PERFECT STRANGERS

My hundredth review on this site will be dedicated to one of the greatest line-up in the rock history. Back to Mark II with this reunion album (or Mark V, depending on the source). I prefer to use Mark II B as some other sources do. After a nine year long break, Blackmore and Gillan have burried the hatchet. Blackmore spent all this time with the quite successful Rainbow; while Gillan was less productive (he participated though in the Black Sabbath album "Born Again" which will be a very, very poor album). Glover played with Rainbow from 79 through 83 and then joined the Purple back with Ritchie. The legendary Mark II, was reunited since Paice and Lord are founding members and have never left the band. They will only co-sign one number out of the whole album : "Nobody's Home". All the other ones are from Ritchie, Ian and Roger (the second bonus being from Ritchie's sole input).

But was there a need for the Purple music in 84 ? Well, let's have a listen !

"Knocking on the Back Door" is a good hard rocking track, AOR oriented. Will be a regular in their live sets. It lacks in the speed and energy of previous glorious opener ("Speed King", "Fireball", "Highway Star" and "Burn" to be complete) but it is a good track though. "Under the Gun" is also heavier than their former production. Is this Sabbath's influence from Gillan's period or just to be in the mood ? (heavy metal was born in the meantime and although the Purple is certainly one of the band that influenced the most this genre, it can not be categorized as such). Ritchie performs a solid guitar solo at the end of this good song. I really do not know who was responsible for the sequence of the tracks, but as far as I am concerned, I find it rather strange. IMO, the first two tracks are the weakest of this album !

It is getting better with the next ones : "Nobody's Home"and "Mean Streak" being more classical Purple songs ("Machine Head" era) : great rythm, short & strong guitar and keys break. "Mean Streak" being the best song so far : almost as great as "Pictures Of Home", Jon Lord is predominant in this track. A great piece of rock music.

Back to the heavy, slower tempo of the tilte track "Perfect Strangers": solid drumming and strong bass for this number. This is another side of the Purple : heavy but melodic. A great combination which makes them so different. Some Oriental moments reminding "Kashmir" just in the middle of the track add some grandeur to this song which is quite catchy and definitely another highlight. Till now, so far, so good.

" A Gypsy's Kiss" is my favorite song : great rythm (but this is Mark II, right ?). Fantastic Gillan. This is the Purple we all love : melodious, gifted and hard rocking. Typical song structure for Purple (vocal intro, a key solo, then a guitar one) like we can find in "Flight Of The Rat" from "In Rock", or in "Highway Star" from "Machine Head" or "Burn". The best song of this album.

"Wasted Sunsets" is a rock ballad like Coverdale could have written. Very nice and emotional (vocals and guitar). The last track "Hungry Daze" is another very good song making reference in the lyrics to one of the band's anthem : "Smoke On The Water" ("We all came out to Montreux, but that's another song You've heard it all before !". The rythm is incredibely strong. Master Ritchie is really great in this number. This song has wonderful melodious moments as well. A great closing number.

"Not Responsible" appears on the CD version : it is again heavier in its initial phase but when the tempo gets faster it turns to a very good bonus track. Nice guitar solo. This is definitely more than a left over. Since the album was not really long, they should have included it. This omission is corrected with the CD version.

Some CD versions include "Son Of Alerick" as well (this is more rare). It is a long instrumental from Richie. One could have thought of a pure guitar based jam, but this track is definitely more than that : the keyboard is very present, Roger is gorgeous on the bass. Needless to say that Ritchie is on par of course. It is a very rare track from the Purple. It was the B-side of the 12 inches single "Perfect Strangers" released for the U.K. market. The organ parts remind me of Mark I. You really have to discover this wonderful piece of music. I would say that it is the most prog oriented Purple number since "April" in 1969 (and the last one as well of their whole career).

At the end of the day, it is an great come back after such a long period of silence. It is by far their best album since "Burn". You have to find out the one version with "Son Of Alerick" : you'll get more than ten minutes bonus and you'll discover a long forgotten facet of the band which will never be investigated after this one. This album will reach Nr. 5 in the UK charts (Nr. 17 in the US). They didn't do so good since "Burn". The Purple will never reach this level anymore. Four solid stars for this excellent record.