Deep Purple - Come Taste the Band - 1975
I can't believe I'm saying this but, I've never been so glad to hear Jon Lord's organ. After the abysmal borefest that was Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, that instrument is a welcome sound.
It should be noted that by this time the only original members of Deep Purple are Ian Paice, the drummer and Lord. So, how does the band sound?
Energized, at least on the first track. Tommy Bolin avails himself well on the boogie rocker "Coming Home". Had he not died the following year, one only knows how far he might have come. "Lady Luck" continues the faux-soul that the band had been exploring and it's just short enough to be sweet. The same can be said for "Gettin' Tighter", which could act as a blueprint for The Hellacopters 25 years later.
Tracks like "Dealer" and "I Need Love" are funktastic metal and make for a fine listen on a Saturday night cruising through your small town looking for chicks. It's not great, but it'll do.
The second half of the record is flabby and unmemorable. The wannabe-funk of "Drifter" and, worse, the horrendous "Love Child", which comes across like a reject from Aerosmith's "Train Kept a Rollin'" are just torture to listen to. And that ballad..."This Time Round Owed to God"...oh, dear. That one's like bad Elton John meets Freddie Mercury in a smoky piano bar, drunk on sake and feeling treacly.
And thus ends the contribution to metal from one of the genre's architects. We won't be hearing from them for another decade.
Grade: C
ASide: Coming Home
BlindSide: Lady Luck, Gettin' Tighter
DownSide: Love Child, This Time Round Owed to God
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