Book of Taliesyn [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Digitally remastered 1998 Japanese reissue on Teichiku oftheir second album in a miniaturized gatefold LP sleeve.Originally released on the Tetragrammaton label in 1968, itfeatures seven tracks, including two hit covers: their top40 remake of Neil Diamond --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Listen, Learn, Read On
Wring That Neck
Kentucky Woman
Exposition/We Can Work It Out
Shield
Anthem
River Deep, Mountain High
Oh No No No (Studio Out Take)
It's All Over (BBC Top Gear Session)
Hey Bop A Re Bop (BBC Top Gear Session)
Wring That Neck (BBC Top Gear Session)
Playground (Remixed Instrumental Studio Out Take)

Album Description

Remastered reissue of 1968 album with 5 bonus tracks 'Oh No No No' (Studio Out Take), 'It's All Over' (BBC Top Gear Session), 'Hey Bop A Re Bop' (BBC Top Gear Session), 'Wring ThatNeck' (BBC Top Gear Session), 'Playground' (Remixed Instrumental Studio Out Take) all previously unissued. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!.......2007-06-27

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various recordings from the 60's and 70's.

"The Book of Taliesyn" brought Deep Purple closer to the appearance of the famed and great "Mark II" line-up. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover would raise the bar even higher. Before they become part of the fold, there is the tremendous second album and the self-titled third.

"Listen, Learn, Read On" leads off the second Purple release. Possibly, by design the record starts with the shortest tune and ends with their epic cover of a Motown classic. "Listen, Learn, Read On" Features a terrific and varied vocal by Rod Evans along with a perfect guitar solo by Blackmore. Ritchie already is finding his way and it isn't only the ability to excel with his leads and fills but the perfect tone to coincide with the song.

"Hard Road" also known as "Wring That Neck" is the perfect instrumental. Blackmore is tasty with a timeless riff supported by Ian Paice's drumming and Jon Lord's in your face but not over the top keyboards.

"Kentucky Woman" is a wonderful cover to the Neil Diamond hit. Purple does a well-rounded interpretation and deserves credit for not only pulling off a well-respected interpretation but also being open-minded in their selection of non-group recordings.

"Exposition"/"We Can Work It Out" gives us two for the price of one. Starting with their own composition of high energy- merging into a slower cover of the Beatles legendary song. This is the second Beatles selection ("Help" was recorded on the first LP) they pulled off well.

"The Shield" one of the best efforts from the Purple "Mark I" line-up is also contains a superlative singing job by Rod Evans. The lyrics are intense and the clarity and conviction only further engrave them in your mind.

"Anthem" with a mid-evil keyboard sound and a Blackmore guitar that enhances the dark mood is the most overlooked composition on the record but not any lesser.

"River Deep Mountain High" has been interpreted by performers from all musical avenues. The tune partially written by record producer Phil Spector has been enjoyed not only by Motown fans (Four Tops, Supremes, and Ike & Tina Turner) but also by those having purchased records by the Animals, Harry Nilsson, and Bob Seger. Deep Purple's ten minute journey is the most adventurous of all the renditions. It could have been easily too long if they were anything less. With the Blackmore/Lord combination, it takes on a life of its own. Never is there a passage you call superfluous. A climatic ending to a great production.

Make sure to please get the remastered version with the five bonus tracks lead by "Playground." Between Blackmore's aggression, Lord's perfect keyboard, and some terrific nuances by Ian Paice it is a must listen!

Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

Deep Purples Second Album.......2006-12-02

On This record they seem to kick it up a bit from their last album.
It still sounds dated and i guess it's fun to listen to while tripping.
But the songs and sound come together better.
Unless your a real fan, i'd by-pass this and move on to there Ian Gillan (Mark 2) phase.
But i think it's worth a listen to.
Wring that neck, We can work it out (Beatles) sound really good.
Kentucky Woman, The hit from the record is OK and i feel it's a bit out of place for Deep Purple. But it's a bit fun to listen to.
The Bonus tracks are pretty good, stand-outs among them BBC Wring that neck and the instrumental playground.
All in All it's better then the last therefore it get's another star.

The Book of Taliesyn.......2006-09-24

Band Personnell:
Rod Evans - Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore - Guitars
Nick Simper - Bass and Backing Vocals
Ian Paice - Drums
Jon Lord - Organs and Backing Vocals

Not long after their first album was released, they produced their second album, this was a little heavier and had more highlights and less cover songs, the opening track "Listen, Learn, Read on" is a really cool song, the instrumental "Hard Road" has good riffs, but the best song in this album must be "River Deep, Mountain High", it begins instrumentally, but after a while Evans shows how gread voice he really had, this is the best of the three poineering albums, no doubt, buy it!

and 1/2----------------Spitfire Records!!!!!!!.......2006-07-21

Spitfire Records is a subdivision of Eagle Rock Entertainment located in New York, United States.
So now that we know that, let's talk about Deep Purples' The Book of Taliesyn. It took the industry long enough but they finally got it right for the earlier Deep Purple. These guys did it right. First of all this CD was digitized from the original master tapes. Before this CD the recordings where very bad, definitely not from first generation tapes, if from tape at all. The second thing, they did the remastering at Abbey Road. The sound is really great. They also did a great job with the liner notes. If you buy "Shades Of Deep Purple", "The Book of Taliesyn" and "Deep Purple" these liner notes pretty much all together tell you the early story of the Deep Purple. I am very glad I purchased this CD. Deep Purple was at their peak with this album. I only wished I would have done this earlier. I highly recommend this whole Spitfire series. I don't believe this will ever get any better. By the way for all of you who believe that this band didn't contributed to the hard rock era. Living through it I can remember the actions of people when Kentucky Woman and then River Deep, Mountain High came out. The older generation of the time S#?t a brick.(same response as Hush from their first album. The rawness and the harshness again! This was definitely a group that contributed to Hard Rock. It may not match what happened after these guys MK1 broke up but they did help shape it.
Buy the way this review is about the same for all three releases because when these 3 albums came out they where very close together the impact of all three influenced the music industry.

Better than their debut, in my book.......2006-06-05

Deep Purple was one of those rare bands who managed two albums in the same year as they were formed (Shades of Deep Purple, and this one), Humble Pie being the other (As Safe As Yesterday Is and Town & Country).

The Book of Taliesyn was their second album, released three months later from Shades of Deep Purple, released on Tetragrammaton (a label ran by well-known comedian Bill Cosby), it received a UK release several months later on Harvest, and became the first ever release on that label. Well, in that short amount of time, I thought the band did their homework, and came up with a better album. Certainly it's still packed with covers of other people's songs, and there's plenty of psychedelic gimmicks that are pretty much of its time. "Listen, Learn, Read On" is the opening cut, with plenty of spoken dialog, and the lyrics are subject of the title of the album. The next cut is an instrumental piece, "Wring that Neck", which has an interesting story. Their first studio effort with the Mark II lineup, In Rock (1970) featured an extended epic, "Child in Time" that partially borrowed a song from a San Francisco band called It's a Beautiful Day called "Bombay Calling" off their self-entitled 1969 debut (same album that has their big hit "White Bird"). So It's a Beautiful Day got back on their next album, Marrying Maiden (1970) and recorded "Don & Dewey" that bears an uncanny resemblance to "Wring That Neck". The next song is their cover of Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman". I am hardly a fan of Neil Diamond (as is MOR pop in general), so Deep Purple certainly made a much more interesting version of it, the song even has an interesting organ solo from Jon Lord. This was their second (and final) hit with the original Mark I lineup of Rod Evans, Nick Semper, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice. Then they go cover another Beatles song, which I thought was much more successful than their version of "Help" from their previous album. It first starts off with "Exposition", which is basically more or less early prog rock territory, with extended organ solos, then comes the Beatles song, which while obviously recognizable, has quite a bit of echo. "The Shield" is a nice psychedelic number with rather obvious psychedelic lyrics. "Anthem" is, for the most part, the most pop-oriented piece Deep Purple ever done. If it weren't for the classically-influenced part in the middle, and even a small use of Mellotron, it would have been just a pop song. This was obviously the kind of thing totally alien on the Mark II albums like In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, etc. Then they do yet another cover, this time Phil Spector's "River Deep, Mountain High" (the one Ike & Tina Turner recorded, and flopped big in the States but did well in the UK). Even in Purple's version, you can still tell the lyrics are Phil Spector.

I really thought this was a move in the right direction, and their next album the band proved they could float just fine without covers of other people's songs (other than Donovan's "Lalena").

Average customer rating:

great music / bad mastering

The Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: Creative Sounds
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Who Do We Think We Are

ASIN: B00005NB39
Release Date: 2006-05-24

Tracks:

Listen, Learn, Read On
Hard Road (Wring That Neck)
Kentucky Woman
Exposition/We Can Work It Out
Shield
Anthem
River Deep, Mountain High
Oh No No No [Studio Outtake][#][*]
It's All Over [BBC Top Gear Session][#][*]
Hey Bop-A-Rebop [BBC Top Gear Session][#][*]
Hard Road (Wring That Neck) [BBC Top Gear Session][#][*]
Playground [Remixed Instrumental Studio Out Take][#][*]

Customer Reviews:

great music / bad mastering.......2006-12-09

First of all the track listings shown for this album correspond to the new remaster not this cd. The general sound of this cd is muffled (lack of high frequency and definition). After listening to this cd at an appropriate volume (loud) I was surprised to hear surface noise. My opinion is this was mastered from a vinyl LP.

Average customer rating:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!
Deep Purple's incredible sophomore effort
DEEP PURPLE- THE BOOK OF YALIESYN
Rod Evans...Under-rated (Gillan over-rated)
great album for the times

The Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hoodoo Man Blues

ASIN: B000026KGC
Release Date: 1998-06-30

Tracks:

Listen, Learn, Read On
Wring That Neck
Kentucky Woman
Exposition/We Can Work It Out
Shield
Anthem
River Deep, Mountain High
Oh No No No (Studio Out Take)
It's All Over (BBC Top Gear Session)
Hey Bop A Re Bop (BBC Top Gear Session)
Wring That Neck (BBC Top Gear Session)
Playground (Remixed Instrumental Studio Out Take)

Album Description

Digitally remastered 1998 Japanese reissue on Teichiku oftheir second album in a miniaturized gatefold LP sleeve.Originally released on the Tetragrammaton label in 1968, itfeatures seven tracks, including two hit covers: their top40 remake of Neil Diamond

Customer Reviews:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!.......2007-06-27

Deep Purple's incredible sophomore effort.......2006-07-22

The Book Of Taliesyn (1969.) The second Deep Purple studio album.

INTRODUCTION:
Although it wasn't until the early seventies that Deep Purple would gain massive fame and begin using the sound that immortalized them, the group had existed in an earlier incarnation as early as the mid sixties. The early formation of the band had more of a hard-edged psychedelic sound than the better-known incarnation of the group. Despite a relative lack of popularity when compared to the better-known Ian Gillan period, this formation of the band released three albums and several excellent tunes in the process. Read on for my review of the band's sophomore album, 1969's The Book Of Taliesyn.

OVERVIEW:
Deep Purple released The Book Of Taliesyn in 1969. Derek Lawrence produced the album. The band at this point consisted of its Mark One lineup, which featured vocalist Rod Evans, bassist Nick Simper, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist/organist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice. Tracklist for the album consists of Listen Learn Read On, Wring That Neck, Kentucky Woman, Exposition/We Can Work It Out, Shield, Anthem, and River Deep Mountain High.

REVIEW:
It's amazing how solid the pre-Gillan Deep Purple albums are. Despite their relative lack of popularity, these albums are simply amazing. The Book Of Taliesyn, the second of the Mark One Trilogy, is quite possibly the finest record from this era. The album retains the psychedelic-tinged, organ-heavy rock of Shades Of Deep Purple, the band's debut, but the album also takes the band's music in a heavier direction - a prelude of sorts to what would come in the Gillan period. Many of the songs follow a medieval theme - something that has always fascinated guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Once again, the band serves up a mix of original songs and cover tunes, redoing the latter with their signature sound from this era. For the track-by-track breakdown, continue reading!

-SIDE ONE-

-Listen Learn Read On (Blackmore/Evans/Lord/Paice)
The opening track does a good job setting the stage for the rest of the album. The song rocks hard, and has plenty of (excellently-played) organ backing. Many parts of the song feature Rod Evans using a "spoken word" singing style, which actually bares some resemblance to what the Moody Blues used in a lot of their early hits. But the song as a whole is uniquely Mark One Deep Purple. Awesome opening cut.

-Wring That Neck (Blackmore/Lord/Paice/Simper)
An instrumental sequence - and a damn good one too. A nice mix of Jon Lord's unrivaled organ superiority and Ritchie Blackmore's mastery of the guitar are the main sources of sound in this piece. Once again, it's a solid, moderately-psychedelic hard rock piece that speaks for the band's overall sound of this era very well. Damn good tune.

-Kentucky Woman (Neil Diamond)
Every album from the Mark One Trilogy has some cover songs, and this album is no different. The first one of which is this, a cover of the Neil Diamond pop classic. The band manages to keep the song true to the original, while at the same time, throwing in that classic Deep Purple touch to make it all their own. The end result is quite solid.

-Medley

A) Exposition (Blackmore/Simper/Lord/Paice)
Mark One Deep Purple did a lot of instrumentals that showed off their heavy and psychedelic sides alike. Many examples of this exist, and this is one of the many. Not the band's best or most remarkable instrumental sequence from this era by any means, but still a solid piece. Makes a nice introduction to the next song.

B) We Can Work It Out (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Another Beatles cover, another reinvention. Once again, the group takes one of the Fab Four's classic tunes and extends it, adding in plenty of gloomy instrumentation, dramatically changing the way the song works. Beatles covers are always hit and miss - but Deep Purple's were some of the few good ones out there.

-SIDE TWO-

-Shield (Blackmore/Evans/Lord)
When Rod Evans was a part of Deep Purple, he would often participate in the songwriting process, and as such, after he left, a certain songwriting element went with him. This piece is a prime example of that phenomenon. This song is a nice mix of the hard rock and melodic rock elements of the Mark One incarnation of the band, mixing numerous styles nicely. Awesome song.

-Anthem (Evans/Lord)
At six minutes plus, this stands as one of the quintessential classics of the Mark One era. Throughout its duration, the song carries on a very melodic sound. It definitely suits the often medieval mood of this album nicely. The band's instrumentation is arguably at its finest on the album in this track. What more can I say? It's a great song.

-River Deep Mountain High (Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector)
I admit, I was very skeptical when I read that Deep Purple had covered an Ike And Tina Turner song. Of course, when Mark One Deep Purple covered songs, they didn't just cover them - they rethought and reinvented them. This stands as one of the ultimate examples. With lots of added instrumental portions and that special touch only Deep Purple could add, it's a reinvented masterpiece - and a great album closer.

OVERALL:
A damn good sophomore album from the Mark One incarnation of Deep Purple. If you're at all a fan of the band, do not hesitate to add this one to your collection!

EDITION NOTES:
All three of the Mark One albums were recently remastered and reissued. In addition to having the sound be remastered to sound better than any previous issue of the album, these reissues all include bonus tracks. The bonus tracks include BBC sessions, live versions, unreleased outtakes, alternate takes, etc. If you're going to buy these albums, make sure you get the remastered ones!

DISCLAIMER:
This review is the property of Darth Kommissar. You are NOT allowed to mention my review in your own review, NO EXCEPTIONS. COUNTER REVIEWS WILL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED. If you create one I will report your review to Amazon as inappropriate. If you wish to publish this review on another site, you are welcome to do so (and no permission is required), all I ask is that you include a link to my e-mail address (see my profile.) Sorry to sound rude, but this counter review business is getting out of hand.

DEEP PURPLE- THE BOOK OF YALIESYN.......2000-02-01

A CLASSIC ALBUM FROM THE 60'S ERA. A PRE METAL RELEASE FROM DEEP PURPLE. I FIRST BOUGHT THIS IN 1970. IT WAS OUT OF PRINT BACK THEN. I PLAYED IT TO DEATH. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I FOUND IT AGAIN ON A CD. I CAN PLAY IT TO DEATH ALL OVER AGAIN. EXCELLENT VOCALS,AND THE ORGAN MUSIC IS TO DIE FOR. PUT YOUR HEADPHONES ON,TURN IT UP, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS. THEN GO TRIPPING BACK DOWN TO PLACES YOU BEEN TO, TO QUOTE ANOTHER ARTIST. ENJOY! YOU WON'T REGRET IT.

Rod Evans...Under-rated (Gillan over-rated).......1999-04-24

Deep Purple answered to noone when creating their unique and unforgettable early symphony of organ, guitar, and vocals. The passion and youthful experimentation is readily apparent on every song. Evans, Simper, Blackmore, Lord, Paice and their medieval style of rock and roll is a gift I will appreciate always. LISTEN,LEARN, READ ON!

great album for the times.......1998-08-30

Monty smith whom reveiwed this album is again a person who does not no music. he is not a musician and he is not qualified to give his opinion to a musical album.in 1969 i give album 3.5 to 4 stars.

Average customer rating:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!
Listen, Learn, Rock On
A largely undiscovered gem
4.5 stars - excellent sophomore album

The Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: Video Arts Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sheik Yerbouti (Limited Edition Japanese Mini LP Sleeve CD)

ASIN: B00008BDNG
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Tracks:

Listen, Learn, Read On
Hard Road (Wring That Neck)
Kentucky Woman
Exposition/We Can Work It Out
Shield
Anthem
River Deep, Mountain High
Oh No No No [Studio Outtake][#][*]
It's All Over [BBC Top Gear Session][#][*]
Hey Bop-A-Rebop [BBC Top Gear Session][#][*]
Hard Road (Wring That Neck) [BBC Top Gear Session][#][*]
Playground [Remixed Instrumental Studio Out Take][#][*]

Album Description

Japanese reissue of 1969 album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Includes 5 bonus tracks 'Oh NoNo No' (Studio Out Take), 'It's All Over' (BBC Top Gear Session), 'Hey Bop A Re Bop' (BBC Top Gear Session), 'Wring That Neck' (BBC Top Gear Session), 'Playground' (Remixed Instrumental Studio Out Take). Vap. 2003.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Customer Reviews:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!.......2007-06-27

Listen, Learn, Rock On.......2007-02-18

The 2nd DP album starts off like a fireball with these 3 tracks...
1. Listen, Learn, Read On
2. Hard Road (Wring That Neck)
3. Kentucky Woman
After that they can play what they want as far as I'm concerned, 5 Stars from a group that always gave us their all.

A largely undiscovered gem .......2005-03-18

A very interesting, embryonic specimen of progressive rock. Brilliant pieces of instrumental genius are (oddly) adjoined to irrelevant cover songs. Jon Lord asserts a youthful, uninhibited grandeur with loud and swirling organ bits; a yet undeveloped Blackmore ocassionally bursts through with guitar statements serious enough to grip your soul.

A downside of this early recording is its sound quality. The actual depth of Paice's energetic drumming is not captured quite well enough, while Rod Evans' lead vocal comes across as grating in many spots. Nevertheless, the ambitious instrumental workouts captured are very unique to this one album only - and this definitely qualifies it as a 'keeper'.

4.5 stars - excellent sophomore album.......2004-03-20

Book Of Taliesyn (1968.) Deep Purple's second album.

Although many die-hard fans of Ian Gillan will beg to differ, Deep Purple's work with Rod Evans was every bit as good as any material they did with other vocalists. Sure, the band sounded different from the band they would become eventually, but this wasn't really for better or for worse. Not long after releasing their debut album, Shades Of Deep Purple, the band released its sophomore album, Book Of Taliesyn. Read on for my review of this album.

While the songs on the band's first album were excellent, they didn't really follow a particular theme. With this album, the same is true for the most part, but many of the songs have somewhat of a medieval theme to them (Ritchie Blackmore, the band's lead guitarist, was fascinated by this stuff. Unfortunately, it would eventually ruin his career, but I'm not going to get in to that here.) The band kicks things off with two excellent rockers that heavily emphasize the organ - Listen Learn Read On, and Wring That Neck. These tracks were excellent ways to kick off the album. The next two songs are covers - something the band did quite a few of when Rod Evans was at the helm. The first one is a cover of Neil Diamond's Kentucky Woman. The band speeds up the general pace of the song, and uses the organ a good deal, even adding an organ solo about two thirds of the way through. An alternative, edited version of this song was issued as a single (that version appears on Rhino's The Best Of Deep Purple.) The next song is a cover of the Beatles classic We Can Work It Out. The band did to this song exactly what they did to their Help! on their first album - they made it considerably longer and gloomier, especially in the chorus. The band even added a lengthy instrumental opening to the song, which they have entitled Exposition. Only Deep Purple could take a Beatles song, make it three times longer than the original, and keep the level of quality as high as the original one. Shield and Anthem, two of the band's most severely underrated songs, come next. It's a shame these songs never gained any major popularity, because they are just as good as anything that would come from the band's days with Ian Gillan. The lengthy River Deep Mountain High closes out the album. It's a gloomy and melodic rocker, which is mostly instrumental. The band managed to finish off the album with an excellent track that will leave a lasting impression on listeners.

Like the new reissues of the other Rod Evans Deep Purple albums, this one includes some previously unreleased bonus tracks. Keep in mind that these tracks WERE NOT originally released with the album, so their sound quality usually falls below the record company's usual standards. Oh No No No and Playground are pretty cool songs, and it's a shame they didn't get released up until this reissue - they're actually quite good! But the other three bonus tracks, Hey Bop A Re Bop, It's All Over, and the alternate version of Wring That Neck are all BBC Top Gear sessions, and the sound quality on them is terrible! If you really want to hear the sound flaws, listen to these songs with headphones. Although these bonus tracks don't really add anything to the album, they are still a nice touch. Take my advice - DO NOT GET ANY VERSION OF THIS ALBUM EXCEPT FOR THIS REMASTER! Older versions don't have the bonus tracks, and the sound quality for the album is generally poor.

Overall, Book Of Taliesyn is a great album. It's a shame the Rod Evans period of Deep Purple is also its most underrated, because the songs Evans recorded with the band are VERY good. And this just might be the best album that he recorded with them. They say that second is the best, and in the case of Deep Purple, that old quote just might be true. If you're a fan of the band, this album is highly recommended. Just remember, this ISN'T the Ian Gillan period!

Book of Taliesyn
Average customer rating:
Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: Solid Rock Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00000E87O
Release Date: 1991-08-05

Average customer rating:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!

Deep Purple's incredible sophomore effort

DEEP PURPLE- THE BOOK OF YALIESYN

Rod Evans...Under-rated (Gillan over-rated)

great album for the times

Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: Pid
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000006EB8
Release Date: 1998-07-24

Tracks:

Listen, Learn, Read on
Wring That Neck
Kentucky Woman
Exposition/We Can Work It Out
The Shield
Anthem
River Deep, Mountain High

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

Don't take the "Hard Road" pick this up with the bonus tracks!.......2007-06-27

Deep Purple's incredible sophomore effort.......2006-07-22

DEEP PURPLE- THE BOOK OF YALIESYN.......2000-02-01

Rod Evans...Under-rated (Gillan over-rated).......1999-04-24

great album for the times.......1998-08-30

Monty smith whom reveiwed this album is again a person who does not no music. he is not a musician and he is not qualified to give his opinion to a musical album.in 1969 i give album 3.5 to 4 stars.

Average customer rating:

Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: Musicrama/Koch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00000DZT1
Release Date: 1997-10-15

Average customer rating:

4.5 stars - Deep Purple's sophomore album

Book of Taliesyn
Deep Purple
Manufacturer: Phantom Sound & Vision
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000E0WE
Release Date: 1996-11-21

Album Description

1989 reissue on EMI of their second album, 1968's 'Book OfTaliesyn', featuring their covers of Neil Diamond's'Kentucky Woman', the Phil Spector classic 'River Deep,Mountain High' and a two song medley featuring their own'Exposition' and the Beatles' 'We Can Work It Out'. Thealbum was originally released on the band's very own labelTetragrammaton.

Customer Reviews:

4.5 stars - Deep Purple's sophomore album.......2005-06-23

Book Of Taliesyn (1968.) Deep Purple's second album.

Although many die-hard fans of Ian Gillan will beg to differ, Deep Purple's work with Rod Evans was every bit as good as any material they did with other vocalists. Sure, the band sounded different from the band they would become eventually, but this wasn't really for better or for worse. Not long after releasing their debut album, Shades Of Deep Purple, the band released its sophomore album, Book Of Taliesyn. Read on for my review of this album.

While the songs on the band's first album were excellent, they didn't really follow a particular theme. With this album, the same is true for the most part, but many of the songs have somewhat of a medieval theme to them (Ritchie Blackmore, the band's lead guitarist, was fascinated by this stuff. Unfortunately, it would eventually ruin his career, but I'm not going to get in to that here.) The band kicks things off with two excellent rockers that heavily emphasize the organ - Listen Learn Read On, and Wring That Neck. These tracks were excellent ways to kick off the album. The next two songs are covers - something the band did quite a few of when Rod Evans was at the helm. The first one is a cover of Neil Diamond's Kentucky Woman. The band speeds up the general pace of the song, and uses the organ a good deal, even adding an organ solo about two thirds of the way through. An alternative, edited version of this song was issued as a single (that version appears on Rhino's The Best Of Deep Purple, if you want to get it on CD.) The next song is a cover of the Beatles classic We Can Work It Out. The band did to this song exactly what they did to their Help! on their first album - they made it considerably longer and gloomier, especially in the chorus. The band even added a lengthy instrumental opening to the song, which they have entitled Exposition. Only Deep Purple could take a Beatles song, make it three times longer than the original, and keep the level of quality as high as the original one. Shield and Anthem, two of the band's most severely underrated songs, come next. It's a shame these songs never gained any major popularity, because they are just as good as anything that would come from the band's days with Ian Gillan. The lengthy River Deep Mountain High closes out the album. It's a gloomy and melodic rocker, which is mostly instrumental. The band managed to finish off the album with an excellent track that will leave a lasting impression on listeners.

Like the other reissues of the other Rod Evans Deep Purple albums, this one includes some previously unreleased bonus tracks. Keep in mind that these tracks WERE NOT originally released with the album, so their sound quality usually falls below the record company's usual standards. Oh No No No and Playground are pretty cool songs, and it's a shame they didn't get released up until this reissue - they're actually quite good! But the other three bonus tracks, Hey Bop A Re Bop, It's All Over, and the alternate version of Wring That Neck are all BBC Top Gear sessions, and the sound quality on them is terrible! If you really want to hear the sound flaws, listen to these songs with headphones. Although these bonus tracks don't really add anything to the album, they are still a nice touch. Take my advice - DO NOT GET ANY VERSION OF THIS ALBUM EXCEPT FOR THIS REMASTER! Older versions don't have the bonus tracks, and the sound quality for the album is generally poor.

Overall, Book Of Taliesyn is a great album. It's a shame the Rod Evans period of Deep Purple is also its most underrated, because the songs Evans recorded with the band are VERY good. And this just might be the best album that he recorded with them. They say that second is the best, and in the case of Deep Purple, that old quote just might be true. If you're a fan of the band, this album is highly recommended. Just remember, this ISN'T the Ian Gillan period!

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