Fireball (album)

Fireball
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released July, 1971 (US and Canada), September 15, 1971 (UK and Europe)
Recorded September 1970 to June 1971, London
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 40:30 (Original LP)
78:46 (1996 CD edition)
Label Harvest Records (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)
Producer Deep Purple
Deep Purple chronology
Deep Purple in Rock
(1970)		 Fireball
(1971)		 Machine Head
(1972)
Alternative cover
25th anniversary CD slipcase
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Fireball is an album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1971. It was their fifth studio album, and the second with the classic Mk II lineup. It was recorded at various times between September 1970 and June 1971. It would become the first of the band's three UK #1 albums, though it didn't stay on the charts as long as its predecessor, In Rock.

Contents

Versions

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. It was vice-versa on the American and Japanese releases.

The boogie-inspired "Strange Kind of Woman" single reached #8 in the UK. This song became a staple of the live set up to the present day, and "Fireball" has also made a few appearances, mainly as an encore. "Strange Kind of Woman" and "The Mule" appear on the 1972 live album Made in Japan, with the latter morphing into an Ian Paice drum solo.

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

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".

Apart from Ian Gillan, the rest of the band doesn't consider the album a classic. However, Gillan has said that the inclusion of "Anyone's Daughter" on the album was "A good bit of fun, but a mistake".[2] Blackmore, in particular, stated publicly that he was not overly pleased with Fireball, saying of the production, "We virtually made everything up in the studio. We were working so hard, we never had time to sit back and think of new ideas."[3]

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

Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen stated on the April 9, 2011 episode of 'That Metal Show' that his older sister gave him this album when he was eight years old and - 'it changed everything for him'.

Track listing

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

Original European release

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Fireball"   3:25
2. "No No No"   6:54
3. "Demon's Eye"   5:19
4. "Anyone's Daughter"   4:43
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "The Mule"   5:23
6. "Fools"   8:21
7. "No One Came"   6:28
Bonus tracks on the 25th anniversary CD re-issue
No. Title Length
8. "Strange Kind of Woman" (a-side remix '96) 4:07
9. "I'm Alone"   3:08
10. "Freedom" (album out-take) 3:37
11. "Slow Train" (album out-take) 5:38
12. "Demon's Eye" (remix '96) 6:13
13. "The Noise Abatement Society Tapes"   4:17
14. "Fireball" (take 1 - instrumental) 4:09
15. "Backwards Piano"   0:56
16. "No One Came" (remix '96) 6:24

Original US/Canadian/Japanese release

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Fireball"   3:25
2. "No No No"   6:54
3. "Strange Kind of Woman"   4:07
4. "Anyone's Daughter"   4:43
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "The Mule"   5:23
6. "Fools"   8:21
7. "No One Came"   6:28

Personnel

Deep Purple
Additional personnel

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Position
1971 The UK Album Chart 1
1971 Norwegian Record Charts 2

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1971 "Strange Kind of Woman" UK Singles Chart 8
1971 "Fireball" UK Singles Chart 15

Certifications

United States (RIAA)

Certification Date Total Sales
Gold[4] July 26, 2001 500.000

Germany (Classic)

Certification Date Total Sales
Gold[5] September, 1975 250.000

Other Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Netherlands (NVPI)[6] Gold 50,000^
Belgium (BEA)[7] Gold 25,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[8] Gold 25,000*

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Album liner notes in anniversary booklet
  3. ^ Welch, Chris. "The Story of Deep Purple." In Deep Purple: HM Photo Book, copyright 1983, Omnibus Press.
  4. ^ Deep Purple's RIAA Certifications - RIAA Gold & Platinum database|url=http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=deep%20purple&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25
  5. ^ Deep Purple's Fireball in Germany, certified "Gold" before 1975 (Bundesverband Musikindustrie era). - http://www.musicline.de/de/product/780014209827/DEEP+PURPLE/Fireball/2634138/CD.html
  6. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. http://www.ifpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60463. 
  7. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina - 2008". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/certifications.asp?year=2008. 
  8. ^ "Norwegian album certifications – Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. http://www.ifpi.no/sok/lst_trofeer_sok.asp?type=artist. 

External links

Preceded by
Who's Next by The Who		 UK number one album
September 25, 1971 – October 1, 1971		 Succeeded by
Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart
Deep Purple
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