The third, self-titled, album of DEEP PURPLE is by far the best of the early period including the Mark I line-up. The band were finally capable of making their own developed original songs, with only one cover - the excellent rendition of Donovan's psychedelic ballad "Lalena". There is no weak track on the album, starting from strong heavy rock opener "Chasing Shadows" up until the symphonic leanings of "April". There are still a lot of psyche elements mixed with jazzy, improvisational hard rocking and real proto- progressive expansion of the sound. Even the cover design incorporating the band members into the Bosch's XVI century surreal painting "Garden of Joy" is very good!

Unlike many similar work of the era, "Deep Purple" is never boring; each track has its own identity and the listening experience is diverse and challenging. Hard-rocking boogie of "The Painter" and "Rosemary" (anyone mentioned Roman Polanski?) combines nicely with wonderful psyche prog of "Blind" (perhaps the best moment on the record) and "Bird Has Flown". In fact, if you are to investigate low points of this album, the most obvious flaw is too extended symphonic orchestral piece that somehow breaks the integrity of "April" composition.

As someone who is not a fan of the band's most popular Mark II period that spurred the development of heavy metal, "Deep Purple" comes as a big surprise and shows how many pieces of wonderful music are still buried in the vaults of history. It is a shame that none of these songs have been properly introduced to the public, always giving preference to the undisputed classics of metal genre but also largely outdated and quite banal juvenile works such as "Speed King", "Child in Time", "Smoke on the Water" or "Highway Star". This album is probably the most "progressive" album in DEEP PURPLE catalogue (and along with "Burn" most unfortunately neglected), therefore it is highly recommended to listen.

PERSONAL RATING: 4,5/5 P.A. RATING: 5/5