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Rating: The birth of heavy metal is also (perhaps especially) attributable to this LP.
After the first 3 mediocre albums, Deep Purple decided to turn the page, hitting the heart of the group: the line-up. Rod Evans and Nick Simper were replaced in favor of bassist Roger Glover and singer Ian Gillan. The first surprising results were noticed in Lord's project with the Philarmonic Orchestra, where classical music pieces alternated with the band's new tracks... already from there, you can see the ENORMOUS progress made by Blackmore and company... but it was with the release of "In Rock" that Deep Purple showed their assets and produced an album that stands far apart from previous works... the trio of MKI LPs seems far too sweet and tender compared to this album, a concentration of hard, incendiary, and metal rock. This is perhaps the first Heavy Metal album in history!
Right from the first track, you can sense that the music has changed: the first minute of "Speed King" is incendiary, it seems as if all the instruments are coming almost from hell (although "In Rock" is not a Black, Gore, or Death album) and they contort to the unimaginable, preluding the (almost church-like) melody of keyboardist Lord, before moving on to the core of the song, where Ian Gillan performs a vocally substantial test, with piercing screams (his undisputed trademark) but also with a notably high voice, perhaps not the most powerful but still warm and captivating. The single that will come out will actually be sweetened with an alternative piano version, which significantly loses the comparison with the main song, a furious concentration of pure, hard rock... the old virtuosity of Lord's first albums are just a distant memory... the keyboardist's contribution is crucial, but this time it aligns with the band's new "Heavy" style, producing more enchanting and significantly more chilling sounds. The next track, "Bloodsucker," is again a manifesto of hard rock, with Gillan going wild once more on vocals. But the true MASTERPIECE of Deep Purple is a song simply called "Child In Time," a moving and wrenching 10-minute composition where Gillan's screams (perhaps too melodramatic but still with a strong emotional impact) really make an effect... his almost hysterical despair screams are followed by a truly outstanding solo by Blackmore, accompanied by the unleashed Paice on drums, the indispensable Lord on keyboards, and the brilliant Roger Glover, a little-known bassist with exceptional technique. Gillan's screams are repeated to then close with an apocalyptic finale, where it seems like everything is exploding in your guts!
I repeat, it is not a Gore Metal, Horror Metal, Death, or Black album, but certain violent characteristics were already felt in 1970. An honorable mention must also be made to the live version of this rendition, even faster and capable of turning the stage into pandemonium! Side B still showcases the group's ability to unite powerful yet also classical and a bit baroque melodies, as in "Flight Of The Rat," energetic hard rock where all the band's instrumental and compositional abilities are brought to full splendor. The album closes with other hard songs, such as "Into The Fire," "Livin' Wreck," and "Hard Lovin' Woman."
In conclusion, this album is the symbol of what represents the deep purple engraved in rock, which will influentially write the history of music and rock... Deep Purple has reached very high compositional peaks, reaching even Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, peaks that few in the history of music will manage to reach...
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Speed King (00:00)
Good Golly, said little Miss Molly
When she was rockin' in the house of blue light
Tutti Frutti was oh so rooty
When she was rockin' to the east and west
Lucille was oh so real
When she didn't do her daddies will
Come on baby, drive me crazy--do it, do it
I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
I'm a speed king see me fly
Saturday night and I just got paid
Gonna fool about ain't gonna save
Some people gonna rock some people gonna roll
Gonna have a party to save my soul
Hard headed woman and a soft hearted man
They been causing trouble since it all began
Take a little rice take a little beans
Gonna rock and roll down to New Orleans
Good Golly, said little Miss Molly
When she was rockin' in the house of blue light
Tutti Frutti was oh so rooty
When she was rockin' to the east and west
Hard headed woman and a soft hearted man
They been causing trouble since it all began
Take a little rice take a little beans
Gonna rock and roll down to New Orleans
I'm a speed king you go to hear me sing
I'm a speed king see me fly
02 Bloodsucker (00:00)
Gotta black breast Chinese eyes
Got an English brain that's gonna make me wise
Got a long story that I wanna tell
To a rhythm that I know so well
Really got a lot of lovin' that I wanna give
Baby I'm a mystery but you know I gotta live
I tried another but she didn't want to know
Take a hold now if you can
Take a lesson from a hard lovin' man
I'm a long way from where I wanna go
Guess I'll stay awhile I really love you so
How's about another sip of all the wine you got
Take a tip from me and give it here I'll drink the lot
I'm not a winey, I'm a puttin' on a show
You really really grab me but I've gotta move
Before they know I'm here and spread the news
Maybe in while when I've moved around
I can find a way to pay you back your twenty pounds
Really got a lot of lovin' that I wanna give
Baby I'm a mystery but you know I gotta live
I tried another but she didn't want to know
03 Child In Time (00:00)
Sweet child in time you'll see the line
The line that's drawn between the good and the bad
See the BLIND man shooting at the world
Bullets flying taking toll
If you've been bad, Lord I bet you have
And you've not been hit by flying lead
You'd better close your eyes and bow your head
And wait for the ricochet
04 Flight Of The Rat (00:00)
Spread the word around
The rat is leaving town
The message is a song
The misery is gone
Once I had a dream
To sing before the queen
She didn't want to know
She wouldn't see the show
What a fright
I couldn't do it right
Oh what a night
Mystic demons fly
All about the sky
With memories of a clown
The saddest show in town
When I was seventeen
My mother said to me
Be careful what you touch
You shouldn't take so much
I blew my mind
She was so kind
I could have cried
In my mind
I had to find
A kind of new way
Of being oh so cool
Like a blue blooded
Well studded English fool
Speak about the past
Times are changing fast
Once I was so weak
I couldn't even speak
Shaking put a curse
Nothing could be worse
Walking through the door
Who could ask for more
Now I'm free
And I can see
That I am me
Spread the word around
The rat is leaving town
The message is a song
The misery is gone
Shaking out a curse
Nothing could be worse
Walking through the door
Who could ask for more
Now I'm free
And I can see
That I am me
Please stay away
05 Into The Fire (00:00)
Take the trouble to decide the things you do
Will not be the things that don't appeal to you
See the mess your makin' can't you see your fakin'
Gonna make it hard for you, you're gonna--into the fire
Turn on the mandrake that was given to you
See if you can make it like the others do
Feel the blood a knockin' when you're finger poppin'
Gonna make it hard for you, you're gonna--into the fire
Stop your bleeding mind before it's over and done
Listen very closely to the message I've sung
Feel the blood a knockin' when you're finger poppin'
Gonna get a message through, you're gonna--into the fire
06 Living Wreck (00:00)
You came along for a weekend
But you only stayed for one night
You took off your hair
You pulled out your teeth
Oh I almost died of fright
You'd better do something for your own sake
Yes it's a shame
Ah you know you're a living wreck
You said you were a virgin
Full of promise and mystery
But I know that you
Would bring me down
'Cos everyone calls you big G
You'd better do something for your own sake
Yes it's a shame
Ah you know you're a living wreck
You said you're gonna love me
You said you're gonna set me free
But I knew that you would bring me down
And cause me misery
You'd better do something for your own sake
Yes it's a shame
Ah you know you're a living wreck
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Other reviews
By In Rock
The pinnacle is the ballad "Child in Time" where three chords are enough to shape one of the most beautiful tracks ever.
It is certainly Deep Purple’s best work, managing to exhaust 90% of their creativity in a single album.
