1970 - Deep Purple get heavy with 'In Rock'

This one's for my mate Clem. When we were teenagers we'd go round to his house after school, dim the lights and put on Deep Purple In Rock at full volume.

This was my education in rock drumming. While Clem flailed away at a tennis racquet, I used a pair of Clem's mother's knitting needles and beat the hell out of her sofa cushions. She still reminds me about the state I left them in.

'In Rock' was the first album proper by the second incarnation of Deep Purple. Having had the hit single 'Hush' in 1968 - but no follow-up success, by 1969 Deep Purple were treading water and in need of some new inspiration.

Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore wanted to move more into heavy rock, which was becoming popular on the back of Cream's success and Led Zeppelin's early concerts. Black Sabbath were also coming through at this time and American groups like Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly and Mountain were creating their own heavy rock sounds.

Getting to know you: Purple's first photo together

Blackmore and Lord, as the accepted leaders of the band, made a decision to try and replace original singer Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper and bring in some new blood. When they approached singer Ian Gillan from the band Episode Six and his bandmate Roger Glover, Deep Purple Mark II was born.

But then Purple confused their audience. Far from releasing a heavy rock album, they came out with a live orchestral recording. It could easily have backfired on them, but in some weird way it actually raised their profile again.

Jon Lord had composed the Concerto for Group and Orchestra and the band's management probably thought this would be a good publicity stunt. A performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was arranged for 24 September 1969 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Two worlds collide

The rest of the band were not at all keen on the idea of playing with an orchestra. Ian Gillan said he only wrote the lyrics on the day of the concert.

For their part, the orchestra considered playing with a rock band was beneath them and put little effort into the rehearsals.

The conductor, Malcolm Arnold, scolded them for their snobbish behaviour: "You're supposed to be the finest orchestra in Britain, and you're playing like a bunch of cunts!"

 

Despite these problems, the project was considered successful and a recording of the show was released in December 1969. It did gain the group a new high profile, but saddled them with a reputation as a classical rock group. 

Deep Purple In Rock  was the perfect antidote to that. 

Blackmore was adamant that Purple needed to shake off the orchestral tag and the best way to do that was to play as loud as possible. He is said to have told the band, "If it's not dramatic or exciting, it has no place on this album".

Roger Glover remembers, "We were playing our instruments as hard as possible. Amps and speakers were being driven hard. If I had to pick one image that sums up Deep Purple In Rock, it would be the VU meters always in the red."

 

 Speed King, the first track on 'In Rock'

Everything louder than everything else

The album kicks off with Speed King and just about the heaviest opening imaginable; everyone playing as loud and as fast as they can for a minute, until the music tumbles down to just the sound of Lord's church-like organ. As that initial furious burst of energy dissipates, you can hear Blackmore's amps crackling. As a statement of intent, it couldn't have been clearer.

The centrepiece of In Rock was the track Child In Time, a climactic song featuring Lord, Ian Gillan's incredible screamed vocal and a ferocious solo from Blackmore. It became a staple of their live act. The live version on Made In Japan from 1972 shows the group absolutely on fire.
Child In Time, recorded for Granada TV in the UK

Half way through the sessions for In Rock, Martin Birch took over as the recording engineer. "The chemistry between the band and Martin was instant," recalled Glover.

Ian Gillan also recognised Birch's affinity for the music: "Martin was the only engineer who bothered to go out into the room to hear what the band sounded like. When we called him a 'catalyst' on the record sleeve, I think that was very true." Birch became the band's mainstay producer after that.

The review of In Rock in Melody Maker, by Roy Carr, called it "magnificent" and "a stunningly good album".

Carr highlighted the band's ability as players and Gillan's powerful singing, also praising Blackmore's "masterly guitar work, which is completely in context. His sympathy with the mood of each work is quite remarkable".

In the Melody Maker interview piece from August 1970 (reproduced below) Gillan explained how Deep Purple rose above the other heavy groups by working on the varied dynamics.

Blackmore killed off any idea that Purple were a classical group: "It was one album, which gave us a lot of publicity....the classical thing is dead and buried as far as we are concerned."

The MM review of 'In Rock'

An advert for the album in the Melody Maker from 1970

 

Ritchie said he didn't relish the long tours of America, but added that "the chicks are great" - a line that Cameron Crowe used in the movie Almost Famous.

Ritchie told a funny story about recording a TV show, where the audiences were often made up of older people. They played Child In Time, which Blackmore described as one of their quieter numbers. "When we finished, we said we were going to play a loud one - and half the audience walked out!"

Years later, DJ Alan 'Fluff' Freeman was deputising for Simon Bates on his BBC Radio One morning radio show. Bates had a regular daily section where you had to guess the year all the records were made. Freeman had 1970 on this day and was scheduled to play Deep Purple's hit Black Night. But instead (by mistake? I think not) he played the B-side, Speed King.

Knowing Fluff's admiration for all things heavy, I'm convinced he did it deliberately.

Meanwhile, the housewives of England will have got the shock of their lives. He didn't take it off either - played the whole thing - Not 'arf!

"Guitar-smashing Ritchie Blackmore" and the story of a
cancelled French gig, that would be echoed later in Montreux.
At this time, Blackmore was still alternating between the
 Gibson 335 and his newly acquired Fender Stratocaster.

ALSO ON THIS BLOG: Smoke On The Water - Montreux 50 years on