Deep Purple in Rock

Deep Purple in Rock
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released 3 June 1970 (1970-06-03)
Recorded 14 October 1969 – 13 April 1970
Studio
Genre
Length 43:30
Label Harvest
Producer Deep Purple
Deep Purple chronology
Deep Purple
(1969)
Deep Purple in Rock
(1970)
Fireball
(1971)
25th anniversary edition
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
BBC(favourable)[2]
Sputnik Music[3]

Deep Purple in Rock, also known as In Rock, is the fourth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 3 June 1970. It was the first studio album recorded by the classic Mark II line-up. Rod Evans (vocals) and Nick Simper (bass) had been fired in June 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively.

Deep Purple in Rock was their breakthrough album in Europe and would peak at No. 4 in the UK, remaining in the charts for months. (The band's prior MK I albums had been much better received in North America than in their homeland.) The album was supported by the hugely successful In Rock World Tour which lasted 15 months.

Although this was the first studio album to feature the MK II line-up of the band, it was this line-up that had earlier recorded the live Concerto for Group and Orchestra. The album was also preceded by the single "Hallelujah", the first studio recording that Gillan made with Deep Purple. "Hallelujah" was a Greenaway-Cook composition released in late 1969, but the song flopped. A second single, "Black Night", was developed around the same time as the In Rock album, but not included on the album. "Black Night" fared much better, as it rose all the way to No. 2 on the UK charts.

In 2005 the album won the Classic Rock and Roll of Honour Award (given by the British monthly magazine Classic Rock) in the category Classic Album. The award was presented to Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore.

Background

While the original lineup of Deep Purple included experienced musicians, none of the five were accomplished songwriters.[4] Thus, Deep Purple's earlier work ranged from psychedelic hard rock built around Blackmore riffs, to classical-influenced tracks developed and arranged by Lord, to cover songs that ranged from The Beatles to Neil Diamond, among others. Conversely, Gillan and Glover had a good amount of experience writing songs for Episode Six, their previous band, and all tracks on In Rock are credited to the five members of the group.

Jon Lord used both the Leslie speaker and a Marshall amplifier with his Hammond organ, therefore the organ sound varies a lot throughout the songs. (Example: "Living Wreck" – Leslie speaker, "Hard Lovin' Man" – Marshall amplifier).

The cover depicts the band in a rock sculpture inspired by Mount Rushmore.

People say, 'oh, what's your favourite album?' To me it's always In Rock, because that's the nucleus of where we came from.

— Bassist Roger Glover[5]

Later editions

In some countries, including Mexico, Deep Purple in Rock also included "Black Night," a single recorded during the sessions.

The U.S. release of the album cut the intro to "Speed King," lasting just over a minute. It remains edited on the standard Warner Bros. U.S. release, but is restored to full length on the 25th anniversary package.

In 1995 a remastered and revised 25th anniversary edition of the album was released by EMI. The remastering and remixing job was overseen by Roger Glover. The album features a number of bonus songs including previously unreleased jams. In 2013, this particular edition of the album turned Gold in the UK.

On 21 July 2009 audiophile label Audio Fidelity released a remastered version of Deep Purple in Rock on a limited edition 24 karat gold CD. Mastering for the CD was performed by Steve Hoffman. This release follows the original 7-track format with no bonus tracks.

Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Speed King"   5:52
2. "Bloodsucker"   4:16
3. "Child in Time"   10:18
Side two
No. Title Length
4. "Flight of the Rat"   7:53
5. "Into the Fire"   3:30
6. "Living Wreck"   4:31
7. "Hard Lovin' Man"   7:11

Song information

"Speed King"
Main article: Speed King

As the liner notes for the LP allude ("A few roots…replanted"), "Speed King" is an ode to early rock-and-roll, with frequent references to songs performed by Little Richard ("Good Golly Miss Molly", "Tutti-Frutti" and "Lucille"), as well as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. The original UK version of the album includes the full introductory instrumental, featuring a loud free-form Blackmore guitar passage blending into a quieter Lord organ piece; the US version did not include the intro. The hard-rocking song features a midsection "call-and-answer" solo exchange between Blackmore and Lord, which presaged their live performances for years to come; it was regularly played at concerts during the Mark II era, starting as an opener, but more frequently performed as an encore. It was also the b-side of the non-album single "Black Night".

"Bloodsucker"

Another hard rocker featuring a midsection exchange between Blackmore and Lord, with Gillan literally screaming out the final verse. The Mark VII version of Deep Purple (featuring Steve Morse on guitar) re-recorded this song for their 1998 release Abandon, with the revised title of "Bludsucker".

"Child in Time"
Main article: Child in Time

Considered one of the epic songs of the Mark II era, especially prior to the release of the iconic "Smoke on the Water" in 1972, "Child in Time" goes from quiet sadness to bombastic rocker and back again in a track running over 10 minutes. Lord's organ is most prominent in the quieter parts, as he plays a chord structure inspired by[6] a song by It's a Beautiful Day titled "Bombay Calling." In return It's a Beautiful Day recorded "Wring that Neck" from Deep Purple and called it "Don and Dewey". Gillan's vocals start out softly, evolve into howling and lastly demonstrate his ability to "scream in tune". Blackmore then launches into a guitar solo running over two minutes, before the first verse repeats and the song comes to a crashing end. It would be a concert staple for every version of Deep Purple that included Gillan, up until the singer's voice could no longer support it.

Ian Gillan tells on his homepage: "It was 1969 and the band was rehearsing at a Community Centre in West London; it was either Southall or Hanwell. Jon Lord was dicking around (or 'extemporising on a theme' as it's known in the trade) with a tune from the new album by 'It's a Beautiful Day', it was 'Bombay Calling'. I started singing and the words came easily because we were all aware of the nuclear threat which hovered over us at this time which was probably when the 'cold war' was at its hottest."[7]

"Flight of the Rat"

A hard rock song featuring a straight-ahead structure of three main power chords. Unlike the call-and-answer solo structure of "Speed King" and "Bloodsucker", Blackmore, Paice and Lord are each accorded their own extended solos on this song. This song was never performed live.

This song was used in the movie The Damned United.

"Into the Fire"

A staple of early Mark II concerts, the song starts with a hooky introductory riff (slightly similar to that in King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man"), and two main chords which are octaves of each other. Features a phased and unusually slow guitar solo by Ritchie Blackmore.

"Living Wreck"

A straight-ahead rocker that tells the story of a love affair that fails miserably to live up to expectations.

"Hard Lovin' Man"

Two power chords kick off the album's closer, before Glover's bass provides the rhythmic intro. Blackmore's guitar is folded in, then Paice and Lord join in before the vocals start. Gillan lets loose on this track and Blackmore performs a few "pre-Eddie Van Halen" guitar histrionics during the final minute-and-a-half.

Personnel

Deep Purple
Additional personnel

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1970 UK Albums Chart 4
1970 Austrian Albums Charts 1
1970 German Albums Chart[8] 1
1970 Norwegian Record Charts 5
1970 Italian Albums Charts 7
1970 Dutch Albums Charts 7
1970 French Albums Charts 7
1970 Danish Albums Charts 8
1970 Polish Albums Charts 9
1970 Swedish Albums Charts 11
1970 Japanese Albums Charts 68
1970 US Billboard 200 143
1971 Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 1
1975 Danish Albums Chart[9] 15

Singles
Year Title Chart Position
1970 "Black Night" UK Singles Chart[10] 2
1980 43
1995 "Black Night" (Remix) 66

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[11] Gold 30,000*
France (SNEP)[12] Gold 100,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[13] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Hallelujah

"Hallelujah" is the first single recorded by Deep Purple Mk.2 line-up, which was released in 1969.

Side A

Side B

Personnel

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time"[16] 1989 15
Guitarist United Kingdom "Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums of All Time Ever"[17] 1994 8
Q United Kingdom "50 Best Albums of The '70's"[18] 1998 48
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Best British Rock Albums Ever"[19] 2005 56
Classic Rock United Kingdom "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[20] 2006 13
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die United States "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"[21] 2006 *

(*) designates unordered lists.

References

  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. Deep Purple in Rock at AllMusic
  2. BBC review
  3. Sputnik review
  4. Anasontzis, George (2010). "Nick Simper". Rockpages.gr. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. Panagiotopoulos, Stathis; Review of Made in Japan including quotes from Roger Glover; October, 2013.
  6. Ian Gillan on Deep Purple: The Interview picture disc, 1984.
  7. Gillan, Ian. "Wordography - 16 'Child in Time'". Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  8. German Album Charts 1970
  9. http://danskehitlister.dk/?song_id=2245
  10. "Singles". Deep Purple. Official Chart Company. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  11. "Argentinian album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  12. "French album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  13. "Dutch album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
  14. "British album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Deep Purple in Rock in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  15. "American album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  16. "Kerrang – 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time – January 1989". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  17. "Guitarist – Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums of All Time Ever – December 1994". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  18. "Q – 50 Best Albums of The '70's – April 1998". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  19. Rock Albums "Kerrang – 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever – February 2005" Check |url= value (help). Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  20. "Classic Rock – 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever – April 2006". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  21. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
Preceded by
Pearl by Janis Joplin
Australian number-one album
21 June – 4 July 1971
Succeeded by
Cocker Happy by Joe Cocker
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