RAPTURE OF THE DEEP

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 If Blackmore had been replaced by a very worthy Steve Morse (whom changed his style to fit the Purple mode and threfore provided a very credible alternative) , to find a replacement to Jon Lord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?