Fireball (Dlx) [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Deep Purple | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 6, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1971
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00004TIOI
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,246 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Themes of Hard Living with Dramatic Touches, February 21, 2004

By 

Bud (Seminole, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fireball (Dlx) (Audio CD)

After its first line-up fell apart in 1969, Deep Purple decided (or more appropriately, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore decided) to stray from their obvious classical music influence and focus on shaping their music into a much more deliberate hard rock form, making a hard-edged sound which would later be rightfully described as a part of the birth of heavy metal. By straying from their previous sound ("Concerto For Group and Orchestra" and later "The Gemini Suite" were the only significant "classical" breaths from this new era), 1970's innovative "In Rock" saw new additions Ian Gillan and Roger Glover joining Blackmore, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice, making for Deep Purple's most memorable line-up, and firmly established the band's new purpose.
As is always the case, a follow-up was in demand, but Deep Purple were plagued with a hectic touring schedule, thus the several start-and-stop visits to the recording studio, which certainly influenced 1971's "Fireball." Sometimes, Deep Purple pulled together musically better than they did personally, which gave their albums their luster, and the songs here are no exception. "Fireball" made one of this band's most unique traits even more obvious; it was here that DP (lyrically and musically) took the obligatory themes of fast-paced, hard-living rock and roll lifestyles, and placed them in dramatic structures that gave these seemingly cliched topics a unique perspective. 'The Mule' is the best example of this; it is a dense, heavy, and dramatic piece that features a brief but poignant and well-sung verse from Gillan, topped off most notably by Paice's disciplined and raging percussion. 'Fools' is another dramatic song which clocks in at over eight minutes and is highlighted by a lonely, melancholy solo by Blackmore (most likely using a guitar though it sounds like, and may be, a violin or cello). But it's the more traditional rockers that put "Fireball" in the same class as the other Mark II line-up albums; the title track became a radio favorite, and 'Demon's Eye' sounds as if it could have been recorded even by the later Deep Purple line-ups. The closer, 'No One Came' is on the edge of erratic, with an always clever prose by Gillan.
Finally, Warner Archives and Rhino Records have given "Fireball" a well-deserved treatment; this remastered package comes with the hit single 'Strange Kind of Woman,' two songs left off the album (one of which, 'I'm Alone,' is ironically one of the best songs on this CD) and an unreleased track straight vaults ('Slow Train'). Also included is 'The Noise Abatement Society Tapes,' a hodgepodge of quirky rehearsals, not to mention a detailed booklet with abundant liner notes by Simon Robinson and contributions from Roger Glover.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another essential Deep Purple "Anniversary" edition, April 7, 2008

By 

R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fireball (Dlx) (Audio CD)

THE BAND: Ian Gillan (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitars), Roger Glover (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards, organ), Ian Paice (drums & percussion).

THE DISC: (1971) Originally 7 tracks clocking in at approximately 39 minutes. This "Fireball - 25th Anniversary Edition" (1996) contains 16 total tracks (coming in at just under 79 total minutes). Included with the disc is a 26-page booklet containing 11 pages of written band history, numerous band photos and memorabilia, and thank you's. This is the band's 5th studio album. Recorded In London's De Lane Lea and Olympic Studios. Originally on Warner Bros (U.S.) and Harvest (UK) labels, this "Anniversary" edition is on the HEC Enterprises / EMI label.

COMMENTS: I always remember "Fireball" as the infamous album that preceded the band's high-water mark, "Machine Head" (1972). There were some good tracks here - especially the boogey-fused and lone single "Strange Kind Of Woman", "The Mule" (with Paice's drum solo), "Fireball", and perhaps my favorite deep album track here, "No One Came" (with Lord's ultra smooth solo). As good as "Strange Kind Of Woman" and "The Mule" were in the studio, they really came alive on their live "Made In Japan" (1972) - both songs became concert staples. Interestingly, Japan and US albums contained the hit "Strange Kind Of Woman", where the European copy had "Demon Eyes" in its place - I hadn't heard this track before, and man is it cool (it's got that same bar-room boogie feel to it as "Strange Kind Of Woman"). Bonus track highlights - hard to find songs like "I'm Alone" (issued as a 45 B-Side only), 2 album outtakes that were cut from the original LP "Freedom" and "Slow Train", and the instrumental version of the title track - what a jam! "Backwards Piano" and "The Noise Abatement Society Tapes..." come off as experiments (only) and are good to hear once and can then be deemed skippable. The only song that seems out of place here is "Anyone's Daughter" (Deep Purple doing country/western just doesn't work for me). I rank "Fireball" behind the flawless "Machine Head", as well as Coverdale's "Burn", the powerful "In Rock" and perhaps the band's aptly titled 80's comeback "Perfect Strangers" - though "Fireball" still holds its weight decades later. While I don't consider this a true DP classic in the utmost sense, the package here (the original 7 songs, the extensive liner notes, the 9 bonus tracks, the remastered sound) is top notch and essential to any/all Deep Purple fans. Thank you Roger Glover for revisiting and remastering all these vintage Deep Purple albums (4.5 stars).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THINKING PERSONS HARD ROCK!, October 14, 2003

By 

John (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fireball (Dlx) (Audio CD)

If you like Deep Purple but don't own Fireball, you are in for a treat. This album is a hard rock masterpiece and Ian Gillan would totally agree with me. It's a shame that Fireball has been kind of forgotten about, it clearly holds up against In Rock and Who Do We Think We Are. If you're just starting to collect their albums, maybe you already have Machine Head, this one won't disappoint you. It is one of the great rock albums of the seventies.

The diverse highlights include: Fireball, Strange Kind of Woman, Anyone's Daughter, Fools and No One Came. (The 25th anniversary edition also includes additional highlights: Demon's Eye, I'm Alone and Freedom) I'd easily take this album over any Sabbath or Zeppelin album. Gillan sings far superior to Ozzy or Plant, Ritchie Blackmore plays a more classically tinged and intense guitar, Roger Glover plays a more hard driving aggressive bass, Ian Paice plays a more sophisticated style of drumming, that swings and Jon Lord brings keyboards to the table, which puts them miles ahead of their rivals.

One last note, Deep Purples songs are all original and not borrowed rip offs from old blues men (Zep) or spooky child like rock (Sab). This is the thinking persons rock music, raw and powerful. Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord and Paice are probably the best Deep Purple line-up of the seventies.

PS: Please check out their 2003 album, Bananas. It holds up well after a hundred hearings.
I would say it is right up there with their classic seventies material. That is not easy to do.