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Fireball
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released	July 1971 (US) September 1971 (UK)
Recorded	September 1970 – June 1971
Studio	De Lane Lea Studios and Olympic Studios, London, The Hermitage, Welcombe, North Devon
Genre	Hard rock heavy metal
Length	40:30
Label	Harvest
Producer	Deep Purple
Deep Purple chronology
Deep Purple in Rock (1970) Fireball (1971) Machine Head (1972)
Singles from Fireball
"Strange Kind of Woman" Released: 12 February 1971 "Fireball" Released: 29 October 1971
Alternative cover
25th Anniversary CD slipcase

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	9/10
Music Story

Fireball is the fifth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1971 as the second album with the Mark II line-up, consisting of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. It was recorded at various times between September 1970 and June 1971. It became the first of the band's three UK No. 1 albums, though it did not stay on the charts as long as its predecessor, Deep Purple in Rock. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there.

Background

The album was the first that Deep Purple worked on after establishing their career with In Rock, which had been a critical and commercial success, staying on the charts for over a year. Because of this, the group were in continual demand for live concerts, which began to affect band members' health. Keyboardist Jon Lord suffered back problems (dating back to his days in The Artwoods when he had to transport a Hammond organ to gigs without the assistance of a road crew), and bassist Roger Glover had stomach problems which prevented him from performing live on several occasions. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore felt he had been vindicated by the decision to concentrate on hard rock, and believed the group's success was largely because of him. This led to increasing conflict with singer Ian Gillan and the relationship between the two began to become strained.

As with the previous album, sessions for the follow-up to In Rock were booked in the space of many months in between the bands touring commitments. On the first of these, in September 1970, the band completed just one song, "Anyone's Daughter", with the band struggling to come up with more ideas.

Further material for the album was rehearsed in Welcombe Manor, Devonshire in December 1970. The band cancelled several live performances in order to put together material that could serve as a follow-up to In Rock. "Strange Kind of Woman", "I'm Alone" and "The Mule" were written during these sessions, and recorded in January 1971, with the first two coupled together as Deep Purple's next single in February, to keep the band in the public eye while the album was still being worked on. Another song, "Freedom" was written at Welcombe and recorded during these sessions, but didn't make the final track listing. Other material was recorded in-between gigs through to March. "Strange Kind of Woman" was added to the group's live set at the end of January, quickly developing into a showpiece for Gillan to sing back Blackmore's guitar riffs in a call and response manner. The last song to be recorded was "Demon's Eye" in June.

Meanwhile, their American record label, Warner Bros, grew impatient waiting for the new album, as the band had an American tour booked for July. As a result, "Demon's Eye" could not make the final tracklist there, with the label opting to include "Strange Kind Of Woman" instead.

Chart performance

Fireball reached the No. 1 position on the UK albums chart, while also hitting No. 1 in several other European countries, such as Germany, Austria, and Sweden. In North America, it outperformed its predecessor, In Rock, reaching No. 32 in the US and No. 24 in Canada.

Singles

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. The US version includes the latter track in place of the former. The boogie-inspired "Strange Kind of Woman" single reached No. 8 in the UK and Germany, and No. 1 in Denmark. "Fireball", the album's title track, was also released as a single and reached No. 15 in the UK.

"Strange Kind of Woman" has been a staple of the live set up to the present day, and "Fireball" also made a few live appearances, mainly as an encore as it required Ian Paice to use a double bass drum, which was set up during the break after the main set. "Strange Kind of Woman" and "The Mule" were played regularly live throughout 1972 (and appear on the live album Made in Japan), with the latter replacing an instrumental "Paint It Black" as a vehicle for Paice's drum solo. 1971's Fireball Tour frequently featured "No No No" in addition to the three aforementioned songs.

"Anyone's Daughter" was played on the 1993–1994 tours, while "Fools", "No One Came", "I'm Alone", and "Demon's Eye" have all made periodic appearances in various tours since 1996.

Releases and reissues

The original vinyl release was in a gatefold sleeve, with a generic Harvest LP-bag and a lyric-insert.

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".

Response

Most of the band do not consider the album a classic, although it is one of Ian Gillan's favourites. He stated in a 1974 interview: "The reason I liked that so much was because I thought, from a writing point of view, it was really the beginning of tremendous possibilities of expression. And some of the tracks on that album are really, really inventive." However, Gillan also said that the inclusion of "Anyone's Daughter" on the album was "a good bit of fun, but a mistake."

Ritchie Blackmore, in particular, stated publicly that he was not overly pleased with Fireball. He said of the production: "That was a bit of a disaster, because it was thrown together in the studio. Managerial pressure, we had no time. 'You gotta play here, here, there, then you've got to make an LP.' I told them, 'if you want an LP, you've got to give us time.' But they wouldn't. I just threw ideas to the group that I thought up on the spur of the moment."

Jon Lord stated that Fireball "wanders slightly" and "goes to places that the band wasn't expecting it to go to." Lord did praise several songs on the album, including "No No No" and "Fools", and particularly singled out Ian Paice's drumming on the title track.

Later influences

On 9 April 2011 episode of That Metal Show, guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen stated that his older sister had given him Fireball when he was eight years old, and "it changed everything" for him. Similarly, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich stated that he purchased a copy of Fireball within 12 hours after his father had taken him to a 1973 Deep Purple concert in Copenhagen, and he credits the concert and album for sparking his interest in hard rock music.

Likewise, Michael Monroe stated on Eddie Trunk's podcast that it was the first album he ever bought, and one of the first he ever heard along with Led Zeppelin II, and was a major influence to get him into a career in rock and roll.

King Diamond also mentions Fireball as the first studio album he purchased as a teenager and an important influence in his future career.

Track listings

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Original European release

Side one

Side two

Original US/Canadian/Japanese release

Side one

Side two

25th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks

Personnel

Deep Purple

• Ian Gillan – vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – guitars
• Roger Glover – bass
• Jon Lord – keyboards, Hammond organ
• Ian Paice – drums

Production

• Recorded between September 1970 and June 1971 at De Lane Lea Studios and Olympic Studios
• Engineered by Martin Birch, Lou Austin and Alan O'Duffy
• Peter Mew – Original album remastering
• Tom Bender – Engineering work on the bonus tracks

Charts

Certifications

References

Citations

1. Popoff, Martin (2016). The Deep Purple Family (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-908724-42-7.
2. Popoff, Martin (2016). The Deep Purple Family (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-908724-42-7.
3. Hung, Steffen. "Deep Purple – Strange Kind Of Woman". hitparade.ch.
4. "Promo Disc".
5. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Deep Purple – Fireball review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
6. Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 978-1894959025.
7. ^ Robinson 1996, p. 3.
8. Robinson 1996, p. 4.
9. Bloom, Jerry (2015). The Road of Golden Dust (1st ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-908724-23-6.
10. Robinson 1996, pp. 2, 6.
11. Robinson 1996, p. 6.
12. Bloom, Jerry (2015). The Road of Golden Dust (1st ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-908724-23-6.
13. Robinson 1996, p. 7.
14. Robinson 1996, p. 10.
15. Robinson 1996, p. 11.
16. ^ Robinson 1996, p. 12.
17. Bloom, Jerry (2015). The Road of Golden Dust (1st ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-908724-23-6.
18. "Deep Purple Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
19. "Deep Purple Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
20. "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 16, No. 8, October 09 1971". Library and Archives Canada. 18 August 1973. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
21. Robinson 1996, p. 16.
22. ^ Steve Rosen Interviews with Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore, 1974 on YouTube Retrieved from YouTube "Ritchie Blackmore, Guitar God|Part 2/5" on 14 January 2014.
23. Album liner notes in anniversary booklet
24. "Deep Purple – Fireball (VEVO interview with Jon Lord) return". YouTube. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
25. Grow, Kory (9 April 2016). "Read Lars Ulrich's Passionate Deep Purple Rock Hall Induction". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
26. King Diamond's official website: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
27. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
28. ^ "Billboard Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 83, no. 48. 27 November 1971. p. 60. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
29. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7579". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
30. "Danske Hitliter: Fireball – Deep Purple". Royal Library, Denmark. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
31. "Dutchcharts.nl – Deep Purple – Fireball" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
32. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
33. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – D". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2024. Select Deep Purple from the menu, then press OK.
34. "Offiziellecharts.de – Deep Purple – Fireball" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
35. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Deep Purple".
36. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
37. "Norwegiancharts.com – Deep Purple – Fireball". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
38. "SwedishCharts 0969-0872" (PDF). Hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
39. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
40. "Deep Purple Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
41. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1971. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
42. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1972. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
43. "Machine Head" (PDF). Cash Box. 1 April 1972. p. 46. Retrieved 16 April 2020 – via American Radio History.
44. "Dutch album certifications – Deep Purple – Fireball" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 25 April 2019. Enter Fireball in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2002 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
45. ^ "popsike.com – DEEP PURPLE "FIREBALL" ORIGINAL GOLD DISC FROM SWEDEN – auction details". www.popsike.com.
46. "American album certifications – Deep Purple – Fireball". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 April 2019.

Sources

• Robinson, Simon (1996). Fireball (25th anniversary reissue) (Media notes). EMI. 7243-8-53711-2-7.

• Deep Purple albums
• 1971 albums
• Harvest Records albums
• Warner Records albums
• Albums produced by Ritchie Blackmore
• Albums produced by Jon Lord
• Albums produced by Ian Paice
• Albums produced by Ian Gillan
• Albums produced by Roger Glover
• Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios
• Albums recorded in a home studio