For the better part of the last five months, I’ve been listening to Pink Floyd. I occasionally switch to other bands such as Dire Straits, Maiden, Beatles, etc. but I quickly get bored and switch back to Floyd within a day.
Deep Purple, however, has turned out to be totally different. I added them to my playlist last Monday and am yet to change the playlist. There’s something about their music which I haven’t been able to get off my head. Probably it is the heavy use of long instrumentals, a la Floyd. Probably it’s because of the not-so-heavy vocals (in most songs, except for some like Highway Star). Probably because it’s much more melodious than a lot of other bands. Probably it’s because it’s psychedelic. Stuff makes you go high instantaneously. (btw, does purple get classified under “psychedelic rock”?).
The biggest claim to fame of the song child in time, from the album Concerto for Group and Orchestra, might be that Aisa Zakhm Diya Hai (Akele Hum Akele Tum) has been “inspired” by it. What sets this song apart, however, is the rhythm. The three beats in the beginning of the cycle, followed by a long gap which is sometimes filled with rolling beats, is simply too amazing.
It’s probably the first time that I’ve liked a song mainly for the rhythm scheme. Just darken the lights and play the song, and simultaneously drum a table using a hand and a spoon… you’ll soon be transported to another world. Another beautiful world where you are king… Where you get so lost that you forget what you wanted to say… Where you start writing a piece and then in the middle start wondering what you wanted to write… Where you start writing a blogpost and soon realize it’s going nowhere… but you want to ramble on and write something.
Incredible.