On February 15, 1974, when "Burn" finally hits record stores, there is a lot of anticipation among hard rock fans. The work is in fact the first recorded by the new formation - called Mark III - and marks the rebirth of a band now given up for dead.
But one thing that line-up could do even better than rock: fight.
Between endless tours and all the excesses typical of a rock star's life, contrasts were the order of the day, especially between Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Gillan, musicians with as much talent as their huge ego. At the end of June 1973, the news that has been in the air for some time finally arrives: Ian Gillan, followed by Roger Glover, leaves Deep Purple.
At that point the chances of the band moving forward are really slim; obviously it will not. Ian Paice and Jon Lord attend a concert one evening by Trapeze, a band of some success in the rock cauldron of the early 1970s, which features an exuberantly talented singer and bassist: Glenn Hughes.
Lord and Paice make two and two: the solution to move forward is at hand and to replace the two resigning ones, it is enough to convince Hughes who - obviously - accepts on the fly.
Who gets in the way is the management of the band: Deep Purple have established themselves as quintet and quintet must remain. Then we continue to search and the story here acquires the contours of the legend. David Coverdale, a boy in his early twenties with long blonde hair and the cavernous voice of a bluesman, sings in an amateur way with some bands and works as a shop assistant in Redcar to support himself; one day he publishes an ad on "Melody Maker" looking for a real band and records a demo in which - clearly tipsy - he sings some covers. Incredibly, he was chosen and, overnight, he found himself from clerk to frontman of one of the most important rock bands in the world.
On paper, the new line-up has everything to amaze and to worthily continue the history of Deep Purple, there is only to deal with the public, fond of the Mk II line-up; the perfect amalgamation between the voices of Coverdale and Hughes, however, is miraculous and bodes well. So dark and perfect for the lower registers that of the blond David, so ductile and excellent in the upper parts that of Glenn; their voices are perfectly complementary, so as to allow daring vocal harmonies and a swerve towards territories veined with funk and soul, as will certainly be more evident in the following “Stormbringer”. The enthusiasm, then, is typical of new beginnings.
However, not everything works properly and “Burn”, it must be said immediately, has not only positive sides; if, up to at least "Machine Head", the evolution of Deep Purple had been constant and almost miraculous, giving each time to the press works that are always different from each other and with a precise musical direction, the process with "Burn" is a little 'less.
As much of the critics point out, despite "Burn" is a good record, with very strong songs and with the novelty of the double singer that is well exploited, Deep Purple inevitably begin to be a bit of a representation of themselves, proposing a formula that from then on - also thanks to the end of the golden age of rock - will always be the same, net of the great quality.
Let's see how this “Burn” sounds, analyzing the tracks.
We start with the titletrack, and we are immediately faced with one of the most exciting moments of the disc.
The song attacks with a typically Blackmore-style killer riff, immediately making it clear that - as in the famous phrase of “Il Gattopardo” - “If we want everything to stay as it is, everything must change”. The riff - and we have a nice surprise right away - is incredibly shaped
on “Fascinating Rhythm”, a song composed by George Gershwin in 1924, while the lyrics are written by David Coverdale and discuss, at the kind request of Blackmore, on witches and demonology. The blond singer immediately had the opportunity to show everyone his talent, hitherto unknown, while Hughes’s equally precious uvula was immediately exploited in bridge and for harmonization. For the rest, the song is a long ride in perfect Mk II style, with incandescent duels between Ritchie's six-string and Lord's organ, as always suspended between hard rock and classical music. We can only imagine the enthusiasm of the fans at the time, in finding an even more cohesive band despite the change of line-up, and a piece that in the Mk III live will replace the legendary "Speed King".
It goes on with "Might Just Take Your Life", the song that was chosen as the album's first single. Here too we are in the presence of a piece that is based on a masterful riff, this time guided more by Lord's organ, but with a decidedly more sedate rhythm than "Burn". Coverdale and Hughes share the vocals equally and harmonize properly. However, Glenn has ample opportunity to show off his undoubted singing qualities. The song closes with a long organ solo.
“Lay Down, Stay Down” opens with a saloon piano that quickly gives way to a nice almost Hendrix-like riff and voices that alternate singing in staccato; here the song seems to lend itself more to Coverdale's powerful vocality, even if it is perhaps the piece where the lack of Ian Gillan becomes heavier. Ian Paice's drum shot is deadly as always and Blackmore's solo is pulled at supersonic speed; however, Ritchie’s inspiration does not seem at the top.
"Sail Away" is a not too celebrated song from our songbook, however it is - in the opinion of the writer - one of the most inspired passages of the work, and one of the few in which you really hear a musical direction that strives to be new . The riff of Blackmore's Stratocaster shines for groove - it almost sounds like a Stevie Wonder piece - and Coverdale's singing is quite right: here too the good David seems more at ease than Hughes, especially in the beautiful chorus that ends with the harmony of the two voices. Lord opens the instrumental section with a slow and suggestive keyboard part, while the coda is up to Blackmore with an alienating slide guitar part. A very successful song and finally something that sounds different from the past.
Even "You Fool No One" has a very particular structure, with a base still at the limits of funk and - curiously - the verse sung by the two harmonized voices that separate to intone the chorus; it usually happens the other way around, not that it's a written rule though. In the middle of the piece, the usual instrumental break starts with Blackmore's guitar solo; once again a flood of almost Hendrixian notes, yet good Ritchie seems slightly less sparkling than in the past. However, a piece in front of which you can not help but bow.
"What’s Going On Here" is a curious song, a nice bluesy boogie quite dissonant in the Deep Purple production; Blackmore's guitar lazily blues and Lord's piano evokes the famous “Roadhouse Blues” by the Doors several times; the inspiration that however seems to come out most, very bizarrely, is that of the first ZZ Tops, especially in the blues-like solo by Ritchie Blackmore, very much indebted to certain passages by Billy Gibbons. A good breath of fresh air, although perhaps fans of the typical Mk II sound might find themselves blown away.
The following “Mistreated” is another of the big hits of “Burn”, an overwhelming and painful slow blues, where David Coverdale finally takes the spotlight by himself, giving the best of his abilities. The song had been written by Ritchie Blackmore a couple of years earlier and already considered for "Machine Head". The strong black component of the ensemble, however, was deemed unsuitable for Gillan's vocal characteristics, and "Mistreated" had ended up in a drawer.
The song opens with the heavy gait of Blackmore's riff that heralds Coverdale's painful scream. David and Glenn Hughes initially recorded very structured backing vocals for the lead part of the guitar, however Blackmore - who certainly didn't mind doing and undoing - felt that the sound of his Stratocaster was not so prominent. Years later David Coverdale, initially disappointed by the wasted experimental work, nevertheless agreed with the official version of the arrangement. However, the song remains a worthy masterpiece in the band's discography, a miraculous balance between blues and melody, between melancholy caress and hard rock. Lord's contribution, as in much of the work, is less than in the past.
"Burn" closes c or the most bizarre and unsettling song, “A 200”, a sort of bolero split between Blackmore's guitar and Jon Lord's synthesizers that the keyboardist had started experimenting at that time. The rhythm refers a lot to some instrumental parts of the first album, the "Shades Of" that every now and then came back to peek out from the scores of the ensemble. The synthesizer part winks at the prog but also at the famous soundtrack of "A Clockwork Orange" by Walter Carlos. The guitar part is quite inspired, with Ritchie playing with putting as many notes as possible into each bar. Lord's synthesizer regains possession and carries out this bizarre experiment, perhaps not very consistent with the rest of the record but which effectively testifies to the last gasps of an era full of experimentation.
"Burn" ends like this, perhaps leaving the listeners a bit stunned, but with the satisfaction of an album that - while certainly not the band's masterpiece - worthily continues the history of Deep Purple. The road seems to be paved for other great successes, and instead the following “Stormbringer”, with its turn towards warmer and less hard sounds, will so dissatisfy Ritchie Blackmore that the guitarist will say enough is enough and will go to form Rainbow.
The future of Deep Purple will be marked by continuous line-up changes - which from 2002 will settle with the Mark VIII - and there will be room for many returns and as many departures.
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