Book of Taliesyn

So many great albums from 1968 and Deep Purple's offering for that year(their second overall)is no slouch.The album delivers song after song of DP Mark 1 perfection.The rhythm section space trucks on through each arrangement as the rest of the group falls beautifully together on each song.This 2nd DP Mark 1 record speaks to something quite more than just hard or heavy rock and displays small hints of jazz elegance imbedded in each carefully planned by Blackmore movement.

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 good 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 lineup, 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.Bottom line: you can do worse than to own this album, especially this version with good mastering and bonus tracks.

I had been wanting to get another copy of this for some years now and I finally stumbled upon a nice German pressing in good shape.This record features the original group with Rod Evans on lead vocals and Nick Simper on bass. Evans was later of the band Captain Beyond. That lineup was always my favorite when I first saw them open up for Cream in late 1968.This record has more of that classical feel to it than the later hard rock sound. The song "The Shield" and "Wring that Neck" are among the standouts. This album capture that late sixties British vibe that merged heavy guitar riffs with the classic Hammond organ sound. Rod Evans was a great singer and I preferred him over the latter Ian Gillian who was great in his own way, but more suited for hard rock.It is still in print on vinyl which is hard to believe since some of their more popular records are not. However I like this along with the "Shades of Deep Purple" and "Deep Purple" of which I think is the best of this trio.Fans of the later line up may not be as fond of these because the music is much different.

great historic music. great service!!

Not that The Book is without flaws - it was a hurried production and two of the three covers (We Can Work it Out and Kentucky Woman) are lackluster. The third (River Deep, Mountain High) is mightily pretentious, but is highly entertaining none-the-less. The rest of the album portends the emergence of one of the greatest bands of all time. Best of all, this is a truly high quality recording, unlike the half-hearted previous releases. A definite must-have for diehard Deep Purple fans.

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.

The hard-core fans might take umbrage with this review (short as it is) but the very early Purple material only hints at the greatness to come. This, their second studio album still shows a band that is trying to decide what path they want to take musically. There is some good material here, but it's a far cry from future albums like In Rock or Machine Head. Still, if you want to see where that material was birthed from, this is a good place to start.

After having bought several turkeys I was pleased to find that EMI Europe had finally done this great album justice. All the other versions of this have sounded like they were mastered though a 60's transistor radio. This one reminds me of why I kept searching for a good copy, buy it !!!

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Uno de los mejores discos de Deep Purple.

Good sound quality, fast delivery. Thank you!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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