Description
Check the exclusive video, showing the vinyl for sale!
Check the exclusive video, showing the vinyl for sale!
Label: Harvest – 14C 062-4000 [14C 062-04000]
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Greece
Released: 1979
Genre: Rock, Hard Rock, Prog Rock
A1 Listen, Learn, Read On
Written-By – Lord*, Blackmore*, Evans*
A2 Wring That Neck
Written-By – Paice*, Lord*, Simper*, Blackmore*
A3 Kentucky Woman
Written-By – Neil Diamond
A4 (a) Exposition
Written-By – Paice*, Lord*, Simper*, Blackmore*
A4 (b) We Can Work It Out
Written-By – Lennon-McCartney
B1 Shield
Written-By – Lord*, Blackmore*, Evans*
B2 Anthem
Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Jon Lord
Written-By – Lord*, Evans*
B3 River Deep, Mountain High
Written-By – Spector-Barry-Greenwich*
Made By – EMI
Record Company – EMIAL S.A.
Made By – EMI Greece S.A.
Printed By – EMI Greece S.A.
Pressed By – Columbia, Athens – 8126
Recorded At – De Lane Lea Studios
Photography By [B/W Cover Photos] – Richard Imrie
Recorded By – Barry Ainsworth
First cat# on labels, Second one on spine and back cover
Matrix / Runout (Side A): SHVL 751 A-4
Matrix / Runout (Side B): SHVL 751 B-3
Matrix / Runout (Side A): SHVL 751 A-1G
Other (On back cover): MT.8126
I am very surprised by the poor consideration the progressive rock fans have for this record. Does my radically reversed interest for it result from a sentimental attachment, back to my discovery of this work which seemed so strangely beautiful to the 8 or 9 years old boy who discovered it in the early 1970’s, seeing there a bridge between classical and rock, at the same time as in “Trespass” and “Take a pebble”. “The book of Taliesyn” is, in my opinion, the most beautiful work of Deep Purple.
Certainly, “In Rock” remains his masterpiece, because of its energy, virtuosity, the precision of the themes, etc. But it’s pure hard rock, even “Child in time” and its prominent organ has no obvious prog feature. “The book of Taliesyn” is a pure progressive rock album.
Maybe the two easy songs of the album, “Listen, learn, read on” and “Kentucky woman”, have disappointed some listeners. I recognize the second one may seem to reveal an uncertain taste ! But the five other pieces elaborate a collection of finely crafted melodies with permanent classical references. For instance, the beautiful violin and organ solos in “Anthem” ; or “Exposition”, a solemn opening to one of McCartney’s masterpieces : “We can work it out” that seems to me transcended here.
The instrumental “Wring that neck” could have been composed by Keith Emerson but the virtuoso keyboards is enriched with a sharp guitar. Maybe John Lord has never played better than in this fired piece and his dialogue with Ritchie Blackmore is quite exciting. In the splendid version of “We can work it out” and all along the subtle tempo of “Shield”, Rod Evans’ deep and majestic voice could remind Greg Lake’s singing.
And in the end, Deep Purple managed to make a great symphonic piece of a famous rhythm and blues top hits ! A little bit pompous sometimes, undoubtedly, but isn’t emphasis an element of prog rock ?
This has to be THE most underrated album of all time. A masterpiece for sure.
Man, I tell ya Rod Evans is f***ing incredible. I sat there for 35 minutes in absolute awe of his voice. Surely that voice alone earns this album 3 stars MINIMUM.
My 2 favourite tracks from this album “Shield” and “Anthem” are proto-prog masterpieces. How can people not see this? Brooding atmosphere with hypnotic overtones and Evans’ sonically divine vocals. Impeccable stuff right here.
And Deep Purple covering The Beatles “We Can Work It” ! Fusing 2 incredible styles together to form one ultimate track. I see no problems here.
I give “The Book of Taliesyn” the 5-star rating. Taliesyn’s Deep Purple isn’t “Machine Head’s Deep Purple, and “Machine Head’s Deep Purple isn’t “Bananas'” Deep Purple etc. Half of of the LP is covers (and if you didn’t know- even track 4 – We Can Work it Out’s Exposition is a cover- for Beethoven’s seventh symphony-2nd movement). BUT these are the common standards for rating (everyone rates by band and ignore any historical changes the band has been through), so that’s how I will rate.
The album has a few highlights – Listen Learn Read On (one of the best album openings I have ever heard), Shield and Anthem. The album makes you notice how colourful this band is. Each of the band members of that period of Deep Purple present their abilities and talent, and together construct (in my opinion) Deep Purple’s best album so far.
As compared to Deep Purple’s other albums and as compared to every other album I know, I decided to give the 5-star rating. Everyone can say whatever they want, but I think that this album is no less then a MUST-HEAR album for every rock fan. It’s pure fun.
My rating is 5/5
Great album, great covers. Rod Evans was a real good singer. The shape of things to come by the band that would dominate hard rock in the early to mid 70’s!! Recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars At Their Best
Back in 1969 a friend at college turned me on to Deep Purple, and ‘Book of Taliesyn’ was the album. I was a budding bass player, and fell in love instantly. The songs range from amazing to great, and their cover of Neil Diamond’s ‘Kentucky Woman’ is as perfect as rock and roll gets. In the late ’70s it was common for a fan to ask another “Ian Gillan or David Coverdale”? My answer was always “Rod Evans!”
For me this will always be the best Deep Purple line-up, but of course that’s because it was my introduction to the band and my favorite songs they ever made, and your first is always the one you remember.
5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic
This album portends the emergence of one of the greatest bands of all time. Best of all, this is a truly high quality recording. A definite must-have for diehard Deep Purple fans.
5.0 out of 5 stars Greatness.
Very strong album for it’s time. Mark 1 Deep Purple. Though recording techniques have come a long way, the first 3 Purple albums are quite enjoyable
On the debut album, many of the highlights came during the original re-interpretations of these cover songs. However, on The Book of Taliesyn, it is the Deep Purple originals which really stand out. “Listen, Learn, Read On” is the default title song of the album with a heavy reverb on Evans’ vocals and a manical driving drum beat by Paice in between measured riffs and leads by Blackmore. “Wring That Neck” is an upbeat, bluesy instrumental jam that was an instant classic. Starting with Lord’s uniquely distorted organ riff and moving through a few inspired guitar solos by Blackmore (some completely solo), the piece continuously returns to the infectious main riff. “Wring That Neck” was released as a single from the album and is a true preview of “Mark II” Deep Purple of years forward.
The other single from the album was the cover of Neil diamond’s “Kentucky Woman”, which is driven by the pulsating bass of Simplar and the crazy drumming of Paice. While this song did reach the Top 40, it was considered a failure by the label because it was nowhere near as big a success as “Hush” had been earlier in the year. Another jam/cover medley follows with the near program piece of “Exposition”, complete with drum rolls behind deliberate guitar riffing. After going through a few very intense iterations, the piece dissolves into a groovy beat led by Simplar’s bass and the Beatles’ hit “We Can Work It Out”.
On the second side of The Book of Taliesyn, Deep Purple breaks away from the mode of their first album with a couple of truly original songs, which really make this album diverse and interesting. “Shield” builds on Paice’s drums, followed by a bass riff, guitar overlay, and piano by Lord. The vocals are very laid back and measured and the song’s best parts are when the piano and guitar harmonize for a slow but powerful riff. A percussion section in the middle leads to a partially improvised jam section and the ending percussion reprisal contains cool, rounded bass notes by Simplar. “Anthem” is a fine acoustic ballad with a great chorus harmonized hook. It’s only flaw is a production flaw, where the entire arrangement suddenly drops out for Lord’s organ intro into a middle string section, showing the groups classical leanings. This middle section also contains a great lead by Blackmore, which sounds like something Brian May might perform, and when full band returns it is at top form with a second back-to-back guitar lead by Blackmore and fantastic drumming by Paice. “River Deep, Mountain High” is the climatic ending to The Book of Taliesyn with more musical drama, including a musical mock-up of the title score to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey before building into the frantic groove of the soul cover of this hit by Ike & Tina Turner
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