The Book of Taliesyn was named after the 14th century book of the same name. That book was a collection of poems by Taliesin, a poet from the 6th century. Two singles were released, “Kentucky Woman” and ” River Deep, Mountain High”. The album reached #54 on the Billboard 200.
Members:
Rod Evans – lead vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Jon Lord – Hammond organ, keyboards, backing vocals, strings arrangement on “Anthem”
Nick Simper – bass, backing vocals
Ian Paice – drums, temple blocks
The Tracks:
This opening doesn’t grab me. I do like Evans’ vocals.
This is a pretty cool instrumental. Lord’s keyboard is fantastic. The song is called “Hard Road” on the American release.
As with the previous album, there are 3 covers. This one was originally by Neil Diamond. It’s pretty decent.
The second cover is a Beatles song. It’s kind of boring.
5. “Shield”
Oddly the second side of the album is better than the first. This song rocks. Blackmore sounds great.
6. “Anthem”
Probably my favorite song on the album. It’s got a great string section.
7. “River Deep, Mountain High”
A pretty awesome cover of the Tina Turner song.
Final Verdict: I’m beginning to see why the Rod Evans-led Deep Purple isn’t as highly regarded. This is pretty good, but knowing what comes later, I’m not overly impressed.
Grade: C+
Aspie Catholic 