Label: Warner Bros. Records (Japan), 20P2-2601
Style: Hard Rock, Classic Rock
Country: London, England
Time: 43:17
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 276 Mb
Every
band has its roots, and veteran rockers Deep Purple have theirs in
Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Founded in ‘68, disbanded once in ’76 and
still alive today in 2009, the band went through a great many line-up
changes, and drummer Ian Pace remains the only founding member still in
the group. Purple’s first line-up would never become well-known, soon to
be massively overshadowed by the wildly talented Mark II. To be-famous
virtuosos Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord brought the original formation
together, recruiting Nick Simper on bass, Ian Pace on drums and Rod
Evans on vocals. Their debut Shades of Deep Purple, which appeared in
’68, featured a great deal of cover material, but earned the boys some
success with covering Joe South’s Hush.
Created in the wake of the
pop/psychedelic movement pioneered by The Beatles, Deep Purple’s first
steps were uncertain ones. Shades is the sound of a band that has been
inspired by numerous famous artists from the period, but doesn’t know
quite where its own niche can be found. This is not the hard rockin’
band that the name Deep Purple is normally associated with. Instead, it
could be best described as a hybrid between pop and psychedelic rock.
With
only half of the album (4 out of 8 tracks) being original material,
Shades’ greatest flaw is a lack of identity. Of course, we can
distinguish the greats Blackmore and Lord, most notably in the typically
psychedelic/blues jam session that is Mandrake Root. Just don’t expect
any virtuosic escapades to the likes of Child in Time. The work is solid
but unfortunately aged. Evans doesn’t really contribute to the
creativity either. Though he sounds like a typical 60’s pop/rock singer,
which suits the sound of the album, his lack of charisma can be an
annoying factor.
Although Hush may be catchy up to a certain extent,
the four covers (the others being I’m So Glad by Cream, Help! by The
Beatles and Hey Joe by Billy Roberts) remain too close to their
originals, resulting in a rather uninteresting listen. One More Rainy
Day and Love Help Me are unfortunately downright generic 60’s pop songs.
The only original material that manages be attractive is the opening
instrumental And the Address and the aforementioned jam session in
Mandrake Root, both of which are the strongest indication of Purple’s
future sound, and unsurprisingly therefore also the strongest material
on the album.
Shades of Deep Purple is perhaps exactly what the title
might suggest. It is only a shade, a flash of what Deep Purple would
later be capable of. Especially Mark II would reach tremendous heights,
but only after Mark I released two more albums. Deep Purple’s first
album is unfortunately not innovative, not charismatic and just boring
at moments. Its two great tracks cannot make up for the other material,
and that leaves us with a painfully average album that hasn’t aged well.
(sputnikmusic.com/review/32690/Deep-Purple-Shades-of-Deep-Purple/) Review by Nagrarok. October 1st, 2009
01. And The Address (04:37)
02. Hush (04:22)
03. One More Rainy Day (03:39)
04. a. Prelude: Happiness b. I'm So Glad (07:18)
05. Mandrake Root (06:07)
06. Help (05:58)
07. Love Help Me (03:47)
08. Hey Joe (07:27)
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