Shades Of Deep Purple [Cardboard Sleeve]

I bought this album when it first was released as an LP and retain quite a fondness for it. The music, concededly, is derivative of what other groups were doing. For example, "Help!" is a copy of Vanilla Fudge's sound and musical approach, the arrangement of Skip James' "I'm So Glad" owes a great debt to the song's rediscovery and reworking by Cream, and "Hey Joe" is taken from Hendrix. Nonetheless, the album's music overall is solid for the era and, moreover, it is still very listenable. The breakthrough single, the group's arrangement of Joe South's R&B-ish "Hush," was less soul than rock, driven by Jon Lord's already powerful organ work. For diehard Purple fans the subsequent lead vocals of Ian Gillian far surpassed those of original vocalist Rod Evans. Sine I prefer the early, more "pop" oriented Purple, I tend to disagree. The K2HD remastering sonic quality is good but not as impressive as I have heard on other CDs, as the sound lacks depth, the mid-range is a bit harsh and the instrument separation is just adequate. But perhaps that's the best they could do with the original tapes. Overall, it remains a quite enjoyable and worthwhile, if not essential, purchase.

I bought this LP back in 1984 and was snickered at by some school mates for having such an old album under my arm. It took some getting used to but I enjoyed this album quite a lot. Now, years later, I am reliving it. Another reviewer said the bass seems to be missing somewhat in these K2 remasters, and I would have to agree. Though they sound better than most cds, perhaps it is a bit compressed. Anyhow, the bass is considerably more in the background than on Archive 24-bit remasters, which suprised me with their full sound (Nazareth, Triumph). Still, I like this cd and am happy with the quality of the cardboard sleeve and music. I especially like the keyboard on "One More Rainy Day", as it's a very pleasant-sounding riff. "Hush", of course, is a classic.