Deep Purple released Shades of Deep Purple on this day in 1968.
This album was the first of twenty-one studio albums from the band, by now spread over more than fifty years. With its release, Deep Purple officially entered the album market, having preceded the album’s release with a short Scandinavian tour and a handful of BBC dates.
The extensive recording times behind albums in the present day makes it even more remarkable that Shades of Deep Purple was recorded over a single weekend in May. Among the many songs they recorded was “Hush”, a cover of Joe South’s song which is performed onstage by the band and appears in movies to this day.
The album did fairly well on US charts, peaking at #24 on the Billboard chart. However, in their home country of the UK, they did not do nearly as well, not even charting and receiving negative reviews. In hindsight, Rick Wakeman named the album at the top of his list of best British albums, and perhaps that is all the critical reaction one needs.
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