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DEEP PURPLE
1970 - In Rock.
1972 - Machine Head.
1974 - Burn.
1984 - Perfect Strangers.
more DEEP PURPLE.
way more Helter Skelter.

June 5, 1970 - 2020: 50 years of: In Rock.

Another classicrock Royalty reaches another classic milestone.

The birth of anything remotely non-conformist in Earth's biggest and greatest cultural-revolution: the British-Invasion of the rebellious 1960s. On one side, spearheaded by THE BEATLES, THE ANIMALS and THE ROLLING STONES and on the other darkside, with the heavier LED ZEPPELIN, CREAM and DEEP PURPLE.

Hail ENGLAND !

DEEP PURPLE were always "that band" because they had their sound infused by distinctive organ-player rock-giant Sir Jon Lord …no he's not Knighted, but all should invoke him as Sir, got that ? After 3 releases and lukewarm reception, record number 4 is the missing cornerstone and point of no return for the quintet that went from acidrock to heavyblues-merchants / heavymetal co-creators ...the other co-creating element being BLACK SABBATH.

Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome into the world of rocknroll: Sir Ian Gillan on vocals and Sir Roger Glover on bass-guitar ...they are key-members of DEEP PURPLE they all should be invoked as Sir ! DEEP PURPLE 2.0, AKA the world-renown Mark II was now officially bound and ready for hardrock-stardom. 1970's In Rock LP is a landslide of loud guitars, hard hitting drums and cranium-splitting vocals.

After the apocalyptic-intro and then moody organ, the LP begins with the fast "Speed King" and it's demonic driving guitar-riff. Massive and menacing, the death-tone is from another world. No time to rest, as "Bloodsucker" kicks-in high-gear. The lead-guitar and keyboards shares lead position in a rock-solid rock-pattern groove.

The fast exterminating "Flight Of The Rat" is the genesis for speedmetal. Fast drums, fast guitar and accompanying fast bass-line. Just like having your pretty face shoveled against the nozzle of a motorbike, the fun starts here: DEEP PURPLE is the band and "Flight Of The Rat" is the song.

The heaviest of all heaviness is heavily displayed on the heavy-track: "Into The Fire". Heavy dirty overdriven guitar-tone, heavy repetitive chromatic-riff and Sir Ian Paice's heavy effervescent drums puts this particular heavy cut close to being heavymetal's ultimate incarnation. The heavy ton-like rhythm hammers-on for a full heavy 3:29sec of chest-bursting heavy-rock mayhem.

And now, one humanity's most epic power-ballad.

The grandiose 10min+ "Child In Time" is all melodies and deep classicrock magic. At the 2:52sec point Gillan's crescendo lines reaches Mount Rushmore-size status and explodes into a hardrock progressive chain-reaction at the 3:18sec mark. Using dynamics to the fullest extend of the law, the 4:06sec mark splits the atom as Sir Ritchie Blackmore's lead explore every inch of the fretboard and beyond. While at the 6:07sec finish-line, Lord safely brings us back home. This song should have been included on the Voyager spacecraft exploration. One of rocknroll's most revered song !

In Rock is now 50 years old, one of the most respected elders of heavy-music as it immortalizes DEEP PURPLE as one of the Stonehenge-monuments of the hardrock family-tree. No other record had the same blunt impact has it did, well except 1972's magnificent magnum-opus gazillion-selling Machine Head LP, where PURPLE outdid themselves ...and the entire rock-world.

You can't be a real rocknroll fan ...if you ain't in rock !

*
Speed King = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLn1SUg1dKE
In Rock = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLaX1zU2mtY&list=PLnsDnUvGpFynflK9Nc0x4bEk6dTBY6RjT
Interview in 1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu_BPML6-qI
Live British telecast in 1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwzq52iNaaM
Speed King covered by PRIMAL FEAR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86g0Cgtx7zU
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ox6my6FPHQ

March 25, 1972 - 2022: 50 years of: Machine Head.

Great-Britain's greatest !

Not just a mere flash in the pan, but 50 rich years of multi-layered genre-defining classicrock. 1972's all V8 heavy-gear Machine Head LP, remains one of hard rocknroll's most revered locomotive record to date. Time-challenging euphoric-rock !

Still today, anyplace in the world, you can play any of the following tracks and get people groovin': the revving of Highway Star, the foot-stomping of Smoke On The Water, the power-punch of Maybe I'm A Leo, the dreamy hazy Lazy ...and the ultimate epicenter of the album, the inter-galactic supernova of Space Truckin'.

Recorded under the gun in Montreux Switzerland, through THE ROLLING STONES's Mobile-Studio at the gargantuan last-resort Hôtel Des Alpes. The December-dead winter cold muddy-mood corridors rapidly became mutual motivation to perform louder and create mystical magic.

...and when the smoke clears off the lake, they dare to ask: "Can we have everything louder than everything else ?"

Budokan, the greatest mythical venue ever, birthplace of the greatest mythical live-record ever. 1972's Made In Japan is Gillan, Paice, Lord, Glover and Blackmore under the rising sun, stuff rocknroll-dreams are made of.

PS: It is a scandal that the godly ethereal "When A Blind Man Cries" was packaged as a mere B-side. Truely one of the saddest moody-blues tracks, since Hendrix's Red House.

PS2: Many thanks to the stupid who shot that flare-gun :)

RIP Jon Lord (1941-2012)
RIP Martin Birch (1948-2020)

*
Highway Star = live Beat Club video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTVut3RAEVQ
Machine Head = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKwPOy_nEmI&list=OLAK5uy_lRyo5Bovh1xLZ3arURBZS8mSAVKgpWYHk
Made In Japan = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxWSLKU1RbU&list=PLAj1Kf6aCyBJgedu2b07PUscgGxDJu54z
TV advertisement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCF3nwzz-UY
Live in Denmark in 1972
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGPLLAsctTI
Jon Lord interview in 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM7TidriOz4
Jon Lord isolated Hammond-tracks
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jon+lord+isolated+organ
Documentary in 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgaX6159wmM

February 15, 1974 - 2024: 50 years of: Burn.

Not one new singer ...but two !

The end of the road, both Ian Gillan are Roger Glover leaves DEEP PURPLE, following 1973's Who Do We Think We Are LP's touring-cycle. Tired yet still rock-dominant, the British royalty would carry on.

In comes ex-TRAPEZE vocal / bassist Glenn Hughes to support the Paice + Lord + Blackmore trio. And in an unprecedented mindset, the band decides to include more young blood ...World please welcome to the rocknroll arena, future snake: David Coverdale.

This is DEEP PURPLE Mark III.

"Burn" is a shark fast rock-attack, featuring melodic breakdown with space-effect keyboards and the new voices of classicrock ...a pure fireball ! The Jon Lord church-organ of "Might Just Take Your Life" warms the room and the hall is ablazed as soon as Coverdale and the rhythm-section crushes with heavy-rock. More vocal trade-offs with Hughes is magic in the making ...in solo or unison, this double machine-head is now in a league of their own.

The hot-vibe of "Lay Down, Stay Down" is a sharp-shooter, the muscular "Sail Away" drives with overdrive while the boogie-ness of "You Fool No One" proves once again that drummer Ian Pace is a solid foundation.

The soulful iconic blues-ballad "Mistreated" is another Ritchie Blackmore tour-de-force mix of riffing and creamy leads ...enough to make a blind man cry. The closing-number, the elusive "A 200", is a rich synth-prog psychedelic trek into the unknown, one of the band's stand-out cut.

On top of the rock food-chain again, DEEP PURPLE would make more eardrums bleed, especially at the inaugural April 1974 California Jam, featuring THE EAGLES, BLACK SABBATH and E.L.P.

RIAA-certified Gold, the energized Mark III troops would soon repeat the pillage, with the last Blackmore 70s led LP: November 1974's Stormbringer LP.

"Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn !!!"

*
Burn = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aQgEhh4-Do&list=PLgLk-j8sdm7YYptmHL005eiVeTsXbIjnq
Interview in 1974
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8vZwRE1axw
Live at California Jam in 1974
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ-CMPqvzQU
some band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3Zaat_dEp4
some other band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghINDxGLcaY

October 18, 1984 - 2024: 40 years of: Perfect Strangers.

Quintessential classicrock in the explosive 80s.

A single-year after Gillan's stint in BLACK SABBATH, the inactive DEEP PURPLE caught everyone by surprise. While most of the musicians were now RAINBOW / Gary Moore / WHITESNAKE-members, the unforeseeable happened: a full DEEP PURPLE reunion, that includes Gillan, Glover, Paice, Lord and Blackmore ...the iconic Mark II era.

Like a snake, the keyboards, the bass and drums slides into action as crystal-pure hardrock blasts out ..."Knocking At Your Back Door". Sweet Lucy and sweet licks, the magic is instant and arenas are set afire. Grandiose rock with grandiose consequences ...like a fireball, the almighty DEEP PURPLE is back.

"Oh ...it's not the kill ...it's the thrill of a chaaaAAAaaaAAAaaaase !"

Radiant rock rings aloud on "Under The Gun", the sharp "Mean Streak" and lovely lightning-strikes on "A Gypsy's Kiss". This entity never sounded this good, all united ...in rock.

The powerballad for "Wasted Sunsets" made blind man cries and the hot boogie-filled "Nobody's Home" made them shake hips again. The mammoth 5:28sec epic title-track for "Perfect Strangers" slices the decade in half, with it's piledriving rhythm and posh Gillan rampage.

Silent since 1976's Come Taste The Band touring-cycle, DEEP PURPLE's challenge was not only to produce high-quality rock ...but more to face the younger hardrock / heavymetal acts from both shores of the Atlantic. In a now newwave and glamrock dominated scene, DEEP PURPLE didn't gain new fans, but old fans were happily pleased with the picture Perfect Strangers material. A solid statement, an iron-clad testament to the craftsmanship created by these fine five British gents.

RIAA-certified Platinum, the revived unit would present more hard blues-based rock with 1987's The House Of Blue Light LP.

*
Knocking At Your Back Door = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp1mZZEzc7E
Perfect Strangers = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_kez7WVUU
Perfect Strangers = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-INu83mrf9w&list=OLAK5uy_nbCSomYVcT0PsJpJhHjRMDXRMpXMZDK6U
Press conference in 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZX-6HSFTd0
Interview in 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXmwIhIoXw
Live in 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bUd1dtfngk&list=PLJzIoUTz87Y2O9GEVo7vHCPi-DqXy1UmD
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_PNYvwKf4k

more DEEP PURPLE:

BLACK SABBATH