01	Chasing shadows						05:36
	02	Blind						05:26
	03	Lalena						05:06
	04	a) Fault line b) The Painter						05:39
	05	Why didn't rosemary?						05:04
	06	Bird has flown						05:37
	07	April						12:04

Deep Purple - Deep Purple

Release Date: 1969

Member: Constaple Napweed 6/24/03

When most people think of Deep Purple they usually think of Blistering Guitar solos from Blackmore, or the silver throated screams of Gillan. When they think of classic tracks its usually "Smoke on the water" or "Black Night" But lets flip back to 1969 when Gillan or Glover were not yet present as Purple members...and instead we have Nic Simper on Bass, and Rod Evans on vocals.

The 3rd Deep Purple album was in my opinion more varied and indeed progressive than the giants of hard rock they would turn out to be. The album starts off in percussive fashion with the excellent "Chasing Shadows" with Jon Lord supplying the perfect compliment to the drums of Ian Paice with his hammond playing. Vocalist Rod Evans while not displaying the vocal range of Gillan was however a more smoking soulful singer.

The track "Blind" showcases the more melancholy sound of early Purple with some great harpsichord sounds from Jon Lord. "Lalena" (a cover of a Donavan song) finds Purple in a similar vein...very melancholic and heartfelt. History says that Purple commented that their version was the way they would have liked to have seen Donavan do it. Fault line is Purple at their best at this moment in time...An instrumental of backward guitar effects with almost a threatening doomy atmosphere. This track segues nicely into "The Painter" a rocky but restrained song, but a hint of things to come.

Next up is "Why Didn't Rosemary" an uptempo bluesy number with some fine guitar playing by Blackmore a right treat. And so onto the next number "Bird has Flown" Think "Stone Free" by Jimi Hendrix and you will have a grasp of the vibe that this song brings out....excellence. April is in the most part orchestral with some great playing by those masters Lord and Blackmore.

The bonus tracks are interesting and well worth buying this CD for those tracks alone...some rare stuff in here...maybe not to be repeated again. So my advice is to grab a slice of this tasty cake and enjoy Deep Purple before the halycon days.

A well worthy CD to own for all Purple fans and for those proggy fans who appreciate the earlier seeds sown.

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