Released in March of 1973 this album was the last of the classic original Mark II lineup (until the mid-eighties) which included Ian Gillian, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and Ian Paice. The album produced one hit in "Woman From Tokyo" but the album was full of great songs including "Rat Bat Blue", "Smooth Dancer", and "Mary Long", etc. During the recording of "Who Do We Think We Are" there were apparently "intense personal differences" that led to both Gillian and Glover leaving the band. This special remastered version includes seven never before released remixes, outtakes, etc. The sound quality of this remastered cd is excellent and superior to the earlier versions of this cd. There is also a 23 page booklet included which has some rare pictures of the band as well as information on the making of the album. A true classic album that represents one of rocks most talented and loudest bands. Highly recommended!

By the time this recorded was being recorded, this great band was coming apart at the seems. With Ritchie Blackmore & Ian Gillan not on speaking terms, Roger Glover, about to be shown the door and Jon Lord & Ian Paice trapped right in the center of all of this, tensions ran high as Deep Purple was imploding from it's very center.

It was the biggest year of the band's history {1972} and Machine Head was their most popular record. "Smoke On The Water" was riding high world-wide as the biggest single from the group. Now it was July, and Deep Purple were in the recording studio once more, this time in Rome to begin working on the follow-up to: "Machine Head". Tired from way too much touring, Ritchie had begun voicing negative opinions about Ian Gillan's vocal performance. After almost a month in Rome, only Two Tracks stood completed: "Painted Horse" and "Woman from Tokyo". It was the Begining of the end for this version of the purple monster.

After the famous shows in Tokyo and Osaka in August 72, Ian Gillan, stated in a letter to Deep Purple's Management of his intentions to quit the band. After a long tour of The UK in September, the following month, the band flew to Frankfurt to complete the recording of the new album. For a group, under this much strain, the results should have been dire and depressing, instead for some of us, this would be the finest studio release by Purple Mk.2.

"Woman From Tokyo", captures the spirit of the August 1972 Japan Shows in fine fashion {and it all must have been a vision, because it was recorded BEFORE those shows!}."Mary Long", is straight-up rock and transfered well to the Deep Purple concert stage. "Smooth Dancer", is famous because of Ian's lyric references to Ritchie that just begin to describe the tensions between the two of them.

Side Two for me was the prize, as it contained my two favorite Purple tracks: "Rat Bat Blue" & "Place In Line". The first is one of DP's best firery rockers and the fine blues of: "Place In Line" is a keeper with Ian's gruff vocals....both are under-regarded classics.

As for the bonus cuts, some Remixes are offered: "Rat Bat Blue","Woman from Tokyo","Our Lady". "Painted Horse" is now here where it belongs at last. "First Day Jam" features, Jon Lord, and this is just about as loose as these guys have ever been on record.

Now you can purchase this gem, re-mastered and expanded {72 Minutes}. The best one just got a whole lot better!

Four Stars !!!

Two things really stood out about this underrated album on first listen. First, the remastering job is PHENOMONAL. It's one of the best remastering jobs I've ever heard on disc. I have the LP vinyl version from the 1970s, and the sound quality on this CD version far surpasses it. The sound is bright, bold and crisp and each and every instrument can be heard distinctly and clearly. No muffled mid-range muddiness here, folks. Especially impressive is the way the bass seems to have been brought up in the mix, adding a much stronger punch than in the vinyl version. Turned up loud, be wary of the low-end rumble blowing your speakers! Secondly, while bonus tracks are often little more than curiosities, the bonus tracks here are EXCELLENT. There is an alternate version of "Woman From Tokyo" which includes extended soling and noodling from Blackmore throughout the second half of the song. The extended alternate version of "Our Lady" is probably better than the original, as Lord and Paice go crazy and let loose as the song goes on. "Painted Horse" is a fine bluesy rocker that is as good as any song on the original release, and indeed should have been included and is gladly presented here. Finally, the 11 minute "First Day Jam" is a blast. Lord, Paice and Glover work up a tight, rollicking groove with each impressively showing off his respective skills while never boring the listener. Yes, folks, this is one CD that is well worth the bargain price it is being offered at, just for the bonus tracks alone!

By the time 'Who Do We Think We Are' was released, Ritchie Blackmore's reputation for being, shall we say, difficult was certainly known by anyone with slightly more than a casual interest in Deep Purple. If one can imagine the stress of trying to put out an album, to say nothing of a good one, under those circumstances, it makes the success of this album all the more remarkable. Contrary to the critics, fans embraced this as another fine effort and its continued popularity speaks for itself. If it lacked the originality of their previous three studio albums (admittedly it falls short in that regard), it still rocked, and effectively disguised whatever discontent the naysayers read into it. Honestly, I play this album as often as I do any other DP Mark II album and easily enjoy it just as much. Reading so-called professional reviews, one gets the feeling that hating a band takes on a life of its own at some point. Only a critic could explain why.

Everything is said about this album... It is as powerful as all three previous efforts of the mark II era. All 7 songs are great whatever even members said. I want to mention only one less known thing - did you ever thought why this album is too short ? 34 minutes only ! It should have been one more track but remained unmixed due to internal conflict within the band. What a pity ! I mean PAINTED HORSE mixed only in 1977 and firstly appeared on POWERHOUSE release. CD version of POWERHOUSE released only in Japan. Also available on NEW, LIVE & RARE. WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE released in 1987 on CD and it still remains the only version despite EMI promised to re-release it as digitally remastered 25 Anniversary edition. It never has happened and PAINTED HORSE still never included to where it should be ! This album released digitally remastered in vynil-like case only in Japan so far. Why Japanese did it but their homeland did not ? What a significant oversight !