Deep Purple - Who Do We Think We Are

Year of Release: 2000
Label: EMI
Catalog Number: 7243 5 21607 2 3
Format: CD
Total Time: 72:31:00

Deep Purple is doing its fans proud by re-issuing their entire back catalogue augmented with a royal amount of bonus tracks. To be honest the actual playing time of the band's 1973 album Who Do We Think We Are is a bit short for the CD format, but then again it remains one hell of an album. Fully remastered, the seven original songs are very clean and it's as if you're sitting in during the actual sessions. Especially Ian Paice's drums sound very close, as if you're in the control booth. Opening with "Woman From Tokyo" can't go wrong as this was a classic from the moment you heard it. With headphones on "Super Trooper" is one hell of an experience what with the phasing on the drums taking you to another planet. I have always loved the use of that cowbell during the opening for "Rat Bat Blue" but it's only now that I hear the handclaps very clearly. And what a great combination Jon's Hammond organ and Ritchie's guitar form during the bluesy "Place In Line."

But it's the bonus tracks we're mostly interested in as we have already been enjoying the original vinyl album for 28 years (help I'm getting old!). First up is a '99 remix of "Woman From Tokyo." Apparently Ian's recordings are as crisp as if they were recorded yesterday. The ending is particulary funny with Jon Lord throwing in a jolly outro. From the same sessions an alternative bridge is recorded as well. The band's stay in Italy in order to record to complete the album in fact only resulted in the track "Woman From Tokyo" plus the song "Painted Horse" which previously was only available on the now deleted "Powerhouse" compilation from 1977. In fact it was only Ian Gillan and producer Martin Birch who liked that song in the first place so it was never used until now. To be honest it's not a very good song with its harmonica woven throughout. There's a short writing session for what would later become "Rat Bat Blue" yet here it's genuine rock'n roll all the way with Ritchie experimenting. From the original sixteen tracks Roger Glover remixed "Rat Bat Blue" in New York, this time incorporating some superfast clavinet playing by Jon next to superb Hammond like only Jon can. The song ends with spontaneous applause and funny bits. As during the recording sessions near Frankfurt, Roger Glover had taken the wrong turn and he had to drive a further thirty kilometers before he could take the right turn again. Meanwhile in the studio Ritchie had taken Roger's Rickenbacker bass and with Ian on drums and Jon on organ the final recording on this remastered edition is "First Day Jam," a wonderful fluent jam with out of this world organ playing by Jon and, as always, outstanding drumming from his brother-in-law Ian Paice. It's probably the only known recording with Blackmore playing the bass. A rare find indeed and what a great way to finish a remarkable re-issue. If your vinyl copy is to be replaced don't think twice and go for this issue NOW!

Tracklisting:
Woman From Tokyo / Mary Long / Super Trooper / Smooth Dancer / Rat Bat Blue / Place In Line / Our Lady / Bonus tracks: Woman From Tokyo ('99 Remix) / Woman From Tokyo (Alternative Bridge) / Painted Horse (Studio Out-Take) / Our Lday ('99 Remix) / Rat Bat Blue (Writing Session) / Rat Bat Blue ('99 Remix) / First Day Jam (Instrumental)

Musicians:
Ian Paice - drums
Jon Lord - organ, keyboards
Roger Glover - bass
Ian Gillan - vocals
Ritchie Blackmore - guitar

Discography:
Shades Of Deep Purple (1968)
Book Of Taliesyn (1969)
Deep Purple (1969)
Concerto For Group And Orchestra With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (live) (1969/2002)
Deep Purple In Rock (1970)
Fireball (1971)
Machine Head (1972)
Purple Passages (1972)
Made In Japan (live) (1972/1998/2001)
The Best Of Deep Purple (1972)
Who Do We Think We Are (1973/2000)
Burn (1974/2004)
Stormbringer (1974)
Come Taste The Band (1975)
24 Carat Purple (1970-1973) (1975)
Made In Europe (live) (1976)
Last Concert In Japan (1977)
Powerhouse (1978)
The Singles A's & B's (1978)
The Mark II Purple Singles (1979)
Deepest Purple (1980)
In Concert 1970 - 1972 (live) (1980)
Live On The BBC (1980/2004)
Deep Purple Live In London (live '74) (1982)
Perfect Strangers (1984)
The Anthology (1985)
The House Of Blue Light (1987)
The Best Of Deep Purple (1987)
Nobody's Perfect (live) (1988)
Scandinavian Nights (live) (1988)
Slaves And Masters (1990)
The Anthology (1991)
In The Absence Of Pink (Knebworth '85) (live) (1991)
Purple Rainbows (1991)
Knocking At Your Back Door (1992)
The Battle Rages On (1993)
Progression (1993)
The Deep Purple Family Album (1993)
Live In Japan (3cd) (1993)
Gemini Suite Live (1993)
Come Hell Or High Water (live) (1994)
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple In Concert (1995)
Child In Time (1995)
Purpendicular (1996)
California Jammin' (1996)
Live At The Olympia (1996)
The Final Concerts (1996)
Abandon (1998)
Total Abandon: Australia '99 (1999)
In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra (2000)
Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2000)
This Time Around: Live In Tokyo '75 (2001)
New Live & Rare: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000 (2001)
In Concert: 1970-1972 (2001)
In Profile (2001)
Singles Box Set (2002)
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Edition (2002)
Listen Learn Read On (2002)
The Essential (2003)
Gold (2003)
California Jam 1974 (2003)
Bananas (2003)
The Best Of Deep Purple: Live In Europe (2003)
Space Vol 1 & 2 (2004)
Perks And Tit (2004)
The Platinum Collection (2005)
Who Do We Think We Are (24kt Gold reissue) (2005)
Rapture Of The Deep (2005)
Live In Europe 1993 (2006)
Live At Montreux (2006)
Phoenix Rising (2011)
BBC Sessions 1968-1970 (2011)
Live At Montreux 2011 (2011)
Paris 1975 (2012)
Copenhagen 1972 (2013)
Now What?! (2013)
Perfect Strangers Live (2013)
Stockholm 1970 (2014)
Graz 1975 (2014)
Long Beach 1971 (2015)
From The Setting Sun... (In Wacken) (2015)
...To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) (2015)
Long Beach 1976 (2016)
Infinite (2017)
The Infinite Live Recordings (2017)

California Jam - Live In California 74 (VHS/DVD/BR) (1981/2005/2016)
Rises Over Japan/Phoenix Rising (VHS/DVD) (1985/2011)
The Video Singles (VHS?) (1987)
Scandinavian Nights - Live In Denmark 1972/Live In Concert 72/73 (VHS/DVD) (1988/2005)
Doing Their Thing - Masters From The Vaults (rec 1970) (VHS/DVD) (1990/2003)
Heavy Metal Pioneers (VHS?) (1991)
Come Hell Or High Water (VHS/DVD) (1994/2001)
Bombay Calling (VHS?) (1995)
Total Abandon: Live In Australia (DVD?) (1999)
Concerto For Group And Orchestra (rec 1969) (VHS/DVD) (1999/2003)
In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra (DVD) (2000)
Classic Albums: Deep Purple - The Making Of Machine Head (DVD) (2001)
New Live & Rare: The Video Collection 1984-2000 (DVD) (2001)
Perihelion (DVD) (2002)
Live Encounters (DVD) (2004)
Live At Montreux 1995 (DVD) (2006)
They All Came Down To Montreux (DVD) (2007)
Around The World Live (DVD) (2008)
History, hits & highlights '68–'76 (DVD) (2009)
Live At Montreux 2011 (with Orchestra) (DVD) (2011)
Perfect Strangers Live (DVD) (2013)
Live In Verona (with Orchestra) (DVD) (2014)
Celebrating Jon Lord At The Royal Albert Hall (with Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Glenn Hughes, Paul Weller, Rick Wakeman & Many Others) (DVD) (2014)
From The Setting Sun... (In Wacken) (DVD) (2015)
...To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) (DVD) (2015)
Live at the NEC (DVD) (2016)
From Here To Infinite - The Movie (BR) (2017)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: December 1st 1999
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.deeppurple.com
Hits: 3691
Language: english