Fireball - Song By Song

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I came to this album late, and I don't know why it's a great little album. It's probably more consistent than In Rock maybe on a par with Machine Head... this excercise should finally determine in my mind which is better!

Fireball

One of the great album openers, from the opening drum lick to the vocal melody, this uptempo 3½ minute rocker is the sort of song all albums should start with! Great effort.

[Zzzptm]

Here's a 4-minute rocker played by Deep Purple's onetime opening band, Canada's Warpig:

Not a note-for-note thing here, but there's definitely the genesis of "Fireball" in the main riff of this song. Maybe Blackmore thought he was justified in borrowing it because there are several "Speed King" references in the Warpig tune. Also a bit of "Flight of the Rat" there at 2:40, leading into another "Speed King" reference.

Tighten it up, speed it up, and go in different directions with that riff. Honestly, a few bars into the Deep Purple song and I've forgotten most of the other tune. I just know that the main riff got pinched by the man who advised every aspiring young musician to hire a good team of lawyers once they've learned two chords!

Paicey's drumming is absolutely on point, not missing anything, great fills throughout.

And yes, we need to include Demon's Eye with this album, like Black Night goes with In Rock.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

And yes, we should also include Strange Kind of Woman for the same reason!

[Zzzptm]

And yes, we should also include Strange Kind of Woman for the same reason!

That's right! Demon's Eye and SKoW got switched out between the UK and USA releases.

[Zzzptm]

No No No

This is my second favorite track, behind No One Came. I love the heavy groove that Roger Glover's bass lays down and Lord's overdriven organ sound is perfect. Gillan's got passion in his vocals, Paicey rocks steady, and that smooth solo from Blackmore takes me to another place. It's very much a "heavy blues" sort of tune that, while not metal, is guaranteed hard rock gold.

When Lord does his solo, it's another chill part that I just love to savor. I swear, I can almost *taste* how good it is. The guitar/organ bridge that goes back to the hard verse section is brilliant stuff. It's progressive without sounding like the band is announcing at the start, "This will be a progressive rock composition."

Man, that bass line is a gas! And that's a great finish on it, to boot. This one and No One Came are definitely in my top 20 DP songs of all time, and in my top 10 of the Mk2 output. (Given that there were only 28 album tracks and 2 singles, a top 20 of Mk2 would be all but 10 songs!)

[Charger]

Fireball was for the longest time my second favourite of the classic Purple albums before In Rock inched past it but it still holds a very special place in my heart.

The album kicks off with a fierce rocker that is the title track. With the iconic air conditioner intro and that drum beat leading to the brilliant fast riff...all is right there. And Ian's fast vocals are nothing short of suberb.

This battles Highway Star for the best (and most iconic) DP album opener of all time. Such a great track and it also shows that a brilliant and versatile track doesn't have to be 6 minutes long to rock.

[Thelemech]

Going to listen to this album today, thanks guys for the inspiration - a truly great album.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

No No No

A nice mid-tempo rocker with slower parts. One of the best songs on the album. I like Gillan's vocals on this, the bass seems to hold it all together, while fine guitar and keyboard solos raise it up a notch further.

[Charger]

I'll be the party pooper on this track though..

No No No is a bit of a no no no for me...it's easily my least favourite track on the album. It's not a horrible track but it is bit lackluster. It lacks punch and Ian's vocals sound bit tired to me. Like he wasn't 100% in with the song.

Jon Lord has some great keyboard parts on this one but other than that I can't really find anything of note.

This is the track that I skip from this album most of the time.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Are we going US edition next (Stange Kind of Woman), or European edition (Demon's Eye)?

[Ted Sallis]

Fireball is my 2nd favourite DP album, after DPIR.  My favourite songs on the album are the title track, No No No and Fools, with Demon's Eye and The Mule not far behind.  Strange Kind of Woman is pretty good too.

I have the 25th Anniversary Edition CD which includes 9 bonus tracks.  Notable among the bonus tracks are the outtake Slow Train, a remix of SKOW, The Noise Abatement Society and a 1st take of the title track, w/o vocals, bass solo, etc.

Ted

[Zzzptm]

Fireball is my 2nd favourite DP album, after DPIR.  My favourite songs on the album are the title track, No No No and Fools, with Demon's Eye and The Mule not far behind.  Strange Kind of Woman is pretty good too.

I have the 25th Anniversary Edition CD which includes 9 bonus tracks.  Notable among the bonus tracks are the outtake Slow Train, a remix of SKOW, The Noise Abatement Society and a 1st take of the title track, w/o vocals, bass solo, etc.

Ted

I won't mind adding the bonus tracks from the 25th anniv. CD at the end of our analysis. Slow Train and Freedom are two faves of mine.

[Zzzptm]

Are we going US edition next (Stange Kind of Woman), or European edition (Demon's Eye)?

Let's do Strange Kind of Woman, then Demon's Eye.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Strange Kind of Woman

And so the story continues of Gillan's wierd sexual exploits/mishaps! Actually, I really like this song, it comes across as a happy song, quite commercial, with a nice riff, and Richie's solo's are good.

[Charger]

Always loved Strange Kind Of Woman. Extremely catchy riff, great vocal melody and great slightly tongue in cheek kind of lyrics. But this again was one of those songs that truly came alive in the live setting with the added jam parts and solos and Ian's adlibs.

I would actually be willing to say this is a top 3 song for me from the album...