To those of you who mutter that Deep Purple are not heavy metal I have two things to say: one, shut up and two, listen to this album. Purple may be seen more as a hard rock than heavy metal band --- and they probably are, my witty comments above notwithstanding --- but if this isn’t a Heavy Metal album then I don’t know what is. Plus it influenced a whole generation and brought the attention of the world to one Ian Gillan. Its chart position of number 4 was pretty much unheard of at the time for an album of this ilk, and even though it was recorded almost forty-five years ago, it still sounds as good today.
Deep Purple in rock --- Deep Purple --- 1970 (Harvest)
This album was also an early introduction to me into the world of hard rock and later Heavy Metal, and though at the time it didn’t quite impress me the way the guy who loaned it to me had hoped or expected it would, over time I’ve gained a better appreciation for it, and can see how, like Sabbath’s debut, it helped kickstart the whole Heavy Metal genre. It was also the first album on which Deep Purple stepped away somewhat from their more experimental, psychedelic and often orchestral work and towards a bluesier, grittier and harder approach. Plus as I mentioned it featured the first appearance of Ian Gillan on vocals, who would go on to pretty much define the band’s classic sound, and also Roger Glover on bass, a lineup which, with Blackmore, Paice and Lord, would endure for three years and through four albums, including the seminal “Fireball” and “Machine head”.
Kicking off with an absolute guitar assault from Ritchie Blackmore, ably assisted by Ian Paice and with frenetic flurries from Jon Lord at the keys, “Speed king” quickly settles down into a quiet slow organ line from Lord, running into a sort of carnival theme with classical overtones before Blackmore kicks the crap out of it and Gillan comes in with what would become his trademark howl. Now I have never liked Ian Gillan, but even I have to admit the man can sing! Almost like male Janis Joplin, he gives it all he has as the song takes off, and everyone is on the same page. Soon enough though the guitar fades down and new boy Roger Glover accompanies Lord as he winds out an impressive solo on the keys.
Not to be outdone, ever, Blackmore soon comes in with a squealing guitar solo as Paice keeps the beat steadily with Glover. It’s not till the fourth minute of the almost six the song runs for that Gillan comes back in, but his presence and impact is immediate, and you can certainly see and hear a star in the making. “Bloodsucker” is a real boogie rocker, which this time gives Gillan more scope to vent his powerful voice. Whereas on the opener he was mostly screaming, here he pulls it back and you get to hear the incredible range this man has. A lot of Deep Purple’s best music though, despite the sometimes overbearing presence and mighty talent of Ritchie Blackmore comes from the rather shy figure of Jon Lord, and here he paints the backdrop to Blackmore’s guitar histrionics with soft organ, getting louder as the song goes on.
The standout though, as anyone will tell you who has heard the album, is the ten-minute epic “Child in time”, which opens with an almost neoclassical organ piece and soft percussion. Gillan sings gently as the song opens, the organ backing him, no real sign of Blackmore just yet. The vocal gets a little stronger and more laden with passion, Paice’s drumming also increasing in strength though still slow, and Gillan croons the next few lines, his voice rising in octaves each time, putting me somewhat in mind of Clare Torry on Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky”, which would not be released until three years later. As his vocal gets more frantic and wild --- basically screaming, but screaming in tune and time with the music --- Blackmore blasts in with a machinegun guitar before loosing off a smooth solo, Lord’s swirling organ losing none of its grandeur or majesty.
The tempo then increases in the fourth minute, as we head into the midsection, affording both Blackmore and Glover a chance to cut loose, with Paice’s drumming getting faster and harder, Gillan not involved at this point. Even Lord’s organ has quickened, following the lead he initially laid down for the rest of his bandmates, which has now changed drastically. In the sixth minute everything stops, and Lord begins a reprise of the opening, bringing Gillan back in for the grand finale, and a feat of vocal gymnastics that really has to be heard to be believed. This type of pressure on his voice would later lead to Gillan being hospitalised, and nearly losing his voice in the process.
The song then ends on a big rapid organ solo from Lord, a crazy vocal from Gillan and thunderous drumming and guitarwork that brings it to the sort of conclusion usually reserved for train crashes. Yeah, it’s that powerful! After that it’s hard to see Purple getting any better, and indeed the rest of the album can’t measure up to that powerhouse performance, Deep Purple at their best. But “Flight of the rat” is a good rocker with a nice guitar riff underpinning the romping organ and Gillan in more restrained form. It’s another long song, nearly eight minutes and features a fine solo from Lord followed by one from Blackmore as the two try to one-up each other, making for some great music. There’s even time for an drum solo of sorts!
Much shorter and to the point is “Into the fire”, on which Blackmore is certainly in command. With a riff that shows to a degree the seeds that would germinate into their classic “Smoke on the water”, it’s a stomping, punching rocker that kicks everything out of its way as it goes, almost a Black Sabbath sound to it. Gillan’s voice is rawer and more ragged on this, and it suits the song well. Big, rolling, booming drums usher in “Living wreck”, a hard-hitting blues-style rocker that crunches along with a grinding, howling organ from Lord and a powerful vocal from Gillan. The closer is another long track, just over seven minutes as “Hard lovin’ man” brings down the curtain on this classic album.
With a big 60s style intro on drums and guitar, it rises on Glover’s bass and Blackmore’s guitar while Lord embellishes the tune with keyboard touches before unleashing the full power of his organ (ooer!) and the song runs along at a nice pace. It betrays a lot of what you would find in seventies progressive rock, with extended keyboard solos and a sort of stabbing guitar line. Gillan launches into vocal orbit again, giving it his all. A big gong crashes out from Paice’s kit, signalling the beginning of a solo war between Lord and Blackmore, the likes of which would become a trademark of this version of Deep Purple. The song ends suddenly and leaves Blackmore to have the final word as his guitar swirls and hisses its way to the end.
TRACKLISTING
1. Speed king
2. Bloodsucker
3. Child in time
4. Flight of the rat
5. Into the fire
6. Living wreck
7. Hard lovin’ man
I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Deep Purple, though I followed the bands that arose from its ashes --- Rainbow, Whitesnake --- but this album is special. Along with “Machine head” I believe it’s probably one of the most important rock albums of the seventies, and one that had a pronounced and lasting effect on Heavy Metal bands for decades to come. There’s unlikely to be a metalhead anywhere who doesn’t have at least one Purple album in his or her collection; as Fish says in Marillion’s “Torch song”, it’s part of the heritage.
It’s interesting and informative to hear Ian Gillan at the height of his vocal prowess, considering how he changed his style in later years, with little recourse as his vocal cords were shot to hell, and to hear the quiet command Jon Lord maintained over the band, despite the bombastic showmanship of Ritchie. A gentleman in every sense of the word, Lord was the steady hand on the tiller that steered this band through two of their finest and most influential albums.
The cover shows the faces of the five carved into stone, a la Mount Rushmore. Perhaps this could be seen, certainly at the time, as the physical projection of the ego of the guys but I don't think so. At this point they weren’t really that successful and superstardom would only come after this album. But in many ways now, forty-four years later, it seems somehow right and appropriate to see their faces in rock, the founding fathers of so much of what we call Heavy Metal today.