Deep Purple - Deep Purple in Rock

Mark II - change in direction for the better

For those of you who are unaware this was the second incarnation of Deep Purple, the most notable change being the vocalist Ian Gillan with his screaming, howling and soulful vocal chords. Faint of heart beware, this could have been the founding point of heavy metal (Speed King). They went in an instant from being an art rock band to being a hard rock band. The three pronged attack of organ, vocal and guitar make this album see-saw between brooding and frantic. However, nothing can be taken away from the very tight rhythm section of Ian Paice and Roger Glover. This is really the best of Mark II, and in the later albums of this grouping most of the songs are done better on live versions (especially Machine head - Smoke on the Water is pretty lame as the studio version). July 8, 2008

not perfect, but solid anyway

The MONSTER guitar riff that opens up the album on "Speed King" reveals a band that was creating something new and radically different back in the early 70's, becoming the first ever SERIOUS heavy metal band.

The album is loaded with solid guitar riffs and EXTREMELY heavy rock music, though unfortunately it's not all roses and cupcakes. The vocals on "Flight of the Rat" are pretty average, and the guitar playing on that song isn't anything to brag about either.

The rest of the album is pretty brilliant by hard rock standards though. Whether it's the shorter energetic style of a song like "Bloodsucker" or the epic masterpiece of "Child in Time" or the guitar complexity of "Hard Lovin' Man" (that totally sounds like classic 70's metal) it's all here.

By the way, there's absolutely NOTHING out there like "Child in Time". The slow build-up, the window-rattling guitar solo, the extra-powerful vocals of Ian Gillan, and just the highly unusual atmosphere of the song... it's unique in every single way.

Made in Japan is the best Deep Purple album, and the Come Taste the Band album is severely underrated as well, but you NEED to own In Rock. March 16, 2008

Among Purple's Best!

Really a killer album from Deep Purple. It's all good stuff on this one! February 2, 2008

Great album ... poor sound but I like it !

Superb rock album, one of the first, nearly heavy metal !
Every song is good, Child in Time worth the price of this cd.
Flight the rat is pretty good rock song also, Living Wreck rocks !
Bloodsucker has a good mood also. My only complaint is the sound, a bit poor but the music is really great. I think we can say that this cd is the base on which many heavy metal band founds their inspiration. December 31, 2007

The freshest sounding hard rock album I've yet heard

The story behind this album is well known to most Deep Purple fans. The original Deep Purple line up was a sort of odd mix of pop, hard rock and psychedelia. And although they could be very good at times, all their albums prior to In Rock were decidely "hit and miss" affairs, and nobody is going to convince me otherwise. In 1970 they released a Jon Lord composed Concerto For Group & Orchestra, which is by any standards pushing the limits of what can be called rock. I happen to like the experiment a great deal, but the general rock fan of 1970 was left feeling a bit confused as to what Deep Purple actually were.

So for In Rock they strip it all down to basics, throw any whiff of artiness out the window, turn it up LOUD, and simply rock as hard as possible. And the result is an audio Krakatoa.

Even when I heard this when I was at school in the late 1980s, I was surprised at just how energetic it all was. Yes, in 1988, 1970 seemed like a long, long time ago! So hearing this "old band" (as I thought of them then) shriek and wail is something I certainly remember. (Unbeliavably some versions of this album have had the 2 minute guitar freakout to Speed King edited out) And now, 19 years after Ifirst heard it, I'm still struck at how fresh it all sounds. To be honest a lot of music from the late 1960s and early 1970s, as good as it is, sounds rather dated. Listening to many records of the era is like walking into the musical equivalent of an Egyptian tomb. You know there's a lot of good stuff inside, but exploring it throws up a lot of dust, there's cobwebs everywhere, and you know that in the end it's a relic more than anything else. Listening to In Rock today however is like running along a Norwegian glacier in comparison!

Although true rock legend status would come with 1972s Machine Head, this album will for me remain as Deep Purple's true landmark achievement. October 4, 2007

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