Deep Purple (Deep Purple Album)
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''Deep Purple'', also referred to as ''Deep Purple III'', is the third studio album by the English rock band
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
, released in June 1969 on Tetragrammaton Records in the United States and only in September 1969 on
Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
in the United Kingdom. Its release was preceded by the single "Emmaretta" and by a long tour in the UK, whose dates were interspersed between the album's recording sessions. The music of this album is mostly original and a combination of
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
and
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
, but with a harder edge and with the guitar parts in more evidence than in the past. This was due both to the growth of guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...
as a songwriter and to the conflicts within the band over the fusion of classical music and rock proposed by keyboard player
Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...
and amply implemented in the band's previous releases. The band started their second US tour in April 1969 with little support from their almost-bankrupt American label and without an album to promote, because of a delay in the manufacturing of the new LP. During the tour, Deep Purple showed a remarkable progress as performers and a musical direction more oriented towards a heavier and louder sound than before. Doubts about the compatibility of vocalist
Rod Evans Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a retired British singer known as the original vocalist of the rock bands Deep Purple and Captain Beyond. Evans began his professional career in The Maze before becoming a founding member of Deep Purple ...
with the hard rock music that other band members wanted to pursue brought about the decision to search for a substitute, which was found in
Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is an English singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...
of the band
Episode Six Episode Six, Episode 6 or Episode VI may refer to: Film * ''Return of the Jedi'' also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'', a 1983 film Music * Episode Six (band), a British band Television episodes * Episode 6 (All of Us Are ...
. Gillan had formed a songwriting duo with Episode Six's bassist
Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Roll ...
, who was also invited to join Deep Purple and replace
Nick Simper Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English bass guitarist, who was a co-founding member of Deep Purple and Warhorse. In the 1960s, he began his professional career in bands such as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Flower Pot M ...
. The band's new line-up, identified as Mark II, debuted live in London on 10 July 1969. This was the least commercially successful of the three albums released by the band's Mark I line-up, and was ignored by critics upon its release. Modern reviews are generally positive, and remark on the variety of styles within the album and the boldness of the song arrangements.


Background

In late 1968, Deep Purple had embarked on a successful first US tour to promote their second album '' The Book of Taliesyn'', and returned home on 3 January 1969.Robinson: p. 4 The band was considered an underground act in the United Kingdom, but word of their success in America had influenced their reputation at home, as they gradually rose in popularity and request.Thompson: p. 58 However, their releases had yet to make an impact in the UK,Popoff: p. 33 where their second single, a cover of
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...
's " Kentucky Woman", had not charted and was retired after six weeks, after having peaked at No. 38 in the United States and No. 21 in Canada. Deep Purple's American label Tetragrammaton Records pressured the band to make a single to match the success of their hit "
Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television Film * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi *''Hush!'', a 2002 film dir ...
",Bloom: p.121 and the band had tried to satisfy that request while still in the US for the last dates of their tour; they recorded some covers in a New York studio in December 1968, without worthwhile results.Thompson: p. 56 The musicians had come up with much more complex original material for their second album, and making a song that would easily fit the three-minute range was apparently becoming difficult. A few days after their US tour, Deep Purple settled in with their usual producer
Derek Lawrence Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an English record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Flash, Machiavel, Wishbone Ash, and the Randy Rhoads era of Quiet Riot. Lawrence came in con ...
at
De Lane Lea Studios Warner Bros. De Lane Lea Studios is a recording studio, based in Soho, London. The studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes. Major artists including the Animals, the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, Soft Machi ...
in Kingsway, London, already used for ''The Book of Taliesyn'' sessions, to compose and record new songs and solve the new single problem. The song "Emmaretta" (named after the musical ''
Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...
'' cast member Emmaretta Marks, whom singer
Rod Evans Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a retired British singer known as the original vocalist of the rock bands Deep Purple and Captain Beyond. Evans began his professional career in The Maze before becoming a founding member of Deep Purple ...
had met in the US) was composed for that purpose and recorded on 7 January 1969, after four takes. The heavier and more experimental song "The Bird Has Flown" was arranged and recorded later on the same day and was chosen as the B-side for the US release. The instrumental "Wring That Neck" from their previous album was the B-side of the British edition of "Emmaretta", which was issued in February 1969 and promoted by Deep Purple in their first full UK tour. This was the first time that a Deep Purple release appeared in the UK before the US. The tour started in Birmingham on 6 February with a concert broadcast by
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
, and went on as a series of one-nighters in clubs and colleges across the country during February and March. Deep Purple's greater visibility and their declared interest in the British public induced local music magazines to print a few articles on them. However, after keyboard player and spokesperson
Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...
publicly stated that they would play large arenas for £2500 per show in America then come home and only be able to book small venues paying £150 a night, typical headlines were "Purple won't starve for an ideal" and "They lose £2350 a night working in Britain".Robinson: p. 5


Composition and recording

The band's management organized the spare time from the UK tour to record new songs for a third album over the course of February and March 1969 at De Lane Lea Studios, with Lawrence as producer and Barry Ainsworth as sound engineer. The pressure of the multiple engagements left the band very little time for composition and most of the tracks were written and rehearsed in the studio.Popoff: p.36 ''Deep Purple'' was the band's third album to be recorded, even though they had been together for less than one year. According to Nick Simper: "Recording was always a problem. We were always short of material, purely because of our schedule. The fact that we were always being chased by Tetragrammaton for material, we never had the luxury like most bands do now of saying, 'hang on fellas, we need a little bit of down time to just think about stuff and try and be creative.'" Added Blackmore: "That really bugs me...going to the studio, 'right, you gotta turn out an LP, boys.' You know, 'here we go, you gotta write a song...''today''.' It’s just ridiculous." The musicians were now starting to fully endeavour to write original material and found ideas for seven songs, more than on either of their first two albums.Thompson: p. 57 Musical and lyrical inspiration came from very disparate sources. The opener "Chasing Shadows" was based on African rhythms created by drummer
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...
with lyrics inspired by one of Jon Lord's nightmares.Popoff: p. 34 The baroque "Blind" was written by Lord and largely performed on harpsichord. The short instrumental "Fault Line" was inspired by an earthquake that the band had experienced while in Los Angeles and featured Paice's drum patterns reversed and double tracked.
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...
's movie '' Rosemary's Baby'', which the band members had watched together at a cinema, was the main inspiration for the blues rocker "Why Didn't Rosemary?" The song's lyrics pose the question, "Why didn't Rosemary ever take the pill?". "April" was a tune written by guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...
about his birthday month before the recording sessions had begun; it was later augmented with a long middle section of classical music written by Lord, becoming the album's 12-minute-plus final track and Deep Purple's longest ever studio recording. The only cover song on the album is the
Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
-penned ballad " Lalena", which had been a Top 40 single for its author in the US in the autumn of 1968. The first new song to be publicly performed was titled "Hey Bop a Re Bop", which aired on the '' Top Gear'' radio show on 14 January 1969. It was broadcast again on 11 February before being reworked and becoming the psychedelic blues song "The Painter". Although most recording dates are lost, it is known that the band recorded two songs on 17 February. "Lalena" and most of "April" were recorded on 28 February, while a new version of "The Bird Has Flown", retitled "Bird Has Flown", was put on tape on 28 March. The orchestral part of "April" played by hired musicians was the last recording for the yet-unnamed album, which was mixed and delivered by the end of March.


Musical style

As is the case with most of the material on their previous two albums, the songs of ''Deep Purple'' mix elements of
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
and
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
, but this time in a darker and more baroque atmosphere. Perhaps in response to British audiences craving more blues-based rock, the band also incorporated a
12-bar blues The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly base ...
structure on the songs "The Painter" and "Why Didn't Rosemary?" "Emmaretta" is a
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
song written to be a commercial single, but the sound of the album is heavier and more guitar-oriented than previous works, similar to how the band sounded live during this period.Robinson: p. 7Bloom: p.123 Lord had been the main writer on the first two albums and his
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
upbringing and interest in fusing classical and rock had profoundly influenced the direction taken by the band. Blackmore compared the organ-heavy mix of those releases to the works of British progressive rock band
the Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist Lee Jackson (bassist), Lee Jackson, guitarist David O'List, and drummer Ian Hague ori ...
, who featured
Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 194411 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He be ...
on keyboards. On ''Deep Purple'' Lord still had a great influence, which found maximum expression in the harpsichord-flavoured "Blind" and in the orchestral section of "April", an original piece for choir and string quartet that he composed despite being hard at work in writing and arranging his ''
Concerto for Group and Orchestra ''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' is a live album by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Arnold. Recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall in September 1969, it consists of a concerto composed by Jon Lord, w ...
''. Lord's dominance waned some in this release as more writing and performing space was given to Blackmore, who delivered his longest and, for some critics, best guitar solos to date. Critics also remark Paice's progress as performer, especially on the "tribal" opening track "Chasing Shadows" where he had his first chance at songwriting. Bass player
Nick Simper Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English bass guitarist, who was a co-founding member of Deep Purple and Warhorse. In the 1960s, he began his professional career in bands such as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Flower Pot M ...
later stated that "there was a lot of pressure from Jon Lord to do this kind of semi-classical stuff ndwe didn't actually rebel against it until the third album." Psychedelic rock had been another main influence in the first two Deep Purple albums, but it was rapidly going out of fashion; the musicians ceased their exploration of the genre in this album with songs such as "The Painter" and "Bird Has Flown", dedicating themselves completely to the trendier hard rock genre in the following studio releases.


Cover art

Tetragrammaton issued the album in a stark gatefold sleeve, wrapped around with a segmented illustration from
Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ;  – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...
's painting ''
The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' () is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panels painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. Bos ...
''. The label ran into difficulty over the use of the
Museo del Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...
-owned painting, which was incorrectly perceived in the US as being anti-religious, featuring immoral scenes, and was thus rejected or poorly stocked by many record shops.Robinson: p. 8 The original painting is in colour, although it appeared on the LP in monochrome due to a printing error for the original layout, and the band opted to keep it that way. Another section of the same Bosch painting (in colour) had been used as an album cover two years earlier, by Pearls Before Swine on their debut '' One Nation Underground''.


Release and promotion

Tetragrammaton Records had been active only for a year, but was on the brink of bankruptcy in the US. Its initial solid financial foundation had been quickly eroded by expensive promotional campaigns and by failed commercial strategies.Thompson: p. 59 Deep Purple were the label's most successful artist, but the band had not been able to produce another hit single like "Hush" and their latest release "Emmaretta", out just in time for their second US tour in April 1969, was also largely unsuccessful and failed to affect the US charts. The label's financial distress caused a delay in the printing of ''Deep Purple'', which was released in the US only in June 1969, after the band had returned home having completed their US tour. In the UK, "Lalena" and "The Painter" were performed live on 24 June 1969 at a
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
session.Robinson: p. 10 The album was released in the UK in September 1969 on
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
's sub-label
Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
, around the same time as the much-hyped event ''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' held at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
in London. At that time Deep Purple's line-up had already changed. The album was distributed in Canada and Japan in October 1969 by
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
. ''Deep Purple'' was reissued very few times and only in Europe, often in a set with the two other albums recorded by the Mark I line-up.Robinson: p. 11 The only other international reissue of the album is the Remastered 2000 CD edition by EMI, which contains versions of "The Bird Has Flown", "Emmaretta" and live performances taken from BBC Radio sessions as bonus tracks. All the songs were digitally remastered by Peter Mew at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
in London.


Touring

While the band was recording the new album and touring in the UK, their managers at HEC Enterprises had found an agreement for Deep Purple to support
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
in their upcoming US tour during Spring 1969, the first in three years and a certain sold-out event. Unfortunately, the Rolling Stones decided to spend more time at
Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...
in London to record their album ''
Let It Bleed ''Let It Bleed'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 28 November 1969 by London Records in the United States and on 5 December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. Released during the ba ...
'' and postponed their tour. Thus, in early April 1969 Deep Purple were on their way back to the US to start off a two-month coast-to-coast tour as headliners which, similarly to what had happened in Britain, brought them mainly to small clubs and colleges.Robinson: p. 6 This time their trek also touched Canada, where their albums were distributed by
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
. Upon arrival on US soil, Deep Purple found out that Tetragrammaton had not yet found the resources to manufacture their now finished album and could offer very little financial support to the tour. Contrary to what happened in the past, when the American label had spent much money in advance for promotion and people who saw the band on the road could find stacks of LPs and singles for sale at every concert, this time the single "Emmaretta" and the band's back-catalogue remained sitting on store shelves. In fact, the band experienced some economic limitations during the tour and asked their manager John Coletta to fly back home, so the hotel bills would be reduced.Thompson: p. 60 Coletta later commented on how 1969 was a wasted year for Deep Purple in America. Even though their most recent single was doing poorly, Deep Purple maintained a reputation as a fine live act in the US. The band had now begun to develop their stage presence into something grander, going in a louder and heavier direction and focusing more and more on the instrumental interplay between Blackmore and Lord. In particular the latter had found a way to short-circuit the original
Leslie speaker The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided ...
s of his Hammond C-3 organ and connect the instrument directly into the stacks of Marshall amps, obtaining a roaring sound and matching the guitar in loudness. Despite having turned into a highly proficient band on stage, things were starting to heat up internally, with band members getting more vocal about the direction they wanted the music to go, as well as being dissatisfied with their treatment financially. Simper remarked in later interviews, "Once we started making money, the friendships went out the window." He further noted that Blackmore was particularly peeved that Lord and Evans were earning royalties above and beyond the other band members because they had composed the B-side of the "Hush" single ("One More Rainy Day"). Meanwhile, Lord and Blackmore were tired of being identified as a "clone of
Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up was vocali ...
" and were starting to yearn for a sharper, rawer and overall heavier sound, similar to that introduced in
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
's debut album, which had become a great success on both sides of the Atlantic, after its release in January 1969. They felt that Rod Evans, with his tender, smooth voice, would not be able to cope with louder, more aggressive material. Evans had also expressed reservations about his permanence in the band and voiced his wish to permanently move to the US. Tensions were also high with bassist Nick Simper, whose playing style was considered, in Paice's words, "stuck in the late '50s and early '60s" by the other band members and unfit for the new musical direction they wanted to pursue. On the other hand, Simper sided with Blackmore against Lord's excessive influence in the band's songwriting and was critical of classical music getting in the way of harder rock. As a result of those tensions, communication between band members was at a minimum during the tour. It was in May that Lord and Blackmore agreed on changing the line-up, shifting out Evans. They talked their ideas over with drummer Paice, gaining his agreement to the line-up change. Coletta was surprised when he heard the trio's news, advising them to keep quiet about it until the tour was completed and they had returned home.Thompson: p. 62


End of the Mark I formation

Back in England in early June, the decision taken had to be kept secret until the promotional tour for the British release of ''The Book of Taliesyn'' was completed. Meanwhile, the search for a new singer to replace Evans began and Blackmore asked for help in this task from his old acquaintance Mick Underwood, at the time drummer of the British rock band
Episode Six Episode Six, Episode 6 or Episode VI may refer to: Film * ''Return of the Jedi'' also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'', a 1983 film Music * Episode Six (band), a British band Television episodes * Episode 6 (All of Us Are ...
. Underwood recommended Episode Six singer
Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is an English singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...
, whom Blackmore and Lord contacted at a London gig.Thompson: p. 69 Gillan, who did not see a future in his then current band, was enthusiastic about joining Deep Purple and involved bassist
Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Roll ...
, with whom he formed a songwriting duo. According to Simper, his replacement by Glover was initially not planned and was due to the creative togetherness of the two Episode Six members. Gillan convinced the reluctant Glover to audition for Deep Purple and the two soon found themselves torn between the new band, which gladly welcomed both of them, and obligations with Episode Six for the completion of a UK tour. Evans, Simper and Episode Six's management were kept unaware of these events and of the fact that the new line-up was already active in writing and rehearsing new songs. In between gigs all over the country, Deep Purple had rehearsed the song "Hallelujah" with Evans and Simper to be released as a new single, but it was recorded in secret on 7 June by the fresh Mark II line-up at De Lane Studios instead, with Glover still acting as a session musician. The final show of the Mark I lineup was in Cardiff on 4 July 1969, and the Mark II lineup debuted live at
The Speakeasy Club The Speakeasy Club, also known as The Speak, was a club situated at 48 Margaret Street, London, Margaret Street, London, England, and was a popular late-night meeting place for the music industry from 1966 to June 1978. The club took its name and ...
in London on 10 July. The final show played by Gillan and Glover with Episode Six was in Little Bardfield on 26 July 1969. The single "Hallelujah" was released in late July in the US and the UK and featured an edited version of "April" as B-side, the final original appearance on vinyl of the Mark I formation. After his dismissal, Evans left for the US with his wife and resurfaced in 1971 as lead singer in the American progressive rock band
Captain Beyond Captain Beyond is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1971.
at
. Simper sued Deep Purple's management for breaking his contract, and the dispute was settled economically out of court. He later formed the rock band Warhorse (British band), Warhorse. The music of the album ''Deep Purple'' was played only during the tours of 1969 and never performed again by other line-ups, though Simper played songs from the first three Deep Purple albums with the tribute band Nasty Habits in Europe in 2010.


Commercial and critical reception

''Deep Purple'' was practically ignored by the music press in the US upon its release in June 1969 and bounced up and down on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for a few weeks, peaking at No. 162 and not coming close to the success of its two predecessors. Tetragrammaton's financial problems were partially to blame, for promotion was lackluster, but the lack of a hit single to be aired on FM radio or a tour in support of the album were also important factors. In the UK, the single "Emmaretta" did not convince critics and buying public and failed to chart. At the time of release, ''Deep Purple'' was generally ignored by the British music press, more focused on the eventful ''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' than on an album by an extinct line-up. The album was a slow seller in Europe, but eventually was certified Gold in Germany in 1990. Modern reviews are generally positive.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Bruce Eder calls the album "one of the most bracing progressive rock albums ever, and a successful vision of a musical path that the group might have taken but didn't", remarking how Deep Purple succeeded in combining "heavy metal's early, raw excitement, intensity, and boldness with progressive rock's complexity and intellectual scope." Jedd Beaudoin of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
appreciates in his review the heavier sound of the songs and notices how "Evans sounds more and more out of place in a band that was increasingly more comfortable with stretching itself beyond the confines of pure pop pieces", like in the track "April", which he considers not only "the most ambitious thing on the entire record, but also arguably the best." David Bowling, in his
Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen (writer), Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of a ...
column, reviews the album as "the least satisfying of their three early career releases, although it can also be considered their most adventurous" for its "meandering through a number of different styles and sounds." However, considering the growth shown by Blackmore and Lord as performers in this release, he concludes that it is "a fitting conclusion to the band's formative years."
Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of '' Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has written over twenty books ...
praised the album for being "stronger, more aggressive and much better recorded" than "either of the first two records", showing the original work of "a strangely soulful psych band distinguished", with the exception of singer Evans, "by its hard-hitting players".


Track listing

All credits adapted from the original releases.


Personnel

Deep Purple *
Rod Evans Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a retired British singer known as the original vocalist of the rock bands Deep Purple and Captain Beyond. Evans began his professional career in The Maze before becoming a founding member of Deep Purple ...
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
*
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s *
Nick Simper Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English bass guitarist, who was a co-founding member of Deep Purple and Warhorse. In the 1960s, he began his professional career in bands such as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Flower Pot M ...
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
*
Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
,
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
,
harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
, backing vocals,
claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony ...
on "Chasing Shadows", string and woodwind arrangement on "April" *
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
,
timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...
,
maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...
,
cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...
,
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
Production *
Derek Lawrence Derek John Lawrence (16 November 1941 – 13 May 2020) was an English record producer, famous for his work for Joe Meek's Outlaws, Deep Purple, Flash, Machiavel, Wishbone Ash, and the Randy Rhoads era of Quiet Riot. Lawrence came in con ...
producer, mixing * Barry Ainsworth –
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
* Peter Mew – restoring and
remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
ing at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
, London (2000)


Notes


References

* * * *


External links


''Deep Purple'' lyrics
* {{Authority control Deep Purple albums 1969 albums Albums produced by Derek Lawrence Tetragrammaton Records albums Harvest Records albums Polydor Records albums