Who Do We Think We Are - DEEP PURPLE****

Woman From Tokyo/Mary Long/Super Trouper/Smooth Dancer/Rat Bat Blue/Place In Line/Our Lady

Who Do We Think We Are was the final Deep Purple album featuring the classic Mark 2 line-up. The rather defensive title might be regarded as incongruous for a hard rocking band. (US:15 UK:4)

“Unfairly dismissed on release for not living up to the previous four albums, this LP shows a band on the verge of mutiny with one another. Regardless of the strife contained within, there are still some pretty hard rockers here that any band without the legendary status of Deep Purple would have been glad to record.”

“The only reason I can think of, that led this album to appear a relative failure, both, in sales and artistically is the title. How can you expect success with the self-doubting 'who do we think we are?. In the world of heavy-metal, there's no room for this type of confessions, and self-mockery isn't received too well by fans either.”

“It lacks a truly great song and isn't as musically ambitious as the albums that came before. Still some nice playing here though, even second tier Deep Purple is still pretty good.”

“Who Do We Think We Are is clearly a step down from the previous albums. The vocals are not as dynamic as they used to be and the inspiration is missing in several tracks, which is a real disappointment.”

The follow up to Machine Head has the same five musicians yet it is a huge let down. Smooth Dancer is sweet Purple; Woman From Tokyo is fine but just reworks the Smoke On The Water riff. The sound on this record is great, but the song-writing is not.”

“This album is often lightly regarded when compared to previous releases, and perhaps deservedly so. Yet it is still the classic line-up of Deep Purple and that means you can be sure it will be a good album. Woman From Tokyo, the opener and highlight, is one of the best songs they ever did. The other songs will reward repeated listening by committed Deep Purple fans.”

“Somehow, all the songs here sound like straight-ahead rock. A band like Deep Purple simply couldn't coast off mundane rock songs; they needed real fireworks and emotion to stand out from the crowd.”