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"…Everything's Good…Everything's Fine…"
There
can’t be many men of a certain age who look at the cover of this album with our
five hairy reprobates fireballing it upwards into some kind of galactic Hard
Rock nirvana beyond – and feel a warm glow of riffage coming over their
pacemakers. Deep Purple’s “Fireball” – even the name makes me tingle. And this
rather cool and cheap little CD reissue featuring the classic Mark II line-up
of the band will only make that itch to annoy the neighbours even more
tempting. Let’s detail the stubborn mule, the judge’s daughter and the demon’s
eye…
UK released
October 1996 - "Fireball: 25th Anniversary Edition" by DEEP PURPLE on EMI CDDEEPP 2 (Barcode 724385371127) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows (78:46 minutes):
1. Fireball [Side 1]
2. No No No
3. Demon's Eye
4. Anyone's Daughter
5. The Mule [Side 2]
6. Fools
7. No One Came
Tracks 1 to 7 make up the studio album "Fireball" - originally released September 1971 in the UK on
Harvest SHVL 793 and August 1971 in the USA on Warner
Brothers BS 2564 with a different track list on Side 1. Replacing "Demon's Eye" as track 3 is "Strange Kind Of Woman" – a song that was issued only as a 7" single in the UK on
Harvest HAR 5033 in February 1971 (see also 9 for its non-album B-side).
BONUS TRACKS:
8. Strange Kind Of Woman - A-Side Remix 96
9. I'm Alone – the non-album B-side of "Strange Kind Of Woman" released as a
7" single in the UK 12 February 1971 on Harvest HAR 5033
10. Freedom – an Album outtake
11. Slow Train – an Album outtake
12. Demon's Eye (Remix 96)
13. "The Noise Abatement Society Tapes – Midnight In Moscow, Robin Hood, William
Tell"
14. Fireball Take 1 (Instrumental)
15. Backwards Piano
16. No One Came (Remix 96)
With
a total playing time of 78:46 minutes – you certainly get value for money and
the outer stippled-effect card slipcase mimics the feel of the original
gatefold album cover (a nice touch). The 28-page booklet is jam-packed with
insider info and track-by-track reminiscences from vocalist Ian Gillan, Jon
Lord, Roger Glover and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. There are superb foreign
picture sleeves, in the studio photos and even Glover’s hand-drawn original
artwork ideas. All of it is held together with enthusiastic liners notes from
SIMON ROBINSON with involvement from the DPAS (Deep Purple Appreciation
Society). Rather oddly though for such a thorough release – UK and American
copies of the original vinyl LP came with a gatefold lyric insert which isn’t
reproduced here…
But
that niggle aside - the big news here is a fantastic new remaster done by tape
supremo PETER MEW (with care) at Abbey Road that thrashes the horrible Eighties
CD fans have had to live with for years now. This disc rocks with real muscle
and clarity. And the extras are actually worthy of the moniker ‘bonus’.
With
only seven tracks and some of them soft in the centre (“Fools”) – the press
reaction wasn’t all favourable despite the album’s rapid assent to Number 1 on
the UK charts in September 1971 and a healthy Number 30 placing in the USA. No
matter what the critics thought – fans of Mark II Deep Purple have always loved
it – sandwiched between the barnstorming “In Rock” from 1970 and the
accomplished “Machine Head” in 1972.
It
opens with a total barnstormer – the title track “Fireball” – hitting you with
the rampant Hard Rock impact of “Immigrant Song” on Side 1 of 1970’s “Led
Zeppelin III”. Not surprising then that their seventh UK single saw ”Fireball”
released 25 October 1971 on Harvest HAR 5045 with the album’s “Demon’s Eye” on
its B-side. I love “Demon’s Eye” – a great Purple song with that funky Rock
swagger they had. “No No No” has that same sexy feel while the naughty lyrics
to “Anyone’s Daughter” has always brought a smile to my face (“hairy bums”).
Side
2 opens with the trademark slashing of Blackmore on “The Mule” before it
settles down into a keyboard/guitar duo groove. And although it divided people
on release – I like the way “Fools” slows down into an almost operatic
centrepiece before returning to the opening riff. The album ends with “No One
Came” – a thudding Purple tune with Gillian letting it rip vocally. The two
album outtakes “Freedom” and “Slow Train” are shockingly good and why they
weren’t used as a B-side to say “Fireball” is anyone’s guess. The “Noise
Abatement Tapes” is an instrumental amble with witty inclusions of Robin Hood
and William Tell. The ’96 remixes of “Strange Kind Of Woman” and “No One Came”
don’t do too much altering damage – just giving extra muscle to the overall sonic
impact. Nice…
The
Purps – don’t you just love 'em.
"...Man you're music is really hot!" - Ian Gillan jokes on "No One Came".
Yet it was – and now it's even better…
"...Man you're music is really hot!" - Ian Gillan jokes on "No One Came".
Yet it was – and now it's even better…
