In 1971 Deep Purple had cemented themselves as one of the top players in the quickly emerging world of British heavy rock/metal. With their 1970 release In Rock which was the first to feature their iconic Mark II line-up blasting them into the stratosphere, they couldn't wait too long to put out a follow-up to keep the momentum going. The result was a slightly unexpected, more groove and melody oriented record titled Fireball.
Where In Rock was more about the heavy, pulse pounding, string snapping loud ruckus songs, Fireball was a more diverse record. There were still heavy rockers on it, but genres varied from blues, to ballad, to funk, to others beyond even that while still maintaining the signature Deep Purple sound. It was definitely a more well rounded record than their previous releases, even if it didn't feature as many of their well known tunes.
Strange Kind of Woman is probably the best known tune from this album among Deep Purple fans. It's a pretty straight up blues shuffle for the most part, but there are of course some dazzling blues licks played with extreme precision by guitar master Ritchie Blackmore. If you listen to the lyrics though, it's a rather sad story of chasing after a woman, finally winning her over, and then her dying shortly after. Who knew something so tragic could end up making such a groovy song?
Anyone's Daughter in my opinion is one of Deep Purple's greatest hidden gems. It's a ballad in the style of Bob Dylan, but as a full plugged in band they seem to pull it off flawlessly. It's smooth, flowing, melodic, and at the same time rather fun. They even still manage to throw in some guitar and piano solos while still making it easy listening. That to me shows just how much skill Deep Purple really had way back in the day.
I wouldn't consider this the best of Deep Purple's classic material, but it definitely has quite a few songs on it that are worth having on your rotation. It is also a must have for anyone looking to have a complete collection of all of the Deep Purple catalog that is actually worth having (most of what came after Perfect Strangers is ignorable). It's a balanced fulfilling rock n' roll journey from the first track to the end, even with only seven songs on it (bands could get away with that back then).
Fireball, by Deep Purple receives 3.2 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. Fireball
2. No No No
3. Strange Kind of Woman
4. Anyone's Daughter
5. The Mule
6. Fools
7. No One Came
Buy the album on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Fireball-Deep-Purple/dp/B004AQ7864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504849086&sr=8-1&keywords=Fireball+Deep+Purple
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