Musical Appreciation
Come Taste the Band - Deep Purple (1975)
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Credits:
- David Coverdale - Lead Vocals
- Tommy Bolin - Guitar
- Glenn Hughes - Bass, Vocals
- Jon Lord - Keyboards
- Ian Paice - Drums
- Produced, engineered by Martin Birch. Mixed by Martin
Birch and Ian Paice. Recorded Musicland studios in
Munich.
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Come Taste the Band is the third album chosen for
a Music Appreciation review by the Dinosaur Rock Guitar readers.
Background
This is one of those albums, like Black Sabbath's Born
Again, that purists have a problem with. It's
so far removed from the band's classic lineup and sound,
that purists
argue that this album "shouldn't even be called Deep
Purple."
But if you can look past all that and focus on the music
and the musicianship, Come Taste the Band has a lot
to offer. The truth of the matter is that the Deep Purple
MKIV
lineup was comprised of fantastic musicians who were capable
of astonishing musical diversity. This
band wasn't supposed to sound like MK. II — that
was never the intention. Unfortunately, Purple's established
fanbase wasn't after musical diversity. All they wanted was
for the band to continue to crank out the next Highway
Star or
Smoke on the Water. What they got was something
else entirely. So how did it happen?
If you weren't around at the time, it's
probably hard to imagine that in the early 70s, Deep Purple
were on
par with Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones as one of the
top grossing and most popular bands in the world. By 1972,
Deep Purple were at the peak of their popularity.
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Chariot of the gods. The Starship. A customized
Boeing 707 made famous by Led Zeppelin. Decked out later
for
Deep
Purple. |
But it didn't last, and by the time Come Taste the Band
was released in 1975, the implosion of Deep Purple was imminent.
The band's demise can be traced back to the break up of the
classic MK II lineup. When long brewing tensions between Ritchie
Blackmore and Ian Gillan came to a head in 72, Gillan quit
the band and bassist Roger Glover was sacked. They were replaced
by two stunning young talents: the then-unknown David Coverdale,
and the little-known Glenn Hughes from the band Trapeze. This
lineup change took the band in a new musical direction and
produced one of heavy rock's all-time classic albums, Burn.
The successful reception of Burn — coming on
the heels of a significant lineup change — was a major victory
for the band. But it also opened a Pandora's Box of unexpected
problems. Prior to Burn, both Coverdale and Hughes
were content to exist under the thumb of one Richard Harold
Blackmore. But that would soon change. With Burn's
success, Coverdale and Hughes literally went from obscurity,
to stars overnight.
| Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale |
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The initial creative spark created by the lineup change
soon gave way to big egos and musical differences. Where Burn
had delivered heavy rock, with some soulful overtones, the
follow-up album, Stormbringer, was more like a funky
soul album with some hard rock edges. And while Coverdale
and Hughes sang brilliantly together, Blackmore bristled
when forced to play what he called "shoeshine music."
And rather than trying to change Deep Purple again,
Ritchie left to form Rainbow. So how does one replace a
Ritchie
Blackmore? Obviously, you don't. But in 1974, Deep Purple
was still a top selling act, and the remaining members were
always under pressure from the record label to keep going.
So they found a new guitarist.
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Tommy Bolin |
In retrospect, Tommy Bolin, may seem like an unusual
— and ultimately tragic — choice to
fill the guitar slot. But in many ways, it makes perfect sense.
Deep Purple is a band that has always been about musical
exploration and growth. Whenever the lineup changed,
Deep Purple always chose people who brought new, fresh,
and different musical elements to the table. Jon Lord
and Ian Paice have jazz backgrounds and came from the era
of jamming and musical interplay. They never wanted to stay
in one place musically and get stale. They've always sought
players that will push them in new directions. That's why
they chose Steve Morse in 1995 rather than any number of Blackmore
clones who — from the fan's perspective —
seem far better suited to the gig. And in 75, here was Bolin,
just off stunning fusion sessions with Billy Cobham and Alphonse
Muzon. He was well versed in blues from playing with Lonnie
Mack and rock from the James Gang. He had his first solo album
due out soon. Bolin was a hot property. He came in, nailed
the audition, and Deep Purple were thrilled to land him. At
least initially.
| Deep Purple MK IV. Clockwise from top
left: David Coverdale, Jon Lord, Tommy Bolin, Glenn
Hughes, Ian Paice. |
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Unfortunately, Tommy Bolin was also a drug addict. And now
in a situation that provided virtually limitless funds, both
Bolin's and Hughes' drug habits went sprialing out of control.
Bolin fared worse. As stated in Bolin's Alchemy profile, the
diverse and jazzy guitarist was never truly embraced by Deep
Purple's audience. Tommy made matters worse by showing little
interest in playing the band's classics that predated him,
and by rarely playing up to his own potential. Tommy's performances
in Deep Purple were very erratic and his ability certainly
seemed diminished by his drug abuse. That said, he turned
in a decent performance on Come Taste the Band. So
let's take a listen.
Track By Track (vocal cues in parentheses)
Comin' Home (3:55) A simple, driving song with little
dynamic interest. Glenn was sick when this was recorded, so
Bolin provided the bass playing and the backing vocals with
Lord. Certainly not in the class of previous album openers
Speed King, Fireball, Highway Star, Woman from Tokyo, Burn,
or Stormbringer. The album's opening note certainly
sounds like Purple. This is followed by a wooshy Bolin trademark
Echoplex effect. Tommy playing slide accents in the verses,
and on to more wooshy madness before finally taking a proper
guitar solo. Sounds very improvisational. Goes nowhere and
lasts forever. For my money, this is the weakest cut on the
album. Almost a throwaway track. Fortunately, things gets
better after this track.
Lady Luck (2:47) The first of many strong vocal moments
for David Coverdale on this album. Lady Luck comes
with a an interesting story. Written by friend of Bolin's
named Jeff Cook, it was not supposed to be a Deep Purple
song. Bolin played a tape of the song to Deep Purple who
loved it
and wanted to do it on the album. However, since Bolin didn't
remember the original lyrics and they couldn't reach Jeff
Cook, Coverdale filled in some of the missing words and got
a writing credit! This is the kind of song David sounds
great
on. Paice lays down a strong, syncopated groove and Lord
holds things together with the big organ sound, and Bolin
contributes
some few fuzzy power chords. Another slide solo by Bolin.
More tasty and purposeful on this one. He gets in and gets
out.
Gettin' Tighter (3:37) Here we go. A Glenn song.
This is a very funky track that grooves from the get-go.
Doesn't
sound like any Deep Purple you'd ever heard before, but it's
great. Here's where Bolin and Hughes really show what they
could
do when they weren't feeling restricted. Glenn on lead vocals
and Tommy on very funky rhythm guitar with slide
guitar melody and accents and fills. It's Glenn on the
vocals on
this one. When a funk breakdown occurs at 1:46, and the Purple
fans must have had apoplexy. Tommy takes one of his better
solos on the album. He continues soloing when the main rhythm
returns. This track became the template for the kind of
music
Glenn Hughes bases his current solo career on. And to this
day, he still plays
Gettin' Tighter live at every show.
Dealer (3:50) Mid tempo rocker. Song begins with
a lazy, but heavy fuzzed-out riff by Bolin. More slide guitar
accents. Lyrics are a bit too prophetic about the excessive
drug use that was going on in Purple at the time. (If
you fool around with the dealer, Remember soon you'll have
to pay).
That's Bolin singing on the bridge: (In the beginning
all you wanted, was the calm before the storm . . .) Another
improvisational guitar solo from Bolin.
I Need Love (4:23) Interesting melodic hook to hold
together a very simple rhythm. Another mid tempo funky groove
from Paice. More slide fills from Bolin — are we sick
of it yet? Tension builds as Coverdale sings (Your body
was honey, I tasted a lot.) Released in the chorus, (I
need love!) Interesting guitar work throughout from
Bolin.
Drifter (4:02) An energetic track featuring a good
riff and a lot of guitar work. One of Tommy's best solos on
the album, featuring all of his trademarks and pet licks.
Song takes a slow breakdown around 2:40 for the requisite
slide solo.
Love Child (3:08) A slow heavy number featuring the
best and heaviest guitar riff on the album. A track worthy
of Purple's hard rock legacy. Coverdale is wonderful on this.
I feel this is one of the best vocal moments in his career.
Song gets into a funkier, but still heavy groove around 1:50
and Lord takes a Moog solo.
This Time Around (3:16) Quite a departure here, this
song features John Lord and Glenn Hughes. Quite beautiful,
and unlike anything on any previous Deep Purple album. Just
keys and vocals.
Owed To "G" (Instrumental) (2:50).
Inspired by Gershwin (the "G,") this instrumental
number segues right in from This Time Around and feels
like the second part of the same song. This part brings in
Paice and Bolin. A very strong workout from Bolin here. Great
melody. Great solo. Song breaks down into a stop-start rhythm
around 5:15
You Keep On Moving (5:19) The best track on the album.
For me, this song stands toe-to-toe with any Deep Purple song
of any era. Not so much for the guitarwork which is rather
minimal — and very effective — but
for the composition, the dynamics, and the vocals. Glenn Hughes
still closes most of his shows with this song. The first time
I heard Glenn and David singing together on this through headphones,
I almost came in my pants. Here, instead of a "David
song," or a "Glenn song," we get both singers
at their complementary best. The harmonies are brilliant and
wonderful, as they had been all over the Stormbringer
album.
Summary
Racked by egos, stylistic schisms, and drug abuse, this band
never realized their considerable musical potential. Under
the right circumstances, the Mk IV period of Deep Purple could
have been incredible. It's a testament to the band's talent
that Come Taste the Band is as good as it is, because
by the time the album was released, Deep Purple was a band
that was coming apart at the seams. Had they called this band
anything but Deep Purple, they might have had
a chance at success. But saddled with Deep Purple's name and
musical legacy, the band soon found they couldn't please a
fanbase that still wanted them to put out Machine Head
over and over again.
The actual Mk IV period lasted just over a year. Bolin was
officially named the guitarist in June of 1975. This album
was released in November of 1975. It reached #19 in UK, #11
in Sweden, #5 in Norway and #43 in US. However, it didn't
stay on the charts very long. Come Taste the Band found
Coverdale, Bolin, and especially Hughes, taking Purple
further
and further away from their signature rock sound toward a
more funky, soulful sound. Most Deep Purple fans didn't
know
what to make of it. The tours in the winter of 75 and the
spring of 76 were inconsistent and often disappointing.
A
listen to any live recordings from the Mk. IV era usually
finds Jon Lord covering Bolin's ass as he often butchered
the Mk. II and Mk. III material as if he couldn't even remember
the parts. He'd then play fine on the material he'd co-written
and was interested in. The band announced their official
break up in July of 1976. Tommy Bolin died on December 4th
1976
from multiple drug intoxication.
To this day, Come Taste the Band remains a polarizing
album. People either love it, or they hate it. There's little
middle ground. The lines are very clearly drawn. Many diehard
Blackmore fans feel — in their most charitable moments,
that Tommy Bolin was the wrong replacement for Blackmore.
Other fans feel that the Deep Purple sound is In Rock,
Machine Head, and maybe Burn — but they
don't want any more diversity than that in their Purple. Conversely,
people who like musical diversity tend to be more receptive
to Come Taste the Band. You'll have to decide which
camp you're in. This album doesn't feature Bolin's best guitar
work, but he delivers a good all-around performance. Beyond
that, you'll find some strong, stylistically diverse songs,
uniformly excellent vocals — some of the finest of David
Coverdale's whole career, a great rhythm section, and Jon
Lord's omnipresent B3, reminding you that for a time —
like it or not — this was Deep Purple.
Related / Also Recommended:
Deep Purple Mk III
- Burn - V V V V V
- Stormbringer - V V V V v
Deep Purple Mk IV
- This Time Around Live in Tokyo 1975 - V V V V
- King Biscuit Flower Hour [LIVE] - V V V V
Glenn Hughes
- Burning Live Japan - V V V V V
Tommy Bolin
- Teaser - V V V V
- Private Eyes - V V Vv
- Billy Cobham's Spectrum - V V V
By Dinosaur David B. Copyright ©2006 All rights reserved.
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