"In Rock" was pointing in a new direction, leaving the path that
Deep Purple has walked in previous efforts, a totally new concept
but still built around Rock'n'Roll AND cleverly produced/recorded by Martin
Birch, who would produce Iron Maiden ten years later
.
And as Ritchie Blackmore said during the recordings 'If it's not
exciting/dramatic it doesn't belong on this album..'
That's what's In Rock is: Exciting and Dramatic!!!
Released in June 1970 and recorded between Aug 1969 &
Feb 1970 at De Lane Lea and Abbey Road studios in London, engineered by Andy
Knight, Martin Birch and Philip McDonald
and produced by Deep Purple
A Masterpiece
is Born!
My first ecounter with Deep Purple was a year before
In Rock and when I bought In Rock I expected a similar album...as the
previous ones.
My mother had a connection(at a record shop) so I got
the record some time before it was released in the stores..I was home..having a
cold..looked a the great cover, turned on the receiver and put the LP on the turn
table..waiting for the first song...suddenly...a screaming guitar intro opens the
album..
'Speed King'[5:53]
and it keeps on for 40 seconds and ends up in an organ intro in a classical Baroque
style when the song turns into a Rock 'n' Roller when Gillan sings:
'Good Golly, said little Miss Molly
When she was rockin' in the house of blue light
Tutti Frutti was oh so rooty
When she was rockin' to the east and west
Lucille was oh so real
When she didn't do her daddies will
Come on baby, drive me crazy - do it, do it
I'm a speed king - You got to hear me sing
I'm a speed king - See me fly'
2 minuts 40 seconds into the song Blackmore
and Lord starts a jazzy interplay which ends up in a fuzzy guitar
solo while Paice and Glover carry the song forward,
4:20 into the song back with Gillan....
What an opener!!!
'BloodSucker'[4:13]
'Gotta black breast Chinese eyes
Got an English brain that's gonna make me wise
Got a long story that I wanna tell
To a rhythm that I know so well
Really got a lot of lovin' that I wanna give
Baby I'm a mystery but you know I gotta live
I tried another but she didn't want to know
Aaaah --- no, no, no!'
This song is one of Gillan's highlights on the album,
Lord and Blackmore is trading solos while the rythm section just goes on an on..
'Child In Time'[10:18]
A ten minute epic anti-war song, with the intro, G G Am---G G Am--- F F G-- G G
Am, from the band It's A Beautiful Day's song "Bombay
Calling".
Dominated by the church liked organ play and Gillan's beautiful
singing both smooth and in falsetto.
3 minutes and 33 seconds into the song it's time for Blackmore
to take the lead with a great bluesy and lightning-speedy solo, over 2:30-minutes
long which ends up in part 1(organ+singing):
'Sweet child in time you'll see the line
The line that's drawn between the good and the bad
See the blind man shooting at the world
Bullets flying taking toll
If you've been bad, Lord I bet you have
And you've not been hit by flying lead
You'd better close your eyes and bow your head
(And) wait for the ricochet'
and by then Gillan has showed that he's the greatest
heavy metal singer, ever!
'Flight of the Rat'[5:53]
and it's time for my Purple favourite song with fast tempo shifting
parts were the band takes the song to a higher level..again and agan..
2:49 into the song it's time for Jon Lord's Hammond organ to make
a ass-kicking solo, with distortions and wah-wah..great..
3:55.. time for Blackmore's guitar to fire..ends up in whammy-barred
wacka..wacka wah-wah..and back to the main theme...
What a Rocker!!
'Into The Fire'[3:29]
...with the screaming Gillan, 'into the FIREEEEE!, great solo by Blackmore..a "simple"
rock 'n' roller..not a filler but close to..but if it was on an other artist album
it might be the highlight!
'Living Wreck'[4:31]
...a bit weak compared to the other(highlights)..a sort of "Old Deep Purple song"..
'Hard Lovin Man'[4:31]
...but now we are talking..back to heavy guitar riffing, distorted Hammond and screaming
vocals..heavy driven bass and drums
..like "Flight of the Rat" this is a song with tempo shifting
parts and a fast distorted organ solo by Lord...
3:30 into the song a gong cymbal echo crash and Ritchie is on it again, with a furious
guitar play..ending up with the Fender Stratocaster "smashing" the amps..
One of my fav tracks..
|