WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE

For their seventh album Deep Purple had a lot to follow up on. They had had massive success album after album with works, now considered classics, like Fireball, In Rock, Machine Head and the live offering, Made In Japan. Clearly the inspiration had run out, but the band must have been as high on life as a kite when they recorded this, because they're clearly putting a lot of effort into simply subpar material. While the album can still be called good it is no were near the caliber of earlier works, which is probably why it was so ill received back when it came out. If there were any pluses, however, it was that the band were seen to be 'on the comeback' afterward.

Still, there is some good material to be had on the album. First and foremost is the song that many Deep Purple fans consider to be an embarrassment to the band's catalog, the single - and actually somewhat well known - Woman From Tokyo. Everyone has heard this song at some point in their lives, and if it doesn't look familiar then just wait until you refresh your ears with another listen. The sound of Gillian shouting ''my woman from Tokyo!'' will ring a bell right away. This is actually a fairly impressive single rooted in blues rock and tainted it Purple's trademark perverseness. Just about every song on the album will follow suite with this, creating an album with is very 'unprogressive', but that's not the main problem with the album, not at all.

The songs most rooted in strong songwriting are where Purple really shines. Take for example the excellent opener to side 2, Rat Bat Blue, which would actually inspire artists such as German artists Helloween to cover it on albums way in the future. Blackmore scorches the guitar in this track with his bluesy riffs and solos, making for the standout of the album. Unfortunately, the rest of the songs on the album fall between weak and forgettable. Mary Long has some of the strangest lyrics ever used in a repetitive chorus, and there's not much to save the song from that anyways. The other songs on the album are pleasant, but ultimately forgettable.

It would be hard to call this a poor album, but it certainly is weak by any standard. Still, if you're a fan of the band it is anything but a clay pigeon of a disc, and you'll probably get some good enjoyment out of it. Just make sure you don't spend a small fortune on the album, because while it is good, it's got the face that only a mother (or in this case, fan) could love. Fans only, starters to the band are recommended to check out the 4 releases that preceded this one.

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