Deep Purple - Fireball - 1971
This is great. This was what the band was leaning toward on In Rock. In fact, this is the logical progression from there. Building on the toughness of that album, Fireball, with just a few exceptions, is one strong beefcake of a record.
With a shredtastic opening title track, Deep Purple puts to rest the memories of "Hush" and psychedelia. Embracing Blackmore's edgier tendencies seems to have infused the entire band with energy. There's still a lot of room for Jon Lord to show off some superb organing but this endeavor leaves whatever classicism the band portended to have in the dust.
The blues-ified Lord showcase number, "No No No" is almost a setback, but I found myself enjoying more toward the end. Of course, this was every time Gillan's vocals came back or Blackmore's guitar cut through the clutter. At this point I'm ready to say goodbye to Lord's organ. I know this is sacrilege but I'm over it. I can feel this is a band that wants to cut loose and kill and that sound softens everything.
It's nice to hear piano instead of organ on the very weird and fun "Anyone's Daughter", a personal favorite of mine.
Toward the end the LSD is back on "The Mule" and it's not awful, but when the guitar and drums kick in for that middle 8, they effectively brush aside the haze. That's what a lot of this record is; the brushing aside of hazy hippyness by stratospheric metal. The sludginess of "Fools" is the perfect amalgam. It's psych-metal. It's delicious.
Grade: A-
ASide: Fireball
BlindSide: Anyone's Daughter, No One Came
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