PURPLE PASSAGES

I am fairly sure for most Deep Purple fans the first really essential album is "In Rock" I am probably in the minority who actually enjoy their earlier work as much as their supposedly "Classic" Gillan fronted years.The group's original singer Rod Evans has a particularly agreable voice- very similar to Greg Lakes and even fans of the Gillan fronted lineup would be at least aware of his singing on their first hit single "Hush" The general consensus especially among critics is that for the first three albums they were still trying to find their sound but that is actually not really the case. They were certainly experimenting with different styles and formats but to my ears quite successfully.

"Purple Passages" is a summation of their early years cherry picking the best tracks of their first three albums plus the non LP single "Emmeratta". The three cover version "Hey Joe, Hush and "Kentucky Woman" are all excellent and generally more punchy and inventive than the originals. Of the two instrumentals "Hard Road/Wring That Neck" is by far their best known as it has appeared on at least two other compilations but I actually prefer "And The Address Is" - it is so groovy with some great punchy keyboard work by Jon Lord.I can imagine it being played at a nightclub in the late 60's when it was recorded being danced to by swinging 60's girls in mini skirts and knee length boots. It is just so COOL.I was interested to see it get re-recorded on the group's most recent LP "Whoosh".

The compilation also includes the lengthy quasi Classical "April" which also illustrates just how ambitious the group was in the early day an an obvious forerunner for the "Concerto For Group and Orchestra" recorded soon after.

This album is a superb one-stop shop of their early pre-Gillan years work.I found this on CD (a Japan only release ) but worth tracking down.

5 stars