Deep Purple – Who Do We Think We Are

Deep Purple had this uncanny ability to sabotage themselves over the course of much of their storied career. Much of this could be laid at the foot of mercurial guitarist Ritchie Blackmore who seemed to get antsy whenever Purple’s lineup was stable for any length of time. Even at their peak in 1972, Blackmore seemed dissatisfied with the state of the band and took out his frustrations on singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover. Gillan was sick of this friction as well and offered his resignation six months ahead of time (he left in July 1973) and Roger, who didn’t want to leave, sensed that Ritchie and by extension the band’s management didn’t want him around either so he left around the same time. Oftentimes when band chemistry is this toxic, great works of art are miraculously produced. ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ from January 1973 is not a great work of art and it is the byproduct of the logical impact of poor band chemistry. Is it a bad record? Not at all but it is the least of the Mach 2 lineup albums and my least favorite Deep Purple disc of the 70s. What’s wrong with it? I never loved “Woman from Tokyo” and though it is an acknowledged Purple classic; it’s just never been a classic to me. As far as highlights go “Smooth Dancer” which hilariously documents the implosion of the Gillian/Blackmore relationship from Ian’s point of view and “Super Trooper” would stand as very good if not great songs. “Rat Bat Blue” has a killer riff but no real guitar solo and “Mary Long” is a fun bit of nonsense but again, nothing that would crack my top 25 Purples. When change did come, messeurs Coverdale and Hughes replaced Ian and Roger and Deep Purple would end up creating their third greatest album (IMHO) with ‘Burn’ at the beginning of 1974. Still ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ is a worthwhile purchase and may be accredited classic status by some, just not me. Baby you can rock n’roll but you can never sell your soul…

very good pressing, heavy vinyl too, excellent separation well balanced, guitar is cutting through with the Ritchie Blackmore heavyness which works very well in the mix

The record marks a step back from the heavyness of “Machine head” and represents the attempt to return to more experimental textures in the vein of Fireball. Gillian came to the conclusion that without any change Deep Purple would have become stagnant and would have faded away trapped in its combed over formula. Gillian’s plea was fronted with Blackmore’s lack of communication, ending up in an induced conservatorism that determined how by then Mark II advanced musically very little. The resulting lp is far more melodic than previous efforts, but also blander, with the band approaching the critical song format without losing any of their playing strength. Recording started near Rome in July of 1972 profiting only the opener and “Painted horse” (a song that - if not left aside - gives us a snippet of how the band could have really evolved), the rest was recorded later in . “Woman from Tokyo”, one of their best tracks ever, originates from an amazing Blackmore’s riff and romanticizes about their soon-to-be adventure in Japan, building up a musical climax that demonstrates the band’s musicianship reached by that point in time.
“Mary Long” brings a midtempo coolness on the example of “Smoke on the water” and adds a sliding languor increased in the final slowdown, moving the piece that much from hard rock to resent psychedelia. “Super trouper” is a more traditional Deep Purple’s instrumental prowess showcase, embellished with one of the more inspired Blackmore’s lead intervention to date. “Smooth dancer” is pure r’n’r dynamite and in the same incendiary mood are the lyrics, no other than a frontal attack from Gillian to Blackmore about their deteriorated relationship. “Rat bat blue” is a relentless tour de force built upon its drum fill, with yet another wonderful kickstart-of-a-song riff from Blackmore and impressive keyboards and organ solos by Jon Lord. “Place in line” is that not so necessary new rendition of “Lazy” that proves how the band was indulging in what’s been done before. “Our lady” is a mild progressive ballad (reminiscent of Procol Harum’s sonorities) that closes the lp without a thrill.

Does anyone know about a version of 'who do we think we are' on king records?

Delete, please