Hi Phil, I remember singles a's and b's being super cheap as well. I bought it one day in a record shop when short of cash and it was one of the few I could afford! Kentucky Woman has my all time favourite Jon Lord solo. Maybe that track grew on you.
My journey with Purple began in 1969 when I heard DP self titled …a hidden prog master piece…I immediately got the previous 2 albums and subsequently purchased every new release with anticipation … and what an amazing journey
Great video - I followed a similar path to you with Mk 1 - nothing from them on Deepest Purple didn’t help - so came to that period years later- some great stuff on those 1st 3 albums ❤
I got MACHINE HEAD in Sept 1972. Same month, PURPLE PASSAGES was released. Didn't know what it was..it was, in my 14-year old head, a new Deep Purple double album. It goes on my Xmas list...got it, listened, not a fan. IN ROCK or even FIREBALL shoulda been my next DP album. When you're a kid, you want the latest release. 😊 Pretty sure I got MADE IN JAPAN in this same time frame. Over the years, I did come to appreciate MK I.
Nice to hear about Mk1, because it's often underestimated, overshadowed by Mk2 and sort of forgotten Is it different - yes. Does it make it worse - no. It's just different. My favorite one of Mk1 albums is "The Book Of Taliesyn". Looking forward to the video about the original 1969 "Concerto For Group And Orchestra". If you haven't already, please, do check out the original 1970 "Gemini Suite" In my opinion it's like "The Concerto For Group And Orchestra" meets "In Rock". It's definitely worth checking out and maybe a separate video or at least a mention in the video about "The Concerto".
I agree about April. There's a RUclips video of an orchestra with guitars playing April note for note. Great video that you may like if you haven't already seen it. Great review
The mach 1 lineup were very busy. Agree that Lord was featured at the beginning, but by the third album, Blackmore and Paice came forward to equal Lord. I liked Rod Evans and Nick Simper in the band. Definitely their most creative period with the Concerto coming out in the same time period 4 albums in 1 year. Amazing. The third album titled Deep Purple was my favorite. It's entirety can be heard on Amazon music. Ritchie using a wah pedal. Rod played percussion as well Chasing Shadows. Something he would carry on into Captain Beyond after he was forced out of Purple. Simper played some memorable bass parts on the 3rd album as well. Purple Mach 1 made up the late 60s sound. They started before either Sabbath or Zeppelin.
My favourite band - got all those you showed. I have first presses of the first three! Plus some import cover variations. Third is best one for me. Got a fair few 45s by them too. Inglewood is indeed the only mk1 live album. Their first gig in the states. Was going to be a video. Hard road is a great inclusive box. One stop shop. Lovely stuff Phil. Cheers, Chris
The interesting thing about Deep Purple supporting Cream on their farewell tour is that Purple were kicked off the tour as Ritchie was upstaging Eric Clapton, who apparently didn't appreciate being upstaged.
Nick simper played on a great album called Long Road by a band called Quatermass ll in the nineties, the band featured Mick Underwood from Gillan and Don Airey on keys.
This is a great video. It's lovely to hear someone elses Deep Purple journey. I was a purple fan for years before i got the mark 1 stuff. I didn't buy the albums until the remasters came out on CD. Then after that i was hooked. I've never been keen on Rod Evans vocals but the music from that line up is awesome. The Shield is the best track for me. Again, a great video. I look foward to watching the next one.
Great, great insights here Phil. And I can relate to not going back to the original three Mark I albums for awhile after first hearing "In Rock" as a 15 year old in 1970. That set the bar immediately too high for me to have the time to experiment with anything earlier. "In Rock' , at that time, was more explosive that Led Zeppelin's first album and though Uriah Heep's first had some mind-numbing moments on it, there was a large gap between what Mick Box was doing and what Ritchie put down on In Rock. Love going through those years with you. thanks again, Pat
Excellent Phil! My first DP album was Anthology, and it had a handful of MK 1 tracks. As you pointed out, the difference between In Rock and the first three albums is huge, though Deep Purple (1969) seems to move close to the DP sound. While Blackmore and Lord were somehow finding their sound, Ian Paice is already on fire from the very first album. From all the DP catalogue, these three albums are the least I play. Still, some masterpieces here - Mandrake Root, Listen Learn Read on, Shield, Chasing Shadows and The Bird has Flown.
Phil, There is a Live at Inglewood 1968 cd issued by Deep Purple Archive Collection series on Sonic Zoom label 2009. It has Hush, Kentucky Woman, Mandrake Root, Help, Wring that neck, River deep/Mountain high and Hey Joe on it.
Great video as always Phil! The way I see Mark I Deep Purple? Underrated. Many seem to STILL not know they even exist (just like you did many decades ago) despite the famous line-up being called "II" (shouldn't there be "I" before "II"?). I am not sure if any of the three albums Shades of Deep Purple, The Book of Taliesyn or Deep Purple would rate in my top 10 of the band who now have 26 studioalbums (count the one with only covers). On the the other hand.. None of the albums would rank especially low either. Some of the songs.. Hush, Help!, April, Shield, One More Rainy Day, Anthem and Why Didn't Rosemary? are songs I happily return to just like anything they did later. The albums might not be as direct or powerful as some later but I feel they are rather solid and interesting listens. My favorite is probably The Book of Taliesyn.
Also. The first version of Hush with Rod Evans is superior to the later Ian Gillan version. Gillan might be my favorite singer ever but Rod is awesome as well. Rods version has more swing to it!
Nice one Phil! I need to find a copy of that Hard Road box set, didn't realize it had the mono mixes too. I remember the very early days of CD those first three came out on some budget (possibly bootleg) label and was clearly taken from poor quality vinyl. Digital vinyl noise!! I've always loved the MK I stuff, different but still great - Cheers from Central California!
Fabulous! I could listen to you talk about ‘Purple all day! I could also write reams, but I’ll try my best to keep this short. I can’t remember, I may have mentioned this before; Around 1980-ish, my jammy little brother miraculously found, in a small grocery shop bargain bin, of all places, Tetragramaton label copies of the 3 Mk1 albums. He still has them and won’t let them go. My other thought, prompted by this vid, is - have you ever had any contact with Simon Robinson from the DPAS? I reckon that would be an interesting interview! Anyway, thanks 🙏 for this one! Any DP related stories are always appreciated. Encore! All the best. 🤘😎🤘 AJ.
Phil, the thing is that your release dates for these three Mark I studio albums are the UK release dates, but as this first line up of the band toured the US a lot more and did better there than in their home country, their US releases came much earlier! Shades of Deep Purple was released in July 1968, The Book of Taliesyn in October 1968 and Deep Purple in June 1969. Also not to be overlooked is the two-CD compilation BBC Sessions 1968-1970, released in 2011, featuring MKI and MKII recordings at BBC's Maida Vale Studios, London. I knew DP MKII and MKIII before discovering MKI with their first two albums around 1977/78 and only listened to their third album for the first time ten years later through a friend who had the vinyl album. I enjoy all three Mark I albums, but if I had to choose just one, then it would probably be The Book of Taliesyn ("The Shield" is one of my favourite Deep Purple songs).
Interestingly, the early Deep Purple records from the late 1960s are basically psychedelic rock. A major change in sound comes with the In Rock album of 1970, where they became the heavy metal giants which we are all familiar with. When it comes to hard rock)metal, Deep Purple is my all time favorite, after being exposed to the Machine Head album when I was 12! Here in Malaysia, Deep Purple has always been a big favorite among rock fans.
💜Hi Phil. Thanks so much for this. I LOVE Mk.1, and the video has taken my mind off the stress of the US election for a while. As I got into Deep Purple via the Funky Junction lp from Woolworths (and from hearing Smoke on the Water / Woman from Tokyo at my new school), Hush was very much an early favourite. Who was the mysterious Joe South?, I wondered. Like you, I found the back cover of 24 Carat Purple intriguing, with Shades... having a similar cover to the BACK of Led Zeppelin 1 (which I got later) but with more colour. Deep Purple albums 2 and 3 looked similar, especially in monochrome. So I bought Shades of Deep Purple in Bournemouth WH Smith in '76, so it came shortly after In Rock for me, and Book of Taliesyn second-hand a little later. Shades... sounded heavy to me, with And the Address' riffs a little similar to Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak. Hush, after the beautiful wolf-howls, crashed in with powerchords heavier than on the Funky Junction / Thin Lizzy (coming full-circle!) version, though that one had a heavier take on the rest of the song. I honestly enjoy Mk.1 and much as Mk.2 and Mk.3 - I think they're as good as Led Zep's first 3 albums. No one agrees!😄 Especially thrilling to see you have a vinyl version of The Deep Purple Collection, Mk.1 tracks with a Mk.3 cover. I had that on cassette in the early 1980s, picked up in a French service station on my first trip abroad with my then-g/f and her family. I left it at hers when we broke up, and was trying to remember its title. As Mk.1 and Mk.3 sound more like each other than Mk.2 (to me - again, no one agrees), that album was essential. Must search eBay... Sorry this is a long post, but would you agree that Anthem was a kind of step towards The Concerto? Last point. I bought Singles A's & B's in '78 too - didn't know there was a purple vinyl version - to hear Emmaretta and Hallelujah for the first time (love both). What was unexpected was the Speed King piano version, which is one of the best Mk.2 pieces. Blackmore's solo is actually more complete than on the In Rock version, and it goes so well with Lord's Take 5-ish piano part. I love both versions, In Rock's for its gnarly heaviness, the piano take for its unusual atmosphere and the crashing powerchords with piano. Cheers!
Excellent vid! Back in 2000 as a kid I became a huge fan of Taliesyn, that's the first album I ever loved, listened to my father's original 1973 EMI Odeón Spanish cassette again and again. He also owned Mark I & II on tape, which was so cool since 7 out of the 8 tracks on side 1 are taken from the other 2 albums we didn't have at the time. Absolutely love Evan's classy baritone voice, Simper bass so gusty and intrusive, and Paice, Lord and Blackmore's virtuosity is outstanding from the get-go. People often refer to Crimso's legendary debut as the very first prog album, but I personally believe Shades contributed enormously to define that new style of rock slightly earlier. Actually quite a bit of krautrock and German heavy rock bands like Lucifer's Friend or Night Sun sound closer overall to the proggy side of Mark-I than II. Too bad I couldn't get my hands on that cool Hard Road box-set!
It must have been the early 1980's when I got the first three Deep Purple albums: on vinyl, the second two with gatefold sleeves. There's definitely a lot to enjoy about them even though the band hadn't quite found their sound yet. I think Rod Evans was a good, but limited, singer, but he was also a good writer when it came to lyrics and melodies. I think he deserves more appreciation for that. Some of the conceptual and musical ideas the band had at that time were quite progressive, so there were other directions they could have gone in had Blackmore not taken control.
Interesting thoughts and memories. Came in late to Mark I and wasn't that enthused by them. Did however like Deep Purple (III) and the Concerto album. What I found more interesting to my ears were the offshoots that gave us Captain Beyond and Warhorse, great bands that I still listen to today. Also Nick Simper's latter day band: Fandango, which was an excellent band but got sucked under in the quicksand era of punk rock. Maybe a review from you on the DP offsprings and its family tree?
The third album by mark 1 is actually pretty good and you can clearly hear a slow progression into mark 2 , particularly through tracks like why didn't rosemary , painter and chasing shadows.
Hi Phil. Started following you from Andy's video. Life long Purple fan and really interested in your stories of discovering the band's history. Started with me when my sister's boyfriend took a bunch of my albums I loaned him to the second hand record shop in 1978 (without my permission or knowledge) and came back with Master Of Reality (hence my interest in Sabbath) and Stormbringer, which kick started a life long following of the band. I was 17 at the time and soon recovered the records I lost but added more Purple to the collection. You mentioned Burn as a favourite and the very track 'Burn' (much like many others) kick started my guitar career. Mk1 came later for me also but I bought all three albums at once and worked through them. 'And The Address' is a favourite and a great way to open Shades of Deep Purple. I presume the violinist in the photo behind you is your wife? Looks a bit like Annie Haslam from a distance. Off to watch more of your videos right now. Cheers. :)
Welcome to Now Spinning Magazine! There are lots of Purple stories to enjoy here. Yes, the painting is my wife Sue, she does do some videos with me as well. Phil
I've only very recently listened to any MK1 Purple (2nd and 3rd albums) courtesy of RUclips. It's pretty good stuff overall. If I see any reasonably priced CD's of that lineup, I may well get them.
Imagine a world where Englebert Humperdinck fronted a rock band. That world is Deep Purple Mk 1. Thats not a throwaway but its how I feel about Mk 1. My favourite DP album is, incredibly, Book of Talsyn. But the third album... cant get into that so far.
I really enjoy those first three Deep Purple albums although I rarely listen to them, but that just increases my enjoyment of them when so do revisit them. The production on those albums aren’t great and no matter how many times they try to remaster them, they’ll never rid themselves of that poor production sound. The guitars are way too waa waa’d, Paicey’s drums are way too echoey and ‘tinny’. But I like them because of these ‘flaws’ and how unpolished they are. They were made back in the day when Blackmore played his Gibson ES 335 almost exclusively, with only occasional forays into the Stratocaster, Lord totally dominated the sound at the time and Rod Evan’s sings like PJ Proby, which was great for the time. What I love the most on these albums though is Nick Simper’s bass work, for my money he is still the best bass player Purple has ever had and he has really been given a raw deal over the intervening years. He should have been inducted, (along with Rod Evans and the others), to the Hall of Fame. Even Roger Glover has even said that. If I had to rank them it would be: 3. The Book of Talieyn 2. Deep Purple 1. Shades of Deep Purple. It’s great that you’re bringing some light and exposure to these three underrated and overlooked treasures. Thanks Phil👍🏻
Hey Phil a great compilation to explore Mark 1 is an album called The Early Years with 4 to 5 songs of first three albums with some different versions of the songs. Mark 1 has some great stuff 👍😀
I am a great fan of Mark I Deep Purple and I think their best album is Deep Purple, self titled, from 1969. For me they sound like a prog rock band on it and I appreciate especially Rod Evans who is a geat singer and not just a shouter like Ian Gillan.
I was never really in to DP that much in the late 70s/80s, punk then NWOBHM then thrash, i did have The Book Of Taliesyn album though, which i love. Only heard that orchestra thing once.
Hi Phil, I remember singles a's and b's being super cheap as well. I bought it one day in a record shop when short of cash and it was one of the few I could afford! Kentucky Woman has my all time favourite Jon Lord solo. Maybe that track grew on you.
Great stories as always, Phil, bringing the music to life.
My journey with Purple began in 1969 when I heard DP self titled …a hidden prog master piece…I immediately got the previous 2 albums and subsequently purchased every new release with anticipation … and what an amazing journey
I had Purple Passages on vinyl back in the day…..loved it. I’ve been trying to get it on cd….all MKs of DP are excellent! Thanks Phil!
Always enjoy a good Deep Purple video. Nice one Mr A.
Thank you 🙏
Great video - I followed a similar path to you with Mk 1 - nothing from them on Deepest Purple didn’t help - so came to that period years later- some great stuff on those 1st 3 albums ❤
Always loved Mark 1. Deep Purple 3 was my first Purple album. Bought it on 8 track in a bargain bin back in 1970. My favorite!
I got MACHINE HEAD in Sept 1972. Same month, PURPLE PASSAGES was released. Didn't know what it was..it was, in my 14-year old head, a new Deep Purple double album. It goes on my Xmas list...got it, listened, not a fan.
IN ROCK or even FIREBALL shoulda been my next DP album. When you're a kid, you want the latest release. 😊
Pretty sure I got MADE IN JAPAN in this same time frame.
Over the years, I did come to appreciate MK I.
Nice to hear about Mk1, because it's often underestimated, overshadowed by Mk2 and sort of forgotten Is it different - yes. Does it make it worse - no. It's just different. My favorite one of Mk1 albums is "The Book Of Taliesyn".
Looking forward to the video about the original 1969 "Concerto For Group And Orchestra". If you haven't already, please, do check out the original 1970 "Gemini Suite" In my opinion it's like "The Concerto For Group And Orchestra" meets "In Rock". It's definitely worth checking out and maybe a separate video or at least a mention in the video about "The Concerto".
I agree about April. There's a RUclips video of an orchestra with guitars playing April note for note. Great video that you may like if you haven't already seen it. Great review
The mach 1 lineup were very busy. Agree that Lord was featured at the beginning, but by the third album, Blackmore and Paice came forward to equal Lord. I liked Rod Evans and Nick Simper in the band. Definitely their most creative period with the Concerto coming out in the same time period 4 albums in 1 year. Amazing. The third album titled Deep Purple was my favorite. It's entirety can be heard on Amazon music. Ritchie using a wah pedal. Rod played percussion as well Chasing Shadows. Something he would carry on into Captain Beyond after he was forced out of Purple. Simper played some memorable bass parts on the 3rd album as well. Purple Mach 1 made up the late 60s sound. They started before either Sabbath or Zeppelin.
My favourite band - got all those you showed. I have first presses of the first three! Plus some import cover variations. Third is best one for me. Got a fair few 45s by them too. Inglewood is indeed the only mk1 live album. Their first gig in the states. Was going to be a video. Hard road is a great inclusive box. One stop shop. Lovely stuff Phil. Cheers, Chris
The interesting thing about Deep Purple supporting Cream on their farewell tour is that Purple were kicked off the tour as Ritchie was upstaging Eric Clapton, who apparently didn't appreciate being upstaged.
Nick simper played on a great album called Long Road by a band called Quatermass ll in the nineties, the band featured Mick Underwood from Gillan and Don Airey on keys.
This is a great video. It's lovely to hear someone elses Deep Purple journey. I was a purple fan for years before i got the mark 1 stuff. I didn't buy the albums until the remasters came out on CD. Then after that i was hooked. I've never been keen on Rod Evans vocals but the music from that line up is awesome. The Shield is the best track for me. Again, a great video. I look foward to watching the next one.
Always loved Rod Evans voice...
Great, great insights here Phil. And I can relate to not going back to the original three Mark I albums for awhile after first hearing "In Rock" as a 15 year old in 1970. That set the bar immediately too high for me to have the time to experiment with anything earlier. "In Rock' , at that time, was more explosive that Led Zeppelin's first album and though Uriah Heep's first had some mind-numbing moments on it, there was a large gap between what Mick Box was doing and what Ritchie put down on In Rock. Love going through those years with you. thanks again, Pat
Thank you for sharing - Phil
The inglewood 68 show did come out officially
Excellent Phil! My first DP album was Anthology, and it had a handful of MK 1 tracks. As you pointed out, the difference between In Rock and the first three albums is huge, though Deep Purple (1969) seems to move close to the DP sound. While Blackmore and Lord were somehow finding their sound, Ian Paice is already on fire from the very first album. From all the DP catalogue, these three albums are the least I play. Still, some masterpieces here - Mandrake Root, Listen Learn Read on, Shield, Chasing Shadows and The Bird has Flown.
Phil, There is a Live at Inglewood 1968 cd issued by Deep Purple Archive Collection series on Sonic Zoom label 2009.
It has Hush, Kentucky Woman, Mandrake Root, Help, Wring that neck, River deep/Mountain high and Hey Joe on it.
This was a really great look at Deep Purple and things about
the band and as always I really enjoyed it thank you Phil.
🎶🎤🎸🎸🎹🥁🎶
Thank you Phil for inspiring me to listen to these records. It has been years since i heard them. They are much better than i remembered.
Fantastic, great, terrific vídeo Phill.
Deep Purple is one of my favourits ❤❤
Great video as always Phil!
The way I see Mark I Deep Purple? Underrated. Many seem to STILL not know they even exist (just like you did many decades ago) despite the famous line-up being called "II" (shouldn't there be "I" before "II"?).
I am not sure if any of the three albums Shades of Deep Purple, The Book of Taliesyn or Deep Purple would rate in my top 10 of the band who now have 26 studioalbums (count the one with only covers). On the the other hand.. None of the albums would rank especially low either. Some of the songs.. Hush, Help!, April, Shield, One More Rainy Day, Anthem and Why Didn't Rosemary? are songs I happily return to just like anything they did later. The albums might not be as direct or powerful as some later but I feel they are rather solid and interesting listens.
My favorite is probably The Book of Taliesyn.
Also. The first version of Hush with Rod Evans is superior to the later Ian Gillan version. Gillan might be my favorite singer ever but Rod is awesome as well. Rods version has more swing to it!
Nice one Phil! I need to find a copy of that Hard Road box set, didn't realize it had the mono mixes too. I remember the very early days of CD those first three came out on some budget (possibly bootleg) label and was clearly taken from poor quality vinyl. Digital vinyl noise!! I've always loved the MK I stuff, different but still great - Cheers from Central California!
Fabulous!
I could listen to you talk about ‘Purple all day!
I could also write reams, but I’ll try my best to keep this short.
I can’t remember, I may have mentioned this before;
Around 1980-ish, my jammy little brother miraculously found, in a small grocery shop bargain bin, of all places, Tetragramaton label copies of the 3 Mk1 albums. He still has them and won’t let them go.
My other thought, prompted by this vid, is - have you ever had any contact with Simon Robinson from the DPAS? I reckon that would be an interesting interview!
Anyway, thanks 🙏 for this one!
Any DP related stories are always appreciated. Encore!
All the best.
🤘😎🤘
AJ.
More on the way !
Big fan of the double record MK ! and MK 2 that you showed
Saw them with Steve Morse and Don Airey years later and was not disappointed
Great video. Informative and fun as usual. Keep it up, Phil! 🎸
I just picked up their first album it's the remastered version
Phil, the thing is that your release dates for these three Mark I studio albums are the UK release dates, but as this first line up of the band toured the US a lot more and did better there than in their home country, their US releases came much earlier! Shades of Deep Purple was released in July 1968, The Book of Taliesyn in October 1968 and Deep Purple in June 1969.
Also not to be overlooked is the two-CD compilation BBC Sessions 1968-1970, released in 2011, featuring MKI and MKII recordings at BBC's Maida Vale Studios, London.
I knew DP MKII and MKIII before discovering MKI with their first two albums around 1977/78 and only listened to their third album for the first time ten years later through a friend who had the vinyl album. I enjoy all three Mark I albums, but if I had to choose just one, then it would probably be The Book of Taliesyn ("The Shield" is one of my favourite Deep Purple songs).
I always enjoy your Deep Purple videos, Phil. I highly recommend the hard road box. Thanks.
Mark I tracks dominated the setlists during the Mark 2 tours 1969-1971.
But only 2: Wring That Neck and Mandrake Root... (Very strange)
For me the album "Deep Purple" is the best, however the mark 2 In Rock is their absolute best studio album IMHO 😊
Interestingly, the early Deep Purple records from the late 1960s are basically psychedelic rock. A major change in sound comes with the In Rock album of 1970, where they became the heavy metal giants which we are all familiar with. When it comes to hard rock)metal, Deep Purple is my all time favorite, after being exposed to the Machine Head album when I was 12! Here in Malaysia, Deep Purple has always been a big favorite among rock fans.
Thank you for sharing
I agree. In Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, Purple is more popular than Sabbath or Zeppelin.😊
In rock there best album and machine head after live in Japan tremendous albums
💜Hi Phil. Thanks so much for this. I LOVE Mk.1, and the video has taken my mind off the stress of the US election for a while. As I got into Deep Purple via the Funky Junction lp from Woolworths (and from hearing Smoke on the Water / Woman from Tokyo at my new school), Hush was very much an early favourite. Who was the mysterious Joe South?, I wondered. Like you, I found the back cover of 24 Carat Purple intriguing, with Shades... having a similar cover to the BACK of Led Zeppelin 1 (which I got later) but with more colour. Deep Purple albums 2 and 3 looked similar, especially in monochrome. So I bought Shades of Deep Purple in Bournemouth WH Smith in '76, so it came shortly after In Rock for me, and Book of Taliesyn second-hand a little later.
Shades... sounded heavy to me, with And the Address' riffs a little similar to Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak. Hush, after the beautiful wolf-howls, crashed in with powerchords heavier than on the Funky Junction / Thin Lizzy (coming full-circle!) version, though that one had a heavier take on the rest of the song.
I honestly enjoy Mk.1 and much as Mk.2 and Mk.3 - I think they're as good as Led Zep's first 3 albums. No one agrees!😄
Especially thrilling to see you have a vinyl version of The Deep Purple Collection, Mk.1 tracks with a Mk.3 cover. I had that on cassette in the early 1980s, picked up in a French service station on my first trip abroad with my then-g/f and her family. I left it at hers when we broke up, and was trying to remember its title. As Mk.1 and Mk.3 sound more like each other than Mk.2 (to me - again, no one agrees), that album was essential. Must search eBay...
Sorry this is a long post, but would you agree that Anthem was a kind of step towards The Concerto?
Last point. I bought Singles A's & B's in '78 too - didn't know there was a purple vinyl version - to hear Emmaretta and Hallelujah for the first time (love both). What was unexpected was the Speed King piano version, which is one of the best Mk.2 pieces. Blackmore's solo is actually more complete than on the In Rock version, and it goes so well with Lord's Take 5-ish piano part. I love both versions, In Rock's for its gnarly heaviness, the piano take for its unusual atmosphere and the crashing powerchords with piano.
Cheers!
Excellent vid! Back in 2000 as a kid I became a huge fan of Taliesyn, that's the first album I ever loved, listened to my father's original 1973 EMI Odeón Spanish cassette again and again. He also owned Mark I & II on tape, which was so cool since 7 out of the 8 tracks on side 1 are taken from the other 2 albums we didn't have at the time. Absolutely love Evan's classy baritone voice, Simper bass so gusty and intrusive, and Paice, Lord and Blackmore's virtuosity is outstanding from the get-go. People often refer to Crimso's legendary debut as the very first prog album, but I personally believe Shades contributed enormously to define that new style of rock slightly earlier. Actually quite a bit of krautrock and German heavy rock bands like Lucifer's Friend or Night Sun sound closer overall to the proggy side of Mark-I than II. Too bad I couldn't get my hands on that cool Hard Road box-set!
Love Jon Lord! RIP
It must have been the early 1980's when I got the first three Deep Purple albums: on vinyl, the second two with gatefold sleeves. There's definitely a lot to enjoy about them even though the band hadn't quite found their sound yet. I think Rod Evans was a good, but limited, singer, but he was also a good writer when it came to lyrics and melodies. I think he deserves more appreciation for that. Some of the conceptual and musical ideas the band had at that time were quite progressive, so there were other directions they could have gone in had Blackmore not taken control.
Interesting thoughts and memories. Came in late to Mark I and wasn't that enthused by them. Did however like Deep Purple (III) and the Concerto album. What I found more interesting to my ears were the offshoots that gave us Captain Beyond and Warhorse, great bands that I still listen to today. Also Nick Simper's latter day band: Fandango, which was an excellent band but got sucked under in the quicksand era of punk rock. Maybe a review from you on the DP offsprings and its family tree?
The third album by mark 1 is actually pretty good and you can clearly hear a slow progression into mark 2 , particularly through tracks like why didn't rosemary , painter and chasing shadows.
Hi Phil. Started following you from Andy's video. Life long Purple fan and really interested in your stories of discovering the band's history. Started with me when my sister's boyfriend took a bunch of my albums I loaned him to the second hand record shop in 1978 (without my permission or knowledge) and came back with Master Of Reality (hence my interest in Sabbath) and Stormbringer, which kick started a life long following of the band. I was 17 at the time and soon recovered the records I lost but added more Purple to the collection. You mentioned Burn as a favourite and the very track 'Burn' (much like many others) kick started my guitar career. Mk1 came later for me also but I bought all three albums at once and worked through them. 'And The Address' is a favourite and a great way to open Shades of Deep Purple. I presume the violinist in the photo behind you is your wife? Looks a bit like Annie Haslam from a distance. Off to watch more of your videos right now. Cheers. :)
Welcome to Now Spinning Magazine! There are lots of Purple stories to enjoy here. Yes, the painting is my wife Sue, she does do some videos with me as well. Phil
Emmarreta was on the self-titled third album.
It is not on my vinyl or CD copy
I've only very recently listened to any MK1 Purple (2nd and 3rd albums) courtesy of RUclips. It's pretty good stuff overall. If I see any reasonably priced CD's of that lineup, I may well get them.
Imagine a world where Englebert Humperdinck fronted a rock band. That world is Deep Purple Mk 1. Thats not a throwaway but its how I feel about Mk 1. My favourite DP album is, incredibly, Book of Talsyn. But the third album... cant get into that so far.
I really enjoy those first three Deep Purple albums although I rarely listen to them, but that just increases my enjoyment of them when so do revisit them.
The production on those albums aren’t great and no matter how many times they try to remaster them, they’ll never rid themselves of that poor production sound. The guitars are way too waa waa’d, Paicey’s drums are way too echoey and ‘tinny’. But I like them because of these ‘flaws’ and how unpolished they are.
They were made back in the day when Blackmore played his Gibson ES 335 almost exclusively, with only occasional forays into the Stratocaster, Lord totally dominated the sound at the time and Rod Evan’s sings like PJ Proby, which was great for the time.
What I love the most on these albums though is Nick Simper’s bass work, for my money he is still the best bass player Purple has ever had and he has really been given a raw deal over the intervening years. He should have been inducted, (along with Rod Evans and the others), to the Hall of Fame. Even Roger Glover has even said that.
If I had to rank them it would be:
3. The Book of Talieyn
2. Deep Purple
1. Shades of Deep Purple.
It’s great that you’re bringing some light and exposure to these three underrated and overlooked treasures. Thanks Phil👍🏻
Hey Phil a great compilation to explore Mark 1 is an album called The Early Years with 4 to 5 songs of first three albums with some different versions of the songs.
Mark 1 has some great stuff 👍😀
The third album is the best
Phil , is elvis on vocals for anthem
I am a great fan of Mark I Deep Purple and I think their best album is Deep Purple, self titled, from 1969. For me they sound like a prog rock band on it and I appreciate especially Rod Evans who is a geat singer and not just a shouter like Ian Gillan.
I was never really in to DP that much in the late 70s/80s, punk then NWOBHM then thrash, i did have The Book Of Taliesyn album though, which i love. Only heard that orchestra thing once.