RAPTURE OF THE DEEP

Imagine an album filled with every rock cliche in the book, you want to hate it because its been done so many times before... but there's something so compulsive that you keep get drawn back to listening to these songs. Well that's how I feel about Rapture of the Deep. The one thing that brings this record down more than anything else is the absence of Lord and Blackmore... it just doesn't have the classic DP sound that I love from MK II releases.

'Money Talks' is a great song that sounds kinda dark. 'Girls Like That' and 'Wrong Man' are pretty average rockers. 'Rapture of the Deep' is the inevitable moment were a dying rock band searching to keep artistic credibility go 'Kashmir' on us. We've seen it before, but Purple pull this Eastern sounding tune off with surprising skill and it actually works. 'Clearly Quite Absurd' is a highlight. Cheesy, but good. It's a nice ballad, written quite well. And of course there' those thoughtful peace-loving lyrics that every dying rock band needs to have. 'Don't Let Go' is average. 'Back to Back' is a good tune, with a catchy chorus. 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye' is decent, and rocks its way along, cheesily. 'Junkyard Blues' is the essential bluesy tune, but works well, in fact this album does the cliches brilliantly IMHHO. 'Before Time Began' is easily the best song on the album, bringing something fresh, I really like this one, and it stands out in my memory.

This album remains surprisingly consistent, with the good songs spread evenly throughout. I cannot rate it more than three stars, because although it's good, it is still cheesy, and not particularly original. Good, but not essential is the perfect description of this album.