DEEP PURPLE

PAGE UPDATED IN 2020

Reviewed:
- Shades of Deep Purple (1968)
- The Book of Taliesyn (1968)
- Deep Purple (1969)
- Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969, live album)
- Deep Purple In Rock (1970)
- Fireball (1971)
- Machine Head (1972)
- Made in Japan (1973, live album)
- Who Do We Think We Are (1973)
- Burn (1974)
- Stormbringer (1974)
- Come Taste the Band (1975)
- Made in Europe (1976, live album)
- Live in London (1982, live album)
- Perfect Strangers (1984)
- The House of Blue Light (1987)
- Nobody's Perfect (1988, live album)

- Scandinavian Nights (1988, live album)
- Slaves and Masters (1990)
- In the Absence of Pink - Knebworth '85 (1991, live album)
- The Battle Rages On... (1993)
- Come Hell or High Water (1994, live album)
- Purpendicular (1996)
- Live at the Olympia '96 (1996, live album)
- Abandon (1998)
- Bananas (2003)
- The Platinum Collection (2005, compilation)
- Rapture of the Deep (2005)
- Live in Denmark 1972 (2007, live album)
- Live at Montreux 1996/2006 - They All Came Down to Montreux (2013, live album)
- Now What?! (2013)
- Graz '75 (2014, live album)
- Infinite (2017)

- Whoosh! (2020)

- Turning to Crime (2021)

- =1 (2024)


SHADES OF DEEP PURPLE         1968          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Hush', 'Prelude: Happiness, I'm So Glad', 'Mandrake Root', 'Hey Joe'

Deep Purple are easily one of my favourite bands. You've only gotta look at my collection to see that I'm a serious fan. And let's be honest here, when you think of Deep Purple, the early 70's records like Deep Purple In Rock or Machine Head instantly spring to mind. You know, stuff from the second incarnation of the band - the classic Mk. II lineup. I wouldn't be surprised if you think of any other lineup the band ever had besides the original one! I know I do, and that's because Deep Purple In Rock was my first Purple album. Why? Because I wanted something that rocked HARD at age 14. But hard rockin', or rockin' hard wasn't the original lineup's priority; hell, they were psychedelic, bluesy, proggy, poppy, soulful... a very different band to what they would eventually become best-known for. And this debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, was only recorded in 1968, just two years prior to the groundbreaking intensity of In Rock!

Yep, Deep Purple in 1968 consisted of Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on organ/keyboard and Ian Paice on drums - so 3/5 of the 'classic' lineup was there already. However, on vocals was Rod Evans and on bass, Nick Simper. This was the era when Jon Lord was the driving force behind the songwriting and overall direction of the band's sound; it was Ritchie Blackmore who wanted to give heavy rock a serious shot, but that's another story. Truth be told, I was never a big fan of this particular period of the band. I always liked the third and final album they made together (the self-titled 1969 album), but aside from the odd track here and there, I never cared much for Shades of Deep Purple, or it's follow-up The Book of Taliesyn despite how much I love the band as a whole (I never thought they were 'bad' records however). Gotta say though, sitting down and listening to these albums as a 28 year old man, as opposed to a slightly younger man in his early 20's, I'm starting to appreciate them a lot more. I listen to far more music now than I did back then, and I automatically enjoyed this album when I listened to it in preparation for this write-up.

Strangely enough, even with the relative obscurity surrounding the Mk. I lineup (at least amongst the average music fan), I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard 'Hush' from this album before. It was a hit for the band in America to the point where the band were making ten times the money a show in the US than if they performed in Europe. Despite 'Hush' being a cover of a Joe South song, it's likely the most recognised version of it. It still appears in pop culture to this day, from the PC game Battlefield Vietnam and more recently, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (great film)! I've always loved 'Hush', even when I was a teenager. And I've always quite liked Rod Evans' voice; even if he wasn't suitable for the band's later material, he was great for this era. 'Hush' is just a very good 60's rock track, with great playing from everybody and some absolutely brilliant hooks. And you can sort of already hear Ritchie's signature guitar technique seeping through the music, along with Jon's instantly-recognisable organ style. It wasn't uncommon for a lot of 60's albums to feature covers on them, and Shades of Deep Purple is roughly 50% covers, 50% originals.

I actually think the instrumental album opener 'And the Address' - which has been recently re-recorded for the 2020 album, Whoosh! -  contains several of the heavy rock ingredients that would later become the norm for the band too. It's a really cool opener, for sure. Of course, there are plenty of tracks here that really separate the Mk. I era's sound from the stuff further down the line. 'One More Rainy Day' is a very 60's-sounding psychedelic, maybe even pop rock number - I quite like it, but it is lacking in uniqueness, even if it was penned by the band themselves. Especially with that "ba-ba-ba-b-b-b-ba-ba!" kind of vocal hook! Listen to this track for yourself and you'll get what I mean. The next song, 'Prelude: Happiness, I'm So Glad' is better. The actual prelude intro is a sometimes heavy, progressive instrumental, and it's great. 'I'm So Glad' is originally a blues song dating from 1931, updated by Cream in 1966, so obviously Deep Purple's rendition is comparable to the Cream version. Again, I like this track. Just good, bluesy rock with Lord's organs adding an acid rock-tinged sound.

Along with 'Hush', the other real highlight of the album is 'Mandrake Root', which is another of the original tracks written by the band themselves. 'Mandrake Root' is built around a driving blues riff that sort of reminds me of Hendrix's 'Foxy Lady', and that's no bad thing. This song is still quite typical of the original lineup's sound, but you can still hear some of the influences it had on an album like Deep Purple In Rock. There's a cover of the Beatles' 'Help!' on here too, and I remember watching an hour-long video of Jon Lord being interviewed by Rick Wakeman on YouTube, and the reason this track was recorded was because Jon always felt he could do much more with this old Beatles' classic if he rearranged it. So that's what he did, and the result is a much longer and slower 6 minute ballad. I think this version is easy on the ears, but it isn't a highlight of the album for me - although I do like Jon and Ritchie's playing on it. 'Love Help Me' is another original song, and is a listenable slice of 60's pop rock. Some nice hooks, but not much more. 'Hey Joe' is of course, another cover made famous by Jimi Hendrix. Purple's take on it - like 'Help!' - is longer and much more drawn-out in comparison. There's a lot more going on instrumentally (especially with the lengthy introduction). I do like the fact that all the covers on here were written with enough new ideas to differentiate them from the originals.

Shades of Deep Purple then, is a good debut provided you don't judge it by later Deep Purple works. Seeing as this was the first thing they ever recorded, it's not really fair to directly criticise it because it isn't as heavy and intense as what was to come (although you do occasionally hear traces of that sound from time to time throughout the tracks). I highly doubt it'll ever be one of my favourite Deep Purple albums, but when viewed from a contemporary perspective, the original tracks are solid, and the covers feature enough of the band's own flair that you might even mistake them as their own too, provided you weren't familiar with the originals of course.

Adam's rating: 7.6/10

THE BOOK OF TALIESYN           1968          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Wring that Neck', 'Exposition/We Can Work It Out' 

More Mk. I Deep Purple. A bit like Shades of Deep Purple, maybe more psychedelic and proggy overall, which isn't really that surprising given the album cover's design. Personally I like The Book of Taliesyn (I almost always have to double-check the spelling of 'Taliesyn' to see if I got it right!) a little less than the predecessor, but like the debut, I do at least enjoy this album a fair bit more than did when I was younger.

'Listen, Learn, Read On' is a very trippy opener, but if I'm honest, I had to repeat the song immediately after it finished because it just went straight over my head. I think I bought this album when I was about 20, and until now only ever listened to it in it's entirety once - there are other tracks on here that have made playlists, but 'Listen, Learn, Read On' definitely wasn't one of them. It's not a bad track, and I like Rod Evans' vocals on it, but Ritchie's guitar solo is a bit wacky and spontaneous, like he's deliberately trying to sound as out-there as possible. The next song, 'Wring That Neck' is probably my favourite on the disc. Like 'Mandrake Root' from Shades, it's more of a straight-forward hard rocker (at least in terms of 60's rock), and Ritchie's soloing on it sounds very close to sort of stuff he would be doing with the Mk. II lineup. This is just a great a song in general, and one of few original lineup songs that the Mk. II incarnation would continue to play live in the initial stages of that era.

Given that this was still 1968, the album still contains a few covers. The first is the Neil Diamond track, 'Kentucky Woman' - not a bad little pop rocker, but not as good as 'Hush' either. There's another Beatles cover too, this time it's 'We Can Work It Out'. The track features a lengthy instrumental prelude titled 'Exposition', and this is another chance for Ritchie and Jon to show off on their instruments. This version of 'We Can Work It Out', like 'Help!', has been extended. However, rather than turn the song into some kind of ballad, they turned it into a harder-rocking number with elements of psychedelia, and I dig it. It's one of the few songs on here that I do listen to on a semi-regular basis when I'm in the mood for some Deep Purple. Ironically, I've read a few reviews slamming this cover, so there you go. I'm not really a fan of 'Shield'; Jon's piano playing is nice, but overall it's one of the most generic acid rock songs I can think of. 'Anthem' bores me for the most part. The classical strings arrangement in the middle of the song (which I can only assume was Jon Lord's idea) is interesting and certainly makes 'Anthem' very progressive, but it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the music. Not exactly one of their greatest ballads then, and one that I'll probably be skipping whenever the hell I next listen to this CD again. The closing track, 'River Deep, Mountain High', is a ten-minute Ike and Turner cover. I don't know anything about the original, but as it stands on this record, it's one of the better tracks on the album. Given it's length, it's quite a slow-building prog rock song, as you can probably imagine. And it features several different instrumental parts as well as several tempo changes and overall moods, from moody build-ups to more straightforward pop rock transitions. It's okay.

From the looks of things, The Book of Taliesyn generally doesn't get as much love as either Shades of Deep Purple, or it's self-titled successor when discussing Purple Mk. I. I never really understood why when I was younger as I basically thought it was a carbon-copy of the debut, and while it is similar in a lot of ways, I'm starting to agree with the consensus that this is the worst 60's Deep Purple record. Put simply, most of these tracks save for 'Wring that Neck' just aren't as good as what you heard on Shades or Deep Purple. In a way, it feels like a minor demotion - like they've actually regressed a little as musicians. Despite this, I don't think anything on here is particularly bad as such (although I really don't care for 'Anthem'). Just listenable, if occasionally forgettable 60's psychedelia that's lacking in hooks and memorable riffs/melodies. 

Adam's rating: 6.4/10

DEEP PURPLE          1969          (EMI)

- Standouts: Everything.

I must admit, I don't consider myself to be the biggest Mk. I Deep Purple fan. I totally appreciate what they were doing, especially for the time, but I grew up with albums like Deep Purple In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head... even Burn from the Mk. III era. Aside from odd tracks like 'Hush' and 'Wring that Neck', I wasn't familiar with the bulk of the 60's material until I went back and bought these albums in my early 20's - and even then, I was mostly just buying them to fill in the gaps in my collection. 

The final album recorded by the original lineup was this, the self-titled third record - and while I still enjoy the first couple of albums from time to time, this is the only one that actually resonated with me when I first picked it up 8 or 9 years ago. Deep Purple (the album) seems to be regarded by serious fans as one of the band's finest works, but beyond that, I don't think it gets enough credit elsewhere. This is a genuine classic of 60's rock n' roll, and the album where the original lineup finally got it right. 'Chasing Shadows' is a fucking brilliant song, with great lyrics and some outstanding percussion work from Ian Paice. Rod Evans' approach to the vocal melodies is wonderful, and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo is killer. Honestly, 'Chasing Shadows' is easily up there as one of my all-time favourite Purple tracks. 'Blind' displays Jon Lord's creativity, a baroque, proggy, maybe even poppy song that, thank's to Jon's harpsichord, also manages to it's own aura of sort. 'Lalena' is a pretty ballad, and Ritchie's subdued guitars really remind me of a future ballad, 'When a Blind Man Cries', which was a B-side to 'Never Before' in 1972. As it happens, 'Lalena' is actually a Donovan cover, but unless you were already familiar with the original, you wouldn't have guessed it, which is obviously a good thing in Deep Purple's case.

'Fault Line' is a psychedelic introduction with a killer bass line courtesy of Nick Simper, to 'The Painter'. 'The Painter' is the hardest-rocking track on here. Built around a 12-bar blues structure, the song is about as close to the intensity of the upcoming Mk. II lineup as the original incarnation ever got. 'Why Didn't Rosemary' is a fine blues rocker too, can't really ask for much more! And 'Bird Has Flown' has a very 60's, heavy groovin' acid rock kind of vibe. I always thought Rod Evans had something of a 'garage rock' kind of quality to his vocals on it, and that's no complaint from me. The most experimental track on the record is the last song, 'April'. Jon Lord was always just as much a classical composer outside of Deep Purple as he was a rock keyboardist, and this song is essentially a classical/rock fusion number, something Lord would toy with very soon on the Concerto for Group and Orchestra. 'April' transitions from some very powerful classical guitar and piano segments to full-on string arrangements, and towards the end, an actual rock song with lyrics and all. I wouldn't say 'April' is up there as one of my favourite songs on this album, but it certainly is very innovative for the time.

So, clearly I think this is the peak of the Mk. I era, and certainly a huge step up from The Book of Taliesyn. Deep Purple is an album that doesn't really follow a particular direction - the songs range from progressive and psychedelic to bluesy and even poppy at times. But they're all great. I'd argue that this is one of the best albums in regards to Jon Lord. Sure, he'd play in a wilder way that matched the intensity of Mk. II's heavy rock sound not too long after, but this is definitely the most creative he got on a Deep Purple album. As much as I enjoy this record however, there's no denying that even greater things were soon to come!

Adam's rating: 9/10

CONCERTO FOR GROUP AND ORCHESTRA          1969          (EMI)

Metallica, eat your heart out. Deep Purple created a live orchestral rock album decades before S&M! Of course, Jon Lord was the man behind the Concerto for Group and Orchestra, seeing as he composed a lot of classical pieces outside of Deep Purple. Apparently, the rest of the band kind of just went along with this project, and weren't into it/taking it seriously like Jon Lord was. I'm guessing they were unaware that what they were doing was groundbreaking , because Gillan  supposedly wrote the lyrics at the last minute. They must have thought Lord was some spaced-out weirdo, 'ol' Jon and his wacko ideas about combining rock with classical!'. In reality, this album was ahead of it's time, and Jon Lord was a genius. The band were backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Arnold at the Royal Albert Hall and consists of three movements. I honestly don't think I'm intelligent enough to comment on this record - unlike Metallica's S&M, which is just the band playing through a bunch of their songs with an orchestra backing them up, the Concerto's three movements were composed specifically for the concert, although there are two regular Deep Purple songs thrown in there as well ('Wring that Neck' and 'Child in Time', the latter had still not been recorded on a studio album). Much of the three movement's are instrumental of course, and Gillan only sings during the second. To be honest, although I have listened to this thing two or three times and enjoyed it to an extent, I bought it mainly for collection purposes. I respect classical music, but I don't really know enough about it to comment on the quality of the music. But as I said earlier, I can definitely say that the Concerto for Group and Orchestra was groundbreaking and ahead of it's time, purely because the concept of a rock band performing with an orchestra was new and radical back then.
Adam's rating: 7/10

DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK          1970          (EMI)

- Standouts: All of 'em!

Ian Gillan and Roger Glover had joined the band and technically their first album with the band was Jon Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra - a live album which, depending on who you ask, was either a success or a failure. Either way, from what I've heard, nobody in the band was really into the project aside from Lord of course. However, Ritchie Blackmore was at least confident in which route they should take the band, with Gillan and Glover having replaced Rod Evans and Nick Simper. The route in question was the heavy one, of course. The new Mark II lineup then recorded Deep Purple In Rock and the rest is history! One of the best heavy albums of all time, period! Except I'm not just going to leave it at that, I'm gonna go right ahead and discuss In Rock some more...

Right, well I discovered this album at age 14, and I was blown away with just how musical Deep Purple are as a band. I was still at the beginning of my journey into rock music at that point; my collection was extremely humble, but it was a start. I knew the Purple classics 'Smoke On the Water', 'Highway Star' and 'Black Night' already, but In Rock was the first Purple album I ever bought, and judging by the size of my Purple collection today, you can probably guess that it made me a fan overnight. 

The songs on this album are phenomenal, especially from a contemporary perspective. We had Black Sabbath's debut LP already at this point, which is generally considered to be the first ever heavy metal album - but it's extremely bluesy - and while I too consider Black Sabbath to be a groundbreaking and extremely important album in heavy music, In Rock is even more cutting-edge for it's time. It's pure fucking ROCK, with little in the way of blues or Rn'B, or whatever else was standard for music of the time. And Blackmore's guitar tone is far more distorted here than Tony Iommi's was on Black Sabbath or it's follow-up, Paranoid. Jeez, In Rock even has proto-speed metal on it, let alone traditional heavy metal, with 'Speed King' kicking off the album to a blazing start. That is, after you've sat through Blackmore's chaotic guitar solo and Lord's mellow organ intermission. Once it gets going however, you've got one of the heaviest songs of the early 70's ever written. Plus, it's actually kinda catchy!

'Bloodsucker' displays some of those awesome guitar-organ tradeoff jams from Ritchie and Jon, while Ian Gillan was showing off his abilities to scream his way through the lyrics that even Robert Plant pales in comparison (not slagging off ol' Plant, but Ian really was giving him a run for his money when it came to screaming). The 10 minute 'Child in Time' arguably steals the show, and is essentially a progressive rock/metal masterpiece about the Cold War. Musically this track is an absolute masterpiece, and so is Gillan's vocal performance. The song shifts between a melancholy and organ-led piece to a heavy and operatic performance from the entire band. This song is one of the best prog rock pieces from any band, ever - even if Deep Purple aren't necessarily a proggy band - they certainly could be!

'Flight of the Rat' is a very upbeat and lengthy hard rocker that has a very live and improvised feel to it, especially with Ian Paice's drum solo climax. I find it to be one of the more underrated songs on the album, as it's perfect for the live setting, but doesn't seem to get played all that much. Even though In Rock's reputation is extremely admirable, it still has underrated tracks on it. Same can be said too, for 'Into the Fire' - this tune is just freaking HEAVY! I absolutely love Ritchie's dirty, crushing riff, and the way Jon plays the same thing on his organ. 'Into the Fire' is much more straightforward by comparison to the previous tracks, but it kicks ass, so who cares? 'Living Wreck' is maybe the catchiest song on the album, with some really wild organ tones after the chorus, while 'Hard Lovin' Man' is an assault on your eardrums; a driving tour de force that ends the album in a huge whirlpool of musical brilliance. This track is built around another proto-speed metal riff that Roger Glover came up with, and features yet more of those tasty, almost improv-sounding guitar and organ solos that the band are known for.

While In Rock may not be the heaviest or most technical heavy rock album by today's standards, it's still one of the greatest examples of a band playing together like a well-oiled machine, with tons of different ideas going on throughout the songs that they never get old. Personally, I think it's easily one of the best hard rock/heavy metal albums ever recorded. The Mark II lineup were just so good in terms of their musical chemistry together, I can only imagine just how incredible it would've been to have seen them live around the time this album was released. 

Masterpiece.
Adam's rating: 10/10

FIREBALL          1971          (EMI)

- Standouts: Every last stinkin' one of 'em!

Deep Purple In Rock - what an album! Groundbreaking stuff. You'd be surprised to learn then, that it's followup, '71's Fireball, does not follow said record in similar musical fashion. Fireball is regarded as a classic album, and rightly so, but it certainly doesn't hold the same acclaim as In Rock or Machine Head. I suppose if I was actually alive in 1971, and was a fan of In Rock, I'd probably be a little disappointed with Fireball on first listen. It's true - this is a much less intense record by comparison, but I think that's also part of the reason I like it so much. There's a lot of experimentation going on here, seeing as the album doesn't really follow a single direction like In Rock did. And I think every song on here works. Hell, I think pretty much every track on Fireball is bloody outstanding, even.

I will say that the opening title track is fast and rocks hard enough that it could potentially fit in on the predecessor. It's just a brilliant, driving 70's heavy metal track that kickstarts the album nicely. I've read other reviews stating that 'No No No' is the weakest track on Fireball, but I love it. It's a very solid, mid-tempo hard rocker with a lengthy, kinda psychedelic solo jam on it, but the main hooks stick in your head, and musically it's still interesting stuff. 'Demon's Eye' stomps along at a similar pace, and again, Gillan's vocal hook are extremely memorable. The band go down a psychedelic route once again for 'The Mule' - especially with Jon Lord's almost Indian-tinged organ sound, but it's still very musical and structured overall, with great some excellent guitar melodies from Ritchie. And you've gotta love Ian Paice's drum beat that the track is centred around. 'Fools' is a very long song, with a moody introduction that returns throughout later on for a long jam between Lord and Blackmore. The vocal segments of the song are built around some very heavy riffage, and really the song goes back and between a hard rock and progressive, acid rock jam. The jam sections are very subdued in comparison to anything from In Rock, but this isn't a bad thing by any means. 'No One Came' is a little more of a straightforward hard rocker with little in the way of psychedelia, and I LOVE Ian's lyrics on it. I don't really know what they're about exactly, but they're just cool (especially the "man, your music is a really funky!" line)!

Even with all the psychedelic moments throughout the album, none of those bits really surprised me. They were dabbling with all that stuff on the 60's albums, but 'Anyone's Daughter' IS surprising. It's a country song with comedic lyrics! And somehow, it works! Definitely the catchiest track on the album, and the actual playing from everybody on the song is enjoyable across the board. I love Ritchie's finger-picked playing style on it, as well as Jon's piano playing.

Personally, I love Fireball, and I stand by the fact that I think it's one of their best. The majority of the band members don't consider it to be one of their finest works, save for Ian Gillan. I like the fact you've got this oddity in between the heavy rock brilliance of Deep Purple In Rock and Machine Head. I get that the majority of the songs on Fireball don't really summarise the Mark II lineup's signature sound as well as the stuff on it's predecessor and follow-up, but it's still an extremely enjoyable album on all levels.

Adam's rating: 9.6/10

MACHINE HEAD          1972         (EMI)

- Standouts: ALL! 

Fireball was a slight departure for the legendary lineup of Gillan/Blackmore/Lord/Glover/Paice. Deep Purple In Rock was so groundbreaking because it was such an assault of a record, whereas Fireball was tamer by comparison. It's fair to say that Fireball is still a seriously great album - I love it to bits, but with Machine Head, you're more-or-less getting a finely-tuned, polished version of the In Rock formula. Some consider it to be the band's best, although I think overall there's still a lot of debate over which is the better record - Machine Head or In Rock. For me, I think it honestly depends on the day and what kind of mood I'm in. I always thought In Rock had more of an energetic 'live' and raw feel, whereas Machine Head was more refined overall, and had better production values. 

Whatever I say or think, the tracks within this album are fucking brilliant. All of them. Even 'Never Before', which the band themselves consider to be weaker than the other songs, is still better than 99% of any heavy rock out there, if you ask me. Like 'Speed King' from the 1970 masterpiece, Machine Head too begins with an fast, heavy and groundbreaking tour de force in 'Highway Star' - quite possibly one of the greatest driving songs of all time! 'Highway Star', as Roger Glover puts it, is "the ultimate Deep Purple song". I dunno, I can think of a few others that are just as good, but I totally get why he puts it at the top of his list - I love the way Jon Lord's organs are essentially playing the equivalent of rhythm guitar power-chords throughout the track - he played his Hammond organ through a distorted Marshall guitar amp, and the result is an organ sound like no other. Who says keyboards can't ROCK hard?! 'Maybe I'm a Leo' - damn, that is one funky, bluesy, catchy, HEAVY riff! And 'Pictures of Home' features some wonderfully brilliant instrumentation between Ritchie and Jon throughout this fast hard rocker of a song. 

'Never Before', as. I said, is generally considered to be the album's weakest link, but in no way it is filler. I guess it is a strange choice for a single; 'Pictures of Home' would've made more sense, but it's a very nice mid-tempo cut. 'Lazy', which is not literally a lazy track, is a lengthy blues jam with one of the coolest organ instrumental openings in any song, ever. This is another track for Jon and Ritchie to simply face-off solos with their instruments. The album ends with the stomping 'Space Truckin'', which is built around a very memorable and heavy riff, and some lyrics that are good bit of fun! 'Space Truckin'' is another staple in the live set.

Hey, I haven't even mentioned 'Smoke on the Water' yet! Aye, this is the album which contains the song  which features THAT riff. You know the one I mean - the one that every kid plucks incorrectly on one string the first time they pick up a guitar! Do kids even pick up guitars anymore? Whatever, 'Smoke on the Water' is the quintessential air guitar track, and arguably the band's signature tune. Ironic, given how instrumental this band are, that their best-known song is also their most basic, but then look at Black Sabbath with 'Paranoid' - that song was written in 5 minutes! I do love 'Smoke on the Water', but I must admit that it isn't one of my favourite Deep Purple tunes (probably due to how overplayed it is), but lyrically, it's certainly one of their best. Ian Gillan penned the lyrics after somebody fired a flare gun at a Frank Zappa concert in Montreux Casino and burned it down. This happened at the same time when Deep Purple were recording Machine Head, using the Rolling Stones' Mobile Studio in Montreux, Switzerland.

Well, I can easily say that this and Deep Purple In Rock are the cream of the crop when it comes to Purple's discography. In Rock almost feels as if you're listening to a Deep Purple concert, and I always thought Ian's vocal performance was better overall on that album. Machine Head excels as a studio album experience, with overall better songwriting. But one thing the band managed to pull of incredibly well on this album, is the way that tracks like 'Highway Star', 'Lazy', 'Smoke on the Water' and 'Space Truckin'' sound perfectly structured and refined in the studio, but have also been written in a way that it's easy for the band to do a lot more with them in the live setting - generally these songs are extended to feature more improvisational jams in concert. So yeah, Machine Head is fully deserving of all the arse-kissing it gets!

Adam's rating: 10/10

MADE IN JAPAN         1973          (EMI)

Best live album of all time? My vote goes to Made In Japan. That or Judas Priest's Unleashed In the East. Maybe Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. Okay, well there's a few I can think of, but this is one of them. The band were unstoppable during this period, and bands tended to jam and improvise more on stage in those days, and that's one of the factors that makes this recording so amazing. The setlist may not consist of many songs, but every single one of them goes on for almost twice as long, if not three or four times longer!!! 'Space Truckin' jams for nearly 20 minutes! Even 'Strange Kind of Woman', which, studio-wise, is a relatively straight forward song, goes on for almost 10 minutes here! That's all part of Made In Japan's charm however, and what makes a lot of live albums from this period superior to the one's of my generation.
Adam's rating: 10/10

WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE         1973          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Woman From Tokyo', 'Rat Bat Blue', 'Smooth Dancer', 'Super Trouper', 'Mary Long' 

All good things must come to an end. At least temporarily, that is. Deep Purple Mk. II's first run ended after 1973's Who Do We Think We Are; the band were burned out after the last few years of constant touring - Deep Purple In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head were huge successes, but even so, a break was long due for them. Sadly, management went the other way and rushed them back into the studio for Who Do We Think We Are, and it didn't do anything to help the band members. Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Gillan weren't getting along, and after they'd toured Japan in '73, Ian had quit. Not long after, Ritchie then went on to fire Roger Glover and the departures disappointed Jon Lord to no end. Of course, the lineup would eventually reunite again when Deep Purple reformed in 1984, but for more than a decade, Who Do We Think We Are was the last Purple album with Gillan and Glover on it.

This album isn't held in anywhere near the same high regards as Deep Purple In Rock, Machine Head or Fireball, but even so, it's the kind of record that is probably a lot better than the majority of people who bought it at the time remember it to be. No, it isn't as good as it's three predecessors, but those albums were magic; not much else comes close anyway. Who Do We Think We Are is still very enjoyable in it's own right, even if most of the performances aren't as impressive overall and the songwriting is a little tame by comparison. It's true, there's no outstanding numbers on here to speak of, but there sure as hell aren't any duff tracks either. I think we can all agree that 'Woman from Tokyo' is classic Deep Purple. It's just a great, catchy hard rock single that was a minor hit for them. It's still played live to this day, and it deserves it's spot in the concert setlist. 'Super Trouper' is clearly heavily influenced by 'Bloodsucker' from In Rock with it's riff and vocal structure, but this isn't a complaint. It's a great track. The faster 'Smooth Dancer' is a very good headbanger too, and the sleazy 'Place in Line' is a solid blues rock track that was made for jamming to. Even the closing 'ballad' (if you can really call it a ballad) 'Our Lady' sounds good in my books. I like all the tracks.

To say this album even comes close to the brilliance of what it was following up on though, would be a lie. It doesn't. Jon and Ritchie play just fine, but they certainly aren't wowing you like they were before. Nor is Ian really going all-out with this vocals, and this is probably due to the overall tamer approach to the songs - he can't really do his screaming thing on the heavily blues-inspired jams of a song like 'Place in Line', and even 'Woman from Tokyo' is a little too radio-friendly to wail over. Fuck, the album doesn't even last as long as the last three!

And yet, despite the fact this album was clearly put together rather quickly - and the fact the band obviously lacked the inspiration and drive they previously had due to the lack of some much-needed r 'n r, the album's still more than decent enough for me to easily recommend it. I guess anything the Mk. II lineup touched in the 70's was always going to be great at the very least.
Adam's rating: 8.5/10

BURN           1974         (EMI)

- Standouts: The whole record.

With Ian Gillan and Roger Glover now gone (well, for many years at least), the remaining band hired David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. David obviously found even greater success with Whitesnake a few years later whereas Glenn has had a long career with several different bands, including Black Sabbath and the supergroup Black Country Communion. The weird thing is, although Glenn took over bass duties, he's also a singer, and he also lent his vocal talents to Deep Purple. This meant both him and David were sharing vocal duties, but given the fact both are great singers, it actually worked rather well for the band. In fact, I'd say that on a good day, Glenn Hughes has one of the best voices in rock. That said, I don't think anyone considers Deep Purple Mk. III to be the definitive lineup. As good as Coverdale and Hughes are as musicians, what they brought to Deep Purple was different - not necessarily in a bad way - but still different. The previous lineup were incredible live and in the studio, and even if Who Do We Think We Are was a weaker product than the other albums they made together, Jon Lord was certain that if Gillan and Glover had stayed longer, more amazing things were to come.

So, the new guys here had a lot to live up to, and the resulting album they made was 1974's Burn. Amazingly, it turned out to be pretty great. There would be troubles within the lineup later on, but Deep Purple Mk. III's first album together is another bonafide classic! Musically there's definitely some new experimentation going on here. The music isn't as raw and intense anymore; the band dabble with funk and soul sounds throughout the record. It's like a funk/soul-tinged hard rock album. The opening title track is a blazing heavy rocker though, and it's awesome. On par with the classics from the Mk. II era. Beyond that track however, most of the album treads into the newer territory, which on paper sounds like it could be a problem. Like I said though, the album's a classic, and I really enjoy the majority of the remaining songs.

'Might Just Take You Life' is catchy, with some great, shared vocal harmonies during the chorus from Coverdale and Hughes. 'Lay Down, Stay Down' is a really fast heavy blues burner, and I love it. And even though 'Sail Away' is massively influenced by funk, Blackmore's riffs on it totally kick ass! It's heavy funk rock, and it grooves at a perfect pace. 'You Fool No One' is another funky rock song, with some wonderfully infectious percussion work from Ian Paice, and more great shared, harmonised vocal performances. This is probably the catchiest track on the album. 'What's Going On Here' is a plodding blues rocker while 'A'200' is an interesting little instrumental which sees Jon Lord playing around with synths. 'Mistreated' gets a lot of love, and for good reason. It's a lengthy, mid-tempo blues track that became a live favourite, probably due to it's high improvisational potential. Blackmore is absolutely outstanding on it once again, while Coverdale gives a dramatic vocal performance to create one of the most epic Purple songs of all time.

My only real issue with this record is basically just the fact that the new change in sound is not necessarily what I loved about Deep Purple in the first place. Jon Lord isn't playing his Hammond organ through a Marshall stack, nor is he doing anything really exciting throughout. His playing is still great (especially on 'Burn' and 'Lay Down, Stay Down'), but it doesn't come close to his performances on songs like 'Lazy', 'Child in Time', 'Bloodsucker' etc.. And it's no surprise that when Ian Gillan and Roger Glover returned in the mid 80's, every Deep Purple album since has not sounded anything like the stuff they were producing with Coverdale and Hughes in the band. Then again, this complaint of mine is kinda stupid and irrelevant anyway - I love every track on here, so what's the problem?

When all is said and done, Burn rules. It's an amazing album in it's own right, and still qualifies as essential Deep Purple in my books. You just have to look at it from a fresh perspective - this is NOT Deep Purple Mk. II, nor is it trying to be. What it is, is one of the finest R&B-fused hard rock albums, well, ever.
Adam's rating: 9.5/10

STORMBRINGER          1974          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Stormbringer', 'Love Don't Mean a Thing', 'Holy Man', 'Hold On', 'Lady Double Dealer', 'High Ball Shooter', 'Soldier of Fortune'

I just re-reviewed Black Sabbath's Never Say Die!, which is an album that over the years has slowly but surely began to won me over. In almost twenty years, it's gone from a mediocre set of songs, to an album that I actually (mostly) like these days. And that got me thinking... Deep Purple's Stormbringer is kind of a similar situation for me. Although to be fair, this is a record that I've always somewhat liked ever since I first picked it up in 2009 (I know it was 2009 because I bought the 35th Anniversary Edition on release) - but it's a record that I seem to enjoy more and more as years go by. So yeah, here I am with another re-review of Deep Purple's Stormbringer...

Well, the bad news is that even though Stormbringer seems to get better and better with time, it will never live up to its predecessor's reputation. Burn is a phenomenal album, end of. But that doesn't prevent Stormbringer from achieving classic album status, which it does. Like I said before though, when I first heard it, I only somewhat liked it. I never thought it was a 'bad' album. In fact, the only Deep Purple album I ever thought was legitimately bad was Slaves and Masters, and I can even tolerate that one these days. But I thought Stormbringer was 'just okay' all those years ago, because in general it's much mellower and laid-back than Burn, or anything the Mk. II lineup recorded prior.

Yep, this is an album that takes any of the minor soul and funk elements of Burn and magnifies them whilst simultaneously toning down the hard rock/metallic side of the music that the band were known for at this point. Sounds bad on paper, but in practice the band manages to pull it off here. Of course, I can only assume that the reason for this stylistic change is mostly down to David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes really sinking their teeth into the songwriting process and slowly but surely take over the band from Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord. In fact, Ritchie hated this album, and afterwards left Purple to form Rainbow...

Still, the songs here can sometimes be brilliant, other times great, or just good in general. The title track is one such brilliant song. It's one of the heavier one's from this record, with Ritchie delivering a heavy, groovin' riff. Even the weird keyboard tones at the start of the track only seem to add to it's listening pleasure. The next song I absolutely love here is 'Hold On'. Not heavy in the slightest, but insanely catchy with it's funky bassline rhythms, stellar (if subdued) keyboard work and extremely memorable, harmonised chorus. Even Ritchie's solo sticks in my head. 'Lady Double Dealer' is awesome too. This track rivals 'Stormbringer' with it's heaviness, but is faster and features an arguably even cooler riff. To be honest, both 'Stormbringer' and 'Lady Double Dealer' could have both quite comfortably fit on Burn. 

Let's not forget the obvious soul/funk influences though. The second track, 'Love Don't Mean a Thing' immediately lets you know what you're in for with it's funky bass lines and soulful vocal arrangements. But guess what? It's pretty darn good if you ask me. Glenn Hughes' vocals on it are outstanding, and the music is catchy as hell. 'Holy Man' is very good too. It's very laid-back and almost sleazy in a way, but the chorus delivers a little more power, and will have you singing along to it every time. The funkiest song here has gotta be 'You Can't Do It Right'. I know Ritchie hates this LP, but his playing on this track is superb, even if it is out of character for him. As for 'High Ball Shooter', this song has more Jon Lord presence on it with it's excellent organ solo, and seems to rock a little more than the rest (save for the title track and 'Lady Double Dealer' that is). The ballad 'Soldier of Fortune' is a classic, and has actually become one of the band's best-known songs from this era. It's not actually one of my favourite Purple ballads, but it is a very soulful, pretty song with an acoustic backdrop and a surprisingly short run-time. It wraps up this album very nicely.

I love this album for what it is, but obviously the lack of many heavier tracks will always affect it's reputation. It doesn't bother me these days, but it did when I was younger. The other thing is of course, that the band were essentially the Coverdale/Hughes show by this point, and while Ritchie does occasionally shine here and there, most of these tracks aren't really about riffs or guitar solos. Nor is about the Hammond organ for that matter. Nope, this record isn't exactly Jon's crowning achievement either - I mean, if you stuck his distorted organs on these songs, they certainly wouldn't work, so what Jon does do here is just fine. It's just not Jon doing what you'd normally expect him to do on a Deep Purple record. And while I don't think there are any bad songs on here, I suppose I'd pick the slow 'Gypsy' as my least favourite, even if I do still like it. Can't really explain why, there's just a whiff of filler about it.

Stormbringer is another classic Deep Purple record that, like I said in the beginning of the review, has grown on me immensely over the years. I'll admit that I was familar with the title track and 'Soldier of Fortune' long before I actually picked up a copy of this record (they were both included on a Deep Purple compilation I owned when I was first getting into rock music), and I always liked 'Stormbringer'. I'm not gonna say this whole package is one of the finest Deep Purple albums, but for what it's trying to do - which is to be a soul/funk-infused rock record - it's perfectly serviceable. No, it's fucking great!

Adam's rating: 8.9/10

Original review:

For a very long time I was certain that Stormbringer was one of the weakest albums in the Deep Purple arsenal. The Mk. III lineup brought new ideas to the table with Burn, and it was obvious they weren't about to rip themselves off by trying to imitate Deep Purple In Rock or Machine Head. The funk/blues/soul-focused hard rock of Burn was a success - I still love that album and stand by the fact I think it's one of the best in the discography, but on Stormbringer, those new sounds which were brought to the table have been taken one step further. 

One day a few years ago I remember listening to Stormbringer again in the car on the way to work - I hadn't listened to it for god knows how long, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I used to all of a sudden, and I realised that it wasn't necessarily one of the band's weaker records. Well, in my humble opinion of course. Obviously the album does stray further away from the heavy rock sound that the band perfected with the Mk. II lineup, and it's even tamer than Burn in this sense too, but there's still a few gems scattered throughout Stormbringer, and there isn't a single track on here that I'd label as straight-up 'bad'. The opening title track, aside from the silly keyboard tones (not too sure why Jon settled on that sound, of all things) is the hardest-hitting song on the album, and is right up there with the Purple classics. It's just a really cool song. 'Love Don't Mean a Thing' is very funky in terms of it's instrumentation, but it grooves quite nicely. Glenn Hughes handles all the vocals on 'Holy Man', and it's quite a soulful number. I do like the funk rocker 'Hold On' too, as it just makes for nice background music at home - and Glenn's bass playing on it is really quite infectious.

There's still another hard rocker in stock with 'Lady Double Dealer', which could've easily fit on Burn. Ritchie's guitar playing is great on this track, very bluesy, but rockin' all the same. 'High Ball Shooter' is a solid blues-based song, and 'The Gypsy' has some more soulful performances on it, and guitar-wise it's one of the better tracks on the album. 'Soldier of Fortune' is a good - if surprisingly short - ballad that ends the album on a more somber note.

I think you have to look at the three Deep Purple albums that were made in the final few years of the band's first run (1974-76) in a different light to the Mk. II era's legacy. Compare Stormbringer to Deep Purple In Rock, and the album's hugely disappointing - none of the instrumentation is going to come close to blowing you away (save for maybe a track like 'Burn'), nor is it gonna rock you in the same way. However, if you look at these albums as the bluesy, r n' b-based rock records they are, they're actually pretty damn good. If Ian Gillan and Roger Glover were a part of Stormbringer, it'd be a huge letdown, but as far as Coverdale/Hughes-fronted Purple goes, it's a good record. Not in the same league as Burn, but certainly not bad. The songs aren't terribly exciting, but I still enjoy Ritchie's playing even if he was going for a different style at the time. Speaking of Ritchie, he really didn't like the way the band was going was around this time and subsequently left after the tour for this album. Rainbow was his new brainchild, and of course, he found major success with that band. Kind of ironic really, because I swear it was his idea to get Coverdale and Hughes on board in the first place.

Adam's rating: 7.9/10

COME TASTE THE BAND          1975          (EMI)

- Standouts: Everything except possibly 'This Time Around'.

I always liked Stormbringer to some degree, but it's only been in more recent years that I really consider it to be classic Deep Purple. 1975's Come Taste the Band on the other hand, is an album I've always thought was great - and I've owned my copy for more than half my life time now. We're talkin' at least an 8/10 - but the more and more I listen to this album as the years pass by, I just can't help but love it that little bit more. So here I am with an updated review.

Post-Stormbringer, the band found themselves without a guitarist. Yep, Ritchie Blackmore - fed up with the band's new musical direction - had departed and formed Rainbow. From what I understand, Deep Purple was now being driven more-so by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes more-so than Jon Lord, Ian Paice or Blackmore... and given such a strong personality like Ritchie, it's not surprising he left to form his own band at this point. Anyhow, Ritchie's replacement was a younger American one - six-stringer Tommy Bolin, already an accomplished player at this point in his career with solo albums and James Gang records under his belt. Tragically however, his tenure in Deep Purple drove his heroin addiction to the max, and he passed away in 1976 from an overdose. Don't fuck with heroin. It probably didn't help that he was particularly close with Glenn Hughes, who also suffered from severe cocaine addiction for years and years throughout the '70s and '80s. It really sucks - unlike Sabbath or Zeppelin, Deep Purple were never really a drug band save for Hughes and Bolin, and their live performances were apparently hit-and-miss during this era because of it.

So, Purple without Blackmore in the '70s sounds like a recipe for disaster on paper, but in practice Come Taste the Band is awesome. The songs are simply terrific! Maybe if the band never disbanded after the tour and Bolin/Hughes got sober and continued to record/tour, it wouldn't have worked on a second album. Either way, the album they did make is brilliant. The music manages to rock me like Purple should (much more than Stormbringer), but many of those funky influences that seeped their way into Burn and Stormbringer are still there, just with Bolin's flair instead of Blackmore's. Just listen to songs like the kick-butt 'Gettin' Tighter' and the insanely catchy 'I Need Love' - tons of funk rock jams, but the music is still largely riff-driven and as a result rocks harder than it's predecessor and still manages to feel like Deep Purple all the same. Well, Coverdale/Hughes Purple that is, which is still great all the same.

I really love opener 'Comin' Home'. It's so fun and upbeat, and instantly puts a smile on my face. 'Lady Luck' is great, 'Drifter' is pure class and full of groove while 'Love Child' is the heaviest track on the album. The main riff to 'Love Child' is certainly up there as one of my favourite Purple riffs of all time. And 'You Keep on Moving' is a very nice way to close things up on - joint vocals from David and Glenn, which is cool - plus tons of atmosphere. On top of this, Coverdale sings these tracks effortlessly, Hughes provides vocals when necessary and the band in general are tight as a drum musically. Jon Lord isn't blowing you away with his distorted organ like he does on albums such as Machine Head, but in the context of this album, his keys are utilised just fine.

The only time this album comes close to being sketchy song-wise is on 'This Time Around/Owed to 'G''. 'This Time Around' is something of a piano-led ballad. It's nice to hear Jon do his thing beyond the usual Hammond organ as well as Glenn singing lead vocals rather than David. But the song feels a little out of place to me, even if I do kind of enjoy it for what it is. Decent song, just a bit odd given the nature of the record. 'Owed to 'G'' however, is more in-line with the rest of the music and a fine, rockin' instrumental with lots of interesting riffs and lead work from Tommy. The only other real gripes I can think of is the production - which is mostly fine, if a little underpowered compared to some of the Mk. II albums and the fact this album isn't one I regularly turn to when I actually want to listen to Deep Purple, despite how much I love it. I think this is purely down to the fact I immediately think of the Mk. II or Steve Morse-eras before I do the Coverdale/Hughes stuff. This has no reflection on the quality of the music, it's just some weird psychological thing I guess! As for my production comment, I still like the way this album sounds overall, it just has less bite than, say, Machine Head in my opinion. A very minor niggle.

So, a fantastic album then. I don't think it quite lives up to Burn, and it's not quite up there with some of those Mk. II masterpieces either, but you should still buy Come Taste the Band whenever you possibly can. We'll never know if Tommy Bolin was a suitable permanent replacement for the band - in fact, they'd already split before his death in '76. But the fact of the matter is, we got one hell of an album out this lineup while they lasted.

It'd be a good few years before Deep Purple would return. 1984 in fact, when Gillan/Blackmore/Lord/Glover/Paice reunited.

Adam's rating: 9.1/10

Original review:

Despite the departure of Ritchie Blackmore (a move that must've seemed unthinkable at the time), the band settled on a younger replacement, American guitarist Tommy Bolin, and 1975's Come Taste the Band was to be his only album with Deep Purple. Tommy tragically passed away from a heroin overdose the following year aged 25. He was an extremely talented guitar player, but it was obvious that Deep Purple were disintegrating around this time, and it probably wasn't a shock to the fans when they split up in 1976 for many years. Tommy's playing at concerts wasn't clicking with some fans, as his style was different to that of Blackmore's - plus, his ongoing heroin habits along with Glenn Hughes' growing cocaine addiction meant that the quality of the gig performances would sometimes be noticeably weaker than usual. Hughes didn't get sober until the 90's, but that's another story.

Thankfully, the actual album the short-lived Mk. IV lineup recorded is at least an extremely solid record that I've always thought was a tad stronger than it's predecessor, Stormbringer. The songs rock a little harder, lack more of the soul elements of the last couple of albums, but still retain the funk vibes from time to time. 'Gettin' Tighter' is a prime example of Tommy's funk-influenced, but hard and raw playing style. I love the riffs of 'Drifter' and 'Dealer', and 'Love Child' has a really catchy funky transition in the middle of the song that contrasts with the heavy rock of the rest of the track. 'I Need Love' is very catchy and could have made a great single. 'Owed to 'G'' is a very nice instrumental, although the first half of the track, 'This Time Around' is a piano ballad that doesn't really sound like Deep Purple of any era - yet I still quite like it when viewed on it's own grounds.

I dunno, I don't have a huge amount to say about the individual songs within Come Taste the Band - they're all decent. Unlike Stormbringer, which I didn't really appreciate all that much until I became an adult, I always liked Come Taste the Band - even as a teenager. Again, in terms of Deep Purple circa 1974-76, this is a great record. I always wondered if Bolin was a better fit than Blackmore for this particular era of the band, because in my opinion, he actually sounds better than Blackmore did on the previous album.
Adam's rating: 8/10

MADE IN EUROPE          1976          (EMI)

Oh yeah! This is awesome! Not Made in Japan awesome (not many things are), but seriously cool none-the-less. It was released after the band's breakup post-Come Taste the Band, but is actually a Mk. III-era live album comprised of performances from gigs in Graz (Austria), Saarbrucken (Germany) and Paris (France, duh) in 1975 when the band were in support of the Stormbringer album.

Despite the more laid back, mellow nature of Stormbringer, the band were still on fire for these recordings. Blackmore in particular is absolutely scorching on the 16 minute extended 'You Fool No One', with all it's lengthy jams. Amazing! Also, the songs 'Stormbringer' and 'Lady Double Dealer' kick so much ass both in the studio and live, I sometimes forget the actual Stormbringer album does have it's moments of ferocity. They stretch 'Mistreated' here out to nearly 12 minutes by adding a rendition of blues classic 'Rock Me Baby' and turning it into a medley. David Coverdale manages to sound a bit like Robert Plant on this cover, and I love it.

The only real problem with Made in Europe is the 45 minute playing-time. 5 tracks, and that's it. It doesn't bother me at all that all of them are from Burn and Stormbringer (do we really need another live version of 'Smoke On the Water'?!), but it would've been nice if the record label had gotten a double album out of this. Also, I can take or leave Ian Paice's drum solo at the end of 'You Fool No One'. I'm just not a drum solo kind of guy, but it only lasts a couple of minutes thankfully. Otherwise Made in Europe is one of many, many superb live albums in the Purple catalogue, and one that I can listen to over and over again.

Adam's rating: 9.1/10 

LIVE IN LONDON          1982         (EMI)

The band were still inactive in 1982 when Live in London was released, so it's actually a show from 1974, during the Burn era. None of Deep Purple's 35+ live albums (!!!) will ever top Made in Japan from the classic Mark II line-up, but a lot of them just so happen to be hidden gems - like this one. Coverdale and Hughes are both amazing performers who certainly pull off all the Gillan/Glover material incredibly well. The staple concert closer, 'Space Truckin', goes on for more than half and hour! It must be noted however, that you only get this performance if you buy the 2007 double-CD remaster. The original vinyl apparently misses out 'Space Truckin', even though it's the highlight of the album (for me at least). The songs from Burn - 'Might Just Take Your Life', 'Lay Down, Stay Down', 'Mistreated', 'You Fool No One' and 'Burn', all sit comfortably with the oldies such as 'Smoke On the Water' (complete with several false starts from Blackmore) and 'Highway Star'. In fact, if you were looking for a decent Mark III-era live album, look no further. The 2007 remaster is very nicely packaged too, with a slipcase and a thick booklet featuring plenty of photos and stories from the tour. 
Adam's rating: 8.9/10

PERFECT STRANGERS          1984          (Polygram)

- Standouts: Everything.

In 1984, this was the comeback rock fans were waiting for. The comeback in question, was the return of the classic Mk. II lineup of course - Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan and Glover. Each and every member had been busy during Deep Purple's downtime - Ritchie had found huge success with Rainbow. Gillan had his own solo groups Ian Gillan Band and Gillan, plus a stint with Black Sabbath in 1983 for the Born Again album (I could write an essay on just how awesome that record is). Roger Glover had gotten into album production and was also playing bass in Rainbow for the second half of their tenure. Paice and Lord had both played in Whitesnake. But let's be honest here, I don't think anyone was complaining when the news of a Deep Purple reunion appeared in 1984. 

The resulting album was Perfect Strangers, and it's a record that I've always enjoyed since whenever it was I first heard it. However, for me it wasn't a standout album in the band's catalogue for quite a long time. It tends to appear quite high on many fans' album ranking lists, and despite the fact I've always liked Perfect Strangers, I could never understand how so many people like it almost to the same extent as the 70's classics. It just doesn't capture the same excitement of albums like Deep Purple In Rock or Machine Head. However, as I've gotten older I've discovered that the reason Perfect Strangers is so great is down to the band focusing more on songwriting refinement than anything else.

Take the opener, 'Knocking at Your Back Door' for instance. It's a seven-minute tune, yet the hooks, the riffs and the vocal arrangements are so brilliant that it flies by in no time. If it wasn't for the slow-building intro (which is great in itself), it'd feel like you've just sat through a typically normal-length single. What a great song! Same can be said for 'Under the Gun', which features intense, very metallic guitar/organ riffing as well as some pop-like chorus melodies to create another very well-crafted and memorable track. 'Nobody's Home' is a fun, upbeat hard rocker that lets Jon do his thing on his organ, and once again features a finely-tuned and catchy chorus. 'Nobody's Home' is another fun number with it's blues-like structure and foot-tappin rhythm.

One of the best speedy rockers they ever penned is 'A Gypsy's Kiss'. Damn, musically this song is simply outstanding, with blazing guitar and organ work from Blackmore and Lord, plus a very energetic vocal performance from Gillan. I was never so keen on 'Wasted Sunsets' however, and while I still think it's the weakest track on the album, it's certainly not bad at all. It's not a particularly interesting ballad, but Ritchie's outstandingly soulful guitar solo makes it well worth sitting through. Thankfully 'Hungry Daze' keeps the momentum going with it's ridiculously cool riff that'll stick in your head for weeks. My favourite song on the album however, will always be the title track. It's slow, it's heavy, it's instantly memorable. Moreover, it features one of Blackmore's best ever riffs - you know which one. The one that appears in the middle and then at the end, played in a lower key. It chugs in a weird, almost jazzy-like time signature and is absolutely mesmerising - especially how it just plays over and over at the end until it fades out. Jon's added keyboard parts really do it justice too - I kind of just get lost in this song, and that riff especially. Such an awesome song, you need to hear it for yourself.

I can still make a couple of complaints though, I suppose. While there is absolutely nothing majorly wrong with any of these songs - they're all more-or-less brilliant - like I said earlier, they definitely aren't as exciting as those early 70's masterpieces. There's no sense of improv like there was on In Rock, nor are you going to find any progressive epics like 'Child in Time' either. Blackmore and Lord just don't go wild on here like they did previously (save for 'A Gypsy's Kiss'). However, this is is kind of a subjective argument. Like I said, the songs on Perfect Strangers are great, just for different reasons - and this is actually what makes me want to hear it over Machine Head from time to time. The production however, is certainly dated. Roger Glover - who was already a seasoned producer by 1984 - handled it, but he did it in a way that a lot of 80's producers were doing at the time. That means big reverby drums and a glossy layer of sheen to go with it. I don't hate the production by any means, it just ever-so-slightly takes away from the power of the songs at times. I really think the particularly hard-edged 'Under the Gun' could have sounded even stronger if the drums sounded more organic and the guitar tones were harsher, but whatever.

I have the 1999 reissue, which features two bonus tracks, 'Not Responsible' and 'Son of Alerik'. Both are great; the former slots in perfectly with the rest of the songs while the latter is a lengthy jam that sort of reminds me of 'When a Blind Man Cries'. I always forget though, that these are bonus tracks and technically not part of the album! Still, in the end, this record is an absolutely top-notch comeback full of very well-crafted songs. The tour was fucking HUGE, and for good reason. Only Bruce Springsteen sold more tickets than Deep Purple in 1985.

Adam's rating: 9.2/10

THE HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHT          1987          (Polygram)

- Standouts: 'Bad Attitude', 'Black & White', 'The Spanish Archer'

I suppose you could say this album follows on from Perfect Strangers in similar fashion, so in theory, I should really like it, right? Well, maybe, but I never really cared much for The House of Blue Light. I don't think it's a bad album, it's just... well, it's just the 80's that seem to negatively affect this one for me! The production was the only real issue I had with Perfect Strangers, and the production here sounds even glossier, with some very processed-sounding instruments and echoey drum effects - plus, it seems to be the 80's in general that affects the songwriting too, if that makes any sense. I just get big arena-style anthem vibes from songs like 'Call of the Wild' and 'The Unwritten Law', and even if they do still sorta sound like Deep Purple Mk. II, it's only in a commercial, 'classic rock radio' kinda way. 

There's a whiff of 80's pop rock too, with Jon's use of synths on some of the tracks - it's fairly subtle usage in comparison to an obnoxious album like Judas Priest's Turbo from the same time, but it's still a far cry from Deep Purple In Rock or Machine Head, which, in case you forgot, were recorded by the very same men! I'll admit that the band's approach to songwriting was more conventional on Perfect Strangers too - I didn't get the same raw, almost improvisational live instrumental feels that I do from early-70's Deep Purple, but the tracks did at least still feel like Deep Purple. 

Well, this album does occasionally come close to greatness. I'd like the up-tempo 'Mad Dog' from start to finish if it wasn't for Jon's stupid keyboard tones in the middle of the track. The rest is good stuff. And 'Bad Attitude' does at least kick-off the record to a good start. It's just a very solid, driving hard rock track, and Jon's keyboard melody at the climax of the track is actually my favourite thing about it, so he's very hit-and-miss throughout the album. Ritchie's guitars on 'Black & White' is reminiscent to that of the golden years, even if the production is way too clean. 'Hard Lovin' Woman' is not a bad rocker either, and 'The Spanish Archer' the closest thing to a classic on this album with some wonderful soloing from Blackmore.

I have at least upped the score by 0.8 for The House of Blue Light. Nothing on here is actually 'horrible' - in fact, some of the tracks had the potential to be as good as anything from Perfect Strangers, but the production really lets this one down. And let's not forget that there are a few tracks on here, like 'Call of the Wild' or 'Mitzi Dupree', that do reek of 80's pop rock - and that's certainly no compliment for a band like Deep Purple. That said, I don't think I can purely blame the band for the way this album sounds (even if Roger Glover did produce it!) - the 80's in general were strange times for a lot of classic 70's bands. A lot of albums sounded similar sonically to this. Unless you were in a thrash metal or hardcore band, it was a common trait of records from that era to have such a big, overproduced and reverby kind of sound regardless of the genre - and that fact alone kind of automatically gives a song more of an arena pop/rock vibe. Do I recommend The House of Blue Light? Only to the fans. Casual listeners won't get much out of it.
Adam's rating: 6.9/10

     

NOBODY'S PERFECT          1988          (Polygram)

Deep Purple have a lot of live albums to choose from these days. However, many of them are archive releases that were released years after they were actually recorded. Nobody's Perfect was actually released roughly around the time it was recorded. This live disc was recorded during the House of Blue Light tour in 1987 and ironically, aside from 'Hard Lovin' Woman', nothing else in the setlist is actually from that album. Or at least that's the case with my copy of this album; turns out I own the single-CD, original pressing that is lacking 'Bad Attitude', 'Dead or Alive' and - god knows why - the seminal 'Space Truckin'', of all things. The 1999, double-CD remaster features everything intact, but I've been struggling to find a copy at a reasonable price. Someday...

Despite me not owning the definitive version of this live package, I do quite enjoy this one I must admit. Deep Purple in the 80's weren't really improvising and jamming on stage anymore, so aside from the 'Jesus Christ Superstar' segment in 'Strange Kind of Woman' and the fact 'Woman from Tokyo' suddenly drifts off into a rendition of Buddy Holly's 'Everyday', there aren't many surprises to be found here. As much as I love the drawn-out performances on Made in Japan, sometimes it's nice to hear a Deep Purple album recorded by the Mk. II lineup that isn't so long and unpredictable. And the performances themselves are good, tight, enjoyable, from the adrenaline rush of 'Highway Star', the hypnotically heavy 'Perfect Strangers'... even 'Smoke On the Water', which I've heard a billion times (and have lost count of just how many recordings of this song I own) never gets old! Jon Lord's keyboard solo at the start of 'Knocking At Your Back Door', featuring a snippet of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, is nice too. I wouldn't go so far as to say Nobody's Perfect is one of the essential live Purple albums to own, but it's solid enough to recommend it to the casual listener.

Adam's rating: 7.9/10

SCANDINAVIAN NIGHTS          1988          (Connoisseur)

Be warned - if jamming's not your thing, do not look for this live disc! And by disc, I mean two discs! Come to think of it, if you don't enjoy lengthy, improvised jams, don't buy any Deep Purple live albums recorded before the 1980's (although you're an idiot if you don't hear Made in Japan at least once in your life...). Scandinavian Nights was recorded in 1970 at the Stockholm Concert Hall, and starts off with a 32 minute rendition of 'Wring That Neck'! Seeing as this was still the early days of the Mk. II lineup, I suppose it wasn't unusual for the band to still be playing songs written during the days of the first lineup. They also manage to stretch out 'Mandrake Root' to a whopping 28 minutes, but the way both these tracks are performed, and considering just how bloody long they jam on them for, you kinda forget that those songs originated from Shades of Deep Purple and The Book of Taliesyn in the first place. There's just too much shit going on here that 'Mandrake Root' and 'Wring That Neck' are essentially just used as templates for the band to start jamming on. Of course, there's also performances of Deep Purple In Rock tracks too, 'Speed King', 'Black Night', 'Into the Fire' and 'Child in Time' (the latter only stretched to a mere 17 minutes!) but more interestingly, is the cover of the Stones' 'Paint It, Black'. Well, when I say 'cover', they use a simple template of the original song as an intro and outro to an extremely lengthy Ian Paice drum solo.

Deep Purple Mk. II - particularly in the 70's - were known for being a instrumental band. They rarely played more than seven or eight songs per show, but they usually extended a bunch of them to great lengths, and performed them in a way that if you saw them again the following night, the improvisational parts of the songs would be instrumentally different. Again,  If this ain't your thing, don't bother with Scandinavian Nights. But honestly, if jamming's not your thing, why are you listening to 70's Deep Purple?! That said, this album's not one of their best. It's full of energy, but given that they'd only just released In Rock at this point, maybe they just weren't 100% comfortable with each other, and the songs, in the live setting? Or maybe this concert was just a little clumsier than normal? Whatever, I still recommend it to the fans at least, 'cos it's definitely fun. Especially 'Black Night'.

Adam's rating: 7/10

SLAVES AND MASTERS          1990          (BMG)

- Standouts: 'King of Dreams', 'Fire in the Basement', 'Wicked Ways'

Right, here I am reviewing Slaves and Masters for the third time. Why? Because I really want to genuinely like this album! Year after year I find myself revisiting it in hopes that one day it'll eventually click. So... the thing that sets this record apart from the rest of the Purple discography is the fact it's the only album to feature Joe Lynn Turner on vocals. Yep, the same dude that appeared on the Rainbow albums Difficult to Cure, Straight Between the Eyes and Bent Out of Shape. Hmm. Doesn't seem like any coincidence that he eventually wound up in Deep Purple then. Ritchie Blackmore had fired Ian Gillan in 1989 (not the first time this had happened...) and I can only guess that getting Joe on board was Ritchie's idea. The two had a history working together in Rainbow after all (mind you, Roger Glover was also in Rainbow during that period...). 

To be brutally honest, I've never cared much for Joe. But when I think about it, I do think some of my criticisms are kind of unfair at times. Joe's got a great, recognisable voice - I absolutely cannot deny that. Technically he can sing as well as Ian Gillan, David Coverdale or Glenn Hughes, just as he could next to his Rainbow counterparts, Ronnie James Dio and Graham Bonnet. Thing is though, every record that Joe sang on for Rainbow was vastly inferior to what Dio and Bonnet sang on (in my opinion of course). I mean, I don't dislike any of the three albums he appeared on, but comparing them to Rising, Long Live Rock and Roll and Down to Earth... come on!! There's no competition! And there was no way in hell that 1990's Slaves and Masters was going to top classics such as Machine Head, Burn or even Perfect Strangers. It just wasn't gonna happen - and it didn't. What I will say though, is that it's not especially Joe's fault that he never sang on any of the best Rainbow or Purple albums. It's the fact the music itself just wasn't up to snuff.

One thing a lot of people tend to bring up regarding Slaves and Masters is how it sounds more like a Rainbow album than it does Deep Purple. It's a totally valid argument; I mean, Joe was in Rainbow after all. Moreover, Rainbow was Ritchie's band, and with Roger present too you've got 3/5 of Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow. The comparisons are unavoidable. But then you have to remember that Blackmore and Glover were also in Purple long before Rainbow even existed. Even if Gillan had stayed, chances are we'd still have gotten Slaves and Masters, just with Ian on vocals instead. It's not really a huge departure from The House of Blue Light musically. That said, Blue Light wasn't exactly the best Deep Purple record (especially after Perfect Strangers).

At least this one starts off with the excellent 'King of Dreams'. It has a 'pomp rock' kind of aura going for it, but in this instance it works. The thumping bass line and Jon Lord's keyboard usage gives it an almost epic-like atmosphere, and I will admit that Joe sings it brilliantly. 'The Cut Runs Deep' is much more upbeat and I particularly enjoy Ritchie's guitar playing on it. The way Joe sings the chorus is kinda cringe, which is a shame because the rest of this track is fine really. Luckily, the next track is one I've always thought was rather strong - 'Fire in the Basement'. The Hammond organ is strong on this one, giving it more of the classic Purple sound. The song as a whole is a fast, fun, rock n' roll piece with none of the glossy tones that this album often throws at us. 

'Truth Hurts' is a passable rock ballad. Nothing particularly special, but it does at least sound like Deep Purple. It could have easily fit on The House of Blue Light, frankly. I do quite like 'Breakfast in Bed' though. Again, Ritchie's guitar work is inspiring, the vocal arrangements are enjoyable and the hooks are memorable enough. Solid. 'Love Conquers All' however, is pretty bad. It's treading into pure power ballad territory and doesn't even sound like an 80's Rainbow tune, let alone a Purple one. Granted, Joe can sing this kind of stuff rather well, but who the fuck wants to hear a song like this on a Deep Purple record anyway?! 'Fortuneteller' is thankfully stronger, but not really that exciting either. It goes for a more moody, AOR kind of style similar to that of 'King of Dreams', only not as memorable overall.

'Too Much Is Not Enough' is okay I suppose; the keyboard tones during the chorus sound dated as hell, but I don't outright dislike this song. It had potential to be a single because the music is catchy. Joe manages to give it an oddly American feel - well, it's not really that odd since he is American - but despite his background, he doesn't give the rest of the album a Yank vibe. Just this one track for some reason. 'Wicked Ways' is legitimately decent though. A strong hard rocker with Blackmore's style written all over it. Unsurprisingly, this record's sales were lower than anything that came before. Joe stayed with the band until 1992 and from what I can gather he went down rather well with the fans that did actually show up for the tour. However, only Ritchie wanted to keep Joe around, with the rest of the band opting for Gillan to come back - which he did, much to Ritchie's dismay. To be honest, you really get the feeling that Blackmore was in total control of the band during the Turner-era. JLT might as well have been Ritchie's puppet.  

In terms of summarising Slaves and Masters, well, its managed to creep it's way up my rating system over the years. I'm now willing to give it a 6.3/10 - the only song I really don't like is 'Love Conquers All'. 'Fire in the Basement', 'Wicked Ways' and of course, 'King of Dreams' are all great while the rest is listenable, if forgettable. The Rainbow comparisons are fair, but I still think this sounds more like Deep Purple even with Joe Lynn Turner singing on it. Like I said earlier, it sounds like a continuation of what your heard on The House of Blue Light, only with different vocals. Ritchie himself says it's one of his favourites, but of course he'd say that. As for the album cover, it's one of their worst! Looks like something ripped straight from Microsoft Clip Art in the 90's!

Adam's rating: 6.3/10

IN THE ABSENCE OF PINK - KNEBWORTH '85          1991          (Connoisseur)

Another live album, recorded at the Knebworth Festival 1985, in, uh, Knebworth. The sound quality is a bit rough, presumably due to the fact it was pissing it down with rain during the show, but the performance is full of energy! I don't know what's with the instrumental rendition of Rainbow's 'Difficult to Cure' - I mean, it was obviously Blackmore's idea (who else could it have been?). 'Difficult to Cure' is actually a rendition of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Surprisingly enough, it kind of fits in with the setlist rather well. I like to think they performed it as a bit of a laugh, but knowing Ritchie - who's known for being a douche regardless of how amazing guitar player he is - he probably demanded they play one of his Rainbow songs. Gillan was definitely having a laugh, sarcastically describing 'Speed King' as the 'slowest, most depressing song we've ever done' (or something like that), before the song erupts into the speed metal monster it really is. A really fun live album overall.
Adam's rating: 8.7/10

THE BATTLE RAGES ON...          1993          (BMG)

- Standouts: 'The Battle Rages On', 'Ramshackle Man', 'A Twist in the Tail'

This album was written with Joe Lynn Turner in mind, but when Ian Gillan wanted back in for the band's 25th anniversary, Joe was dismissed. Everyone was cool with Ian being back - well, when I say everyone - everyone except Ritchie Blackmore of course. Ritchie demanded 250 grand in his bank account for this move, and eventually, during the tour for The Battle Rages On..., he simply walked out for good, and Joe Satriani was hired to fill in for the remaining gigs. I read an old interview with Ian on the fan site, The Highway Star, from this period in time and he says that Ritchie was making everyone unhappy. So Ian and the band began to ignore him, which infuriated Ritchie to no end, and the morale picked up fast. I wouldn't be surprised if Ritchie's side of the story was different, but if he's right, why is Ian still in the band to this day? Why didn't the rest of the members kick him out and keep Ritchie?

Whatever the case, The Battle Rages On... is a step in the right direction after Slaves and Masters. Maybe not a substantial step, and certainly not a fully-blown 'return to form', but it is certainly better than the last record. I don't know how it would've sounded had Joe been singing on it, as was originally intended, but with Gillan on the mic it does at least sound more like the Deep Purple we've all come to love. For me, this is the 'forgotten' Deep Purple album from the Mk. II lineup. I'd say I like it more than The House of Blue Light, yet I forget it even exists most days. It's just not one I listen to, like ever, but having heard it again for this updated review, I think it's generally a solid, listenable album with some good tracks on it.

The album definitely does rock harder than The House of Blue Light or Slaves and Masters. The production isn't perfect by any means, but it is certainly harder-edged than any of the last bunch, presumably because another guy (Thom Panunzio) was hired to assist Roger Glover! Sorry Roger! As for the songs, there's still a few sketchy numbers, can't deny that. 'Time to Kill' is mediocre radio rock with little in the way of memorable riffs or keyboard work. The chorus is memorable, but only because it's a generic pop rocker with an emphasis on hooks. 'Anya' starts off with some nice Spanish guitars courtesy of Ritchie, but the rest of the song gets a little annoying after a while. More generally harmless, but throwaway pop rock. 'Solitaire' treads into the same territory as well, but it's not completely unlistenable.

I do like a decent amount of these songs though, more-so than I remembered. I think the opening title track is a very cool and heavy slab of metal, with some of the hardest-hitting riffs Ritchie ever wrote with Purple. 'Lick It Up' (no relation to the KISS song of the same name) is enjoyable too, and again, I like the bluesy-structured, heavy riffs of the track. 'Ramshackle Man', while a tad too long, is a competent blues rocker that does at least sound as if the band were having fun playing together, despite all the misery Blackmore was causing at the time. I like 'A Twist in the Tail' as well - this is a very fast and driving song in the same vein as a song like 'Fire in the Basement' from Slaves and Masters - which is no complaint, because that was one of the best things about the dodgy predecessor! Even the slower, chugging 'Nasty Piece of Work' is at least a cool and heavy jam. 'One Man's Meat' is another slow, but heavy number that actually sort of reminds me of Rainbow's 'LA Connection' in terms of it's structure and melodies.

I guess the biggest issue I have with this album is the lack of any memorable organ/keyboard work from Jon. This is something that was missing from a lot of Purple albums since the Mk. III lineup days. Maybe it was Ritchie's ego taking over; if so, at least Ritchie's riffs on this CD are the best they've been since Perfect Strangers, so there's that.

So yeah, The Battle Rages On.... It's the forgotten album from the Mk. II lineup with no truly outstanding tracks to speak of, but is at least a mostly solid and enjoyable album. There's a couple of duff tracks to be had, but it's mostly good stuff. I'd even say it's a little underrated.

Adam's rating: 7/10

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER         1994          (BMG)

This live disc - recorded in 1993 in Stuttgart, Germany - ended up being one of the last recordings released with the Mark II line-up. I don't know what the fuck Ian Gillan was thinking wearing that flowery waistcoat either! It was the 90's! As far as the actual music goes on this one, well, it's pretty a decent performance, but it's not one of the band's best greatest live albums either. The country-driven 'Anyone's Daughter' from Fireball caught my eye, mainly because it's rarely - if ever - played live, but it actually sounds great in that setting here. Also, I was curious to hear the tracks from the forgotten The Battle Rages On... album ('Anya' and 'A Twist in The Tail'). I believe this show was also filmed and released as a DVD/VHS. Apparently Ritchie Blackmore got pissed off having a cameraman film him up close on stage at the start of 'Highway Star', which lead him to wait in the dressing room until the poor guy moved elsewhere. As much as I admire Blackmore as a guitar player, it is clear that the man has always had an attitude problem. The rest of the band were apparently annoyed at him for the incident regarding this show (who can blame them), and it wasn't long afterwards that ol' Ritchie bailed and left for good. This is a nice collector's disc for the Deep Purple fanatics such as myself, and I didn't pay that much for it either, but there is little reason for anybody else to pick it up. I haven't seen the DVD, but I would imagine it's worth having over the CD.
Adam's rating: 6.6/10

PURPENDICULAR         1996          (BMG)

- Standouts: 'Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic', 'Hey Cisco', 'Rosa's Cantina', 'The Aviator', 'Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover', 'Soon Forgotten', 'Loosen my Strings', 'Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming'

Maybe what I'm about to say is crossing some kind of line, but I really feel that the departure of Ritchie Blackmore was actually needed for this band to really get back on the horse. They found a replacement in Steve Morse, an American guitarist from the jazz rock band Dixie Dregs - and believe me when I say that Steve is a great fit for Purple. I'm not saying he's better than Ritchie; all those seminal records from the 70's couldn't have worked without him, but it's clear the magic was long gone with albums like The House of Blue Light, Slaves and Masters and The Battle Rages On.... Not that Battle... was a terrible album or anything, but Purpendicular really is a return to form in comparison to any of the last three records.

Steve Morse is no Blackmore wannabe. He has his own distinct playing style as a guitarist. It's almost impossible to mistake any of the albums with Steve as one's with Ritchie playing. But differences aside, the spirit of Deep Purple is still very much alive and well with Steve in the band. There's a reason why he's still the band's axe-slinger to this day. 'Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic' is sheer fun. It kick-starts the album with some ridiculous cool, groovin' riffage complete with some fun Ian Gillan lyrics about a guy he met in a pub named Ted (who coincidentally, was a mechanic!). 'Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming' is simply the best ballad the band have ever penned (the only ballad I like more from the Morse era is 'Above and Beyond' from Now What?!). It features some absolutely splendid guitar work, especially when talking about the main melodies and solos in the track. You've also got the highly melodic 'Loosen My Strings', which is kind of only a semi-ballad, but a very strong number none-the-less. 'Soon Forgotten' is awesome; the whole song has this weird, moody and unconventional kind of rhythm in the guitar and organ department, and Ian Gillan's vocal arrangements on it are brilliant.

'Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover' starts off very slow and moody, but quickly erupts into a fast, signature Purple rocker, with some fantastic keyboard work from Jon Lord throughout. I absolutely love 'The Aviator' - a very melodic, partly-acoustic track, and Ian Paice provides some almost military-like drumming to the track which just works brilliantly on all levels. Gotta say, Roger Glover's bass-driven, 'Rosa's Cantina' is awesome too - it grooves HARD, kind of has a touch of funk about it. I love it. Jon Lord's solo is sporadic and sounds improvised, giving the song a very welcome 'live' feel - something that's been lacking in any Deep Purple album since the 70's. 'A Castle Full of Rascals' is a decent rocker with some unconventional guitar riff structures that I can only describe as very 'Morse-like'. 'A Touch Away' features some nice acoustic guitar work; it's maybe even a little flamenco-inspired, showing how diverse Steve Morse can be as a guitar player. Any more highlights? Well, how about the In Rock-esque speed rock of 'Hey Cisco'? The entire rhythm section for this track is just totally kick-ass. Ian Paice and Roger Glover are some of the best in the business when it's comes to a rumbling, grooving rock rhythm. 

While not everything is downright perfect on here ('Somebody Stole My Guitar' and 'The Purpendicular Waltz'. 'Somebody Stole My Guitar' is competent, just a little generic by Purple standards, and 'The Purpendicular Waltz' is a lukewarm way to end the album), nothing about Purpendicular even remotely sucks - even the production is hard to fault. It's not everyday you can throw the label 'return to form' around with relevancy. In Purpendicular's case however, it really is just such thing. I'm not going to point my finger directly at Morse for this record's greatness (although he sure ain't doing anything wrong either); the whole band sound excellent. This was the start of an exciting new era for Deep Purple.

Adam's rating: 9.2/10

LIVE AT THE OLYMPIA '96          1997          (EMI)

Yet another live album, this time recorded in Paris. This one consists of two discs and an excellent setlist, with plenty of songs off Purpendicular thrown in among the oldies we never tire of. It probably made sense for the band to release this shortly after Purpendicular, 'cos I bet there were a hell of a lot of nay-sayers hating on Steve Morse when Ritchie Blackmore finally quit. Live at The Olympia '96 is a big 'fuck you' to those purists, proving that the band were still amazing in the live perspective with their new guitarist. What I don't get is why my copy of the CD has a sticker saying 'Official Bootleg' on it. Is that supposed to a deliberate joke? How can something that's official be bootleg, and how can something that's bootleg be official?!
Adam's rating: 8.6/10

ABANDON          1998          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Any Fule Kno That', 'Almost Human', 'Seventh Heaven', 'Fingers to the Bone', ''69', 'Bludsucker'

The second album with Steve Morse sounds mostly like a continuation of Purpendicular to me - well, the heavy aspect of Purpendicular at least. Aye, Abandon is probably the hardest rockin' Deep Purple album since Machine Head! However, the creativity within the songwriting is a little lacking by comparison, and the fact the album mostly just rocks out the way it does is part of the reason why. As far as ballads go, you've got 'Fingers to the Bone', and that's about it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing per say; 'Fingers to the Bone' is a nice track after all, even if the main melody is actually quite similar to start of 'The Aviator' from the last album. I suppose 'Don't Make Me Happy' is a sort of a ballad as well, but it's really bluesy, not really a rock ballad. To be honest, the only reason I bring up ballads already is purely because 'Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming' was that good of a song, I guess I expected something similar on this record too.

In terms of Deep Purple rockin' out however, Abandon is every bit as good as Purpendicular, and I think the production has ever-so-slightly improved too (and I had no problem with Purpendicular's sound). The album's opening track, 'Any Fule Kno That' kicks serious ass, and certainly rivals the sheer awesomeness of 'Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic'! The guitar solo totally shreds! In fact, Steve Morse is on fire as far as guitars solo on the album. And riffs too. 'Almost Human' is a feel-good rocker, and it's really catchy too. 'Seventh Heaven' features some stellar riffage, for sure. It's kind of repetitive, true, but the riffs along with the clean guitar melody that comes and goes are cool as fuck, so who cares? 'Jack Ruby' is composed of some nice and heavy blues and ''69' gives me 70's Purple vibes (save for the more modern production of course) when it really gets cookin'. The album ends with 'Bludsucker', a cheekily re-titled re-recording of 'Bloodsucker' from Deep Purple In Rock. Most of the time I find re-recordings of golden oldies to be a lazy excuse to fill a few minutes of space on the record - especially when the song in question really IS a classic - but I really dig 'Bludsucker'. It's a lot of fun. Steve's playing fits Deep Purple like a glove, but he's still drastically different to Ritchie Blackmore, so it's super-cool to hear his signature style written all over this gem from the Mk.II days. Gillan obviously can't scream like he did on the original from 1970, but he still compromises quite well I think.

Any downsides? Well, 'Watching the Sky' is mostly good, but I'm not really into the slow, atmospheric parts of the song. The heavy parts are just fine however, and the guitar solo is very cool once again. 'She Was' is lacking in energy a bit; it's heavy, but the simplicity of the riffs are a bit dull compared to the other songs here. The same can be said for 'Evil Louie', but nothing on here is comes across as 'bad' in the slightest. I guess you could say the overall lack of diversity throughout the album means it's harder to pick standouts, but as a straight-up heavy rock LP, Abandon is damn fine.

I always liked this album, but I never used to put in the same league as Purpendicular. That was just one hell of a start for a newly-revitalised Deep Purple. Well, I still don't think Abandon is as good as it's forerunner overall. Thankfully, if you're looking for a heavy Deep Purple record, then Abandon might just be what you're looking for.

Adam's rating: 8.3/10

BANANAS          2003          (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Sun Goes Down', 'House Of Pain', 'Silver Tongue', 'Never a Word', 'Bananas'

Of all the albums with Steve Morse on them, Bananas has always been the one that I never played as often as the others. It just doesn't settle with me as well as Purpendicular or Abandon, or anything that came after for that matter. In no way is this one of Deep Purple's worst albums; in fact, from what I can tell from the reviews online - professional and non-professional - this thing is generally pretty well received. There's a smattering of tracks here that I really like too, but having sat down and given Bananas some spin-time for the first time in ages, I do have my reasons as to why it's my least favourite of the Morse-Purple albums.

Before I get into that however, it's vital to know that this was the first album without Jon Lord on keys. From what I understand, Lord suffered an injury and called it a day, mainly to pursue his love for composing classical music (he passed away in 2012 - RIP, best rock keyboardist ever!). It's fair to assume that Jon's departure would be a huge blow to the band's sound - the man was a founding member and his distorted Hammond organ sound is integral to the whole Deep Purple experience. Thankfully, Jon was kind enough to actually leave his organ setup to Don Airey. Don is a more-than-qualified keyboard player who's played with just about everyone from Jethro Tull, Wishbone Ash and Brian May to Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Rainbow (plus way more, check out his massive CV!) - and I mean absolutely no disrespect to Jon, but it is difficult to tell that he's not actually present on Bananas, or the following Deep Purple records for that matter. So kudos to Don, who fits in the band like a glove (probably the only suitable replacement, in all fairness...).

The reason I'm not the biggest fan of this particular album however, is because a handful of the songs here don't really give me Deep Purple vibes, as weird as that sounds. It's the first time I was ever left with that impression since Slaves and Masters. I know that both Abandon and Purpendicular had a few instances of filler, but at least those tracks still sounded like Deep Purple. I can only assume that producer Michael Bradford has something to do with the matter in-hand because he actually helped to write a few of the tracks here with the rest of the band - 'House of Pain', 'I Got Your Number' and 'Walk On'. I mean, he actually plays guitar on 'Walk On'! To be fair, 'House of Pain', the album's opening number is a cool, good-time opening rocker. And as for the production itself, I have zero complaints. But I can't really get into 'Walk On', which ironically, seems to be a lot of people's favourite track on the album (going by online reviews). 'Walk On' is an extremely slow and lengthy blues track - not entirely unusual for Deep Purple to do bluesy stuff of course, but in this instance, it is because I get Eric Clapton vibes, more-so than Deep Purple. It's really not a bad track on it's own, but I feel it doesn't fit all that well on a Deep Purple record. I'd have no issue if it was on a Gillan solo album.

The other song on here that really lacks in the school of Purple is the ballad, 'Haunted'. I really don't like this one. Again, if this were an Ian Gillan solo record, I'd maybe appreciate it more. As it stands however, 'Haunted' is a straight-up pop rock ballad with little in the way of, uh, Deep Purpleishness! It probably doesn't help that Beth Hart provides backing vocals, dueting with Gillan at times. Not that I have anything against Hart herself, although I wasn't aware of who she was until I looked her up on Wikipedia (in fact, I initially misread her name as 'Bret Hart', but I seriously doubt the Hitman would ever appear on any album...). She's no pop diva by any means (thankfully), but hearing any female vocals on a Deep Purple track just sounds so odd to me! 

'Picture of Innocence' and 'Doing It Tonight' aren't up to much either (the latter again, goes down a very pop rock route), but aside from those tracks, I do enjoy the rest of the album. I love 'Sun Goes Down', Airey totally does Lord justice with his playing, and I first heard the song way back when I was about 14 and still getting into Deep Purple (the track was featured on The Platinum Collection, a triple-CD compilation I bought when I first getting into the band). 'Silver Tongue' is a really infectious funk rocker, with some stellar performances. 'Never a Word' is a very solid and pretty instrumental ballad (do those exist?), that could have maybe fit on Purpendicular. Well, okay, it does have lyrics, but not until the last third of the song. I haven't heard Ian sing as softly as he does here, since, well, ever! The title track is a really great rocker too, gives me 70's Mk. II feels, and that's never a bad thing.

Maybe I am being a little hypocritical about this album. I love Burn, and the Mk. III lineup sounded nothing like the previous one. Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord aren't present here either, but Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice are. Mostly, Bananas does sound like Morse-driven Deep Purple, and the good tracks here are very good - much better than I remembered. I guess because the oddities that are here don't exactly rock in a Deep Purple kind of manner, that I often forget that 75% of this album is pure Deep Purple and therefore it doesn't make my playlist very often. Regardless of the oddities, this is another solid album.

Adam's rating: 7.6/10

  

THE PLATINUM COLLECTION          2005          (EMI)

I think I got this not too long after buying the In Rock album when I was 14, as I wanted to hear more Deep Purple but I couldn't afford to keep buying all their studio records. It's a three-disc set covering songs from all eras, but because of the EMI label, there are no songs directly taken from albums like Perfect Strangers, The House of Blue Light, Purpendicular etc. due to the band being on a different label. There are a couple of live tracks from those eras however, thanks to the never-ending string of Deep Purple live albums being released. It's a good collection of songs overall, especially for the casual listener, but obviously I have no reason to listen to it any more.

RAPTURE OF THE DEEP           2005           (EMI)

- Standouts: 'Wrong Man', 'Rapture of the Deep', 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye', 'MTV' (Limited Edition only), 'Junkyard Blues'

Although I do consider 2003's Bananas to be a mostly decent album - some of it is very good in fact - I did still find it to be mildly disappointing after Purpendicular and Abandon. I just couldn't get into certain specific tracks no matter how much I tried. The band followed up in 2005 with Rapture of the Deep, again produced by Michael Bradford, although by the looks of things, this time he had no input in the songwriting - which for me, is probably a good thing. I wouldn't say this album has as many issues as Bananas, but it's still lacking something that the first couple of albums with Steve Morse had. I guess I could just blame it on less memorable songwriting, but I can't really put my finger on what it is that puts Rapture slightly below Abandon for me. That said, the only song that I'm not so keen on here is 'Girls Like That', and this is purely because of Ian Gillan's strange decision to approach the chorus with a really pop-like vocal line. The rest of the song is a fine rocker, but the chorus really kills it for me. It's one of the only Deep Purple songs that I find genuinely annoying after a while! 

Despite what I said before about me not liking this album as much as Purpendicular and Abandon, it does have a moment or two of genuine awesomeness. The title song for example, is totally killer. Don Airey's almost Arabian-sounding keyboard melodies on the track are extremely catchy and definitely unique among the Purple discography. Airey in general on this song, sounds unbelievably good. Plus, even though this is a Morse-Purple album, all of which mostly have their own kind of Purple vibe, I still get a slight hint of 'Perfect Strangers' from the song 'Rapture of the Deep', and that's certainly no dis!

Opener 'Money Talks' is a decent, if unremarkable hard rockin' opener. Good, but not one of their best. 'Wrong Man' is better, a really heavy chugger of a song. 'Clearly Quite Absurd' is a pretty, melodic ballad, and definitely a step-up from 'Haunted' off Bananas. I mean, at least it actually sounds like the product of the Deep Purple lineup we know them as today! 'Don't Let Go' is a good blues-based number and 'Back to Back' has a hint of funk about it, but this it's not exactly uncommon for the majority of Purple albums to have at least one slightly funky rocker on it. It actually manages to remind me of the Mk. III era, in a way. 

'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye' has some old-school feels too. It sort of sounds like modern Deep Purple mixed with the early 70's sounds of Machine Head. 'Junkyard Blues' is, as the title suggests, another bluesy number with the band jamming on it. Airey adds some cool ragtime-ish pianos to the song. The last track, 'Before Time Began' is enjoyable enough too. I own the Limited Edition version of the album, which comes in a metal case and features the song 'MTV'. Not sure why this track was left off the normal version - it's great fun, and it really sounds as if the band were enjoying it too. Gillan's lyrics unsubtly take a jab at MTV of course, and the song itself is one of my favourites from this album. Again, I really have no idea why it was only included in the Limited Edition. FYI, this version of the album is not difficult to find online, and only seems to be marginally more expensive than the standard CD (which is pretty easy to find cheap anyway), so I recommend it.

And that's it for Rapture of the Deep - it's another good and well-performed album from the current lineup. I'd be lying if I said it was one of my favourites though. I think every track on here is decent (bar 'Girls Like That') but it's only really the title song that stands out as prime Deep Purple in my opinion. That said, if you liked anything else from any album with Steve Morse playing on it, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be picking this up. 

Adam's rating: 7.8/10


LIVE IN DENMARK 1972          2007          (Sonic Zoom)
Hey! It's that time again! Time for me to talk about another live record from the mighty Deep Purple! This one is a Mark II-era recording and the setlist is kind of predictable (save for 'Lucille'), but then again why wouldn't you want to see 'Highway Star', 'Space Truckin'', 'Smoke On the Water' etc. in there? The band were in their prime during this period after all. The mixing on this two-CD package sounds a bit too bootleg-ish for my tastes; Gillan's vocals seem way louder than the rest of the instruments, as do Ian Paice's drums. Ritchie's guitar is barely audible at times save for his solos, and I can't always hear Jon's keyboards either. It's a shame really, because if this one had been tinkered with in the studio more, I reckon it could've been great. The actual performances are fine and certainly energetic enough, but yeah...it's the sound quality that's the issue. I would only pick it up if you're a fanatic like me. This disc is kind of expensive too. It's hard to find a copy for less than around £16/£17. Thankfully I found mine brand new for a measly £4 in a stall at Bloodstock 2017, so I'm happy.
Adam's rating: 6.4/10

LIVE AT MONTREUX 1996 / LIVE AT MONTREUX 2006 - THEY ALL CAME DOWN TO MONTREUX          2013          (Eagle)

Yep, it's another live album from the one and only Deep Purple. Sorry, let me rephrase that - TWO live albums from the one and only Deep Purple! Of course, if you're just a casual listener you'll probably be asking yourself 'does any band really need THAT many live albums?', but I say keep 'em coming! For Deep Purple die-hards like myself, the more the better! Both these live discs were originally released separately, but I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by picking this combo up. You get both live albums on two separate CD's of course, it's just that they come in one case. So anyway, the first the disc is the Live At Montreaux 1996 album, recorded during the tour promoting the Purpendicular album. A decent performance here, with several tracks from the Purpendicular album of course, the rest of the songs consisting of the usual concert favourites, except 'Fools', from the Fireball album. I do like this disc, but I tend to listen to the Live At The Olympia '96 album from the same period more purely because of the much bigger track listing.

The second disc is the Live At Montreaux 2006: They All Came Down To Montreaux album of course, and I think I like this one a bit better because I didn't have any (relatively) recent live recordings of newer songs. This CD was recorded during the Rapture of the Deep tour, and naturally, there are plenty of songs from that disc here such as 'Wrong Man', 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye' and the title track from said record. This is a mostly excellent recording all-round, with the highlights for me being the songs from Rapture Of The Deep as well as a really fun Don Airey keyboard solo/medley featuring pieces from Mozart and Albert Ammons. It's true that Gillan can't really pull of the screams anymore, and he struggles on the finale of 'Highway Star', but his singing voice is still great. 
Adam's rating: 7/10 (Live at Montreux 1996)
Adam's rating: 8/10 (Live at Montreux 2006)

NOW WHAT?!          2013           (Ear Music)

- Standouts: The whole album.

Of all the Steve Morse-era Purple records, this one's my favourite. I play it almost as much as I do In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head - says it all really. Now What?! was the first album to be produced by Bob Ezrin - a dude they've stuck with ever since. I don't know exactly what their writing and recording process is exactly, but whatever it is they do with this guy, it works. While I do enjoy Bananas and Rapture of the Deep, I don't think they worked as well as Purpendicular or Abandon, the first two Morse records and the last two with Jon Lord. Still, when Now What?! first came out in 2013 (jeez, has it really been nine years already?!), I could already tell that that they back at the top again.

So anyway, things kick off with 'A Simple Song', which is a title not to be taken literally. It starts off slow and moody, with Gillan singing softly over some light chord sequences. You'd expect it to be a ballad at first, until it suddenly explodes into an upbeat, fun hard rocker. It briefly ends the way it started too, fading out on a mellow note once again. It's a superb song, but in my opinion 'Weirdistan' is even better. This is one of the most underrated Purple numbers in recent times if you ask me. The whole song has this strange Middle Eastern vibe (if the title didn't give it away...), particularly in the way Gillan delivers his vocals, as well as Don Airey's psychedelic keyboard solo. But the riff and groove between Morse and Roger Glover is just, like, the coolest thing ever! Love it, love it! 'Out of Hand' is slightly weaker than either of the first two tracks, but it's still great. Don's organs have a classical-quality, while Steve's heavy guitars pair surprisingly well with it. The chorus has a pop-like melody too, which is nice. 'Body Line' is full of funky, bluesy guitar chops and to me is the sound of a band enjoying themselves.

'Blood from a Stone' is a welcome change of pace - a largely slow, smooth, almost jazz-like fusion rock. The chorus is big and heavy however, and the whole thing is played with so much class. It's a song from this record that has grown on me more over the years. 'Uncommon Man' is one of two ballads dedicated to the late Jon Lord, who passed away in 2012. The song starts with some splendid, soulful lead guitar work, before transitioning into Airey's fanfare-driven organ sequences. This is a ballad, but not a mellow one once it gets going. It's more like a dramatic, epic rock symphony devoted to Jon Lord, and it's brilliant. Getting back to straightforward hard rock however, is 'Apres Vous'. This one has Steve Morse's signature style written all over it. He's great for different reasons to Blackmore. He has way more groove, while his guitar solos have more of a shredding style by comparison, and this track is testament to that - well, save for the solo part, which is actually more jammy and psychedelic.

The last two tracks, 'All the Time in the World' and 'Vincent Price' continue this album's consistency. The former is a light, ballady kind of number with an easy-listening vibe overall. A bit of a blues influence too. Probably my least favourite track on this album, but still strong and not enough to demote it whatsoever. 'Vincent Price', the album finale, is a tribute to the old-school horror film icon of the same name. Musically it's got the classic church organ intro, but in terms of the riffs, it's probably the heaviest track on the record. The whole song has a tongue-in-cheek feel, and it works really well. Hell, Gillan even shrieks on it.

My two favourite numbers on here though, are 'Above and Beyond' and 'Hell to Pay'. 'Above and Beyond' is the other ballad dedicated Lord. Not in a way that it directly pays tribute to him, but in subtle ways. Brilliant, brilliant lyrics from Gillan ("Souls having touched, are forever entwined") sang in a very soulful manner. He can't scream like he did in the 80's, but I'd argue that he's really honed his mellow vocal style. As for the music, it's one of the best Purple ballads of all time. Very pretty guitar/keyboard melodies, but still played in a way that isn't obnoxiously soft and fluffy. 'Hell to Pay' is pretty much the opposite and I'll go on record now by saying that this is one of my favourite Deep Purple tunes of all time. This band has been going since '68, and they're still writing songs as good as this more than four fucking decades later. It's a fast, up-tempo rocker that ticks every box. Great riffs? Check. Catchy vocal hooks? Check. Classic Gillan lyrics? Check. Cool guitar solo? Check. Absolutely bonkers, almost improvisational-sounding Don Airey organ solo? Check! Seriously - Don FUCKING Airey. What a guy!! He's always been amazing live, but since the band has been working with Ezrin his contributions to all the Purple studio records have been cranked up 110% and he's always impressing me nowadays.

Criticisms? Maybe it's a tad too long at just under an hour. I like every song on here, but you could probably take away 'All the Time in the World' and the record would still be just as good. And of course, if you're a Blackmore purist who can't accept Purple without him, you still won't like this one. If you are one of these people, you're an idiot anyway.

This is honestly one of my favourite albums to come out of the 2010's. Like I said at the start of the review, I listen to it almost as much as the quintessential Mk. II albums of the 70's, which is insane given the gap between Machine Head and Now What?!. Every song is brilliant (especially 'Above and Beyond' and 'Hell to Pay'), the band are on fire, the production is spot-on - I just love this album, plain and simple. Back in 2013, Black Sabbath (my other favourite band) released their Ozzy reunion album, 13 - and I was immensely disappointed with that one. Purple's offering however, made up for it! I own two copies - the original CD release, and also the Deluxe Edition box set, which comes with multiple bonus discs full of live content and remixes, booklets, posters and a t-shirt.
Adam's rating: 9.4/10

GRAZ '75         2014          (Ear Music)

Why did the Deep Purple fan cross the road? To go to the record store and purchase yet another Deep Purple live album.

Graz 1975 is another Mark III line-up live album, much like the Live in London one that I own, and it only focuses on songs from Burn and Stormbringer (except for 'Smoke on the Water' and 'Space Truckin'...naturally). It was recorded in, uh, Graz (in Austria) in 1975. Gotta say, the songs from the bluesy, funkier Stormbringer totally rock here! I happened to like that underrated LP anyway, but when played live, those songs really do breathe new life. Really enjoy this disc overall; it's ironic really, because I consider myself to be a Gillan fan over Coverdale, but with the exception of Made in Japan of course, I'd probably say this and Live in London are my favourite Purple live discs in my collection, and both are from the Mark III era. This is one hell of a performance! 
Adam's rating: 8.5/10

INFINITE          2017          (Ear Music)

- Standouts: 'Time for Bedlam', 'Hip Boots', 'All I Got Is You', 'One Night in Vegas', 'The Surprising', 'Birds of Prey', 'Roadhouse Blues'

Well, this was a treat. Infinite was released on my birthday three years ago (7th April), so obviously I was pretty chuffed with a brand new Deep Purple studio album being released the same day. 

I love Now What?!. I think it's the best of the current lineup, and the best album with Steve Morse on guitar (tied with Purpendicular that is). Naturally then, 2017's Infinite had a lot to live up to, but I never had any doubts in the first place. At this point in time, the Gillan/Glover/Morse/Airey/Paice lineup have more-or-less found a sound that works for them, and in all honesty, Infinite is essentially just a continuation of Now What?!, which was basically a refinement of Rapture of the Deep, and so on.

When you hit play for the first time, you're greeted with a rather stupid-sounding, Spinal Tap-esque spoken-word introduction from Ian Gillan. Not too sure what was going through his head with that, but once the song really gets going, you know you're in for a good time. The song is a fantastic rocker, as good as opener 'A Simple Song' from Now What?!. On 'Hip Boots', the band really sound as if they're enjoying themselves; it's another heavy burner with some groovin' riffs, and it's really good fun. 'All I Got Is You' see's the band firing on all cylinders, Gillan giving it his all in his old age to the point where he even swears. 'One Night in Vegas' is another rocker; Don Airey adds some nice rock n' roll, boogie piano work that really brings out more melody on top of Morse's crunchy riffs. 'Get Me Outta Here' is a fairly straightforward heavy metal tune; it's modern Deep Purple on autopilot, and it's kind of lacking in any sort of hooks. But at the same time, modern Deep Purple on autopilot automatically means it's still really solid at the very least, so who am I to complain? Same can be said for 'On Top of the World'. 'The Surprising' is very powerful across the board however. The song starts off as a slow and moody ballad, but soon transitions into several different parts, with some fine progressive instrumental and creative performances from Airey and Morse. 

The last couple of tracks worth mentioning are 'Birds of Prey' and 'Roadhouse Blues'. 'Birds of Prey' is a slow, expansive track that has a big, soaring kind of atmosphere. And obviously 'Roadhouse Blues' is a cover of the Doors' classic of the same name. I love the original, and it's of course it's the better of the two, but Purple's take on it gives me almost garage band vibes; quite a departure from the usual precision of Purple, but the fact Infinite ends on a fun little cover like this just reinforces the fact the band members can still have fun in the studio, and enjoy playing together even in old age. I for one welcome this cover, it was a surprise.

Infinite is yet another fine album. I still think Now What?! is the better of the two, with more standout tracks overall. Infinite just isn't quite as memorable by comparison, but given the overall quality of the songs, the album is still more than decent enough that I was not really disappointed by it at all. My opinion of it hasn't changed at all since it first came out.

Adam's rating: 8.8/10


WHOOSH!          2020         (Ear Music)

- Standouts: 'Throw My Bones', 'Nothing at All', 'No Need to Shout', 'Step By Step', 'What the What', 'The Power of the Moon', 'Man Alive', 'And the Address'

2020 - easily one of the strangest years of our lives. It's mostly just been one giant shitstorm, but at the very least, we've seen some good music being released this year. Obviously Deep Purple's 21st studio album, Whoosh!, had been on my horizons for a long time. Every major new Deep Purple release is a big deal for me, so of course I was excited for this one too. I really enjoyed 2013's Now What?! to the point where I think it's the best the current lineup has recorded so far, and 2017's Infinite was great too, so aside from the fact the band aren't exactly getting any younger, there's no reason for Whoosh! to not be as good as anything else from the last couple of decades. 

Thankfully, it is good. Very good. I'm happy. Well, the album title is stupid, especially considering just how brilliant the album cover is, but aside from that small niggle, the band are on top form here once again. The first track I've gotta talk about is track 4, 'Nothing at All'. Musically, this is one of the coolest Deep Purple songs ever - the duelling guitar and keyboard leads throughout the track from Steve Morse and Don Airey are simply awesome - technical, precise and catchy! And they're backed up by an extremely catchy bass line from Roger Glover and some very memorable vocal hooks from Ian Gillan. I totally dug this track from the second it kicked in, and obviously I think it's the best song on here. A song like this is what Deep Purple were all about in the first place - a musical band first and foremost, with the vocals and lyrics an afterthought by comparison - even Gillan himself admits his.

So while 'Nothing at All' is in my opinion the album's main highlight, the rest of the songs here are still very solid. The album starts off with 'Throw My Bones', which is a catchy little radio-rocker, and one of the album's singles. Actually, the majority of the songs on the record are fairly short by Purple standards, with none of them reaching 6 minutes in length - but it's quality over quantity. The heavy burner 'No Need to Shout' actually gives me Abandon vibes, while the organ introduction reminds me of 'Perfect Strangers'. I really like the moodier 'Step By Step' too, which features some of those church organ tones for added effect. 'What the What' is a very enjoyable, upbeat blues rocker with some ragtime-ish pianos. The slow-building 'The Power of the Moon' really stuck with me too, I love the almost creeping melody that repeats throughout the track. 'Man Alive' is the album's epic, although it is still only clocking in at around 5 and a half minutes long. The song shifts between a rocker and proggy ballad with some cheesy, but fitting narration from Gillan. The re-recording of the instrumental, 'And the Address' from the 1968 debut Shades of Deep Purple is a really fun jam, and a very interesting choice of track to revisit. Ian Paice is the only member to have played on both recordings, and you can hear that this track was originally written by a different lineup as soon as you hear it for the first time. But like I said, I think it's a cool and fun little instrumental to have re-recorded, so thumbs up from me.

Overall I enjoyed Whoosh! a tad more than Infinite, but a tad less than Now What?!. I guess I take it for granted that Deep Purple even still exist as a band to this day, and are still recording albums to this level of quality some 52 years since the release of Shades of Deep Purple! I'm supposed to be seeing them at the Birmingham date of the tour, but obviously with COVID ruining everyone's plans, mine too did not go to plan and the show has been postponed until October 2021, so that sucks. Also, this album was delayed by a couple of months; I pre-ordered the limited edition vinyl boxset way back in March, just before the lockdown, expecting a June release date. Instead, it came out in August. Well, I got the package eventually, and it's very nice. You get the album on double-gatefold vinyl, a CD copy plus a DVD featuring their 2017 set at Hellfest in France as well as a look at the making of Whoosh! with Roger Glover and producer Bob Ezrin. You also get 3 exclusive 10" coloured vinyl, forming The Infinite Live Recordings, Vol. 2. But wait, there's more! There's also 3 art prints, a t-shirt and even the box that holds everything together is a nice feature. Very impressed with this set overall, certainly a really cool thing for the die-hard fans like myself to own.

Adam's rating: 8.9/10

TURNING TO CRIME          2021          (Ear Music)

- Standouts: '7 and 7 Is', 'Oh Well', 'Lucifer', 'White Room'

I'm rarely - if ever - excited for covers albums. There isn't a single covers album in my collection that I regularly listen to. That said, I'm not entirely against them - it really depends on what else the band in question has done recently. When I heard that Deep Purple were releasing one earlier this year, due for release in November, I was just surprised by the news more than anything. We got a brand new studio record in 2020, Whoosh!, and here they are barely a year on with another new recording. And these guys aren't young, so you've gotta respect that... even if it is just a covers album. I mean, how many new studio albums have we had from Metallica in the last ten years? That's right, ONE (Hardwired...to Self-Destruct)! Lazy bastards! Riiight, when I saw Turning to Crime's tracklisting, I didn't really have much of an opinion. I only knew a few of the songs covered here ('Oh Well' - Fleetwood Mac, 'Shapes of Things' - The Yardbirds and 'White Room' - Cream, 'Let the Good Times Roll' - Louis Jordan)  - about 70% of them I wasn't familar with. So whether or not I'm even qualified to review this thing is up to you. Most of the artists covered are from the 50's and 60's, and not really linked to Deep Purple in any way, in terms of genre and style at least.

The opening track, '7 and 7 Is' (originally by the band Love) I actually really enjoyed from the get-go. It's up-tempo, melodic hard rock with some fine keyboard work from Don Airey. I went back and listened to the original on Spotify afterwards, and Deep Purple's version isn't massively different, but they still manage to put their own stamp on it. 'Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu' is a 50's Huey 'Piano' Smith rock n' roll oldie, and even with the band covering it in this day and age, it really does have that 50's sound written all over it. Sounds more like an Ian Gillan solo recording than Deep Purple to me, but it's still quite fun. The Fleetwood Mac cover, 'Oh Well', is very good however. This was obviously a Peter Green-era Mac song originally, but if you didn't know that then I feel like it could have easily fit on any of the other Bob Ezrin-produced Purple albums. Yeah, it's very bluesy, but so were songs like 'One Night in Vegas' from 2017's Infinite. The band released a music video for 'Oh Well'. Didn't know 'Jenny Take a Ride!', nor did I know who Mitch Ryder was prior to this, but this is a relatively enjoyable little 60's R&B/rock n' roll tune performed well by Purple. As much as I like Bob Dylan, I can't say I knew 'Watching the River Flow'. It's a blues number that was a 1971 single and not released on any of his studio albums, save for a compilation. Meh, not fussed by Purple's rendition either way. I can't knock it for the band's playing, it's just lacking in any of the band's signature flair. Same with the Louis Jordan song, 'Let the Good Times Roll'. Surprisingly enough, I did know this one - thanks to the Blues Brothers film, of all things. Anyhow, this is another very well-performed track, but it is literally just the band performing the song as it always is, with saxophones and trumpets and whatnot. What next? 'Dixie Chicken', apparently. Don't know it, but it was originally a 70's R&B hit from Little Feat (I am aware of Little Feat, but never listened to them). This track I kinda dig either way, with Steve Morse and his guitar having more presence than on the last few songs.

The Yardbirds' tune, 'Shapes of Things' is one of the better numbers on here. It has a bit more going for it in the way of having that classic Deep Purple sound, although it is still quite obviously a cover. Purple's cover of the Jimmy Driftwood country song, 'The Battle of New Orleans' is interesting for sure, with Gillan, Morse and Roger Glover all sharing vocal duties, but it's not much more than a bit of dumb fun at the end of the day. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't know the Bob Seger track, 'Lucifer' - ashamed because I actually quite like Bob Seger, but I haven't gotten around to actually buying any of his albums yet. Anyhow, Bob's a rock legend - and so are Cream, with 'White Room' - so it's nice to have a couple more covers of rock songs on this album. These two tracks actually sound like Deep Purple, as stupid as that sounds. The album ends with 'Caught in the Act', which is almost an instrumental medley of some tracks I do know ('Green Onions', 'Dazed and Confused' and 'Gimme Some Lovin''), and a couple I don't ('Going Down', 'Hot 'Lanta'). It's... well, it's not bad. Just kinda disjointed.

I will say that Don Airey's performances throughout this CD are the most impressive thing going musically. It really does showcase his abilities as a pianist - he can play anything he wants, from hard rock, jazz, R&B, blues... he truly is an outstanding musician. But if you were looking for some cool Steve Morse shredding, you're in for a disappointment. Given the choice of songs covered, a fair chunk of Turning to Crime is not exactly treading into rock guitar territory. 

Even though I'm a die-hard Deep Purple fan, Turning to Crime is not an album I can see myself listening to very often. Like I said at the beginning of this review, I'm not really fussed by covers albums. However, I have nothing against this CD either. The band recorded this thing during lockdown, and you can tell they had fun making it. If this was the only Purple album we'd had in years, then I'd probably be more unkind towards it. Fact is though, we've seen a lot of material over the past two decades considering all but one member of the band is now in their seventies. As far as covers albums go, this is a good one, but I really don't know if I can give it a 7/10. Seems far too generous for something I'm rarely going to listen to.

Adam's rating: 6.9/10

=1          2024          (Ear Music)

- Standouts: Near enough everything!

Honestly, 2021's Turning to Crime has grown on me as time passes by. I somewhat liked it when I reviewed it about 2 and half years ago, but if I were to re-review it now I think it'd sit within 7/10 territory. That's actually a pretty darn good score for a covers album. However, there's no denying that I was openly praying for Turning to Crime to NOT be the last Deep Purple album we'd ever get (which, considering many of the members' ages, could have potentially happened). I didn't want them to be like UFO. As it happens, it's 2024 and Deep Purple have just dropped =1. Thank god!!

The biggest thing to happen to Deep Purple in the last few years was the departure of guitarist Steve Morse in 2022. Unfortunately, Morse's wife had been battling severe illness, hence his decision to leave the band and support her. Totally understandable on his behalf because family should always come first, but a blow for Purple fans that have come to love his tenure with the band and everything he contributed to the music since he joined way back in 1994. Albums like Purpendicular and Now What?! are among some of the greatest Purple albums of all time if you ask me, and I'm a big fan of Abandon, Infinite and Whoosh! too. The Morse era was a different beast to what Mk. II did, but then every era of Deep Purple bought something new to the table. When Coverdale and Hughes joined the band in the '70s, it was different to Mk. II, just as the band's original '60s line-up was also different to any other era musically. But the fact of the matter is, every era still sounded like Deep Purple (well, except maybe the Joe Lynn-Turner years, which many people like to label as Rainbow in all but name!).

Enter new guitarist Simon McBride then. I didn't know much about him before he joined the band, but he had played on multiple Don Airey albums and projects so that probably means the band were already in contact with him before Morse left. I was lucky enough to see Deep Purple live at the backend of 2022 with McBride, almost like a taster session for the new lineup. I went into that concert with absolutely no clue of what to expect from Simon, but he instantly won me over with his playing. I think he sits a little closer to Ritchie Blackmore than he does Steve Morse, but he also has his own flair and style that he brings to the music. In short, he's awesome. I'm not gonna say that I like him more than Morse yet, because I really do respect and appreciate everything Steve did for the band, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if =1 wins over some Blackmore fans who for whatever reason never got on board with Morse.

And as for =1, I've already listened to it around 10 or so times now and I can honestly say I'm loving it. I get that I'm a die hard Purple fan so I guess some bias was inevitable, but =1 is unbelievably strong. And the vibe is a little different to albums like Woosh! or Infinite; I always felt that the Morse albums had elements of prog and a level of maturity that's quite difficult to describe. The music could be fun when it wanted to be, also heavy - but I don't think that incarnation of Purple was all about fun, necessarily. They were about sophistication a lot of the time, and it was great. =1 however, feels like the band were having more fun this time around. I mean, they sounded like they were having a good time on Turning to Crime too, but those were just covers.

I think Ian Gillan's lyrics feel a bit more like the Gillan of the past this time around. There's a lot of humour and personal quips on this record, and that's something he always used to do on songs like 'No One Came', 'Anyone's Daughter', 'Ted the Mechanic' (the latter actually a Morse track) etc., and in particular his former solo band Gillan. I've always loved Gillan's lyrics throughout his career, but this is the most fun he's been in a while with his wordplay - particularly on tracks like 'Lazy Sod', 'Sharp Shooter' and 'Now You're Talkin''. In terms of his vocals... I mean, he's not getting any younger, and you can hear this. But like I've said in previous reviews, he's adapted his voice to fit with what the band are doing musically these days, and sounds good for it. He even goes a bit mad at one point on 'Now You're Talkin'', reminding me again of his solo band Gillan.

There's 13 songs in total, but in general they're modest in length and get straight to the point. The only song that tops 5 minutes is closer 'Bleeding Obvious'. Get to the point they do though, you can hear this instantly on opener 'Show Me'. This is a top-notch way to kick things off, and you can even hear the difference between McBride and Morse just by the intro picking of the riff. Don Airey uses synthy tones with his keyboards for his solo rather than the distorted Hammond sound, and it reminds me of the Mk. III era in some ways. It's great. And Gillan's vocal arrangements are infinitely catchy. They follow-up with another strong rocker, 'A Bit on the Side', and this track features a very metallic chuggy riff throughout, and a ripping guitar solo. 'Sharp Shooter' has a hard-hitting metal riff, with a whole 'lotta groove, but the verses are fun and bouncy, and give me strong '70s Mk. II vibes. It's like a nice mesh of old and new.

'Portable Door' was the first single from the album, released months ago - and it's a song that I liked on first listen, but has grown on me more over time. Like 'Sharp Shooter', it grooves so damn hard, and once again it stylistically reminds me a lot of retro Purple. It's a very catchy rocker, and a great choice for a single. And then there's that unbelievably infectious keyboard riff from Airey on 'Old-Fangled Thing'! This track is amazing - the mid-section yet again grooves hard, and features some amazing virtuoso playing from McBride and Airey, while the vocal parts are fast and up-tempo, with cool bass lines from Roger Glover. Right now, it might be my favourite song here. There's also a nice ballad in 'If I Were You'. The music is light and floaty during the verses, a little bit like 'When a Blind Man Cries' only less depressing. But the chorus packs a punch, and I think a ballad was required at this point within the tracklisting to give the listener some variety.

The second single, 'Pictures of You' has some power pop qualities about it. Once again, very catchy, and I always find myself getting the chorus stuck in my head when I'm work! I've been listening to this song for a couple of months on repeat. The heavy, riffy blues of 'I'm Saying Nothin'' actually sounds quite close to some of the heavier Morse era tracks to me, and I really like it for that. But I love third single 'Lazy Sod' even more. This track is ridiculously fun with it's pumping rhythm section from Glover and drummer Ian Paice, and it's humorous quips from Gillan. It's about as old-school as Deep Purple gets in 2024, and it's awesome. Also fantastic is 'Now You're Talkin'' - such a fast-paced, up-tempo and feel-good song! I really love Gillan's "Whatever does you good, lifts your skirt, gets you done, unbuttons your shirt" lyrical part, so entertaining!

'No Money to Burn' is potentially the weakest song on =1, but if this is the worst then I'm cool with that, because I still dig it! Lots of cool style and flair on this track. There's a second ballad too, with 'I'll Catch You'. This one has less bite than 'If I Were You', and is very much a more mellow, emotional affair - but the album is better for this song and McBride's soloing is majestic on it. The closing 'Bleeding Obvious' is full of outstanding musicianship, and there's something about it that to me sounds like a mixture of Perfect Strangers and latter albums such as Now What?!. It's the most ambitious track on the album, but it still sits comfortably among the rest of the songs here and is a major standout for me.

=1 is certainly the most rockin' Purple album in years. The Morse albums had plenty of rockers on them for sure, but they rocked in a different sort of way, and also had plenty of moments of mellowness and prog. With =1 though, the band are rockin' once again but in a much more upbeat, almost tongue-in-cheek manner. I don't think it's purely Simon McBride who injects this kind of energy into the rest of the band, I think it's also down to Ian Gillan being back in party mode once again, like he was during his solo years and his stint with Black Sabbath!!

I'm trying to think of any negatives, and I'm really struggling to really find anything seriously wrong with it. Every band member delivers to the best of their abilities here, and the songs are fun and fresh from start to finish. Of course, if you stuck '70s Gillan on these tracks, they'd probably be better by default - but I like old-age Purple anyway. I guess the lack of any real 'epics' or proggy creativeness could be seen as a downside; the album is very much geared towards rockin' out, and there's nothing on here that is comparable to some of the genius Morse era tracks like 'Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming' or 'The Aviator'. But this is no bad thing either. It's nice that the new line-up has a personality and style of it's own, because every incarnation of Deep Purple should. The only real similarities between =1 and any of the Morse albums is the fact that Bob Ezrin is still producing them. But Ezrin has only done wonders for the band anyway, and this new record is once again fantastic sonically. 

My initial contender for album of the year 2024 was Judas Priest's Invincible Shield. But no, =1 has taken that spot now. For me, this is the best Deep Purple album since Now What?!. I know it's only been a matter of 11 years since that album's release, but I really am a huge fan of that record, so the fact =1 sits just barely behind it is a massive deal for me. I won't put it quite in the same league as albums such as In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and Burn, but I still think =1 rules. If this is the final album we get from Deep Purple then it's an incredible note to go out on. I already own 2 copies of it - the CD and vinyl! And yeah, the album cover is about as basic as it gets... yet I still sort of like it!

Looking forward to seeing them again in November now!

Adam's rating: 9.3/10