"Come Taste the Band" is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released on November 7, 1975. It marked a significant departure from the band's earlier sound, with stronger influences of funk and blues, and was their final studio album before their initial disbandment in 1976. This album was also the only release by the Mark IV lineup of Deep Purple, featuring Tommy Bolin on guitar, replacing Ritchie Blackmore, and it was the last of three albums to feature David Coverdale on lead vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals.
The album's production was co-handled by Martin Birch and the band, with most of the material written by Coverdale and Bolin. The songs were recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, and the process was impacted by the band's substance abuse problems, notably Bolin's heroin addiction and Hughes' cocaine issues. The strain caused by these personal problems, along with Bolin's limited familiarity with Deep Purple's music and style, meant that the band’s performance was a challenging one. Notably, Hughes sang significantly less than on previous albums, with Bolin contributing vocals on some tracks. The album's music saw the band moving into more funk and blues territory, while still maintaining some of their signature hard rock elements, though many of the band's fans found the shift a radical one.
Despite receiving mixed reviews, Come Taste the Band was praised for the band's stylistic reinvention. However, its commercial success was lower compared to previous albums, with the album only reaching No. 19 in the UK and No. 43 in the US. It is also regarded as one of the band's more experimental efforts, continuing the funk direction of their previous album, Stormbringer, but also hinting at their earlier progressive rock roots. Unfortunately, the band's internal issues, especially related to drug addiction, led to their breakup shortly after the album's release. Tommy Bolin, who had a significant influence on the album, tragically died of a drug overdose just months after Deep Purple's split.
