BURN

With the departure from the band of Ian Gillan and Rodger Glover, it was inevitable that the sound of Deep Purple would change. In their place came vocalist David Coverdale and bassist/vocalist Glen Hughes. While Coverdale was by implication lead vocalist, almost all of the tracks here also feature Hughes also singing lead and/or harmony.

Apart from the obvious change brought about by the absence of Gillan's distinctive voice, the big question was could the band still cut it in terms of making quality hard rock music. With "Burn", the answer appeared to be a resounding yes. The title track kicks off the album in spectacular style with a blistering 6 minute slice of driving rock, similar to tracks such as "Fireball" and "Speed king". Ritchie Blackmore comes up with a riff to match "Smoke on the water" and fires off one of his finest solos. Jon Lord too contributes a wonderful keyboard burst.

The other feature track is "Mistreated", a sublime bluesy number with an even better solo by Blackmore. Here, Coverdale is in sole (or is that soul) control of the vocals, giving a fine, highly emotional performance. The track builds from a slow sparsely accompanied start to a striking crescendo with Blackmore's ever faster guitar being backed by descending vocalised ah-ahs. Coverdale's "I've been losing my mind" a cappella coda rounds things off perfectly. "Mistreated" is clearly a Blackmore song, indeed he would take it with him when he left for Rainbow, where it became a high point of their live act.

The remaining tracks are more variable, with several tending to reflect the jazz/blues influence of Hughes to a greater extent. "Sail away" is the best of the rest, but even here, the slurry vocals are far removed from the classic mark 2 sound. "Lay down, stay down" and "What's going on here" are almost funky, while "Might just take your life" and "You fool no one" have more of a rock feel.

Apart from the two feature tracks, Blackmore and Lord appear to be largely pushed to the background, the twin vocals being the dominant feature of the remaining tracks. The exception is the instrumental closer "A200", although this appears to be little more than a fun jam, and something of an afterthought.

If this was the first album by the band, it would be held in much higher regard. Given the superb albums it followed though, "Burn" was good enough to reassure fans of the band that Deep Purple could survive. Simultaneously though, it left many slightly disappointed, and perhaps even mystified.

Essential listening, If only for "Burn" and "Mistreated". Great sleeve too, with the band members faces made from candle wax, which become melted images on the reverse.

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