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A fan in a rock album? You might be wondering what this question means and wouldn't even know how to answer.
A fan in a rock album… incredible but true, but it's the sound of a fan that opens the fifth studio album by Deep Purple, a rock band active from the late '60s onwards, a band that in the '70s achieved worldwide fame thanks to albums of high artistic caliber like In Rock and Machine Head.
Well, the album released among those already mentioned, Fireball, released in 1971, opens with a sound effect achieved thanks to Ian Paice's fan, the band's drummer. The song that receives this privilege is also the title track, one of Deep Purple's best-known songs throughout their career.
Once the fan fades out, the real music finally starts, with Ian Paice's drums introducing in turn the other instruments and the aggressive voice of Ian Gillan. Notable is the distorted bass of Robert Glover which stands out in a stylistically very successful solo.
The following track, No No No, is a nice rock piece with a funky flavor, yet Deep Purple considers it the least successful song on the album due to its slowness. Ian Gillan's voice remains aggressive and the drums set the background. Towards the end of the song, it's time for a beautiful keyboard solo by Jon Lord.
Demon's Eye is a very catchy track: the presence of the guitar is evident and Blackmore's solo, the band's guitarist, is one of Deep Purple's most famous. Anyone's Daughter, the track that closes side A of the album, is a piece with a country atmosphere. Ian Gillan's voice is quieter and the singer seems almost to take on the role of a storyteller.
In The Mule, the track that opens side B of the album, space is given to Ian Paice's drums: live, the drummer can showcase all his skill and versatility in this piece. With the second song of side B, Fools, Ian Gillan's voice returns aggressive, and in the middle of the song, the sound of the tambourine prevails. It's the longest track on the album. Side B, and consequently the album, ends magnificently with No One Came.
Fireball rightfully ranks among the gems of hard rock, a very powerful album, an album with no holds barred.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Fireball (03:24)
The golden light about you shows me where you're from
The magic in your eye bewitches all you gaze upon
You stand up on your hill and they bebop all around you
They wonder where you're from oh yeah
They wonder where I found you
Oh my love it's a long way
Where you're from it's a long way
I tried to understand you, I tried to love you right
The way you smile and touch me always sets my heart alight
Your lips are like a fire burning through my soul
And people ask me where you're from
They really wanna know
Oh my soul it's a long way
Where you're from it's a long way
Magic woman wreckin' up my soul
Things you tell me have never been told
Magic woman I don't know
Electric before me I love you so I love you so
You're racing like a fireball dancing like a ghost
You're gemini and I don't know which one I like the most
My head is getting broken and my mind is getting bust
But now I'm coming with you down the road of golden dust
Oh my love it's a long way
Where you're from it's a long way
03 Strange Kind of Woman (04:07)
There once was a woman
A strange kind of woman
The kind that gets written down in history
Her name was Nancy
Her face was nothing fancy
She left a trail of happiness and misery
I loved her
Everybody loved her
She loved everyone and gave them good return
I tried to take her
I even tried to break her
She said, I ain't for takin' won't you ever learn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman, yes I have
She looked like a raver
But I could never please her
On Wednesday mornings boy you can't go far
I couldn't get her
But things got better, she said
Saturday nights from now on, baby, you're my star
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman
Ooh, my soul, I love you
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman, yes I have
She finally said she loved me
I wed her in a hurry
No more callers and I glow with pride
I'm dreaming
I feel like screaming
I won my woman just before she died
I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you
I spent my money as I took my turn
I want you, I need you, ha ha ha
Ooh, I had a strange kind of woman, yeah
She was so fat
She was the worst thing you've ever seen
Ooh, my soul, I love you, baby
04 Anyone's Daughter (04:44)
While I stood under your bedroom window
Throwin' up a brick
No one came, I threw one more
That really did the trick
Your daddy came and banged my head
He said what kind of man,
Is this that's hangin' round my girl?
Huh, he threw me in the can
You're a farmer's daughter
You're a farmer's daughter
Why do I always get
The kinda girl I didn't ought to get
I won't get no more
Eggs and water
Now I've laid the farmer's daughter
Imagine I was a full grown man
And I could talk just right
Could I come and see you here
And do this every night?
Wham!
The door comes crashing down
Your daddy's face all pale
Says "come with me you hairy bum"
"I'll put you in my jail"
You're a judge's daughter
You're a judge's daughter
Why do I always get the kinda girl
I didn't ought to get
Now I'm getting
Jail and torture
'Cause I made
The judge's daughter
(Yes I did)
(It was nice)
Seems they're screaming
Law and order
When I go with anyone's daughter
Woman I should like some pease
And daddy hold your tongue
I think you're gonna die of fright
When I tell you what I've done
I can hear your tales and lies
You say I'm dumb and scraggy
But man this dumb and scraggy
Is your daughter's baby's daddy
She's a lucky daughter
Such a lucky daughter
Why did I always get
The kinda girl I didn't wanna get
Now I've got what I always fought for
'Cause I married a rich man's daughter
(What do you think of that?)
05 The Mule (05:21)
No one sees the things you do
Because I stand in front of you
But you drive me all the time
Put the evil in my mind
Used to sing and say my prayers
Live my life without a care
Now I have become a fool
Because I listened to the mule
How can I change when my mind is a friend of a Lucifer hid in the ground
Just another slave for the mule
07 No One Came (06:25)
Maybe it's because I'm only starting
That I think it won't take too long
Maybe it's because I can see you laughing
That I think you've got it wrong
Maybe I could be like Robin Hood
Like and outlaw dressed all in green
Someone said what's he gonna turn out like
And someone else said never mind
Well I was big and bold and more than twice as old
As all the cats I'd ever seen
I grew my hair and bought a suit
Of shiny white or was it cream
I shook and shivered danced and quivered
And stood on a mountain top
No one came from miles around and said
Man your music is really hot
Well I knew what they meant because I was a freak
My throat was tired and worn
My pretty face just looked out of place
As they poured on the scorn
I wrote on yellow paper from a man who was the king
He said my boy we'll have some crazy scenes
There weren't any scenes at all like he was talkin' about
He must've been the king of queens
Well I could write a million songs about the things I've done
But I could never sing them so they'd never get sung
There's a law for the rich and one for the poor and there's another one for singers
It's die young and live much longer
Spend your money and sit and wonder
No one came for miles around
And said man your music is really funky
I believe that I must tell the truth
And say things as they really are
But if I told the truth and nothing but the truth
Could I ever be a star
Nobody knows who's real and who's fakin'
Everyone's shouting out loud
It's only the glitter and shine that gets through
Where's my Robin Hood outfit
Well I've come and I've gone before you wink an eye
No one ever cared enough to say goodbye
The money's good and the time you have
Fun and games galore
But you spend your money and lie in bed forgotten
And you wonder what you did it for
No one came from miles around
And said man who's he?
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Other reviews
By Peppe Weapon
The album is instead excellent, and despite new psychedelic and country glimpses, we are faced with a product in pure 'Deep' style.
With 'The Mule,' we enter psychedelia with almost Egyptian soft sounds.
