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“Deep Purple's MK II formation had a lot of catching up...”

written by degbert on 06/03/2006

Good Points
Continuing the standard set by In Rock, Fireball got very close in terms of quality

Bad Points
There's some debate over the choice of at least one of the songs, but...

General Comments
Deep Purple's MK II formation had a lot of catching up to do to regain the initiative after the very modest acclaim met by Concerto for Group and Orchestra, their foray into the classical realm.



To re-establish themselves they had stripped back to the bare bones, taken the good stuff from Mk I (specifically mandrake root), and pushed ahead with a hard, driven rock sound that culminated in the now-legendary In Rock. In concert (pun intended) was a punishing tour schedule that established them as the best live band around at the time. All of which took them to a high point very quickly, but which spawned its own problems, namely clamour for another album.

With that in mind they decamped to some remote farmhouse and attempted to maintain some enthusiasm, control Gillan's ego fuelled alcohol reliance, and dampen any fragmentation starting to appear in the band already.

The result, eventually, was a barnstorming follow-up called Fireball, well ahead of its time in 1971. The anniversary remix is well worth the investment as you get plenty more than what ended up on the album, including a real belter rock and roll romp called freedom.



Anyhow, the album itself contained 4 or 5 real gems, with not one weak song. The one most heavily debated is the country/folk/ragtime Anyone's Daughter... I think we give it the credit it's due; an example of how varied their influences and abilities were, and a nice statement for how sexism and cheek were a staple 70's characteristic.



The real highlights were the more tried and tested rock sound; however the title track is a fantastic 90mph 3 minute wonder, a great single, and some nice off-the-wall instrumentals on a galloping rhythm and furious drum beat. My personal favourite is No One Came, with superb lyrics, some great musicianship, and a fine structure. Demon's Eye is great too, while giving rise to the slower shuffle sound often favoured by later Blackmore work, and a style that really didn't favour Lord or Paice in terms of showing what they could do. Fools however, is a wonderful example of restraint-before-crescendo, and went on to become (a bit chicken and egg to be honest) part of the live set (featuring during Space Truckin in Blackmore's quiet bit off Made in Japan). No No No is great and has a wonderful Hammond sound; very earthy, and dare I say sensual? Finally the Mule is great and worth a listen, but it isn't even in the same ballpark as its live incarnation (again from Made in Japan).



You'll know by now I always recommend getting the remastered version, and Fireball is no exception. Plenty of extras to savour, and included in that list and well worth mentioning here is the instrumental / take#1 of Fireball itself. A bit quicker, a bit looser, but played to the very end, and (with no singing) you can get a real sense for how rewarding it must be to play it.



Buy the album, put the Fireball instrumental on volume 11, and you won't regret it!