DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK

The album "Deep Purple in Rock", released in 1970, marked an important place in Deep Purple history as it was the first studio album (#4 overall) to feature the most famous line-up of the band. However, it wasn't the first album to feature the line-up since the Mark II line-up would appear for the actual first time on the live album "Concerto for Group and Orchestra", which tends to get overlooked by many. "In Rock" would be the first time most people would hear this new line-up together, though, in reality, only two members were "new" to the line-up, that would be Ian Gillan (vocals) and Roger Glover (bass).

The band definitely had something to prove with this new line-up as the band moved away from the more meandering, psychedelic based rock to a heavier, more blues-focused hard rock, and prove it they did. Right from the outset, when the needle drops into the first groove of the record, the beginning of "Speed King", the listener gets a blast of guitar noise and over-the-top organ. Then when Gillan begins his wild singing style, fans new and old alike knew they were in for some uncompromising rock unlike anything the band had played on earlier studio albums. Many concert goers were already used to this no-hold-barred hard rock, but since the band had yet to reach their pinnacle of popularity, that didn't include too many people. And as the first three tracks continue, the band seems determined not to leave any doubt. Their decision to do an album so heavy and loud turned out to be a good one as Ian's maniacal singing opened the public's ears to some extreme possibilities especially when the crazy guitar and organ stylings of Blackmore and Lord were added to the mix.

This sound would continue through "Bloodsucker" and the ever famous "Child in Time", the first being quite riff heavy and the latter being what starts out as a ballad of sorts, but is actually a slow, boiling build up to a climax (not once, but twice) that paints a picture of complete lunacy, and Gillan plays (and sings) the part so well. Even now, it's been hard to match the degree of extreme singing that is present to this point on the album. In fact, the singer must have been told to tone it down after this album as it does seem more restrained in future albums, and Gillan would not reach this extreme level of singing again until he appeared on Black Sabbath's "Born Again" album.

So, all of this power and emotion promises an amazing album. Unfortunately, the album seems to lose a lot of it's strength after this. Even Gillan seems less animated and the instrumentals suddenly less dynamic and interesting. Yes there are some high points spread throughout, and "Into the Fire" has some moments, but these last four songs seem less memorable and only moderately enjoyable. That probably wasn't so much the case back when it was released, but now it doesn't seem to hold that level of excitement. Nevertheless, this was the beginning of something quite wonderful, and even with Gillan mostly under control in future albums, the band's masterpieces were still to come anyway. This is a great album even so, and should be considered on of the band's best in their classic repertoire, but it doesn't quite reach the "essential" status that it starts to allude to in the first three tracks. It's still worth it though, and still a great album.