THE BOOK OF TALIESYN

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.