release date: Jun. 3, 1970
format: cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: Deep Purple
label: Warner Bros., Japan - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: A) 1. "Speed King" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Bloodsucker" (4 / 5) - 3. "Child in Time" (5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Flight of the Rat" - 2. "Into the Fire"
4th studio album by Deep Purple originally released on Harvest introduces the heydays of the band in a new line-up aka the 'Mark II' era. The 'Mark I' version of the band had Rod Evans on vocals and Nick Simper playing bass, but in the summer of 1969 the two were replaced by Ian Gillan on vocals and with Roger Glover on bass after a dispute of what direction to take after Deep Purple III (1969). Listening to the band's first three releases, it's not easy to hear that this is the same band. Of course it's also a radically changed band, although, the lead guitarist, drummer and keyboardist remain the same. They had simply agreed to choose a direction into hard rock and Ian Gillan and Roger Glover were just the right people to pick for that mission.
The album became the band's first major success peaking at number #4 in the UK but topping the albums chart lists in Austria, Norway and Germany, as well as facing critical acclaim from critics.
Upon hearing this album from 2014, what's most striking is the secure output and style they manage to establish at this early stage of hard rock. The psychedelic and experimental rock is completely gone. I've never been a hard rock or heavy metal fan but I do like the tightness of the tracks and the unique melodic arrangements of most songs on the album. The A-side of the vinyl version is without doubt the strongest. It consists of only three tracks, ending with "Child in Time" which is a marvellous progressive, hard rock composition that has more in common with Led Zeppelin than their earlier Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and American sources of inspiration. Here they turn more British in a way by being a more direct and original band.
The album is rightfully enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]
