You may also like this
Deep Purple – 24 Carat Purple (1975)
Shortly before my 15th birthday, Deep Purple entered my life through the compilation album 24 Carat Purple. My best friend, Frank Burgers, influenced my taste significantly, and he introduced me to this album along with their 1974 release, Stormbringer.
Deep Purple hit me like a bomb, even though it took me a moment to adjust to Ritchie Blackmore’s long guitar solos. Soon, those solos became a highlight for me. I played this album endlessly, and it marked the true start of my musical journey.
Even today, I think every track is fantastic, especially the four live songs. Three of them are from the double live album Made in Japan, with the addition of the brilliant live recording of “Black Night,” previously unreleased. While the studio recordings are excellent, Deep Purple was always at their best live.
It wasn’t long before I bought In Rock and Made in Japan along with other albums from Deep Purple’s Mark II and Mark III lineups.
In 1975, Blackmore left the band and was replaced by Tommy Bolin, whose guitar style was very different. I picked up Come Taste the Band from the Mark IV lineup right after its release, and while it was great, it didn’t quite measure up to earlier albums for me.
The lineup changed and subsequent albums didn’t resonate with me as much, except for some live albums featuring older recordings.
Around the same time, we also dove into hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath, but Deep Purple has always remained my number one in the genre.