Customer Reviews

In Rock: 25th Anniversary (UK)

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"In Rock" is arguably one of the first true "heavy metal" albums. It still stands as one of Deep Purple's best & "heaviest" works. The sound on this cd version, however, leaves much to be desired. I will swear my old lp sounds better. So 5 stars for the music, 1 star for the sound. Your best option is to spend a few extra bucks on the Import "25th Anniversary" edition. Unlike many "limited editions" & "remasters" the bonus tracks on the "In Rock 25th Anniversary" kick @ss thanks to some remixing by Roger Glover.
Again, pass on this one in favor of the better sounding and expanded Import version.

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

THE DISC: (1970) Originally 8 tracks long clocking in at approximately 47 minutes. This digitally remastered (UK) version released in 1995 adds 12 bonus tracks bringing the total listen to just over 78 minutes. This is the band's 4th album. Included with the disc is a 22-page booklet containing song titles/time/credits, numerous photos (some unreleased); a brief insight to the making of and happenings during the time the album was made - by Roger Glover and (writer) Simon Robinson (with quotes from Gillan and Lord as well); and the discography of "In Rock" in various countries. Label - EMI Records.

COMMENTS: After purchasing the "Machine Head" and "Fireball" deluxe anniversary packages... I couldn't wait to get my mitts on "Deep Purple In Rock". Every song is a fast paced rocker here with the exception of the ten minute "Child In Time" - one of my favorite slow rockers... and one of Gillan's many highlights vocally, as well as Lord's wonderful slow intro and Blackmore's guitar solo once the song picks up. For some reason, I was thinking Roger Glover cold fix the original tapes and make these songs sound like they were recorded last year. Not so. The sound is still as muddy as ever. In many places, Ian Paice's cymbals & hi-hat are non-existent. Lord's organ/keyboards are mixed so poorly at times it's tough to distinguish between his high notes and Blackmore's high notes. Disappointing to say the least - it still sounds like a.m. radio. I grew up with Deep Purple and I have 17 of the discs. "In Rock" was easily not my favorite, but it was definitely top 5 due to great songs like "Black Night", "Speed King", "Flight Of The Rat" and "Child In Time" (check out the live version of this song on "Made In Japan"... I'll go out on a limb and claim it's better than the studio version here). "Black Night" and "Speed King" made it to most of their greatest hits compilations, while "Child In Time" made it to a few. The bonus tracks are a plus. Though the sleeve will have you salivating at "12" bonus tracks, it's really only "6". The other "6" are intro's to each song lasting on average 20-30 seconds each. Various chit-chat and Blackmore fooling around on his guitar. These 6 bonus songs sound great... slightly different, and much improved sound over the original 8 tracks. 2 of the tracks are unreleased - "Jam Stew" and "Cry Free"... both treats! Two bonus versions of "Speed King", and an unedited remix of "Black Night" are the highlights. In my opinion, the back photo is very telling... Glover is front and center and the backbone of the band - perhaps the glue keeping the 5 members together (knowing how Blackmore and Gillan got along). For me, this is a very good album, but the poor sound quality keeps me from rating it any higher. The lone track "Child In Time" and the bonus songs make this a must-have disc.

In the spring of 1970, Deep Purple released a milestone in the history of hard rock/heavy metal with their fourth studio album 'In Rock'. Except for the first two Black Sabbath records that sandwiched the release of this one, there was no more important lp in the history of metal then this momunment to aural destruction. This album changed the future of heavy music and defined the difference between late '60's hard rock and '70's metal. Purple's new lineup with singer Ian Gillan and bass player Roger Glover had particpated in the previous year's recording with the Royal Philharmonic so this was their debut proper with the band. And what a debut!!!! Demolishing what was an eccentric classical-psychedeilic sound into a guitar dominated sonic assault, Ritchie Blackmore effectively took musical control of the band and cemented his name among rock's guitar immortals. Highlights include the album opener "Speed King" and for some bizarre reason the opening minute and a half of the song was edited out for US release. Are you kidding me??? Thank God it's now available on this edition. The crash and burn into followed by Lord's piece set you up for the dynamics of the song and the entire record! "Child in Time" is a flawless display of virtuousity as both Gillan and Blackmore pull out all the stops. "Hard Lovin' Man", "Into the Fire", "Bloodsucker", "Living Wreck" and "Flight of the Rat" (great solo from Ian Paice!) fill an album with no filler! Seven cuts and they all count. Purple would conquer their homeland with this record and pre-release single "Black Night" which appears along with several bonus cuts on this 25th anniversary issue. Many people feel that 'Machine Head' is better but I think that's nonsense!. 'In Rock' rips your head off and stomps it into the ground! Mercy!

This must have been a pleasant surprise coming from a band that had been a vannila fudge knock-off until then. It's one of those seminal albums, a step up on the heavy ladder. In Rock, along with Sabbath and Zeppelin, started heavy metal. Gillian's singing is soulful and unique, Ian Paice is a very underrated drummer, and Ritchie Blackmore...well, he's just Ritchie Blackmore, the King of Riffs. Jon Lord has some nice moments, too, but he's completely upstaged by the guitar god in front of him.

Speed King 10/10. This song would probably make my list for top 20 of all time. It's a ludicrously simple idea - take some old Little Richard lyrics, have Gillian scream them over a pounding rock riff. Add in a jazzy Blackmore/Lord solo, too.
Bloodsucker 9/10. Cool riff, but what really carries this song is Ian screaming "OHHHHHHH NO NO NO!!!". The echoey last verse is even funnier.
Child in Time 9/10. Boring at first, but it builds up until Gillian is screaming. When he stops, Blackmore and Lord are happy to unleash a pounding instrumental section, until the boring part comes back in again.
Flight of the Rat 9/10. Another underrated song, with a fairly simple riff. But the fact that they could play a seven minute song that was metal all the way, with out being distracted by jazz or whatever the solo in Speed King was, is great in itself.
Into the Fire 9/10. With a riff that could match Smoke on the Water and Iron Man blow for blow, it's a wonder this wasn't a big hit. Maybe the plodding verses are what the radio stations don't like. It's an anti-drug song, opposite Black Sabbath, who sang about marijuana with glee in Sweet Leaf.
Living Wreck 7/10. It's the weakest song on the album with bad lyrics, a so-so riff, and a chorus that somewhat makes up for it.
Hard Loving Man 8/10. A freight train of a song, its problem is that there's not enough variety in it for a song that long - it gets kinda boring.
One of those albums that it's hard to get tired of listening to.

The story behind this album is well known to most Deep Purple fans. The original Deep Purple line up was a sort of odd mix of pop, hard rock and psychedelia. And although they could be very good at times, all their albums prior to In Rock were decidely "hit and miss" affairs, and nobody is going to convince me otherwise. In 1970 they released a Jon Lord composed Concerto For Group & Orchestra, which is by any standards pushing the limits of what can be called rock. I happen to like the experiment a great deal, but the general rock fan of 1970 was left feeling a bit confused as to what Deep Purple actually were.

So for In Rock they strip it all down to basics, throw any whiff of artiness out the window, turn it up LOUD, and simply rock as hard as possible. And the result is an audio Krakatoa.

Even when I heard this when I was at school in the late 1980s, I was surprised at just how energetic it all was. Yes, in 1988, 1970 seemed like a long, long time ago! So hearing this "old band" (as I thought of them then) shriek and wail is something I certainly remember. (Unbeliavably some versions of this album have had the 2 minute guitar freakout to Speed King edited out) And now, 19 years after Ifirst heard it, I'm still struck at how fresh it all sounds. To be honest a lot of music from the late 1960s and early 1970s, as good as it is, sounds rather dated. Listening to many records of the era is like walking into the musical equivalent of an Egyptian tomb. You know there's a lot of good stuff inside, but exploring it throws up a lot of dust, there's cobwebs everywhere, and you know that in the end it's a relic more than anything else. Listening to In Rock today however is like running along a Norwegian glacier in comparison!

Although true rock legend status would come with 1972s Machine Head, this album will for me remain as Deep Purple's true landmark achievement.

In the year 1970, heavy metal was just beginning in its first stages of development. Black Sabbath's monumental debut blasted their audience with a new, heavy sound; Led Zeppelin rocked the blues harder than it had ever been rocked; but it was Deep Purple that combined the heaviness and the speed to form what we now know as heavy metal.

Look no further than the opening track, "Speed King". Then listen to anything else that came out in 1970. This song shows no mercy as it instantly blasts out of the speakers, with a fury, excitement, and sexual drive never before heard in rock music. The whole album is consistently furious (although the band definitely slows it down for much of the rest of the album).

Not to mention, of course, the purely awesome technical skill involved in the playing. In the epic "Child In Time", all the instruments run counterpoint harmonies on incredibly fast minor-scale riffs in the brilliant climax. Ritchie Blackmore, in particular, shines on this record. His guitar playing, although it would improve on subsequent releases, was even then simply awesome. He is my personal favorite guitarist of all time, although many would argue with my opinion. Jon Lord is a fine organist as well, working with Blackmore to incorporate subtle neo-classical elements into the music. Ian Gillan, of course, is the famed singer, although the production on this album makes his voice sound strangely shrill and distorted (this is not a huge problem, it's actually not that bad). Ian Paice, while not a particularly notable drummer, certainly drives the music forward, while also showing some ability to lay down the funky beats as well.

Every song on In Rock is a winner, my favorites being the mid-paced groove "Bloodsucker", the ferocious "Flight of the Rat", and the aforementioned "Child In Time". This, my friends, is where it ALL began...

When I first heard IN ROCK, I thought it was just a lot of noise. But later I heard the full-length version of "Speed King" on THE ANTHOLOGY album, and was blown away! I couldn't believe Warner in the US has released the LP with such poor sound quality-- AND snipped off the entire intro! (Think of a '007' film without the pre-credit sequence.) When I heard about this package, I HAD to get it. I was NOT DISAPPOINTED!!! I've gotten in the habit of playing their first 5 albums back-to-back in sequence. Simply put, this is one colossal epic GRAND FINALE. And the funny thing is-- they were ONLY getting started!! (Put another way-- anyone who gets the US version has NO IDEA what they're missing.)

The album, "In Rock", by Deep Purple, was a milestone in early progressive rock history; a gem showcasing British hard rock at its best and an example of this particular genre that was strongly influenced by classical music. It was the first studio album by a new line-up of the band that attained great success commercially, producing four(4) solid studio albums while touring the world almost nonstop. The new members of the band were Ian Gillan on vocals and Roger Glover on bass, and what a difference their addition made to the sound of the band. Just take a listen to the song, "Child In Time", a timeless masterpiece of more than ten minutes in length.

Just prior to releasing the album, "In Rock", the first studio album for this renown line-up of the band, Deep Purple recorded a unique presentation of their work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The work was performed (and recorded for later album release) in September of 1969. Entitled, "Concerto for Group and Orchestra", the work reflected the band's strong initial ties to classical music, and it was a wonderful foretaste of things to come. It certainly drew attention to the band. With the presentation of its first work together as a band at a prestigious venue, namely, The Royal Albert Hall in London, Deep Purple began to forge something new and worthwhile in progressive rock, a path that blended the unique talents of its members, all of whom were accomplished musicians. Specifically, the band's music was highlighted, and driven, by organist Jon Lord; by the guitar of a true guitar virtuoso in Richie Blackmore; and now, by the strong vocals of a new member of the band, Ian Gillan, who oftentimes wailed and screamed to complement effectively the sheer volume of the music that his bandmates produced. After all, these were the wonderful beginnings of hard rock in all of its glory! Nevertheless, and astonishingly as it may seem, the band was not alone on this particular path in rock music history. Other bands were likewise breaking new ground in 1969 in the progressive rock music field just ahead of the release of Deep Purple's album, "In Rock." The Moody Blues were already well-established; King Crimson's initial line-up of that year would become a short-lived new-comer; and Yes, having had just released its second album, was still going through personnel changes. Led Zeppelin, although not a part of the progressive rock music scene, was nevertheless establishing its name in hard rock in 1969, but the band was coming from a different direction musically, drawing its inspiration from the blues.

Another prominent band at that time in the progressive rock music field, The Moody Blues, also had an opportunity to record their music with an orchestra, specifically, The London Festival Orchestra. The renown line-up of the band with Justin Hayward and John Lodge recorded their initial album, "Days of Future Past", with the aforementioned orchestra in 1967. However, the band decided to play all of the instruments themselves for their second effort, namely, the album, "In Search of a Lost Chord." Here, The Moody Blues played thirty-three different instruments, including the mellotron. This relatively new instrument duplicated, to some degree, the wonderful sounds of an entire philharmonic orchestra. Taking the mellotron into the studio, and afterwards, on the road, on the concert circuit, meant that the band was able to trailblaze, at its own pace, free from being dependent upon a philharmonic orchestra, its unique sound in progressive rock music. As a result, by 1969, The Moody Blues had already established themselves as innovative musicians in the progressive rock music field and more, with the release of each new album, The Moody Blues continued to broaden their horizons musically and add to their ever-growing fan base. Unsurprisingly, The Moody Blues broke new ground in 1969 with the release of two phenomenal albums, namely, "On The Threshhold of a Dream" and "To Our Children's Children." Both of these albums are worth a listen. Significantly, the popularity of these two albums marked a broadening acceptance in 1969 of progressive rock music, and in regards to The Moody Blues, the mellotron became an integral part of their music. Nonetheless, the stage was set for the following year when the well-known line-up of The Moody Blues would release their fifth album, "A Question of Balance", continuing their strong ties with classical music, and Deep Purple would release their gem, "In Rock."

It is important to note here that Deep Purple followed a slightly different path from the one taken by The Moody Blues. While The Moody Blues preferred softer sounds and vocals that produced memorable ballads and love songs, and at times, the band even added passages of read poetry on their albums, Deep Purple followed the direction of ever-louder music, levels that prompted its singer, Ian Gillan, at times, to wail and scream! While Deep Purple headed towards the branch of progressive rock music that would eventually be labeled as "hard rock", The Moody Blues embraced an entirely different vision. The band set the controls for their somewhat mystical journey pointed towards the heavens. On this preset course, The Moody Blues, that is, their music and their lyrics, actually became, at times, heaven-bound, especially when their music was surrounded by, enriched with, and propelled by, the outworldly sounds of the mellotron.

King Crimson was another band that, at that time, was forging new paths in progressive rock music. King Crimson made its public debut in the summer of 1969 at a free concert in London's Hyde Park with the Rolling Stones, and soon thereafter, the band released its five-song masterpiece, "In the Court of the Crimson King." The album quickly became a true phenomenon, influencing many musicians at that time. Like The Moody Blues, King Crimson used the mellotron; like Deep Purple, the band had a true guitar virtuoso in Robert Fripp; and like the individual members of The Moody Blues, King Crimson employed the services of a multi-instrumentalist in Ian McDonald. Like The Moody Blues and Deep Purple, King Crimson was strongly influenced by classical music, but the band's music also reflected its ties to jazz and folk music. Like The Moody Blues, King Crimson placed considerable weight on the lyrics of its songs, employing the noted lyricist, Peter Sinfield. However, this initial (and stellar) line-up of the band was to become short-lived, and as a result, it unfortunately only created this one well-received album.

During this period of time, another band was likewise beginning its journey on a path that, with the passage of time, would prove to be extraordinarily successful. The band was Led Zeppelin. Like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin's music was oftentimes loud, hence the label, "hard rock", but unlike Deep Purple and other progressive rock bands at that time, Led Zeppelin's music was based on the blues and, to some extent, on British folk music. As a result, Led Zeppelin followed a slightly different path within the hard rock genre than Deep Purple, but its music had such an ever-growing appeal that its popularity influenced many bands both, established and those bands that were just starting out. Like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin had a true guitar virtuoso in Jimmy Page who, in the early years of the band, played his electric guitar with a violin bow as a novelty and also to produce special effects. Much like the supergroup, Cream, that preceded them, Led Zeppelin continued to electrify the blues and while the band was reformulating this process, it began to establish its own style, a style that, along with the band, Black Sabbath, and several other bands at that time, began to mold yet another branch of rock called, "heavy metal." Led Zeppelin released its initial album, "Led Zeppelin", in January of 1969, and its second album, "Led Zeppelin II", later in the year. Both of these albums profoundly changed the rock music landscape forever that year.

I was a young high school kid when this came out......I loved it!! "Speed king" and "Child in time" were great steps forward toward the metal music that I grew to love. Had already been listening to Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cream, Blue Cheer, Humble Pie and Mountain. Was a young long-haired stoner kid who loved hard rock (it wasn't called metal until later in the seventies. Even Purple didn't call their music metal in the beginning.) Today I'm much older. A guy in his 50s who still likes this stuff (hey, I'm still much younger than Dio, Lemmy and Ozzy.) When I first heard "Hush" in 1968, it seemed like Purple was an organ dominated band, just like Vanilla Fudge was. This LP/CD took them in a harder direction. Ever since the first Cream & Hendrix albums came out, I've been buying about 4 or 5 metal LPS/CDs a year. I'll give you metal kids the best metal records every year since the Cream/Hendrix days:

1967 - Jimi Hendrix "Are you Experienced?", Cream "Disraeli Gears"
1968 - Jimi Hendrix "Electric Ladyland", Blue Cheer "Vincebus Eruptum", Cream " Wheels of Fire" Steppenwolf "Steppenwolf"
1969 - Led Zeppelin, "Led Zeppelin 1", Led Zeppelin "Led Zeppelin 2", Mountain "Climbing"
1970 - Black Sabbath "Black Sabbath", Deep Purple "In Rock", Black Sabbath "Paranoid"
1971 - Led Zeppelin "Led Zeppelin IV", Black Sabbath "Master of Reality", Alice Cooper "Killer", Deep Purple "Fireball"
1972 - Deep Purple "Machine Head", Black Sabbath "Vol 4", Wishbone Ash "Argus", Uriah Heep "Demons and Wizards", Scorpions "Lonesome Crow"
1973 - Deep Purple "Who do we think we are", Led Zeppelin "Houses of the holy", Black Sabbath "Sabbath bloody sabbath", Queen "Queen"
1974 - Deep Purple "Burn", Queen "Sheer Heart attack", UFO "Phenomenum", Kiss "Kiss", Rush "Rush"
1975 - AC/DC "High Voltage", Kiss "Kiss Alive", Rainbow "Ritchie Blackmore's rainbow," Aerosmith "Toys in the attic", UFO "Force it"
1976 - Judas Priest "Sad Wings of destiny", Rainbow "Rising", Aerosmith "Rocks", Rush "2112", Kiss "Destroyer"
1977 - Judas Priest "Sin after sin", UFO "Lights out", Queen "News of the world", Motorhead "Motorhead", AC/DC "Let there be Rock"
1978 - Judas Priest "Stained Class", Van Halen "Van Halen", AC/DC "Powerage", Scorpions "Taken by force"
1979 - AC/DC "Highway to hell", Motorhead "Overkill", Judas Priest "Hell bent for leather"
1980 - Judas Priest "British steel", AC/DC "Back in Black", Motorhead "Ace of Spades", Black Sabbath "Heaven and hell"
1981 - Ozzy Ozbourne "Blizzard of Oz", Motorhead "No sleep till hammersmith", AC/DC "For those about to rock"
1982 - Iron Maiden "Number of the beast", Judas Priest "Screaming for vengeance", Ozzy Ozbourne "Diary of a Madman", Scorpions "Blackout"
1983 - Iron Maiden "Piece of mind", Def Leppard "Pyromania", Motley Crue "Shout at the devil", Metallica "Kill em all", Dio "Holy Diver"
1984 - Iron Maiden "Powerslave", Metallica "Ride the Lightning", Judas Priest "Defenders of the faith", Deep Purple "Perfect Strangers"
1985 - Anthrax "Spreading the Disease", Megadeth "Killing is my business", Slayer "Hell awaits", Possessed "Seven churchs"
1986 - Metallica "Master of Puppets", Slayer "Reign in Blood", Megadeth "Peace sells..who's buying"
1987 - Anthrax "Among the Living", Guns n Roses "Appetite for destruction", Def Leppard "Hysteria"
1988 - Iron Maiden "Seventh son of seventh son", Metallica "And justice for all", Slayer "South of heaven", Megadeth "So far so goo so what"

This was about where I got off the "crazy metal train." Didn't like where it was going. The death metal and thrash metal just began to lose me. Mayhem and Possessed and Sepultura and Pantera and Cannibal Corpse was the end for me. I still bought Metallica and Iron Maiden, and of course Judas Priest and Deep Purple and Black Sabbath all through the '90s up to today (when they release something, which is rarer and rarer.) So any metal kids can finish where I left off around '88. But remember, even though Dio & Lemmy & Ozzy & Tony Iommi & Ritchie Blackmore & Jon Lord & Jimmy Page & even Rob Halford are all older than me.....I'm up there myself. So there WAS heavy dark music before Sabbath. Trust me. But they were great, no doubt. Just buy ALL the CDS I just mentioned to get THE WHOLE PICTURE !!

The 25th anniversary remaster not only has much better sound quality than the old vinyl release, but contains several bonus tracks which were not on the american version of the album, making it the definitive version of this classic record and worth the extra money.