BURN

Deep Purple's Mk II will always be one my dearest groups;the albums made by the band in the early 70s simply changed forever my relation with music.In a time when I was discovering rock n' roll and everything was new and fresh,I remember being truly disapointed after a few lsitens to this 'new Deep Purple',specifically the title track of their fist album.I heard Burn(the song)several times and couldn't quite catch up to the truth until it was put down in words I'll never forget:"their(Gillan and Glover)departure resulted in a serious quality dropdown'.Eventually I bought the album,only to discover that the majesty of the Mk II had been indeed lost:Deep Purple turned out poppier and somehow bluesy with Burn,making quality rock music by all means,but without their charming charisma.

Two songs do stand out:the first is the after all very good title track(altough I personally hold my impression that this is inferior to previous highlights like Highway Star or Speed King),with a killer riff and swrling melody which leads to great soloing,and strong lyrics sang vividly by David Coverdale(Glen Hughes does eventually come up to spoil it however).The second..well,the second is by far Mk III's most rewarding contribution to the Deep Purple legacy,a wonderfull blues piece called Mistreated.This is Ritchie Blackmore exercising his unparalleled gift over a Fender Stratocaster,crowned with Coverdale's best recorded vocal performance with the band.I'm not much of a fan I admmit,but his voice truly is thrilling here.

The album is mostly consisted of good tracks,but all in all it ends up sounding somehow generic,without the magic of In Rock or Fireball,albums wich seemed to be refreshing at every new song.Still,Might Just Take Your Life and Sail Away are very nice numbers,though they tend to get a bit repetitive towards the end.The worst aspect of the album is the backing voice of Glenn Hughes, which although turns out nice enough on bass(without the groundshaking sound of Roger Glover that is),give the music a dated character, funk-inspired and exagerated.

If you're in for some good,uncompromised old-fashioned rock n' roll,give Burn a try.It will be rewarding in it's own way.Just don't expect the cheer brilliance of past glories like Child In Time or Pictures Of Home:that unique,magic sounding of Deep Purple is gone forever,and from here on,to set too high expectations may ruin the chance of enjoying their work.