BURN

Deep Purple bands tend to refer to the different lineups of the band as "Deep Purple Mark I", "Deep Purple Mark II" and so on, almost as though they are different bands, and on the basis of Burn I'd say there's some merit to that approach. This is the debut of Deep Purple Mark III, which sees Ian Gillian and Roger Glover being replaced by Dave Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.

Some bands try to push on with business as usual when they have a lineup change, but I really respect the way Deep Purple see their personnel shift as an opportunity rather than a problem, taking it as chance to experiment with their sound and really develop it to the next level and accommodate the new strengths of the incoming members. Coverdale does a superb job on vocals here, but he's able to pull it off because the band's new swampy, funky style - with the blues influence on their sound really teased out here and there - brilliantly supports his particular vocal approach.

No, it's not quite the same if you're in it for material like Child In Time or Highway Star - but then again I'm sure Deep Purple Mark II was a bit of a shock for people who wanted more stuff like Hush or Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Circumstances change, and here Deep Purple change with them in order to come out stronger. I can honestly say I find this album more consistent than any of the Mark II albums. At the same time, as far as straight-ahead mid-1970s hard rock goes, whilst it is a solid example of that form the likes of Kiss and others were already putting out superior examples of the form.