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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wait for the riccochet........., November 13, 2005
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!
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A classic rock album brought down by poor sound quality, August 14, 2006
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The way it was MEANT to be!, March 27, 1999
By A Customer
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.)
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