Deep Purple - Appraisal
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Topic: Deep Purple - Appraisal
Posted By: uduwudu
Subject: Deep Purple - Appraisal
Date Posted: April 03 2017 at 20:54
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Well the current line up of Deep Purple has been around for quite a while, nearly 20 years. Only 1 line up change and no one is making any fuss about Jon Lord (RIP) retiring when he did. Now it's fairly well noted that "there is no Purple without Blackmore" etc. Which of course is not true. There most certainly has been all shades of ... etc... I think they have made some consistently fine hard rock albums but not heard any new iconic songs like the Mk2 line up made. And then did again in the 80s. The remasters and reissues of the back catalogue have been very high, complete Made In Japan concerts etc. Nice box set of Machine Head. Fireball sounds superb; MK1 albums remastered and sounding good / better. I do think the Concerto was well improved 30 years later. The DVD and 2 CD set being a real highlight for me, Deep Purple with orchestra is really quite something. It made superb ballads even more so. Rock band with orchestra - the quintessence of prog rock. Social cultural impact of the two genres fusing was once divisive and reactionary in change, now its unified and ... reactionary in acceptance. (What was all the fuss about?) I would not mind a revisit of the Gemini Suite either - now there's an over looked prog rock piece for you. So, quite a good band (in concert superb) but the trail blazing efforts of long ago are not likely to be scared up again due to writing styles being a little formulaic. Consistent in tempi / rhythm styles, nice guitar and Morse does do some fantastic instrumentals, expected and excellent suitable keyboard work, witty Gillan words and a driving rhythm section - you kind of know what a new Purple album is going to be like. Good / bad? Probably not bad. They only really awful thing this band has done in years is that terrible idea of the cover for the Bananas album. Infinite should be out soon. Promo album Limitless giving an indication. What can one, should one, expect of this great band that is now coming to the end of a very long road. Didn't they do well... or should it have been wrapped up 15 years ago? |
Replies:
Posted By: Manuel
Date Posted: April 04 2017 at 05:57
| I personally like Deep Purple. Their las album "Now What?" rates highly on my charts, and even though there have not been any "Classic" songs from the present line up, They've always been an "Album Band" as I like to call them. The whole album approach seems to fit them well, and definitely makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. |
Posted By: Guldbamsen
Date Posted: April 04 2017 at 06:25
I have a somewhat strange relationship with Deep Purple in that I vastly prefer mk 1 to anything that came after. Give me Tale Of Talysin over In Rock any day  I saw them live in KB Hallen Copenhagen - must've been 97 or maybe 98 I forget - but it was with Morse and Gillan. A great performance to these ears only marred by a small but very loud part of the crowd boohing over the fact that Child in Time didn't get played. Nowadays I rarely if ever reach for an album of theirs. In many ways they represent a time in my life where I was discovering classic rock like Sabbath, Zep, Stones, Bowie, Doors, Jimi, Vanilla Fudge and so forth, but I have moved on musically. It's not that I don't like these artists but there is so much more out there - especially if one caught the experimental bug somewhere along the way. The only times I really hear any of these (maybe except for Bowie, Stones and Jimi) are at parties where they seem to be the ONLY rock artists general music fans can abide to (collectively know of)...or over the radio where they play the same 3-4 top hits. "Hmm let's see - we need a Deep Purple track for the show tonight. Let me just look through the band's 50 year old career then!" Man comes back with a big smile on his face and a copy of Machine Head. "Smoke On The Water it is!!!!" ------------- “The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” - Douglas Adams |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: April 04 2017 at 07:19
| Yeah, Purple Mk I fan here. The 70's stuff was pretty good, actually, I went right up to Slaves And Masters, saw them in the late-90's and that's about it. Still go for Shades Of, Taliesyn or s/t before any others. |
Posted By: Kepler62
Date Posted: April 04 2017 at 12:45
| Played the crap out of Made In Japan back in the day. Liked everything up until Burn but then pfffft. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 04 2017 at 21:16
| I have come to like them, though I still don't know so much from them, except for the better known albums and songs, and some live stuff. This one seems to be one of those bands that are much better live, expanding and improving their songs live (though they might overdo it from time to time). Also, I really love Rainbow (once again, specially live, I guess that's a Blackmore thing). |
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: April 05 2017 at 01:44
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Slaves And Masters was, for me, an odd record. Other than Fire In The Basement everything sounded so well, ordinary. Worse, the single, what's-it's-name-again is distinguished by having the only Purple instrumental break where nearly nothing happens - solo wise. I just think Lord's Concerto is absolute diamond. Even the first one at least has Lord's amused commentary on the...DVD or DVD Audio. I have both so it's probably the DVD. But, yeah, a lot of fine consistent hard rock albums with some really top melodies in the ballads. Virtually any and all albums have great value (some dodgy live ones - Made in Europe for one) just avoid the endless compilations. I just wonder how Purple can stand having so many come out and dilute the impact - or is it a way of keeping the name on the CD shelves... |
Posted By: TeleStrat
Date Posted: April 05 2017 at 05:03
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I never cared much for DP and only have two albums in my collection (one is with Tommy Bolin). I was very much into lead guitarists back then and Blackmore never made my Top Ten list (not even my Top Twenty list). Hearing Smoke On The Water on the radio for the nine hundredth time was like finger nails scraping across a blackboard. Saw them live in the early seventies and they were not memorable. Looking back, I would rate them way down there with Kiss.
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Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: April 05 2017 at 05:10
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Not as overrated as Kiss or U2. ------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: npjnpj
Date Posted: April 05 2017 at 13:44
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Back when they released In Rock and Fireball, the energy, brutality and weirdness wasn't equaled by anyone including Sabbath or the blues-tinged Led Zeppelin etc. Possibly only the first two Lucifer's Friend albums came close. In Rock was solely responsible for getting me into rock musíc at the time, and that's never let me go. I love those two albums dearly to this day. And then something awful happened: Machine Head. The disappointment can still make me get angry to this day. Where was the energy gone, those ear-grinding licks, the sheer force? There was nothing daring left at all. Instead I was confronted with this collection of bouncy sing-along rock songs. Not a single sign of the adventurous band I'd grown to love. I'd say it would be nigh impossible to sing along to In Rock or most of Fireball, but you can to this. It was just lame and then some, in spite of supposedly containing rock's premiere anthems. There's only one further Deep Purple album that I value highly, and that's Purpendicular. That recording is something special, not along the lines of the two albums above, but those tracks, as well as being highly unusual in themselves, contain a sense of joy and optimism that their other recordings haven't contained before or since. Sure, the band carved their niche and they've settled comfortably in there, but it's not anything special any more. It's just coasting and has been for a long time. I've been listening to some Don Airey solo tracks lately, and it seems as if he's the only one inclined to carry the old Deep Purple flag, which is strange as he hasn't been a member for all that long. Some of the most recent DP live recordings (Setting Sun/RisingSun, for instance) show that he's a phenominally good keyboard player, and a great replacement for Jon Lord. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: April 06 2017 at 14:38
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I own the early ones -MK1- up to and including the MK2 ones...In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head....beyond that they never really interested me. Even with those I always found them to be a bit too unimaginative at times....good guitar work by Blackmore but often mediocre songwriting. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: June 21 2017 at 16:32
I enjoyed some of the Mk1 output and 'In Rock' and 'Fireball' along with 'Made in Japan' were classic 70's hard rock lps. But not outstanding. I prefer Sabbath, the Who, Zep, Free, the Faces everytime. The only band of that ilk that i liked less was Uriah heep (who were pretty mediocre at best IMHO). I do, however, have a soft spot for 'Stormbringer' and a bit of 'Burn'.. ( ) but DP were never a 'progressive rock' band.. and at their best (Made in Japan) were just a noisy, hairy-arsed rock band (and theres nothing to be ashamed of in that) but apart from Jon Lord's classical styled input they werent very innovative..------------- |
Posted By: Tillerman88
Date Posted: June 21 2017 at 17:30
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^ oh man......yet another surprising quote on this site when it comes to discussing mainstream classic 70's hard rock bands..... Perhaps people here had better hear them with 70's ears, and so realize that being very innovative was NOT the general focus amongst them... But yeah from my perspective I realize it's not easy for a prog mindset to separate 'being innovative' from making alltime fresh and timeless music......
------------- The overwhelming amount of information on a daily basis restrains people from rewinding the news record archives to refresh their memories... |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: June 22 2017 at 14:59
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Not really suprising at all.. when i was listening to Purple, Sabbath, The Who et al in the 70's most people (except the music press it seems) though they were just hard rock bands.. and my comments about 'Hairy arsed rock' is not derogatory at all, its said with all respect. its just that (in MY opinion) DP were not the best.. yes they did make some fresh, raw and raucous records but so did all the other bands i mentioned. And i know that 'being innovative' was not a big deal to them; after all it was mostly just good old rock n roll .. ------------- |
Posted By: 2dogs
Date Posted: June 22 2017 at 23:30
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I don't mind "Made in Japan" but much prefer Mk 1, the way the guitar and organ were used in a more varied psychedelic rock style. ------------- "There is nothing new except what has been forgotten" - Marie Antoinette |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: June 22 2017 at 23:40
| I gave up on Purple after Slaves And Masters. Saw them live in the late-90's. Haven't really bothered with them since. I still love the Ian Gillan Band a lot and will often spin my LP of Sabb's Born Again. |
Posted By: Cosmiclawnmower
Date Posted: June 24 2017 at 16:18
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Actually i remember that i saw Gillan on the 'Glory Road' tour about 1980 (?) and they were brilliant! He had a great band of talented musicians and they gave a great show. ------------- |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: June 24 2017 at 17:54
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I have always been of the opinion that as long as you own Made in Japan, you pretty much have everything you need from Deep Purple. Nothing I have heard since sways that belief. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: June 24 2017 at 21:22
I don't have much from them, but I guess it's the most essential release, and a really great one at that. I might add a few other live albums to round it up... the ones I got are "MK III, the final concerts" and "Come Hell or High Water", which have some songs missing on Made in Japan, or has heavier or different versions that I also enjoy. Perhaps a few songs from the 80's would be missing too from the live albums. And to complete the live collection, in a related note, I would also include "On Stage" from Rainbow (as well as the studio "Rising", or get some other of the live albums from the same era that does include "Stargazer"). |
The Dark Elf wrote:Posted By: ExittheLemming
Date Posted: June 24 2017 at 23:06
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I think the only tracks I like from the Mk 1 version are their covers of Joe South's Hush and Neil Diamond's Kentucky Woman. They also did a rather eccentric version of Help by the Beatles which didn't entirely work but was entirely original. In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head are for me, 'entry level' indispensable 70's hard rock albums where Ian Gillan makes an airtight case for being the finest rawk singer to date and the songwriting had reached its absolute peak (vouchsafed by my cat Sparky) Made in japan bores me to paralysis due to what are great songs being botoxed into numbing and lumpen ego w.a.n.k. Tommy Bolin was a very odd choice to replace Blackmore in '75 given that he was hired by Glenn Hughes on the strength of his sublime jazzy/fusion style of playing on Billy Cobham's Spectrum album. For this to work, Purple's music would have had to change considerably more than that evidenced by the resultant Come Taste the Band release which represents a fudged compromise where both parties are the loser. I really liked the jazz rock direction explored on the Ian Gillan Band's Clear Air Turbulence from 1977 but they never persevered with this style thereafter alas...(probably due to sales) After that, the nurses needed to draw the screens ------------- 
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Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: June 25 2017 at 02:09
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Originally, Jon Lord was the reason for me lapping up everything Purple (as well as Jon's solo work), then, I grew tired of Gillan's vocal histrionics, then I thought Lord was boring and Gillan ruled, especially when I discovered Sabb's Born Again in 1989, and shortly after, Clear Air Turbulence in the early-90's. Purple are really good, influential, much loved etc. but they aren't any better or worse than, say, Uriah Heep. I prefer Egg. So, |