Salutations™!!
Last week was great! I really enjoyed that one. Nothing but crickets on the Eugene and Jon review fronts, though. Oh, well. I keep on keepin’ on. Let’s do it…
#42 – Machine Head by Deep Purple.
Okay, so, I know I’m going to get raked hard for this, from Eugene, from Ed Bumgardner, from Doug Davis, from a lot of people, but I have never, nor do I think I ever will understand the appeal of Deep Purple. Now, before the raking begins, I have to follow that up with that I do believe DP is a talented band. I can see the influence that it had on a lot of people. I get that. I just don’t like to listen to them. Even after the first ten times of hearing “Smoke on the Water,” I was done.
A lot of that was Ian Gillian, I’m sure. I just can’t stand hearing that guy sing. It’s like he’s squeezing one out the whole time he’s babbling words from his face. The rest of it is fine. Ritchie Blackmore’s guitars and Roger Glover’s bass are fantastic and the guys are really good at what they do. I just don’t want to hear Gillian’s vocals while it happens. When the band is playing, it’s fun, when he’s singing, it’s not. And, even when it’s just the band, it’s still not that fun.
I had never heard a full Deep Purple album prior to this. That was because I figured I wouldn’t like it, based on what I had heard, even though I had gotten a cassette of Perfect Strangers because I forgot to mail my “thanks but no thanks” card back to Columbia House. So, I guess this is a good one to “start” with by DP…?
There are times during this that I like listening. “Pictures of Home” and “Never Before” are pretty good. I have never cared for the “other” two hits off the album (not counting “Smoke on the Water”), “Highway Star” and “Space Truckin’.” I just can’t get into them.
As I said, Ritchie Blackmore is a bluesy guitarist that does what he does very well. Same with Roger Glover, even though I think he’s a better player than Blackmore. Ian Paice is a powerful striker and is very solid with huge fills. He’s quite talented, too. Jon Lord has some shining moments, too, but I feel it’s more background for the most part.
All-in-all, this isn’t my thing. I don’t want to it hear it anymore. As I said, I can see it’s value and worth, I just don’t enjoy it. Sorry. I’d say I can’t wait for your reviews but I will continue to wait. And, wait some more.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“We all came out to Montreux, on the Lake Geneva shoreline, to make records with a mobile. We didn’t have much time. Frank Zappa and the Mothers were at the best place around. But some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground. Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky.” – “Smoke on the Water” (Blackmore, Glover, Gillian, Paice, Lord)