Chloe is not a fan of fretboard wankery, and the opening 40-odd seconds of feedback driven messing about did not sit well with her, and the introduction of an organ took things down still further. Whereas once I may have appreciated that, I now tend to agree with my wife, and just want the song to get started.
Gillan's voice is superb, and one of the saving graces from Chloe's point of view. He fully justifies the band selecting him as their lead sing for their Mark 2 line up with his performance on this album alone. This is captured by the great Child in Time which is the album's strongest track. Although the instrumental section in the middle could be cut with little material loss, the ebb and flow of the rest of the song hint at hidden depths of the band beyond just talented musicians trying to out-do each other. Speed King is a decent if slightly one dimensional song, and Flight of the Rat shows Lord's obvious talents, but the album is often a case of simple songs trying too hard to be clever.
On reflection, I have to say that my childhood memories of the band painted them in a rosier picture than I now would. The music seems a bit too 'by numbers' much of the time, and when it does step outside this domain, it often gets lost. Child in Time is the exception to this rule, although not without blemishes.
Choe's album rating: 4
Chloe's favourite track: 4. Flight of the Rat
Olly's album rating: 5
Olly's favourite track: 3. Child in Time
Next week is 330. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen.
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