DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK

An album with a monumental reputation, but which as far as I can tell has had that reputation built on two of its seven songs - Speed King, which is a great intro, and the admittedly wonderful Child In Time. The rest of the material on display, frankly, is of decidedly mixed quality; the second side is particularly weak, with Hard Lovin' Man and Into the Fire being particularly repetitive and lightweight. The incorporation of organ into a proto-metal sort of structure is tastefully done, and at points is able to drive the group to powerful heights - as on Child In Time - but can anyone really say any of the other songs on the album compares to that masterpiece? Personally, I can't.