release date: Feb. 15, 1974
format: vinyl (TPS 3505) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Deep Purple
label: Purple Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: A) 1. "Burn" - 3. "Lay Down, Stay Down" - 4. "Sail Away"
8th studio album by Deep Purple released on Purple and produced by the band is the first album after Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left the band, and the first to feature David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass.
Burn is Deep Purple as most have come to associate the band name with: heavy rock based and heavy metal based on blues rock stemming from Hendrix. Although, the band is here in its third constitution they continue its style and also secure another sales hit despite not reaching number #1 in many countries, the album was a top-10 charting album in both the UK and the US and critics were rather positive.
The album is part of my childhood as this was one of 8 albums I received from my older brother who had all their albums. I knew them all, listened to them all, but I was never a big fan of theirs, although, the some of their albums are quite good. This one never was to my liking, and I'm really closer to handing it 2,5 instead of 3 despite some critics rate it very high. Allmusic.com hands it 4,5 however, Rolling Stone labels it 'unfavourable', which means 'not good'. I guess, both fans and critics were split when the band went on as two of its most prominent members had left. The style is blues rock and hard rock as people had come to know Deep Purple but I only find that it's a mediocre attempt to continue a formula without adding anything new. As this point, I think they are stuck and are only capable of reproducing a familiar sound build on their own classic material.
The title track is the strongest here, and it showcases Coverdale's abilities as a fairly strong blues rock singer.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone: 'unfavorable' ]
