Deep Purple recorded one of the singularly most famous rock songs in all of history. Odds are if you play guitar, this was one of, if not the first song you learned to play. That song, of course, is “Smoke on the Water”. I’m not kicking of your weekend with it.
Deep Purple is more than that one song. Some of you undoubtedly know a few others like “Highway Star” or “Woman From Tokyo” but I’m not kicking your weekend off with either one of those, umm, either. We’re digging a little deeper into the Deep Purple vault to find an epic ode to the rock and roll scream.
Fans of this band know they have a deep catalogue with many fantastic songs you won’t hear on the radio, even Classic Rock radio, very often at all. Some of that is an indictment of corporate radio. In this particular case, it’s probably got more to do with the song being ten plus minutes in length.
If I recall correctly, I first learned of this monster song from a couple of good friends who had gone to Europe on a school cycling trip the summer after Grade 12. They returned singing the praises of a song they’d heard in a bar in Holland, a song they said blew their minds. The special treats available in Amsterdam surely helped with that.
They were right either way. This is a brilliant, sprawling rock opus with, as I mentioned, a monumental tribute to the scream. I’m kicking off your weekend with the incredible “Sweet Child In Time” by Deep Purple from the album “In Rock” release in 1970.
Official Live Video:
Studio Version:
Leave a Reply