morganflag: ON THIS DATE (53 YEARS AGO) June 3, 1970 – Deep Purple: Deep Purple in Rock is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4.5/5 # Allmusic 4.5/5 stars Deep Purple in Rock (also known as In Rock) is an album by Deep Purple, released on June 3, 1970. It only reached #143 on the Billboard 200 Top LP's & Tape chart, but #4 on the UK Albums chart, remaining there for months. In Rock is Deep Purple's fourth studio album and the first with the classic Mk II lineup. Rod Evans (vocals) and Nick Simper (bass) had been fired in June 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively. Although this was the first studio album to feature the MK II lineup of the band, it was this lineup that had earlier recorded the live Concerto for Group and Orchestra. The album was also preceded by two singles, the first studio recordings that Gillan made with Deep Purple. Deep Purple in Rock is one of the genre's definitive albums, combining hard-edged riffs with virtuoso technique, topped by Gillan's full-throated roar. Few singers could survive the instrumental power beneath him, but this he does with room to spare, reacting to and emphasizing his colleagues' musical prowess. Chock-full of material destined to become Deep Purple anthems, later releases were evaluated against this trail-blazing, heavy rock collection. __________ DISC & MUSIC ECHO, June 6, 1970 PURPLE - SERIOUS RAVERS DEEP PURPLE are an exciting, musically talented, and the highest paid group among those who haven't had hit singles or albums. They have done successful tours of America and their thing with the classical orchestra at the Albert Hall last year is generally considered to be the most successful of its kind. Really, they should be bigger than they are. And that is why their new album "Deep Purple In Rock" and the separate single "Black Night" are so important to them. The album is the first one that really features Ian Gillan and bass -player Roger Glover, although the two former members of Episode Six have been with Deep Purple since last July. It is also the nearest album to what they are like. Says guitarist Ritchie Blackmore: "Ian is better than the other singer and Roger has more ideas than the bass player we had before. And this new album is a lot better than the previous ones. "I've always been disappointed with our albums. The first one was a good attempt for a first. But people have always said 'It's not you.' "We've always tried to be too flash on our records but basically we are an exciting band. When I play on stage I like to get people into a kind of party thing. People want to enjoy themselves. We're serious about the music but we do a lot of showmanship and people think, because of that, that it's suspect. They say 'what is he leaping around for?'-but I like to leap around. The thing is that when you're making a record there is no point in leaping around for the benefit of the engineer so the albums have lacked something. I don't think we'd want to do a 'live' one because they get messy, like 'The Who Live At Leeds.' That's not half as good as they usually are on record. "Our new one is certainly the nearest to what we are like on stage. And it's the first to represent the band as it is now. It's much harder, raucous and exciting. That is what we are trying to get across, rather than musical ability. It's hard and simple. I hate the last three LPs. "I think bands should be exciting live. There are so many groups going round with a hidden message and they are so boring. I didn't really enjoy the thing we did with the orchestra. But I was happy for Jon (organist Lord). We don't write together now like we used to, but we're not growing apart musically. We both like each other's stuff. He's happy now he's done his concerto and happy just to play with the band." But there is to be another Deep Purple -classical fusion. On September 17 they perform Lord's "Gemini Suite" with an orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold, who worked with them on the Albert Hall concerto. In the meantime they will be gigging round the country and on the Continent. A States tour is planned for later in the year. They are a fine band and lucky to have two musicians like Black - more and Lord in the same group. To say they are like the Who and the Nice rolled into one is an inaccurate understatement. But Ritchie Blackmore takes that as a compliment. __________ DISC AND MUSIC ECHO (UK), June 13, 1970 AN EXCITING MONSTER ROCK ALBUM FROM DEEP PURPLE "DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK." Rock being the operative word. Ritchie Blackmore’s gutsy guitar tears its way through the album, dominating it, and Jon lord keeps very much to the role of backing musician. When he does contribute his delicate and thoughtful pieces, he uplifts what is generally a very fine sound. Their wild "Speed King" is a conglomeration of early rock-n-roll lyrics strung together, and is in line with other groups looking back to their roots. At times the album is "Nice-ish" but on the whole monster album and very exciting album. **** __________ REVIEW Eduardo Rivadavia, allmusic After satisfying all of their classical music kinks with keyboard player Jon Lord's overblown Concerto for Group and Orchestra, Deep Purple's soon to be classic Mark II version made its proper debut and established the sonic blueprint that would immortalize this lineup of the band on 1970's awesome In Rock. The cacophony of sound (spearheaded by Ritchie Blackmore's blistering guitar solo) introducing opener "Speed King" made it immediately obvious that the band was no longer fooling around, but the slightly less intense "Bloodsucker" did afford stunned listeners a chance to catch their breaths before the band launched into the album's epic, ten-minute tour de force, "Child in Time." In what still stands as arguably his single greatest performance, singer Ian Gillan led his bandmates on a series of hypnotizing crescendos, from the song's gentle beginning through to its ear-shattering climax and then back again for an even more intense encore that brought the original vinyl album's seismic first side to a close. Side two opened with the searing power chords of "Flight of the Rat" -- another example of the band's new take-no-prisoners hard rock stance, though at nearly eight minutes, it too found room for some extended soloing from Blackmore and Lord. Next, "Into the Fire" and "Living Wreck" proved more concise but equally appealing, and though closer "Hard Lovin' Man" finally saw the new-look Deep Purple waffling on a bit too long before descending into feedback, the die was cast for one of heavy metal's defining albums. TRACKS: All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. Side one 1. "Speed King" - 5:52 2. "Bloodsucker" - 4:11 3. "Child in Time" - 10:16 Side two 1. "Flight of the Rat" - 7:53 2. "Into the Fire" - 3:29 3. "Living Wreck" - 4:30 4. "Hard Lovin' Man"