RAPTURE OF THE DEEP

This double CD edition of DP's latest effortwas released after just a few months after the original one, as the band were embarking on a world tour. For this reason, this may look as a merely commercial operation, though this is a phenomenon that seems to be spreading. However, it would be wrong to label this one as just the latest attempt from bands and/or recording companies to milk the pockets of hardcore fans. The packaging looks very stylish, all in cool shades of blue, white and grey, suggesting a mature, experienced band who may have come a long way from their original proto-prog/hard rock roots, but who can still deliver the goods and give many younger outfits a run for their money. Then - and most important - the bonus CD is far from being a ripoff: it contains a whopping eight tracks, five of which recorded live at London's Hard Rock Café, one rather good, unreleased song ("Things I Never Said"), an alternative version of wistful ballad "Clearly Quite Absurd", and a studio version of Steve Morse's appropriately-named showcase "The Well-Dressed Guitar".

The main studio album shows a band with a long, variegated and somewhat troubled history behind it, who nevertheless seems to have found a new stability - with a lineup that is many a rock lover's dream team, though only Ian Paice remains of the original group that started out in the late Sixties. OK, Don Airey is not Jon Lord and Steve Morse is not Ritchie Blackmore - so what? They're both utterly amazing musicians, combining experience, technical skill and feeling in a way that many newer bands can only dream of. And this coming from somebody who worships Blackmore and loves Jon's Hammond sound quite madly... Ian Gillan's fabled voice may not reach the stratospheric heights of his "Made in Japan" days, but it has become more rounded, almost elegant in the delivery of his intelligent, often tongue-in-cheek lyrics. In spite of his age and repeated throat problems, Gillan is still a vocal force to be reckoned with, unlike many of his contemporaries.

All the tracks are quite strong, well-crafted and carefully thought out. Opener "Money Talks" sets things off in typical DP style, with a great combination of vocals, keyboards and guitar supported by the tried and tested rythm section of Messrs Paice and Glover. The token radio-friendly song "Girls Like That", though certainly not the album's best, is rather entertaining, as is the dynamic rocker "Wrong Man". However, the record's standout is to my mind the intriguing, mysterious, Middle-Eastern-influenced title-track, propelled along by Airey's and Morse' powerful, steady riffing and featuring an intense vocal performance by Gillan. Though somewhat reminiscent of "Perfect Strangers", this song has a vibe all of its own.

"Clearly Quite Absurd" shows that DP can do a ballad that doesn't smack blatantly of AOR; not my favourite track either, but oozing class nevertheless. There are better things to come, though - notably the irony-drenched "MTV", with Gillan at its vocal and lyrical best; "Junkyard Blues", featuring an exquisite guitar solo by Steve Morse; and majestic, thought-provoking closer "Before Time Began". Airey and Morse are the stars on most of the album tracks, trading licks and engaging in fiery duels, further enhanced by the magnificent, crystal-clear production.

The five live songs on the second CD include a version of the title-track and of "Wrong Man", as well as three of the band's all-time favourites, evergreens "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star", and the haunting "Perfect Strangers", all driven along by Morse's and Airey's engines of war. Morse's guitar solo on "Smoke..." sounds remarkably different from Blackmore's crystalline tones, but I find it quite effective all the same.

Though this may not be prog (though influences are never out of reach), it is really classic rock at its very best - and as such it is highly recommended to all lovers of great music. May Deep Purple live forever!

WOW, Deep Purple without Jon Lord!!!! I had had time to get used to Purple without Blackmore, but this time the shock was harder to take. Not that Jon Lord was such a huge and irreplaceable part of the machine (he was not that much a songwriter) , but his sound was the basis of the group. If Blackmore had been replaced by a very worthy Steve Morse (whom changed his style to fit the Purple mode and threfore provided a very credible alternative) , to find a replacement to Jon Lord might just prove harder. So they went for Purple alumni Don Airey (which had played in RB's Rainbow), which made it easy for them.

For the ultimate Purpleheads, rest assured, this album is yet another typical-sounding Purple album and overall one of their better in the last decade or so. They sound grosso modo like the Purple of Fireball, Machine Head or Perfect Stranger, which is exactly what the average Purplehead expects. Gillan's typical voice, Glover's solid booming bass, Morse's superb solo breaks and solid riffing, Paice's instantly recognizable drums, and Airey's keys are really under scrutiny from all fans: he has passed the test brilliantly and one has to know it is not Jon on board.

Funnily enough, two tracks seem solidly insiried of Zep's Kashmir: the opening Money Talks (with its descending line) and the title track (Gillan even does a small nod to Plant's vocals), both among the better tracks of a very even album.

Actually, the sad fact is that one can now fully realise that Purple does not really miss Jon Lord (at least musically) and therefore can go on as a proud and credible version of the group, leaving Ian Paice as the only original member. Not quite that essential (actually rather not), pleasant record, but what's the point of owning it?

Deep Purple. A long and hectic history at times. I guess it is one of the remaining dinosaurs that still produce studio albums on a regular basis. This is their nineteenth studio effort in twenty eight years of effective years (they had a long, nine year break between 1975 and 1984). Countless official live albums and compilations as well (not always great, though).

I was quite disappointed with "Bananas", so : are we going to get a good (à la "Perpendicular") or a bad ("Abandon" style) surprise ?

I wouldn' t have chosen for "Money Talks" as an opener. This track is not bad but it belongs to the genre "heavy - slow paced" like "Bloodsucker" or "Maybe I'm A Leo" which were never my cup of tea. Lyrics though are quite interesting. It tells us the story of a very wealthy guy rather pretentious : "I had rising stock, So I got more pockets, I knew somewhere to stick it, Where no-one would nick it". But the main character will be drawn down back to earth before the end of the track : "The structure was shaking, Was there for the taking, I had the resources, But then, oh no, Someone outbid me, I can't take it with me? Then I will devour it, I can't go without it, It's simply a question of Market forces" Good for the reflection about money and its use, right ?

"Girls Like That" starts almost in a pysche mood, but it soon turns into a classic Purple track : good rythm, great chorus, a key solo (but no guitar one). Lyrics, again, are rather sexually oriented (it's not the first itme). Talking about some "call girl adventure". Good track.

Back to the heavy one (à la "Abandon" if you see what I mean) with "Wrong Man". One of the poorest track of the album. One can not really say that this album starts in a great way.

Finally, the first great track is around the corner. The title track with its Oriental flavour is fantastic. Very nice melody, heavy keys in the background. Ian (Paice) and Roger providing as usual a good rythmic. This song is quite hypnotic (not a speedy one) and reminds me of "Kashmir" (you know, the Led Zep one). Almost the same beat and the same Oriental influence. I quite like this combination (Tull will mix this quite extensively in "Roots To Branches" BTW).

"Clearly Quite Absurd" is one of the very few romantic ballad from Purple (together with "A Blind Man Cries" back in .. 1972). Very nice break and a bit surprising in this ocean of hard to heavy ones.

"Don't Let Go" is rather pop/rock oriented. Good keys and great guitar solo from Steve. Not too bad.

"Back To Back" is a heavy funky one that would have fit better during the Mark III/IV era. Hughes would have been great on the vocals here. Just average (although the instrumental in the middle section is quite good. Thanks again Steve).

Back to a highlight with "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye". This is a great Purple song in all its splendor. Hard-rocking like crazy, catchy melody and great backing band. Should have been the opener IMO.

On the European version of the album, there is a bonus track : "MTV". This is an acid critics not only for MTV but to most of the talk shows we can see on telly or listen to the radio and journalists in general.

I quote the lyrics: "Mr. Grover 'n' Mr Gillian, You musta made a million, The night that Frank Zappa caught on fire, Could you tell us all about it, Keep it short and use my version, Or everyone out there'll think I'm a liar, We can speak about bananas for one second, Just because I understand, You have to get them off your chest But in the meantime while your talking, Could you do some more of these here ID's, And then this station might maintain some interest".

There is a part of the song which I directly relate to myself.

"Let's not talk about MTV, I don't even want to start, I want to take a look at Classic Rock Radio, We're talking about the state of the art".

This is exactly how I feel. Fortunately we have a fantastic radio station here in Belgium called "Rock Classic" (merci Marc). Its director is a founder member and drummer Marc Isaye (from the Belgian band Machiavel). It is probably one of the very few radio stations where you could listen to "Kashmir", "The Cinema Show", "Shine On You - Part I to V", "Child In Time" and zillions of other great numbers in their entirety, without bla bla overdubbing the track. And this, the whole day long.

"Junk Blues" is on par with the other regular songs. Average hard-rock. Not less, not more. "Before Time Began" is a good closing number. Quiter than most of the songs here, just to breathe a bit. Short, but good guitar and keys breaks. Very nice.

Three stars for this effort combining some great osngs (but not enough, with average to good other ones). You should try and get hold of the European release fro "MTV".

Purple have released an extended version in 2006 (money talks...) called : "Tour Edition". I guess that by the end of year, we'll get a DVD as well (money re-talks).

I have not got hold of this one, so I can not yet judge its musical value. Its commercial value reaches 21 - 22 ? (thirty bucks) making this version not a cheap one (studio edition can be purchased for less than ten ?). I find it quite boring for the fan that only a few months after the official release of their studio work they put another packaging on the market. I have said it because I really feel like it (P.O., actually).

So, I do not know if this will be the last studio release for Purple (I have read somewhere that there is a project for a new one, so let's wait). They will more than probalby (do you wanna bet) release "A Forty Years Purple Collection" next year. A triple CD at least, I guess : with a great packaging with photos, interviews from most of the band members since Mark I, one or two "lost jewels" (you know the type of numbers no-one needs to listen to but that will push the sales a bit more). Price will probably range 35 - 40 euros (add 30% to get the $ value). And I tell you right now : I am NOT going to buy it.

I will just do what I wrote in my review for "30:Best Of": I will do my own compilation (actually, I already did it and I called it "The Ultimate Compilation" (tracklist available in my review for ""30:Best Of"). So, maybe it is time to thank those guys for the inmense joy they have procured to me (and to several other millions of fans).

In my order of preference (quite personal but that's it) :

Jon : the inspirator of the early days, the "soul" of the band who unfortunately left it in 2002. Even if he was not the most prolific in terms of songwriting, his influence has been enormous.

Ian (Gillan) : for his tremendous input to the band. Purple really changed directions in 1969 thanks to him and became the band we all know and love.

Ritchie : a fabulous guitar player. Great live performer (remember "California Jam") but so difficult to live with (although they tried hard). A bit the same feeling as for Roger (Waters of course).

Glenn : for his great voice and bass playing during a relatively short break, but IMO an imoprtant one (Mark III and IV)

Ian (Paice) : the one and only remaining founding number. Probably underrated as a drummer. Still, he belongs to my top ten one in this genre.

Roger : for his great job not only on the bass but as well as a producer.

Steve : a very skilled guitar player who has inspired the Purple back again after Ritchie's departure.

David : to have performed quite well after Ian on the lead vocals (that was not an easy job)

To a lesser extent to Nick, Rod, Tommy and Don. Thank you all guys.

After the weak "Abandon" and the mediocre "Bananas", comes "Rapture of the deep", probably Deep Purple´s strongest release since Perfect Strangers! (Purpendicular was close to a masterpiece but no cigar)

The album has a nice, natural flow to it and doesn´t seemed as forced as the last two releases. It´s sometimes hard to believe that Ian Gillan (who just turned 60) can still handle those silver throated screams! Songs like "The wrong man" sound like the Purple we were familiar with in the seventies.

Don Airey really shines on this album and is given lots of room to solo, in fact he has proven to be the perfect replacement for Jon Lord (who abandoned ship after Abandon!)

Being a long time Blackmore fan, I had my doubts (after hearing the two previous releases) if they should in fact continue on at all, but I have to give credit to Morse, although his style is more technical and not as clear as Ritchie´s playing, he really delivers on this album.

The album boasts three classics, "Rapture of the deep", "Clearly Quite Absurd" and "Before time began" with some great lyrics and singing by Ian Gillan, who focuses more on more serious (and thought provoking) lyrics on these three songs. This album is great to listen to on headphones, especially the spacey "Clearly Quite Absurd" which is quite a "mind trip" type song.

Highly recommended!

Clearly quite absurd

Released in 2005, "Rapture of the deep " is Deep Purple's latest album at time of writing. This is the second album by the current line up which includes new boy Don Airey on keyboards.

The album has the overall feel of a band who are happy to rest on their laurels. There is no centrepiece track here and no obvious attempt to do anything other than put together a bunch of songs which fit the Deep Purple template. It is not that this is a bad album, the Deep Purple faithful need not worry about the band heading off in a strange direction, but there is little here to ignite genuine excitement. The song-writing credits are once again democratically anonymous throughout, with all five band members reportedly writing all the songs.

The opening "Money talks" is rather a low key starter for a Deep Purple album, Gillan's vocals being of the "No one came" style. The vocal nature of the song reflects the balance of the album overall. Successive tracks such as "The wrong man" and "Girls like that" maintain a similar style and pace.

The title track is the first to offer anything particularly ear catching, the slightly Eastern feel and dynamic keyboards making for a fine basis for Gillan's vocals. Steve Morse's guitar work is decidedly Blackmore-esque, the track being a blend of "Perfect strangers" and "Sometimes I feel like screaming" with a generous touch of "Kashmir".

"Clearly quite absurd" takes the "Sometimes I feel like screaming" link a stage further, Morse effectively using the same basic guitar motif here. This is though for me the best track on the album. Gillan's vocals are hauntingly beautiful on this wonderful ballad. The latter part of the track builds majestically to its conclusion. The down side is that the beauty of this piece contrasts starkly with the extremely ordinary "Don't let go" which follows.

"Junkyard blues" offers Airey and Morse a bit more space to work out, with Airey moving to piano, but the song is decidedly ordinary. There is an underlying ecological theme in some of the songs, "Kiss tomorrow goodbye" and "Before time began" both offering warnings of dire consequences.

In all, a rather ordinary album which is only partially saved by a couple good songs. One for the faithful only.

As long as you "unlearn" everything you know about early Deep Purple albums, and enjoy this album is it is - without any preconceived mind on what the music should sound like, I think you would agree with me that this is not a bad album at all and in fact it's a good one. For me personally, since the departure of Ritchie Blackmore and replaced by Steve Morse, Deep Purple music has changed substantially although you might find some segments that bring you to the trip to the past. But majority of the style has been enriched by Steve's great guitar work. In fact, I do enjoy "Purpendicular", "Abandon", "Banana" and as well as "Rapture of The Deep". The changes that have occurred have been, I think, not merely due to Steve joining the band. Rather, it's a combination of the two: Steve as guitar player plus the fact that the band members were getting older.

The opening track 'Money Talks' is a keyboard driven track that can be predicted as future one of good tracks by Deep Purple. It flows to a jazz tinged 'Girls Like That' which has a catchy chorus. The album also offers heavier track 'Wrong Man', with a powerful lead riff shining through. For me personally, the highlight of the album is the title track itself, with a brilliantly mysterious feeling vocal from Ian Gillan and outstanding guitar work from Steve Morse.

'Rapture of the Deep' sounds like a blend of many qualities of the bands. The 'Before Time Began' seems like a proggy track, while the band's sense of humour is still as ripe as ever, particularly on tracks like 'MTV; and the ballad appears with 'Cleary Quite Absurd', for which there is an alternative new version on the bonus disc.

'Rapture of the Deep' shows an album that is quite strong and consistent which prove Deep Purple still survive and have creative talents to create melodies even though two key members are not with the band any more (Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord). Again, if you UNLEARN what you have known about the band, you would definitely enjoy this album. Keep on rockin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Deep Purple's Rapture?

With the definite departure of Ritchie, the entrance of Steve Morse re-vitalized the band completely. Purpendicular was a stunning debut for Morse, Abandon was rather mediocre and Bananas was really good, though showing a far more heavier band. Rapture of the Deep, on the other hand, still has Deep Purple in good shape with some surprises left to show us.

The album introduces itself with a roaring Hammond-Organ which sets your mind back to the gold days of Machine Head, this is Money Talks(not the AC/DC one). The song carries throughout a dark feel, an aspect that Deep Purple incorporated back in 1984 with Perfect Strangers. I'm not really fond of this feature, the dark feel, not sure if they want to sound bad- ass or something but it really doesn't suit them. However, that's my only complaint, it still has a solid heavy riff and guitar solo from Steve.

Wrong Man has the heavy feel of Bananas with a pretty metal-esque guitar riff backed up by Don's organ. Ian's singing is fantastic, sounding even more mature than in his early days of 'screaming'. Overall a great heavy song.

Girls Like That leaves the heaviness from both previous songs and shows a groovier and a bit poppier sound. Don Airey finally surprises us with an organ solo, not as amusing as those by Jon Lord, but still sounding good.

The title track shows Deep Purple's flexibility in a heavy tune using some odd guitar lines and doing some minor twists and turns with the organ and drums. Steve's and Don's solos are excellent here.

Clearly Quite Absurd is pretty much a clearly quite absurd song. It's a mediocre ballad that fortunately doesn't sound cheesy nor pop-alike. Nothing note-worthy in here though.

Don't Let Go is the modern take on Never Before from Machine Head. Both are extremely catchy with their riffs and chorus', and both have that lovely ending keyboard solo, however Jon Lord's has the best solo for pure originality.

Back to Back comes next, and like other reviewers mentioned before me, this tune has a Coverdale-Hughes era sound. You've got the groove and the synths(!) of that era. It still has heavy bits mind you, so it's much of a perfect balance between groove and heaviness that Deep Purple used to pull-off greatly back in the day of Tommy Bolin.

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye begins with Paice's strong and vivid drumming and then moves on to a rockin' style. Steve's delivers another ferocious guitar solo in the middle but more importantly is Don Airey's organ solo that follows Steve's which sounds like a fresh 70's B3 Hammond- Organ, sweet!

Junkyard Blues while it starts like a solid rock song with Steve's unique guitar playing, the song abruptly changes to a very delicate *instrumental* mood which lasts almost 3 minutes! This is probably one of the finest ideas this new line-up has ever occurred of, while it's not a complex instrumental section neither anything related to Prog, it's still amazing with Steve playing once again a highly memorable guitar solo with Don Airey backing up with some piano, which later will be the solo instrument.

Rapture of the Deep finishes with the slow-paced and moody Before Time Began, something that Deep Purple hadn't until now tried. However, once again Deep Purple surprises us with a swift of direction in the middle of the song, playing their own style of hard rock with organ. A great memorable ending.

Overall, a great continuation to Bananas, and this clearly shows us that Don Airey was surely the best fit to replace ''the Lord of the Hammond''. The rest of the band stands greatly, specially Ian Gillan that after all this years he still hasn't lost his amazing voice.

Excellent record with enough variety of styles and surprises that are sure to satisfy any 70's hard rock/heavy prog fan.

I was really looking forward to seeing my first Deep Purple live show at the Sweden Rock Festival 2006. Since I haven't heard any new Deep Purple material since Perfect Strangers I purchased Rapture Of The Deep just a week before the show.

It's true that I had very moderate expectations in regard to the album since this new Deep Purple lineup was far from the classic band we all like. After a series of off and on commitments Ritchie Blackmore finally called it quits in the early '90s while Jon Lord followed him after another decade with the band. With only Ian Paice left from the original lineup Deep Purple was becoming another one of those relic bands that people go to see just to meet other hard fans and chat about the good old days. Meaning that it's more about the community than the actual live performance. The same problem has already emerged with bands like Uriah Heep or any of the solo performances from members of classic rock acts from the '60s, '70s and '80s.

All prejudiced aside, I listened to this new album and was actually pleasantly surprised that Deep Purple sounded better than I could ever imagine. Granted that they still sound really old on the straightforward blues tracks, but once they hit the right notes it all actually works spectacularly well. To me this material is actually superior to classic albums like Fireball and Stormbringer because of the consistency. The band even manages to pull off another career highlight with the album's title track that might be considered another cliché to some but the Steve Morse's guitar and Don Airey's organ interplay really brings out the nostalgic memory of the great Blackmore/Lord collaborations. I also want to give a shout out to the great ballad called Clearly Quite Absurd.

Rapture Of The Deep might not be a must-have record for anyone who wants to hear the bare bone essential Deep Purple material but the fans who haven't bothered with this album should definitely reconsider their decision. As for the concert, it was a real blast and the band actually played two tracks off the new record - Money Talks and the title track!

***** star songs: Rapture Of The Deep (5:56)

**** star songs: Money Talks (5:32) Girls Like That (4:00) Wrong Man (4:52) Clearly Quite Absurd (6:25) Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (4:17) MTV (4:54) Before Time Began (6:39)

*** star songs: Don't Let Go (4:32) Back To Back (4:02) Junkyard Blues (5:30)