Search - Ritchie Blackmore :: Rock Profile V.1

Decent overview of Blackmore's early career

C. Clark | United States | 06/11/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is recommended to anyone who wishes to explore Ritchie Blackmore's early, pre-Deep Purple career. Most of the tracks were recorded in the early to mid 1960s, before Blackmore had joined up with the band which would bring him world-wide fame. As can be expected, most of the tunes are of a poppish, dated "Swinging London" feel, for he was a session guitarist then, often sharing duties with Jimmy Page. Tunes by the Outlaws show his mastery of distortion, feedback, and tricky melodies, but some of the vocal tracks are somewhat corny. Blackmore did improve greatly as a player once he joined Purple--several tracks from that band from 1968 to 1974 bear this out here, and some fans may wish for more rarities. If this is the case, check out the 25th anniversary editions of In Rock, Fireball, and Machine Head. In summary, this disc contains historically interesting playing from the Man In Black, but how many people are going to listen to second-string '60s pop entries over and over again just to hear snippets of guitar brilliance?"