Deep Purple were on a roll early on in their career. Their debut album, Shades Of Deep Purple (1968) had done quite well, and unexpectedly so for the band. It seemed that, after being carefully nudged into it by their record company, Deep Purple decided to release yet another album in 1968, following a similar musical fashion to their debut album. Although the band was from the UK, most of their success was in the USA, oddly enough. It seemed that they had yet to capture the hearts and minds of many back home. The result was fairly rushed but continued to feed the success of Deep Purple. Like their debut album, it relied heavily on covers but showed definite promise for the up-and-coming band for many listeners of Rock Music out there. Even though this album may be rushed and is likely a mixed bag of songs, let’s take a listen to the album in full and we shall reflect on the music within.

Listen, Learn, Read On begins with some awesome guitars, drums and keyboards, launching into the key track from this album. It is a good mixture of Psychedelic and Progressive Rock, with a flair of originality about it. No doubt that King Crimson was paying careful attention to this song. The drumming by Ian Paice, in particular, is amazing. This quickly breaks down into some fantastic sonic breakdowns and sounds extremely cool to hear. This is a wonderful journey through sound. Ritchie Blackmore plays an awesome guitar solo here, and this is an enlightening listening experience. A cool, energetic and different tune, this has some truly underrated and underappreciated music to hear. There is a breakdown briefly, before delayed vocals, excellent guitars and powerful drumming, with keyboard added make this tune sound really fantastic. This no doubt would have appealed to Hippies of the time, and this sounds fresh and amazing, to this very day. It wraps up with some fantastic melodies and sounds throughout. A winner.

Wring That Neck is an instrumental by the group. It begins with punchy drums, organ playing and sounds amazing. Of course, the track title refers to the desire to play guitar in a shred-based way. This instrumental sounds great as well, and every single member of Deep Purple plays music in a passionate and interesting way. The jam is solid, and one can imagine the youth of the late 1960s chilling out and smoking a joint to this excellent-sounding instrumental. Ritchie Blackmore is a great guitarist, even by this stage in Deep Purple’s career. He plays wonderfully and has a unique sound, tone and playing style that is unlikely at all similar to most guitarists out there. His playing is a good mixture of intellectualism and late 1960s-style shred guitar. The organ riffs returns, once again, and sounds really glorious to listen to. A joyful tune, with banging drum hits and unforgettable melodies throughout. Ritchie Blackmore plays some proto-Led Zeppelin riffing that is pseudo-Classical as a solo alone towards the end of this track, before the keyboards and the rest of the band return for fun. Ritchie Blackmore is the clear star of this particular track, and he plays wonderfully here. This concludes with an organ finale and drum rolls galore, with Ritchie Blackmore finishing up. Excellent.

Kentucky Woman is a Neil Diamond cover, oddly enough. It begins with some awesome drums, guitars and keyboards to match. It sounds very unique and different, which is cool. Deep Purple breathes life into a cover that sounds no doubt very different to the original. Handclaps are present as well. This song is very enjoyable and listenable throughout, and the musicianship throughout is very, very good. Rod Evans is not the best singer out there, but he sings nicely on this song anyway. The real star throughout is Ritchie Blackmore, who plays an excellent guitar solo that makes this song come alive. This is followed by a Jon Lord organ solo that sounds absolutely mindblowing and awesome to listen to. Nonetheless, these songs are real winners and Deep Purple ignites the spirit of Rock Music alive here. It builds up to a crazy climax of sound and playing throughout. The verses and chorus eventually return, and this song sounds very awesome for what it is. A good selection for a cover song by Deep Purple. Entertaining and enjoyable from start to finish. It ends with some crazy drumming and guitars.

Exposition / We Can Work It Out (Medley) is a hybrid of an instrumental by Deep Purple and a cover song originally by The Beatles. It begins with some rather odd-sounding instrumentation, particularly on guitar and it sure sounds strange. Bass guitar by Nick Simper becomes prominent and this tune builds up to a rhythmic pulse with drums and organ. An interesting listening experience that sounds really cool for what it is, although this instrumental is nothing hugely groundbreaking here. The music throughout is really clever and different, and there is a suspenseful and intellectual approach to the music in this piece. The chaotic mesh of guitars, bass, organs and drums sounds fantastic. Eventually, this launches into an unusual rendition of the clever and interesting song by The Beatles. It sounds very different and pleasantly interesting, with some improvised guitar leads by Ritchie Blackmore here. Nonetheless, the singing and playing throughout this song sound very spot on and quite different from the original song by The Beatles. Ritchie Blackmore improvises very nicely throughout this piece, and the music and performances here sound very amazing. This launches into a strange and thumping instrumental section that is a great listen nonetheless, before the song section returns. A good take on a song that was originally a classic in its own way. Very cool for what this is, and musically pleasant and satisfying to hear. The tune wraps up after seven minutes of fabulous glory and fades out with guitars and vocals prominent at the end.

Shield begins with a fade-in of drumming, and is quickly followed by bass guitar playing, electric guitars and keyboards playing electric piano melodies. This is a quirky-sounding tune, and it quickly launches into a suitable piece of music for this album, covering medieval themes throughout. A cool and unusual-sounding piece of music, this sounds quirky. The mesh of guitars and piano-based melodies throughout are really interesting as well and matches the strangeness of this tune. Perhaps Deep Purple was smoking a lot of dope and thinking of people such as John Lennon and Syd Barrett, in the process? Regardless, this unusual-sounding tune is a winner. There is some muted wah-wah style guitar towards the middle, followed by some expressive guitar leads by Ritchie Blackmore. Clearly, he is the star of the show on this album. This is followed by a variety of percussion and drumming by Ian Paice. A very unusual-sounding piece of music that is interesting, to say the least. The guitar leads are also very reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix as well. A very good piece of music, although this isn’t even the best of Deep Purple. That says a lot about how great the band was at the time. Nonetheless, it is an awesome-sounding tune, and something deserving of more listening and praise than what it typically gets today. It builds up to a chaotic frenzy, before having a bass guitar and percussion finish. Different.

Anthem is another Deep Purple original. It begins with an organ by Jon Lord, acoustic guitars and singing, which leads into a song about missing a lover, this is a good listen from the start. Drums enter and this tune gets going into a very good piece of music that sounds descriptive, imaginative and different throughout. This is a good song to listen to, and it gets the imagination going very nicely. Soon into it, after the first chorus is a spacey Mellotron and other excellent drumming and other instrumentation to match. Deep Purple were obviously absolute professionals at singing and playing their instruments, and this is a great piece of music that showcases that. Everything abruptly stops for an organ solo that sounds interesting, memorable and wonderful. Drums and violin then enter into this piece, giving it a Neo-Classical Music edge that is very different and unusual for this kind of music. Organ follows, along with an electric guitar to match it all. A very good listening experience with glorious guitars gives this music a different edge. Shortly afterwards, drum rolls enter and this tune resumes back into the instrumental side of things. This continues for some time. Ian Paice’s drumming is absolutely fantastic throughout, and he reveals himself as an extremely underrated drummer. The verses and chorus follow, once again as this piece of music reaches a logical conclusion. Organs follow, and this song comes to a close. Excellent music.

River Deep, Mountain High is an Ike & Tina Turner cover. It begins with the sound of wind rushing, along with wind chimes. This eventually has some chaotic drumming and percussion sounds that are unique. Some moody organ comes after that, and this tune moves gradually into action. This slowly builds up to an interesting and intelligent-sounding piece of music, with rushes of drums and percussion throughout that are intense and distorted. Organ melodies follow, and this tune sounds interesting. Eventually, this song launches into action with guitars and drums and begins to speed up nicely. A very good piece of music throughout, which builds up to an intense pace, before falling apart with some excellent guitar playing by Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie Blackmore makes his presence well known, before this returns to the organ soloing, with flourishes of percussion. Eventually, the organ playing becomes very prominent and this slowly yet surely moves into action. Some hi-hats are heard, and the singing here is soft but descriptive. The rest of the band launches eventually into action with some hollered vocals to match, and the song gets really into action here. A fantastic song emerges nicely here, even if it is merely a cover song. A really good rendition of a legendary song, even though Rod Evans sounds a lot like Jim Morrison throughout this song. Really sweet and cool, this is a sensationally good listen throughout. The sounds and performances throughout are really different and excellent throughout. This builds up in intensity and power throughout the second half of this song, and the music is very late 1960s and wonderfully magical as well. Ritchie Blackmore plays a mean guitar solo towards the end of this song, and he improvises in a logical, intelligent manner which sounds excellent. A really cool listening experience, this has some excellently overdriven guitar, before this song reaches its logical conclusion at hand. A very awesome listen, this ends with gunshot-styled drums and percussion, before ending with the same sounds from the intro, fading out.

This is a highly underrated album listening experience to this very day. Yes, this is quite clearly not the greatest Deep Purple album to listen to. However, having said that, it is a really interesting, detailed, artistic and intelligent listening experience at hand. Deep Purple delivered exactly what the audiences of the late 1960s wanted and needed to hear, leaving a lasting impression musically to this very day. The result was stronger album sales and even more attention to Deep Purple throughout this time period. Should you listen to this album? Definitely yes, it sounds like the equivalent of a painting of a medieval lifestyle that is optimistic and interesting. The album cover by John Vernon Lord (not the keyboardist, ironically enough) is also evidence of this fact and is equally wonderful as well.

One of the most underrated listens out there, to this very day.

9/10