PURPENDICULAR

Totally surprising sound for the Deep Purple brand, with Steve Morse giving new life and some great moments to this legendary band!

That's my track-by-track opinion:

Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic: OK, that's a fun song, good guitar work by Morse, somewhat catchy... but what's so special about it? I don't find something. DP had a different opinion, and chose it as a single.

Loosen My Strings: Very nice song. Cool riff with unique guitar effect, piano effect on Lord's keyboards, nice elegant melodies. Very well done overall!

Soon Forgotten: Playful rhythm and lyrics, could be a Halloween song! Very interesting, they've never played something like this before! Thumbs up for the innovation and the result, which is very good!

Sometimes I Fell Like Screaming: The classic of Purplendicular. From the very first acoustic riff you know you 're listening to something special. A beautiful, elegant song with excellent melodies and stellar guitar work by Steve Morse. The sort, intense choruses just add to the colorfulness of it. Rightfully released as a single.

Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover: Very catchy rocker with a stellar simultaneous solo by Lord-Morse, ideal for single release. Ted The Mechanic a better song? I don't think so!

The Aviator: Medieval and folk elements on this one, a totally unique song for DP! Steve Morse really brought s desperately needed freshness to this band, and some completely new ideas for them and us to dig. What a beautiful song!

Rosa's Cantina: Funky rocker, more of a story than a song. Interesting for it's own kind!

A Castle Full Of Rascals: Enjoyable song, it grooves well, it's rich and it's very tight at the same time. Not special, but worthy.

A Touch Away: Yet another good song, with Jon Lord being the main man here. Not very significant though.

Hey Cisco: Fast rocker that sounds well (as the whole album) but offers nothing extraordinary music-wise. Like Rosa's Cantina, more of a story than a song.

Somebody Stole My Guitar: Ordinary rocker with some great guitar moments here and there, but nothing special.

The Purpendicular Waltz: I don't know if someone could actually dance a waltz on this one, but I know it's an interesting song with staccato rhythm and nice harmonica parts. Good, but yet again not extraordinary.

Don't Hold Your Breath (Japan CD bonus track): An out-take probably, and rightfully so. Mediocre rocker, Japan didn't gain something useful over us with this one.

RATING: Definitely the most colorful album they 've done, different than any other, effortlessly modern, and thankfully of a quality level overall. All those elements and the fact that it follows two weak albums introducing a new sound make people think of it as a better album than it actually is. Yes, it's interesting, we all agree, but only half the songs really matter and only one is a classic in my opinion. So It's a 3 stars album, no more, no less.