Zack: Deep Purple is a band best known for the song
Smoke on the Water. Of the 3 albums they have on this list, this is the one
album that does not have a version of that song on it. That confuses me,
because if I were in Deep Purple I would lead and close every album with Smoke
on the Water. Or at least I would start every song with that riff. But I’m
willing to let that slide here, considering this album came out 2 years before
that song was written. Anyway, apparently Deep Purple is considered one of the
3 foundational players of British hard rock, along with Led Zeppelin and Black
Sabbath. Which makes some sense, since In Rock sort of sounded like Led
Zeppelin if you were submerged in a particularly viscous fluid, perhaps syrup,
and were trying not to think about it too much. In general, I thought In Rock
was okay, but unimpressive. It was loud, but it didn’t have the same sort of
excitement that makes the loudness of Zeppelin so appealing. It also made me
realize how crucial the whole mysticism element is to what Zeppelin and Sabbath
do. Without it, everything becomes sort of boring. In Rock doesn’t have any of
that going on, at least as far as I could tell, and the product really
suffered. Overall, I’d much rather listen to Deep Purple’s contemporaries than blast
In Rock. But maybe things will improve once Smoke on the Water starts on the
other 2 albums.
Favorite Tracks: Bloodsucker; Hard Lovin’ Man; Living Wreck
Emily: My knowledge of Deep Purple before today extended to Smoke on the Water, the simple guitar riff that everyone who either plays guitar, played Guitar Hero, or just listens to rock music knows by heart. I fit into the latter two categories, and after listening to Deep Purple in Rock I think I prefer the band's easy-level Guitar Hero song to the more expert-level hard rock guitar on display here. I agree with Zack that they kind of just sound like the poor man's Led Zeppelin, but significantly less interesting. But hey, maybe Smoke on the Water will liven their remaining albums up a bit.
Favorite Tracks: Speed King; Flight of the Rat; Into the Fire
No comments:
Post a Comment