Hardcore fans of Deep Purple’s Mark II line-up are quite doubtful whether or not they should even consider ‘Come Taste The Band’ a Deep Purple album. It was the first album released after the departure of Ritchie Blackmore and most of the material has been written by newcomer Tommy Bolin and relative newcomer David Coverdale. Judged by its own merits, however, ‘Come Taste The Band’ is an excellent album full of loose, inspired playing, with Coverdale and Glenn Hughes in their finest vocal shape. It certainly sounds different from ‘Machine Head’ or even ‘Burn’, but different is not necessarily worse.

A large portion of what makes ‘Come Taste The Band’ so good is the chemistry between Bolin’s rhythm guitar, Hughes’ bass and Ian Paice’s drums. Where Deep Purple’s former studio albums focused on compositions first and foremost, with most of the jamming being limited to the solo sections, all songs on ‘Come Taste The Band’ feel like they are the result of extensive jam sessions. There is more swing to the rhythms than on any Deep Purple album before or since, giving the album a slightly funky rock ‘n’ roll feel, but the guitar riffs and melodies are still highly memorable.

Those who don’t enjoy ‘Come Taste The Band’ often derisively call it the first Whitesnake album, but that seriously sells the album short. The only song I could see working for an early Whitesnake record is ‘I Need Love’, which coincidentally contains one of Coverdale’s strongest performances on the record. Everything else sounds surprisingly American. No doubt this is influenced by Bolin being the first American to ever join the band, but it also seems to have taken away Hughes’ inhibitions when it comes to bringing his fascination with soul and funk to the record. Hence the fantastic, ultra-funky ‘Gettin’ Tighter’.

For all the cool, bluesy rock ‘n’ soul grooves ‘Come Taste The Band’ has, the standout tracks are actually the ones that don’t quite fit that moniker. The haunting, melancholic ‘You Keep On Moving’ is one of my favorite tracks the band ever recorded. The voices of Hughes and Coverdale work together goosebumps-inducingly perfectly on the track and the surprising structure accounts for multiple climaxes. The notably uptempo opening track ‘Comin’ Home’ is probably the most typical Deep Purple track on here and has a nice drive, as well as a fantastic chorus. ‘This Time Around/Owed To “G”‘ starts out as a highly Stevie Wonder-inspired showcase for Hughes, but transforms into a fantastic instrumental jam with excellent lead guitar work for its second half.

Sure, there is something to be said for people not considering ‘Come Taste The Band’ a Deep Purple album. Gone are the classically inspired melodic runs and keyboardist Jon Lord largely remains in the background, but the album is chock-full of fantastic grooves and Bolin really proves that he was one of the world’s finest guitarists with his playing on this record. Sadly, he passed away at the age of only 25 a year after the album was released, by which time Deep Purple had already split up for the first time. The album may require an open mind, but it’s simply too good to dismiss. For what it’s worth, I would take it over ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ or ‘Fireball’ any day.

Recommended tracks: ‘You Keep On Moving’, ‘Comin’ Home’, ‘This Time Around/Owed To “G”‘, ‘Gettin’ Tighter’