CONCERTO FOR GROUP AND ORCHESTRA

Deep Purple

Proto-Prog

3.30 | 346 ratings

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Seyo
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

Although on the surface "Concerto..." sounds like the most progressive rock album by DEEP PURPLE, things are not quite good.

After three interesting but comercially flawed early proto-prog/psychedelic albums, they (or rather: Jon Lord as the leader at the time) decided to go symphonic. And, as it usually happens in similar cases of mere ambition, they failed simply because this "symphonic rock" is not what we all know by that term as a sub-genre of Prog (GENESIS, YES...). You don't make rock progress by simply adding the Royal Philharmonic or any other orchestra for that matter. Progressive rock is not necessarily the inclusion of the influnces and musical ideas borrowed from Classical symphonic music of the XIX century. Or not only that. Otherwise it becomes a pathetically indulgent piece of work where the rockers are urged to show their musicianship and composing skills in a rather bombastic and pompose way.

The performance of "Concerto" is quite fair and decent, but what's the point? Orchestral parts and all that "movement" structure is pretty boring, Blackmore's and Paice's solo parts save the material a bit and remind you that this is after all a rock band. Jon Lord probably wanted to present himself as a "serious" composer and arranger in front of the academically trained musicians but he did not succeed.

After this album, the band changed direction and got a fame as a premier hard rock/heavy metal act which was to influence hordes of headbangers to come, so this effort with orchestra remains largely of interest for the historians of early prog rock and for devoted fans of DEEP PURPLE who must own everything that bears the band's name.

Seyo | 2/5 | 2007-6-10

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