FIREBALL

Whereas the previous "Deep Purple In Rock" was loud and fast, things are taken down a notch in "Fireball." The opening title track could have easily been at home in "In Rock"- it's a great powerful opener. The rest of the album deviates from this as the band experiment a lot more. Sometimes it works ("The Mule") and sometimes it doesn't ("Anyone's Daughter"). The former is a trippy sound safari with some pretty sweet drum work courtesy Ian Paice. "Anyone's Daughter" is a mid-tempo country-style song. It's lyrical content is kind of funny, but it really doesn't fit in with the rest of the album's style and is a real low point overall. "No No No" is a good aggressive rocker, pretty typical Deep Purple song. "Strange Kind Of Woman" is an upbeat, bluesy rocker- the kind of stuff they do best. The last two songs, "Fools" and "No One Came" are both pretty good. "Fools" features quite a bit of quieter moments, n the beginning and an atmospheric jam in the middle, but a powerful riff otherwise. "No One Came" is a fast rocker, a great way to close to album.

Overall, "Fireball" is a success, but the band's experimentation doesn't always work, which is a bummer. It doesn't quite have the lasting appeal as "In Rock" or the upcoming "Machine Head," but it's still a good album in it's own right.

Standout songs: "Fireball", "The Mule"