ELEMENTS

It took me many years after discovering my musical tastes to realize how important Deep Purple is in the history of recorded rock music. I wasn't born until they had been around for ten years and I'm from the USA, so being raised on classic rock radio only meant I heard Smoke on the Water and Hush. 1996 Dazed and Confused movie soundtrack had Highway Star on it. I had bought their debut album as a pirated CD at a Big Lots store in high school for $1.99, which was really good but not earth shattering.

Still, it wasn't until much later I heard "Child in Time" on the radio and said "This is AWESOME" "Who is this"? that I dug deeper and found out they have four albums that are put right up there with the best material of the period, music that shaped the face of heavy metal on par with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath (stalwarts on classic rock radio in my area).

Then I started working with a guy in his fifties and we started talking music. He was an enormous Deep Purple fan, he had all their US released CD's, a bunch of imported bootlegs and solo material from the band members. I tried the Ian Gillan Band first, Clear Air Turbulence is fantastic. I argued with the guy (Kelly is his name) that is actually a funk record. I never would have discovered that album if it wasn't for him, I'm grateful.

I'm also grateful he turned me on to Roger Glover, calling him the "invisible talent" in the band. Elements is a prog/funk/disco/rock/ambient/symphonic tour de force, focusing on the four elements (fire, water, wind, earth) and utilizing to great effect the talents of the Munich Philharmonic.

Elements really is an outlier album in the history of progressive rock and it deserves more exposure among its fans. The second song on Side A, in all of it's King Crimson glory, should appeal to all fans of true prog. My favorite is the light and airy The Fourth Ring's With the Wind. That track has been on repeat in my player many times.

I'm surprised this one hasn't gotten more run, but I'm glad knowing when I listen to it Kelly and I are probably the only people doing so within a thousand mile radius in either direction. A solid four stars.