''Come Taste the Band'' is the tenth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Deep Purple, originally released in November 1975. It was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate

Martin Birch Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, W ...

. It was the final Deep Purple studio record prior to the band's initial disbandment in 1976, therefore making it the only album to feature

Tommy Bolin Thomas Richard Bolin (August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976) was an American guitarist and songwriter who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 to 1974), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), in addition to maintaining ...

(who replaced

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...

on guitar), and the final of three albums to feature David Coverdale on lead vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass guitar/vocals: Bolin died shortly after the album's release, while neither Coverdale nor Hughes would be involved with the reactivated Deep Purple in 1984. ''Come Taste the Band'' is Deep Purple's only studio album that does not feature Ritchie Blackmore or vocalist

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

Release and reception

The album sold reasonably well upon release (#19 in the UK charts, and #43 in the US). The album was certified Silver on 7 November 1975 by the BPI, selling 60,000 copies in the UK. In recent years the album has received some critical reassessment "on its own merits", in part due to Bolin's contributions to the album. Gillan (who left the band just over two years prior), on the other hand, has stated that he does not view the album as a real Deep Purple album. Lord praised the quality of the album years later in interviews, stating that "listening to it now, it's a surprisingly good album," while acknowledging, "the worst thing you can say about it is that, in most people's opinion, it's not a Deep Purple album." Released on 25 October 2010, the 2-CD Deluxe 35th Anniversary edition includes the original album in remastered form plus a rare US single edit of "You Keep On Moving" on the first disc, and a full album remix and two unissued tracks on the second disc: "Same in LA" a three-minute out-take from the final release in 1975, and "Bolin/ Paice Jam" a five-minute instrumental jam with Bolin and Ian Paice. After tours for this album concluded in March 1976, Deep Purple broke up for eight years. Tommy Bolin formed his own band that toured in support of Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck, but it was short-lived as he died of multiple drug intoxication in December, 1976. Morphine, cocaine, lidocaine and alcohol were all found in his system.Nick Talevski (2006)
Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries
p.42-43. Omnibus Press, 2006

Track listings

All lead vocals by David Coverdale unless noted.

35th Anniversary Edition

Personnel

;Deep Purple * David Coverdale – lead vocals *

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

& acoustic guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

; bass guitar (track 1), co-lead vocals (track 4) * Jon Lord – keyboard instrument, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals * Glenn Hughes – bass guitar, co-vocals (all but track 1), lead vocals (tracks 3 & 8) * Ian Paice – drum kit, drums ;Production * Produced by Martin Birch, Martin "The Wasp" Birch and Deep Purple * Engineered by Martin Birch * Final mix by Martin Birch and Ian Paice * Cover photography by Peter Williams * Remastered by Dave Schultz and Bill Inglot at Digiprep, Los Angeles * 2010 remix by Kevin Shirley at The Cave, Malibu, California * Mastered by Bob Ludwig

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Come Taste The Band Deep Purple albums 1975 albums Albums produced by Martin Birch Hard rock albums Funk rock albums Heavy metal albums Warner Records albums Purple Records albums