SHADES OF DEEP PURPLE

The debut album from Deep Purple and the Mark I of Deep Purple. A Deep Purple line up which did not set the world on fire. The remnants of Mark I (ok, only the vocalist) later ended up as Captain Beyond who released three albums with similar sounding music.

This album contains of some cover versions and some own produced stuff. Deep Purple's version of Hush, the second song on this album, gave them a minor hit and kept the band afloat. I think this is a pretty substandard song and it was a mystery to me why this song was released as a single again in the 1990s and included on a live album. Deep Purple's version of Help (Beatles) is also deeply unimpressive. One of Deep Purple's most played songs on gigs, Mandrake Root, is also on this album and it is the best song on this album. The rest of the songs are pretty dire though. Deep Purple's version of Hey Joe is OK, but totally lacks the balls and the magic Jimi Hendrix gave it.

The problem with this album is the lack of any really good songs, with the exception of Mandrake Root. Even Ritchie Blackmore plays like a neutered cat on this album, with the notable exception of his work on Mandrake Root. The only good thing about this album is the organs by John Lord.

In short, this is a pretty substandard debut from a band who went on to release some great albums some years later.

2 stars