BURN

Deep Purple's Burn surfaced at the height of their fame as progenitors of British proto metal. The classic lineup consisted of David Coverdale's vocals, Ritchie Blackmore's axe work, Jon Lord's keyboard wizardry, Glen Hughes bass, and Ian Paice on the boom booms. They burst out of the gate with a frantic pace on Burn, the most beloved of all these tracks. The melody and vocals are infectious and the musicianship sizzles like flaming embers. The percussion of Paice cooks and Lord's keys grind up a storm.

Might Just Take Your Life is motored by organ shreds in a bluesy rhythm. The harmonies are wonderful and Blackmore's lead breaks are scorching.

Lay Down, Stay Down has some great riffing and an ice cool lead break.

The pace becomes a slow burn on Sail Away that features a catchy melody and Coverdale in fine form.

You Fool No One has Paice locked in a rhumba rhythm and harmonies throughout. An oddity in Purple's catalogue and again Coverdale is a powerhouse on vocals. The lead break ascends to some high note fret work.

What's Goin' On Here has an infectious hook and a blues rock feel. The harmonies are glorious and Blackmore is having a ball on lead guitar with the call and answer approach to the vocals, then ballroom piano follows. This one is a real fun blast and remains a favourite obscurity.

Mistreated has been a favourite of mine since I've heard it live, powered by Coverdale and a blistering lead guitar solo. The slow bluesy feel is wonderful, and how this builds gradually with layers of guitars over Hughes brooding baseline has a genuine emotional resonance. The outro lead break is a belter, a blazing inferno of speed picking.

"A" 200 closes the album with spacey keyboards and catchy melodies. The instrumental is captivating.

Overall, Burn is a blazing triumph and the band would keep the candle burning for the next year's albums with only a few burnouts along the way.