Fireball (album)
| Fireball | ||||
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| Studio album by Deep Purple | ||||
| Released | July, 1971 (US and Canada), September 15, 1971 (UK and Europe) | |||
| Recorded | September 1970 to June 1971, London | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:30 (Original LP) 78:46 (1996 CD edition) |
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| Label | Harvest Records (UK) Warner Bros. (US) |
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| Producer | Deep Purple | |||
| Deep Purple chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
25th anniversary CD slipcase
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Fireball is an album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1971. It was their fifth studio album, and the second with the classic Mk II lineup. It was recorded at various times between September 1970 and June 1971. It would become the first of the band's three UK #1 albums, though it didn't stay on the charts as long as its predecessor, In Rock.
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[edit] Versions
The original UK version had "Demon's Eye" as its third track, but did not include "Strange Kind of Woman," which was instead released as a single there. It was vice-versa on the American and Japanese releases.
The boogie-inspired "Strange Kind of Woman" single reached #8 in the UK. This song became a staple of the live set up to the present day, and "Fireball" has also made a few appearances, mainly as an encore. "Strange Kind of Woman" and "The Mule" appear on the 1972 live album Made in Japan, with the latter morphing into an Ian Paice drum solo.
"Anyone's Daughter" was played on the 1993-1994 tours, while "Fools", "No One Came", "I'm Alone", "Demon's Eye" and "No No No" have all made periodic appearances in various tours since 1996.
In September 2010 a limited edition 24k gold CD was released by Audio Fidelity. The CD was mastered from the original master tapes by Steve Hoffman. The gold CD contained the original USA track listing with "Strange Kind of Woman" and does not have "Demon's Eye".
Apart from Ian Gillan, the rest of the band doesn't consider the album a classic. However, Gillan has said that the inclusion of "Anyone's Daughter" on the album was "A good bit of fun, but a mistake".[2] Blackmore, in particular, stated publicly that he was not overly pleased with Fireball, saying of the production, "We virtually made everything up in the studio. We were working so hard, we never had time to sit back and think of new ideas."[3]
The original vinyl release was in a gatefold sleeve, with a generic Harvest LP-bag and a lyric-insert.
Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen stated on the April 9, 2011 episode of 'That Metal Show' that his older sister gave him this album when he was eight years old and - 'it changed everything for him'.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
[edit] Original European release
- Side one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fireball" | 3:25 |
| 2. | "No No No" | 6:54 |
| 3. | "Demon's Eye" | 5:19 |
| 4. | "Anyone's Daughter" | 4:43 |
- Side two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "The Mule" | 5:23 |
| 6. | "Fools" | 8:21 |
| 7. | "No One Came" | 6:28 |
- Bonus tracks on the 25th anniversary CD re-issue
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Strange Kind of Woman" (a-side remix '96) | 4:07 |
| 9. | "I'm Alone" | 3:08 |
| 10. | "Freedom" (album out-take) | 3:37 |
| 11. | "Slow Train" (album out-take) | 5:38 |
| 12. | "Demon's Eye" (remix '96) | 6:13 |
| 13. | "The Noise Abatement Society Tapes" | 4:17 |
| 14. | "Fireball" (take 1 - instrumental) | 4:09 |
| 15. | "Backwards Piano" | 0:56 |
| 16. | "No One Came" (remix '96) | 6:24 |
[edit] Original US/Canadian/Japanese release
- Side one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fireball" | 3:25 |
| 2. | "No No No" | 6:54 |
| 3. | "Strange Kind of Woman" | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Anyone's Daughter" | 4:43 |
- Side two
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "The Mule" | 5:23 |
| 6. | "Fools" | 8:21 |
| 7. | "No One Came" | 6:28 |
[edit] Personnel
- Deep Purple
- Ian Gillan - vocals
- Ritchie Blackmore - guitar
- Roger Glover - bass
- Jon Lord - keyboards, Hammond organ
- Ian Paice - drums
- Additional personnel
- Recorded between September 1970 and June 1971 at De Lane Lea Studios, Olympic Studios, and The Hermitage
- Engineered by Martin Birch, Lou Austin and Alan O'Duffy
- Peter Mew – Original album remastering
- Tom Bender – Engineering work on the bonus tracks
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The UK Album Chart | 1 |
| 1971 | Norwegian Record Charts | 2 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | "Strange Kind of Woman" | UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| 1971 | "Fireball" | UK Singles Chart | 15 |
[edit] Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[4] | Gold | 500,000^ |
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^shipments figures based on certification alone |
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[edit] References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Album liner notes in anniversary booklet
- ^ Welch, Chris. "The Story of Deep Purple." In Deep Purple: HM Photo Book, copyright 1983, Omnibus Press.
- ^ "American album certifications – Deep Purple – Fireball". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Fireball%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Who's Next by The Who |
UK number one album September 25, 1971 – October 1, 1971 |
Succeeded by Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart |
- Albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Deep Purple albums
- 1971 albums
- Harvest Records albums
- Warner Bros. Records albums
- English-language albums
- Albums produced by Ritchie Blackmore
- Albums produced by Jon Lord
- Albums produced by Ian Paice
- Albums produced by Ian Gillian
- Albums produced by Roger Glover
