Deep Purple-Deep Purple (1969)

Deep Purple's third album is by far the best of their early period with the Mark I lineup, which consisted of Rod Evans (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (electric and acoustic guitars), Jon Lord (keyboards and string and wind arrangements), Nick Simper (bass), and Ian Paice (drums). Here, the band finally developed their own songs, abandoning the covers from their previous work, with the exception of Donovan's excellent psychedelic ballad "Lalena". From the energetic hard rock opener "Chansing Shadows" to the symphonic orchestral piece that closes the album, "April", the British quintet showcases its own identity with a diverse and challenging album, even though many psychedelic elements are still mixed with jazz and proto-avant-garde, all underpinned by hard rock. Other tracks, such as the psychedelic progressive "Blind", one of the album's highlights, the bluesy boogie "Why Didn't Rosemary", and the frenetic "The Painter", lead us to one of the best works of early progressive hard rock. After this album, Evans and Simper would be replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, thus forming their classic and most successful lineup.