- Fireball (album)
-
Fireball 
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)Label Harvest Records (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)Producer Deep Purple Deep Purple chronology Deep Purple in Rock
(1970)Fireball
(1971)Machine Head
(1972)Alternative cover 
25th anniversary CD slipcaseProfessional ratings 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. The album was certified Gold on July 26, 2001 by the RIAA, selling 500,000 copies in the US.[2]
Contents
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".[3] 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."[4]
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'.
Track listing
Original European release
Side one
All songs written and composed by Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice.
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 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 Personnel
- 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 and mixes 96
Chart positions
Album
Year Chart Position 1971 The UK Album Chart 1 1971 Norwegian Record Charts 2 Singles
Year Single Chart Position 1971 "Strange Kind of Woman" UK Singles Chart 8 1971 "Fireball" UK Singles Chart 15 References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=deep%20purple&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
- ^ Album liner notes in anniversary booklet
- ^ Welch, Chris. "The Story of Deep Purple." In Deep Purple: HM Photo Book, copyright 1983, Omnibus Press.
External links
Preceded by
Who's Next by The WhoUK number one album
September 25, 1971 – October 1, 1971Succeeded by
Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod StewartCategories:- Deep Purple albums
- 1971 albums
- Harvest Records albums
- Warner Bros. Records albums
- English-language albums
- Albums certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
- 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
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
