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In mid-July of this year, the bargain hunter in me couldn't help but place a few Best Ofs into the rolling shopping cart as the supermarket was once again clearing out the sales hits of past decades. There were a few items from the shelf that I already knew or had, or that I simply never wanted to get to know.
In the end, what remained for my personal enjoyment were: DEEP PURPLE, of whom I only knew the super-ultra-hit with the smoke and the water, URIAH HEEP, of whom I knew nothing at all, but who are often mentioned as classic rock examples and in the photo look a bit like the more foolish version of the former band. And finally, CAT STEVENS, of whom my older sister once had a CD and whom I hadn't really listened to since my childhood. Coincidence or unacknowledged perversion, all English bands or musicians who at least had their greatest commercial success in the 70s, and with that we are back to the topic: What the hell does that have to do with punk? As I explained to my neighbor, who happened to be present during the purchase, in a justifying manner: Punk emerged as a reaction to this music.
At least that's what various actors of that time and the glorifying fanzine historians claim, but I find this thesis plausible or entertaining enough to misuse it as a starting point for my very subjective consumer experience. After all, I also suffered significantly as a teenager under the horrible Eurotrash mainstream of my classmates before I discovered punk, a world where one could disregard such things. How must it have been when the genres were less diverse, let alone that one could search for any music of their choice via the internet!
There was already relevant and detailed reading about DEEP PURPLE here recently, and my encounter with the title “Icon: Deep Purple” offers, in my opinion, a good entry into the world of flowing hair and generously unbuttoned shirts. Hard rock is what it's called, but by today's standards, it's not particularly hard, rather suitable for rocking the mustache wearers at the football club's celebration. Hardness is only half the battle anyway; at least DEEP PURPLE knows how to roll out a rocking riff for an average of five minutes while intensely throwing in solos. The first characteristic of Best Ofs: You only get the hits served, so the songs are catchy structured on one hand, but also a bit too similar to captivate over the entire album length. One can only guess what kind of prog-rock experiments took place on the regular records (after all, DEEP PURPLE are pioneers of opera rock); in this context, they are subtle, with an unusual beat here, a well-crafted arrangement there. I quite like the organ, which adds additional fullness to the deliciously purring guitar sound. At least when it still has that beautiful pig organ sound; some songs are indeed unfortunate harbingers of 80s synth rock, where the fun stops. On the other hand, it is particularly great with the four live tracks, all recorded in the late 80s. Sympathetic announcements from a band that, despite all the virtuosic show-off, doesn't take itself too seriously. Sometimes a song transitions into a Buddy Holly improvisation with a film recommendation, sometimes there's a duel between the solo guitar and the singer in the highest pitches until the latter starts clucking like a chicken. This band has positively answered Zappa's question “Does Humor belong in Music?”, and even though their now somewhat dusty grandpa rock doesn't necessarily blow me away, I have to acknowledge their qualities and will check out some of the much-praised live albums when I get the chance.
As for the significance for punk as a counter-movement, I am rather uncertain. In any case, as a rebellious teen, one couldn't just pull off such things on their instrument out of the blue; a few power chords were needed. Otherwise, the hard rockers surely saw themselves as the continuation of the 60s, but unlike them, they had long since frozen into a pseudo-rebellious pose that was miles away from the reality of their audience.
Part 2: Uriah Heep
Part 3: Cat Stevens
