93 - Deep Purple Black Night 1970

Having failed to make any significant commercial impact with three previous albums, Deep Purple finally turned some heads following the recruitment of vocalist Ian Gillian, bassist Roger Glover, and the premier of their atypical but ambitious crossover project, Concerto For Group & Orchestra, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969.
Recorded in snatches between relentless gigging over a six month period, In Rock, released in June 1970, did just that. In some respects the material was a skilful synthesis of what was already in the air. Deep Purple raised the bar thanks to the water-tight rhythm section of Glover and drummer Ian Paice, who together underpinned the diamond-hard riffing from which Ritchie Blackmore’s fast-moving excursions would go head to head with Jon Lord’s neo-classical noodlings, like a couple of cranked-up kamikaze. Ian Gillan is probably the finest singer of 70s hard rock. He manages to hit the ear shattering high notes and still retain the power and strength of his normal singing. Special mention must go to the single released at the time of the album, "Black Night", which is backed by the best riff of the lot.