Fireball (Deluxe Edition)

Originally recorded in 1971, Fireball was the Mark II lineup's second album (following the monstrous success of In Rock) and captures the band very much in transition. Though remaining true to the tenets of hard rock and volume, the quintet was nevertheless anxious to prove that there was more to the band than a tumultuous roar — more, too, than the hit single "Black Night," which drew battalions of European screamagers down on the band. As a result, it is a somewhat patchy record. When it's good, it rates alongside absolutely any other Deep Purple album, but when it's bad, it simply meanders along in the hope that nobody will notice it. Both the title track and "No No No" certainly fall into the former category, and they are joined here by two more masterful moments by way of bonus tracks, the period single "Strange Kind of Woman" and its B-side, "I'm Alone." Together, these four songs display all the faces that Deep Purple were capable of turning to the world and, as such, still thrill listeners today. Further bonus tracks are equally intriguing, if less likely to demand too many extra listens. Indeed, a couple of outtakes, a couple of remixes and a couple of moments of in-studio fun are most indicative of the tight economy with which Deep Purple approached studio work; a disappointment for future archivists, perhaps, but a joy for future listeners.