188. Deep Purple - Deep Purple In Rock (1970)




















Track Listing

1. Speed King
2. Bloodsucker
3. Child In Time
4. Flight Of The Rat
5. Into The Fire
6. Living Wreck
7. Hard Lovin' Man

Review

Aaaahaaaahaaah, Deep Purple. This list has taken a markedly heavier sound in the last few days and Deep Purple is one of the first heavy bands together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. It is also the least interesting of the three. Even though they are not that interesting they are probably one of the best bands technically. There is no comparison to Black Sabbath in terms of technical prowess for example, but Sabbath's simplicity adds something to the enjoyment of it, which Deep Purple with its more experimentalist vein does not.

There are great tracks here, mainly Child In Time and Speed King, the 10 minutes of Child in Time are great, and the bridge shows a technical ability beyond even Zeppelin. But, like in bands such as Phish and albums like the Greatful Dead's Live/Dead being good technically does not make you a good band. There is an innefable quality to heavy music which is present in Sabbath and Zeppelin and is missing here. The charm of the slightly stupid Sabbath or the sonic power mixed with beautiful acoustics of Zeppelin is not here.

This is still an enjoyable album, the lyrics aren't particularly stupid, it's very well played and some tracks are really good. They do lose themselves in experimentation, however, like in the last track. It just didn't do much for me. Get it at Amazon UK or US.

Track Highlights

1. Child In Time
2. Speed King
3. Into The Fire
4. Bloodsucker

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

This was the first studio effort from the "Mark II" lineup of Deep Purple. Their earlier work was much more pop-oriented, with orchestra-driven tracks and covers that ranged from The Beatles to Neil Diamond, among others, but on this record there are no traces. All tracks are credited to the working efforts of the five members of the band. "Speed King" and "Flight of the Rat" are prime examples of hard rock songs, and the band's new style. "Child in Time" is perhaps the most famous song from this record. This song starts off as a ballad but then becomes a rocker with many improvisations. "Child In Time" is famous for the high notes Ian Gillan hits in the song. "Child in Time" was the only song from this album that was included on Made in Japan two years later (although "Speed King" was the usual encore and is featured on the expanded CD re-issue, as is "Black Night" which was included in the "Deep Purple In Rock" reissue).

Child In Time Live, love the blasé audience: