Deep Purple In Rock - Song by Song

[Zzzptm]

After 3 commercially-focused, pop-flavoured albums, Ritchie Blackmore decided it was time to take the band in a different musical direction. Out went Rod Evans and Nick Simper, in came Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. Out went Beatles cover tunes and in came... well, first came the Concerto for Group and Orchestra which really confused fans...

AFTER that came Deep Purple In Rock, essentially a hard re-launch of the band's name and direction. No string/horn arrangements or ballads, that's for sure. What was on there? Well... screaming, for a start...

***

Speed King

Guitar blast, organ solo, then WHACK, that drum beat is what sets off the stack of dynamite in Ian Gillan's explosive vocals. The rest of the band drives in, full bore, crushing everything in their path to make way for... a jazzy organ/guitar interchange? Huh? What? But, well, it works, and it leads up to the harder, heavier side of that pairing as everything climaxes to another screamer from Big Ian belting out a mess of Little Richard references like a oldies DJ hopped up on Benzedrine.

It's an awesome opener, totally different from just about anything the band did with the Mk1 lineup. Hello and welcome to Deep Purple, Mk 2.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I do like Speed King a great opener for this album. It feels like a jam and I doubt they could have reproduced it "exactly" like that ever again! Listening to it earlier I forgotten how important the bass was in driving the song forward. Slight gripe is that Ian is slightly low in the mix and drowned out in places, but that IS minor.

[Charger]

In Rock I think was my third Purple album...I'm not sure...First one was a collection Deepest Purple that I got from the local second hand store for pennies. Loved it, loved the songs so went on to get Perfect Strangers (from the same store I might add again for next to nothing)...then I'm not sure if it was Purpendicular or In Rock (those both I bought brand new In Rock being the 25th Anniversary edition)...all I remember is that Machine Head was later for some reason...

Anyways for some period In Rock was not among my highest ranking Purple albums. Part from Speed King and obviously Child In Time I didn't really connect with it for some reason. But it grew on me the more Purple stuff I got. Then I discovered the magic of the other tracks...well part from Flight Of The Rat but more on that later ofcourse.

I rank the classic three pretty much equally now...all brilliant. But if I'd have to put them in order this would be in the middle of the bunch.

Anyways...

SPEED KING opens up with a soft barely audible intro, which is bit off to be honest. But when it kicks off with Ian belting out those vocals the song gets going and you instantly know why this is such a classic tune. The guitar work is amazing even on the verse and the whole band just kicks ass plain and simple. The dual solo sections also set the tone for many Purple songs to come with both Ritchie and Jon sharing lead duties creating that very distinctive sound which no one had done before and very few band did as brilliantly afterwards either.

I think Speed King can be also considered not just one of the first heavy metal tunes but one of the first Speed Metal tunes as well. It is fast, it is furious and it is brilliant.

[Zzzptm]

It's tricky explaining Speed King... "Great proto-speed metal with a jazz improvisation in the middle." Yet, that's exactly what it is and it WORKS.

***

Bloodsucker - mid-tempo punching with a very heavy rhythm and hard-edged guitar and organ playing. Gillan's vocals are acidic and rough, just like the subject matter for the song. Love his gibbering at the end, it's mixed down but still great fun.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Bloodsucker

I sorta ignored this one previously, but giving it a few listens over weekend I find it's one of the better tracks on the album. Indeed side 1 is far superior to side 2 but more on that later. It's got a nice riff and has a noce groove about it.

[Charger]

Bloodsucker is a great little tune with a nice heavy riff and some great lyrics and vocals by Ian...but I do have to say I prefer the new version from Abandon. Ian's vocals are better and they are without that silly effect for the last verse that is present on this version.

[Zzzptm]

Child in Time

Do not be fooled by the intro - this is NOT a quiet song. I see Jon Lord's classical influence in the Bolero-like triads that build tension throughout the piece. In fact, that's a perfect comparison, Ravel's Bolero, as both pieces build gradually to a climax through increasing dynamics. In Deep Purple's case, they add some screaming to go with that. There's another improvisational section in the middle, but it's not the plodding classicism of Mark 1 DP, but Blackmore cutting things loose and letting his guitar be as expressive as Gillan's voice. His solo is aggressive, yet melodic. Lord's gentle recap of the initial theme takes us back to the start and we return to the Bolero buildup. The finale layers organ arpeggios with Gillan's ranting and screaming with that rhythm section driving everything to a final, orgasmic, concluding chord.

This is not a get-up-and-dance-around kind of tune. This is not really a headbanger or a singalong. It's a very hard rock piece that beats the listener into submission. It's something that makes one think more than it makes one move about.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Child In Time

There's a lot to like in this song, from Lord's keyboards to Blackmore's solo, and much of Gillan's vocals works really well. I might considered a heretic though in that I think Gillan's screams go on way to long, but I don't think it's a massive problem. Great song.

[Charger]

Child In Time....what can I say...this is one of the greatest songs in history. A pure masterpiece. The soft intro that leads into the explosive middle section filled with incredible guitar work from Mr. Blackmore...

This was THE #1 song on my Top 10 epic songs list so I guess that kind of says it all there is for me to say about this song...
https://www.komunumo.net/forumo/index.php?topic=207.msg2060#msg2060

[Zzzptm]

Child In Time....what can I say...this is one of the greatest songs in history. A pure masterpiece. The soft intro that leads into the explosive middle section filled with incredible guitar work from Mr. Blackmore...

This was THE #1 song on my Top 10 epic songs list so I guess that kind of says it all there is for me to say about this song...
https://www.komunumo.net/forumo/index.php?topic=207.msg2060#msg2060

Indeed. It certainly has one of Blackmore's finest solos, smack in the middle.

If you'd like to spend another day on Child in Time before moving to Flight of the Rat, I would not blame you for lingering, not one bit.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Flight of the Rat

Everything about this suggests I should like it, the riff is pretty good, the bass/keyboards are fine and there's nice drum solo just before the end. But I feel Ian doesn't sing it that well, and the whole doesn't live up to the sum of it's parts. I generally skip it (actually I generally skip side 2!  )

[Zzzptm]

The lyrics sounded much cooler when I was much younger.

Most of the rhymes are moon/spoon/June caliber stuff and Gillan doesn't get to do much vocal variety until the little break at 1:45, then it's back to the same old same old, such a shame. He gets to belt it out at 2:35, but it's so short, blink and you'll miss it. Makes you wonder if we really needed those verses before the organ solo kicked off.

The organ/guitar part is great, though. After that, the verse section recap fits better. Then there's that funky bit that shows up and acts like it belongs in the song before Blackmore's guitar sends it off. We get a nice solo from Paicey and then we're done.

It's a pretentious, ambitious collection of movements that seem pieced together.

[Charger]

Flight Of The Rat is the only real dip in quality on this album. It's bit tedious and most certainly bit over long. Eventhough this is still heavier than anything they did before with Evans, it still echoes maybe bit too much to the past.

I've also always felt this song was bit too disjointed...like it's got bit too many parts that don't quite add up. Has a rushed feel to it...like it was jammed in the studio and the guys went "hey this sounds cool let's record it!"...could have used few more twists and tweaks this one.

[Zzzptm]

Into the Fire, on the other hand, is a song that I've liked more as Flight of the Rat faded in my opinion. It's straight-up 100% heavy blues, like Janis Joplin being backed by 800-pound gorillas driving steamrollers. The fuzz level on this track is phenomenal. It's 3 and a half minutes of great bashing, and I'm liking it even more after this listen.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Into The Fire

Best track on side 2, yep, not bad!



BTW are we doing Black Night? I know it's not on the original release, but both my copies have it.