After the release of "Who Do We Think We Are" album in 1973 and the tour  that followed its release, Deep Purple are at a critical juncture as the Mark II line-up is coming to its end.Ian Gillan (Vocals) and Roger Glover (Bass Guitar) left from the band and the remaining Deep Purple members are looking for the appropriate replacements.The first is Glenn Hughes (Vocals-Bass Guitar) well known by his career with Trapeze.The search for the lead vocalist takes more time and eventually placed in the appropriate person as the then unknown David Coverdale ,thus completing the Mark III line-up.The result was the creation of one of the most classic hard rock albums in history, "Burn".

The musical style of "Burn" does not diverge particularly from the older albums of the band with the Mark II line up (with which Deep Purple became known worldwide) and the only significant differences were the introduction of some blues elements as well as the rotation of Coverdale and Hughes in vocals.These changes did not prevent the album from reaching  Number 3 of the UK charts and number 9 of the US charts and becoming a great success.

The album starts in the best way... "Burn" ... and indeed the world is on fire! Unbelievable riff from Blackmore, exceptional vocals and alternations of Coverdale and Hughes, impressive drums by Paice, and recitals by Lord with the keyboards. Simply the perfect combination of technique and musicality in a single song. The album continues with "Might Just Take Your Life" and "Lay Down Stay Down" that have become classic pieces of Purple's music and everyone gives their best. Following up is "Sail Away " that has a funky mood, continues with" You Fool No One" which was compelling for its sheer intensity and the very good" What's Going on Here ". Finally, the fantastic " Mistreated " with its slow rock-blues style rivets the listeners attention ,with Coverdale putting on a devastating performance.

In "Burn" the entire band performs perfectly. Coverdale grabs the opportunity and despite his inexperience stands deservedly ,with his amazing voice,next to the huge music personalities of DP, showing what will follow in the future. Hughes is exceptional in bass-guitar and vocals(he is a great vocalist) cooperating really well with Coverdale. Blackmore ,Lord and  Paice magnetize with their performance and their combination is explosive .Also noticeable is the contribution of the engineer Martin Birch(Fleetwood Mac,Deep Purple,Rainbow, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath,Iron Maiden etc).

Ultimately "Burn" is one of the most important albums in hard-rock history,greatly influenced the evolution of hard rock and introduced 2 of the largest personalities in hard rock D. Coverdale and G.Hughes.It's an album that in any case should not be missing from your hard rock discography.

*Hughes participated in songwriting, but wasn't given credit due to unexpired contractual obligations. However the 30th anniversary edition of the album included him in the credits.

Track List:

   1. "Burn" (Blackmore, Coverdale,Hughes,Lord,Paice)– 6:05

   2. "Might Just Take Your Life" (Blackmore, Coverdale,Hughes,Lord,Paice)– 4:36

   3. "Lay Down, Stay Down" (Blackmore, Coverdale,Hughes,Lord,Paice)– 4:15

   4. "Sail Away" (Blackmore, Coverdale) – 5:48

   5. "You Fool No One" (Blackmore, Coverdale,Hughes,Lord,Paice)– 4:47

   6. "What's Goin' On Here"(Blackmore, Coverdale,Hughes,Lord,Paice)– 4:55

   7. "Mistreated" (Blackmore, Coverdale)– 7:25

   8. "``A// 200"(Instrumental) (Blackmore, Hughes,Lord, Paice)– 3:51

30th anniversary bonus tracks:

   9. "Coronarias Redig" (single b-side 2004 remix) (Blackmore, Lord, Paice) – 5:30

  10. "Burn" (2004 remix) – 6:00

  11. "Mistreated" (2004 remix) (Blackmore, Coverdale)– 7:28

  12. "You Fool No One" (2004 remix) – 4:57

  13. "Sail Away" (2004 remix) (Blackmore, Coverdale)– 5:37

Personnel:

Ritchie Blackmore - guitar

David Coverdale - lead vocals

Glenn Hughes - bass, vocals

Jon Lord - keyboards

Ian Paice - drums