Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Deep Purple
Label: Harvest Records
Released: 1969
Runtime: 44:34
Rating: 4/5
»Deep Purple« was the not-so-cleverly titled third studio outing from the British heavy rock giants Deep Purple, and also the last album by their original lineup, which fans of the legendary band call Mark I. In their first year together, Deep Purple used their first two studio albums and the hit singles »Hush« and »Kentucky Woman« to build a shiny reputation on American soil, while back home in Britain they were still almost complete unknowns, outcasts. It even drove the legendary keyboardist Jon Lord to say in one interview that they were the only schizophrenic British band, since they were way more popular in the US than in their homeland, where they played every gig for ‘peanuts’ and took a big financial loss compared to their shows in front of American crowds. The demanding and also spoiled home crowd simply wasn’t impressed by the two hit singles (both were covers of other artists) and, in the middle of the progressive rock explosion, wanted something far more exciting, adventurous and fresh.
Determined that something had to change radically in their songwriting and arranging, Deep Purple decided to steer their third album toward a heavier sound. That was pushed hardest by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, a man wise to every trick in the book, who had the firm backing of Lord and drummer Ian Paice. On the other side stood the velvet-voiced singer Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper. They didn’t like the new direction and weren’t really ready for it either, which you can feel on most of the compositions on »Deep Purple«, so their days in the band were numbered.
Despite the heavier sound, the much gloomier overall mood and the fact that Blackmore went wild on electric guitar with everything he had, »Deep Purple« still generally sounded more like progressive rock than hard rock, depending on the track, mostly thanks to Lord’s long-form Hammond organ showpieces and sprawling classical-style arrangements. Paice was as usual stunning behind the kit, while Simper improved noticeably as a bass player within a single year. With the exception of the adaptation of Donovan’s psychedelic folk rock standard »Lalena«, the covers have pretty much vanished, while individual arrangements got even more complex thanks to far deeper songwriting inspiration compared to the two previous studio efforts.
The sharper, gloomier sound is already well evidenced by the opener »Chasing Shadows«, which sets the standard for the experimental-tinged Deep Purple opening tracks to come. On this experimental piece you can hear Paice’s shamanic-flavored drumming in the background, while Evans, with his velvety vocal approach, delivers a hefty dose of melody. This time Simper’s grooving bass line is also nicely audible, while Blackmore, after some initial restraint, comes alive with a voluptuous guitar solo. And at the end Lord goes juicily wild on the Hammonds.
»Blind« is another experimental-tinged piece that, thanks to its sacred-sounding organ passages and rough guitar phrases, sounds gloomier than anything they did on the previous two albums, while Evans’ vocals, in the middle of a convincing interpretation of lyrics about unhappy love, are full of inconsolable melancholy. This time Ritchie also goes for a wah-wah effect during his solo, with grim-sounding bass lines propping him up in the background. The instrumental ending is slightly reminiscent of the score to a black-and-white horror flick. »Lalena«, a psychedelic folk rock ballad in Donovan’s original, leans on a melancholic mood and a superb vocal performance from Evans, one of the best of his short but interesting singing career. The heart-wrenching vocal interpretation is joined by inconsolable organ arrangements and nostalgic acoustic guitar chords, and the combination creates a truly magical ambience.
The suite »Fault Line/The Painter« was split into two parts on the reissued CD version, which luckily doesn’t affect the intensity of its mighty, turbulent atmosphere. »Fault Line« is a progressive rock instrumental opening section, you could even call it an intro, where Blackmore lets off steam with a short guitar solo, while »The Painter« is an excellent, well-rounded track where Ritchie’s devilish guitar riffing impresses most, along with yet another gastronomic solo that will still have all the guitar gourmands licking their fingers today. Throughout the whole album you can tell that the man in black started to claim a much bigger sonic canvas than on the previous two studio efforts, where he often left the main instrumental initiative to Lord’s Hammonds. Of course, the legendary keyboardist also treats himself to a hefty solo organ escapade that deepens the experimental nature of this splendid piece of work.
»Why Didn’t Rosemary?« is the first of two »Deep Purple« standards that earned classic status, mostly because the whole thing already leans toward their classic hard rock style. The melodic central structure rests on Blackmore’s spirited, blues-spiced guitar riff, while Evans puts on an arrogant vocal performance and Lord enthusiastically lays down rustling organ textures. The man in black once again delights with a bluesy guitar solo in the middle of which ‘heaven and earth open up’, while Paice thrills with wild drum fills. The black-humor lyrics, inspired by watching the film Rosemary’s Baby, tell of an unwanted pregnancy resulting from refusing the contraceptive pill.
The excellent psychedelic hard rock hybrid »Bird Has Flown«, where you could already imagine Evans’ successor Ian Gillan on lead vocals, is the next Purple evergreen, with a raw guitar riff, a grooving bass line and full-bodied organ seasoning. It’s all backed up by sprawling, massive drum transitions. Evans’ vocal interpretation is this time as dark and raw as his soft, velvety voice would allow. It was exactly this kind of vocal limitation that led to his departure.
The closing, super-complex 12-minute progressive rock suite »April«, where maestro Lord reigns supreme with the help of lavish orchestral arrangements, is the longest and maybe even the most ambitious studio piece in the entire (so far) Deep Purple story. The first two sections are instrumental, while the third section is a heavy rock song in the spirit of most of the previous material on the album. Here Ritchie finds himself in a realm of pastoral-flavored acoustic guitar chords, while on electric guitar he weaves a monumental solo. Lord’s organ orgy is pure nirvana on Earth, and the sprawling orchestral arrangements offer a vision of his upcoming classical-tinged project, »Concerto for Group and Orchestra« (1969). The closing vocal section fades a bit after the preceding orchestral orgy, though Lord’s and Blackmore’s solo acrobatics, over untamed drum transitions and with the help of mighty harmonies, make for a triumphant and epic finish.
The reissue of »Deep Purple« includes the American single »Emmaretta«, which stylistically has almost nothing to do with the material on the album, since it’s a distinctly commercially minded piece with a Beatles-style pulse that failed to win American hearts. This last attempt of theirs to conquer the American scene, which was quickly losing interest in a band it had until then associated with light, entertaining hits as Deep Purple’s sound shifted toward heavy rock, deserves an honorable mention mostly for its lovely chorus, funk-grooving bass line and inventive guitar riff.
»Deep Purple« was without a shadow of a doubt the best achievement of the Mark I Deep Purple lineup. This version of the legendary band hit its artistic peak and already had one foot in the big stylistic change that came right after Evans and Simper left. The two of them didn’t agree with the heavy rock vision of the future that Blackmore, Lord and Paice threw everything into over the following months, after the arrival of new singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover (both formerly of the psychedelic band Episode Six). »Deep Purple«, which is at least as far above its predecessor »The Book of Taliesyn« in quality as that one was above »Shades of Deep Purple«, burned out commercially on American soil too, thanks to catastrophically poor promotion from the label of the time. The proverbially dim and (supposedly) God-fearing Americans were even spooked by the rather feeble cover with Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, which they vehemently branded scandalous.
Lineup
Rod Evans- vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, backing vocals
Nick Simper – bass guitar, backing vocals
Ian Paice – drums
Production
Derek Lawrence
Track list
1. Chasing Shadows (5:34)
2. Blind (5:26)
3. Lalena (5:05)
4. Fault Line (1:46)
5. The Painter (3:51)
6. Why Didn’t Rosemary? (5:04)
7. The Bird Has Flown (5:36)
8. April (12:10)
