Warthur Deep Purple bands tend to refer to the different lineups of the band as "Deep Purple Mark I", "Deep Purple Mark II" and so on, almost as though they are different bands, and on the basis of Burn I'd say there's some merit to that approach. This is the debut of Deep Purple Mark III, which sees Ian Gillian and Roger Glover being replaced by Dave Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.

Some bands try to push on with business as usual when they have a lineup change, but I really respect the way Deep Purple see their personnel shift as an opportunity rather than a problem, taking it as chance to experiment with their sound and really develop it to the next level and accommodate the new strengths of the incoming members. Coverdale does a superb job on vocals here, but he's able to pull it off because the band's new swampy, funky style - with the blues influence on their sound really teased out here and there - brilliantly supports his particular vocal approach.

No, it's not quite the same if you're in it for material like Child In Time or Highway Star - but then again I'm sure Deep Purple Mark II was a bit of a shock for people who wanted more stuff like Hush or Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Circumstances change, and here Deep Purple change with them in order to come out stronger. I can honestly say I find this album more consistent than any of the Mark II albums. At the same time, as far as straight-ahead mid-1970s hard rock goes, whilst it is a solid example of that form the likes of Kiss and others were already putting out superior examples of the form.

Certif1ed Over Hughes and Coverdale - the burning bush.

The brand new Mk III lineup returned to Montreux with the Rolling Stones mobile studio, presumably to try and capture some of the mojo of the iconic Machine Head album.

There are moments of that, indeed, the whole album smokes, to coin a phrase, but really, the most iconic thing about this album is the cover.

"Burn" carries all the hallmarks that would find their way into the debut of Blackmore's new band the following year, topped by the fledgeling machismo of new frontman David Coverdale. The riff is of legend, and the song construction is almost a template for songs like "Man on the Silver Mountain". Blackmore's solos are more articulate here than they've ever been - and that's really saying something.

As rock songs go, the remainder are way beyond filler - this was a great band, after all. Coverdale's voice contrasts badly with that of Hughes especially in places during "Might Just Take Your Life", a tune he only truly owned in his post-Purple band, Whitesnake.

"Lay Down, Stay Down" is a mighty piledriver of a song, but again, I'd prefer it if Coverdale took all the main vocal duties, as Hughes' voice is rather thin and wavery.

"Sail Away" is almost like a kind of heavy Disco piece - nothing wrong with that - this is, after all, just before disco went crap. You could almost sing "Ah-ha-ha-ha, Staying Alive..." to it though.

There aren't any real surprises here, or on the rest of the album - all the music is top-quality funky boogie rock (with the exception of the MIGHTY "Mistreated" - a true slow rock song, not a ballad per se), with lovely arrangement touches, some great singing (Coverdale), some mediochre singing (Hughes), some brilliant drumming, solid keyboards, bass where you'd expect bass to be - and then there's A200, which is a surprise, although not a very good one.

In summary, a great album, an essential for any rock collection - but your metal collection would survive just fine without it. Maybe it'd miss Blackmore's superlative soloing, but that's it.

topofsm Looking back on the earliest forms of metal, the first forms were never terribly extreme. The singers sang basic melodies, the riffs were pretty standard, everything was pretty much midtempo (except on ballads which were slow), and the virtuosity of the instrumentalists was reduced to stringing together a bunch of bent squeals and quick random pentatonic notes.

This was never the case with Deep Purple, always forward-thinking, and their skill on the instruments was clear (especially apparent with Blackmore and Lord). Their 1974 album reached ahead a couple of decades and blasted away with the title track at full speed, full of fast paced instrument solos and neo-classical chords.

The sad thing about this album is after the first track the other tracks, while good in their own right, don't quite match up to the quality of the first. The rest are the rather same midtempo rocks songs the early stages of metal were known for.

This isn't entirely a bad thing. The songs groove like they should and the solos are great of course. However, the title track lets on that the album could be so much better.

That being said, there's plenty to love about the rest of it. There's the syncopation of "You Fool No one" that's downright danceable, and the catchy bumpy chorus of "Lay Down Stay Down". For those who love ballads, David Coverdale is no Ian Gillian, but puts on a lovely show for the bluesy "Mistreated". The closing "A 200" is a spacey prog instrumental with swirling keyboards that any proghead should love. And all through this album there's enough cowbell that Will Ferrell would be satisfied.

This is indeed great work by a legendary band, but most of the songs are again, samey, and could be as fast or energetic as the title track yet fail to do so. That seems to be the album's main flaw: a missed opportunity. The band substituted a metal masterpiece for a single neo-classical metal song and a few bluesy rock tracks. That being said it's a definite must for Purple fans, and prog and metal fans should find it an entertaining listen as well.

Time Signature You fool no one...

Genre: hard rock

"Burn" does not measure up to "In Rock" or "Machine Head", but it is still, or at least should be, a classic Deep Purple album.

In terms of genre stylistics, this album is a quite ecclectic one, and I think the band is already moving in the more funky direction that would eventually cause Ritchie Blackmore to leave the band. "Sail Away" and "You Fool No One" have a certain funky drive to them. Other tracks are more bluesy, like "Mistreated", "Might Just Take Your Life", and the boogie rocker "What's Going On Here". The last track ""A" 200" is a spacey, progressive synthesizer-driven instrumental. This does not mean that "Burn" is irrelevant to metal. Firstly, the tracks "Burn" and "Lay Down, Stay Down" are all out rockers. Secondly, a lot of Blackmore's guitarwork involves elements that would later become epitomic of neo-classical heavy metal.

On a personal note, I should also mention tha I don't consider the more funky approach to be a problem, as I like funky music, but I don't think that it will appeal as much to metalheads as "In Rock", "Machine Head", or "Fireball" will.

friso This is a pleasent surprise! Burn is one of the best Deep Purple records and a highlight from the classic hard rock period. All songs are acceptable, the most are good. The song burn however is a masterpiece, one of the best the band ever produced. It has it all: A great guitar riff, perfect vocals and an emotionally touching vocal part ('you know we had no timeeeeee'). Also the lyrics are motivating to get into the song. A fast en good begin for a hard record.

Their are a few things this record does not have. The organs don't sound as filthy anymore as on in Rock. The guitars are well aranged and never totally psyco as on Made in Japan. The vocals are very good, but not as screaming in desparation as on In Rock. In summary, Burn sounds a bit clean.

A very pleasent surprise is to be found on 'A 200', wich is actually one of the most progressive compositions Deep Purple ever made. It is a bit different from the rest of the album but it's realy good. Great guitar solo's and keyboard parts.

I'll give this record a four star rating. It is essential for hard rock and advanced rock'n roll.

SouthSideoftheSky What's going on here?

This album was something of a rebirth for the band after the rather lacklustre Who Do We Think We Are album. The rebirth consisted at least partly in a rather radical line-up change: David Coverdale replaced Ian Gillan on lead vocals and Glenn Hughes replaced Roger Glover on bass and also added additional lead vocals. Burn was also the first Deep Purple album to include synthesisers, which perhaps makes it slightly "progressive" on the opening track and the instrumental closer A 200. The songs in between, however, are far from progressive. Instead, these are rather funky Blues rockers with some interesting bits here and there.

The title track deserves further mention. The guitar and keyboard solos on this song are great, and perhaps the earliest example of Neo-Classical Metal? Very Classically influenced anyway, and very well structured solos, far away from mindless improvisation that sometimes haunted Deep Purple's earlier efforts. The riff of the song is good as well, but unfortunately it is repeated too many times to make this a truly great song for me. They should perhaps have made it shorter, or added an additional riff to the mix? Still, I love to listen to this song and because of the solos in the middle it is one of my favourite Deep Purple songs of all time! Also the aforementioned closing instrumental A 200 is an interesting piece where the great Lord is allowed to shine.

Mistreated is often considered a classic, but I have never liked this strongly bluesy number!

Burn was a bit better recorded and produced compared to most earlier albums. Unfortunately, these improvements in instrumentation and production coincided with them going in more of a straightforward Blues rock directionon on several tracks. They are still fun to listen to, but they are not really that exciting and have very little to do with Metal.

Burn is therefore perhaps not the best place to start for Metal or Prog Rock fans who want to explore Deep Purple. You should probably start with Fireball or Machine Head. And if you still want more after that, then Burn is a good choice!

Raff Even without reaching the level of ground-breaking perfection of "In Rock" or "Machine Head", "Burn" can be easily considered as one of the band's classic releases, and there is a lot in it for music lovers to appreciate - for one thing, the interplay between Lord and Blackmore, and Paice's amazing (as always) drum work.

It is also true there is a funky groove here that might not be to the taste of many metal fans, due to the influence of new bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes. Now, I may be biased because Hughes is my favourite singer, and his vocal duels with David Coverdale are absolutely stunning. As to Coverdale himself, before his questionable descent into hair-metal in the late '80s, he was one hell of a rock-blues vocalist whose rugged, passionate tones could give you goose pimples - just listen to his performance on "Mistreated". By the way, Hughes is not credited as a writer on the sleeve because of contractual hassles, but his contribution to the songwriting is quite evident.

The record's highlights, in my opinion, are the thunderous title-track, with a killer riff by the Man in Black and fantastic keyboard work courtesy of Mr Jon Lord, the above- mentioned "Mistreated" and the slower, somber "Sail Away", with outstanding vocal performances by both Coverdale and Hughes. "Might Just Take Your Life", released as a single, is the catchiest number on the album, with a driving chorus propelled by Lord's stunning Hammond work. I am also rather partial to the closing instrumental "A200", which, for a change, showcases Lord's synth playing. However, all the tracks are equally worthy of mention, and the quality is consistently high.

Though "Burn" might not be really metal as we know it nowadays, anyone who loves rock music should give it a listen (or possibly more than one). It is a pity that internal strife soon tore Deep Purple Mark Three apart - judging from this album, they had the potential to achieve things as great as the band's previous line-up.