Come Taste The Band is the tenth studio album by the English rock bandDeep Purple, originally released in October 1975. It was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate Martin Birch. It was the final Deep Purple studio record prior to the band's initial disbandment in 1976, therefore making it the only album to feature Tommy Bolin, who replaced Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, and the final of three albums to feature David Coverdale on lead vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass, as none of the three would be involved with the reactivated Deep Purple in 1984. It is also the only studio album to involve neither Blackmore nor vocalist Ian Gillan, as every prior and subsequent album features at least one of the two.
Release and reception
The album sold reasonably well upon release. The album was certified Silver on 1 November 1975 by the BPI, selling 60,000 copies in the UK. In recent years the album has received some critical reassessment "on its own merits", in part due to Bolin's contributions to the album. Gillan, on the other hand, has stated that he does not view the album as a real Deep Purple album. Lord praised the quality of the album years later in interviews, stating that "listening to it now, it's a surprisingly good album," while acknowledging, "the worst thing you can say about it is that, in most people's opinion, it's not a Deep Purple album." Released on 25 October 2010, the 2-CD Deluxe 35th Anniversary edition includes the original album in remastered form plus a rare US single edit of "You Keep On Moving" on the first disc, and a full album remix and two unissued tracks on the second disc: "Same in LA" a three-minute out-take from the final release in 1975, and "Bolin/Paice Jam" a five-minute instrumental jam with Bolin and Ian Paice. After tours for this album concluded in March 1976, Deep Purple broke up for eight years. Tommy Bolin formed his own band that toured in support of Peter Frampton and Jeff Beck, but it was short-lived as he died of multiple drug intoxication in December, 1976. Morphine, cocaine, lidocaine and alcohol were all found in his system.
