RAPTURE OF THE DEEP

I have listened to the whole album, including MTV several times.

I feel it is better than Bananas, better than Abandon, better than Purpendicular better than The House of Blue Light, and as good as Perfect Strangers

I would even say it can be compared to some of the stuff the band recorded before 1984.

This does not mean however, that it will revolutionize today rock scene or that it will be regarded as a milestone record. No. Simply because Deep Purple play classic rock 'n roll and today if you want to be on top you have to be trendy. But as we need good classic jazz, good classical music, or blues, we also need rock' roll.

And Rapture of the Deep brings a lot of damn good rock n' roll.

Why I think it is so good?

1) It is very well produced. The record has this live feel to it. The band plays spontaneously, it seems, it really reminds me of Perfect Strangers record in this respect. It has more organ sound which I missed on Abandon and Purpendicular.

2) No fillers and plenty of memorable songs. I love 9 out of 11 songs, I like the other two. Of course not all of them are so immediate as the title track or Clearly Quite Absurd, but if you give them a chance they will grow on you - even songs like Don't Let Go ( what a great organ solo - it reminds me of Jon solos from the 70's - in terms of the sound)

3) great stuff from Morse and Airey. I have never before heard so many good duels, and solos. Especially organ solos (I'm talking about Morse era now)

As I said there are many gems on this album though they are not so obvious from the start on

The obious ones are of course: 1) Rapture of the Deep - a great song. full stop. 2) Clearly Quite Absurd - oh what a fantastic ballad they have produced!! Damn, I had tears in my eyes when I listen to it. It is not only about the melody, it is also about the Airey - Morse stuff towards the end of the song. 3) Before Time Began - simply unbelieveable. And so surprising. This is progressive hard rock. Shame they would never (never say never) record the whole album in this vein 4) Junkyard Blues - just listen to the solos. Breathtaking 5) Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye - great rocker, great stuff from Ian Paice 6) MTV - fantastic singing by Gillan, fanatstic lyrics, and very good solos 7) Back to Back - great swinging chorus and what a surprising solo from Don!

I will not review the rest of the songs though all of them are really good.

Great album by the great band.

Congratulations guys. At last!!!

Not as good as Purpendicular, better than Abandon, on the same level with Bananas but sounds more aggressive. Very even album with good sound and musicianship, Gillan's singing is on a very good level. There are several standing out track - the title song, Before Time Began, MTV. Others seem not so memorable. In general, ROTD won't give you many musical revelations, but if you like previous DP efforts you will probable like this one too.

"Record them while they're hot" says producer Michael Bradford. With such a great band like Deep Purple, the first couple takes are usually so alive and fresh, you can build around a powerful recording and have some amazing results.

The band spent five weeks recording the new album, "Rapture of the Deep". This becomes clear when listening, there's a definite live feel about it. This is a different beast compared to "Bananas" a couple years back. It's harder, darker and more adventurous, a very cohesive album. I was hooked after a few listens and willing to call "Rapture of the Deep" one of the finest in their catalog. It contains NO filler and has plenty of memorable songs.

My first impression is that singer Ian Gillan sounds very inspired and full of attitude. Lots of questioning authority in his lyrics and he takes many opportunities. Guitarist Steve Morse's and Keyboardist Don Airey's interplay is more refined and they get more opportunity to shine here than on the previous album. There's some nice drum work from Ian Paice and the bass lines from Roger Glover are strong and steady. This is Deep Purple 21st Century Style! Here are my thoughts:

01. Money Talks - a well arranged progressive hard rock vibe. There are a lot of things happening in this song and it sets the tone for the album. Stunning. A great opener!

02. Girls Like That - a "radio friendly" song with a pretty cool hook and it has an absolutely cool keyboard solo.

03. Wrong Man - a chugging powerful groove. Once again a catchy chorus. Right out of the gate we get three good rockers and then something special happens.

04. Rapture Of The Deep - an epic with fantastic Arabic riffs and melodies. A very successful attempt at trying something progressive with purpose. Masterpiece #1

05. Clearly Quite Absurd - a simply stunning ballad that doesn't get mushy. Melancholy melodies which suit Gillan's "mature" voice perfectly. Masterpiece #2

06. Don't Let Go - the albums best rocker and a steady groovin' toe tapper. Nice!

07. Back To Back - this one goes many places. Fun stuff that could be called a great filler.

08. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye - a magnificent rocker, with great lyrics (yes, I piss in the water and burn down trees, I watch as the creatures fall to their knees. They ain't got a clue as disaster looms, they're too busy choking on toxic fumes) and a good up beat Bo-Diddley type drum feel from Ian Paice.

09. MTV - some fantastic singing by Gillan, superb lyrics again and wonderful solos.

10. Junkyard Blues - breathtaking, just listen to these solos. The energy is contagious. To describe it in words is impossible.

11. Before Time Began - A Deep Purple classic, with a psychedelic touch. Once again, I am impressed by the arrangements and the progressive feel. Masterpiece #3

Highlights: Money Talks, Rapture of the Deep, Clearly Quite Absurd, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye & Before Time Began.

The remaining songs are intense, jam-packed with musical improvisation and motivation and performed brilliantly. The entire album thunders and grooves along with renewed vigor. I have to confess, I've made a mistake questioning a band with such a rich history as Deep Purple. Maybe they don't always hit that "bulls eye" but each time they're written off, they deliver one of their best albums.

Congratulations guys, you're far from retirement! (Based on the advanced copy of ROTD).

Very poor release from one of the greatest rock bands in history. Songs are very uninspired, and it looks like they rushed the production. There is not a single memorable moment in the album, just average tracks, with average solos. Not even close to Purpendicular (one of their better albums), and to tell the truth, maybe even with Abandon... and this means no good. Ebay, here I go again...

Deep purple have been around so many years now,and its good to see them continually releasing new material.The only problem i find with alot of their work since perfect strangers is the obvious lack of real power and originallity in their material,it should be better,and i wish it was because deep purple are one of the best rock acts of all time. I believe deep purple have lost that typical english heavy rock sound and turned more to a bluesy sound,which is a let down because it can sound weak and lame.

Rapture of the deep,is an okay album,i just wish it was alot more powerful and less bluesy,the only track i find really dreadful is Money talks,the lyric's are totally awful and areal turn off.The production of this is nothing great either it's a liitle on the rough side,but the rest is pretty fair but nothing special,its all mediocre.

I hope one day deep purple come up with an album of blistering power,typical of years ago which would be classic english progressive heavy rock,instead of the bluesy rock sound which they have been pumping out over recent years.Maybe they should give Morse the flick and replace him with the obvious choice Yngwie Malmsteen.

I have the european version (MTV bonus track* is different than the one in Japan). 10 tracks on normal issue and 11 on Ltd edition UK/Europe. Only 5000 copies.

The line-up is : Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Steve Morse & Don Airey.

On my opinion, it's one of their best album. It sounds very good on all the titles. Varied, very good (but too short) guitar and organ playing, sometimes a bit prog sometimes heavy metal, and still with that voice of Gillan... Terrific! Really 50 minutes it isn't enough ! Luckily, they come in Belgium in january 2006 (Forest National / Brussel) and fans will have the big chance to listen to them. I hope you guys you'll have the same hapiness in your respective country...

Junkyard Blues seems to be made for FM radios or web radios. The Airey's rock'n roll piano plays a beautifull but already-heard melody. KTG is a very speeded piece. Back to Back is beginning to be very good after 2 minutes : one of the best moment in this album. Clearly Quite Absurd sounds a bit like Pink Floyd !? Yes listen by yourself but it's not a good Floyd. Rapture takes sometimes shape of arabic sound (it tastes Led Zep ?). It is a very pleasant title. Girls Like That and Money Talks have a ritornello which is remaining in your head. Wrong Man is heavy. Guitars rubbing, little electronic sounds, but common melody.

So, it's a great big album I think. If you like DP before 1985, you'll like this new one. Not really prog rock as you can imagine but even so you certainly won't regret to get it.

*MTV Bonus track for the European limited edition will be available in a tin box with an enhanced video track (video interview footage). The Japanese version contains the bonus track Things I Never Said -that I never heard yet :)

"Platinum Collection" (yes a new one...) is released on june 2005 (EMI). It's a good think for all new listeners. It contains no less than 3 cd's. It is not listed in the DP discography on the right at the time to write this -->

DP was one of the first bands that blowed my mind. Albums like Machine Head, Fireball or Made in Japan still are in my regular weekend music sessions... After Perfect Strangers I thought that DP was dead... but no. Rapture is not a great album -in fact musically it's too far from the 70's classics-, Gillan's voice is not what use to be and Steve Morse is just a good guitar player but the entire album has some great stuff. Renewed sounds, renewed style -not too hard and even with delicate drops of prog.

There are some great songs on the album: Rapture Of The Deep, full of arabic inffluences, some times really dark and even prog; Clearly Quite Absurd, a very nice balld; the rocker Back To Back; powerful Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye and the great Before Time Began... even when I feel there's some weak points (specially on Money Talks, Girls Like That and Junkyard Blues) the album sounds solid and full of new influences that I never heard on Purple's music before: powered metal drums, dark guitar and keyboards solos but with the classic style of Purple.

3.5* Not a great album if you compare it with the DP's classics, but highly recommended to listen during a monday morning...

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 is a legendary band. I think every proggers have known about their memorable career. I loved their music in 60's and 70's especially "Made In Japan", a live album recorded in Japan in 1972. Many changes have happened in the line-up (and Jon Lord's skill is not available in this album, he was replaced by Don Airey), until Steve Morse got a role as Deep Purple's guitarist. I loved Steve Morse since he produced some high quality album with Dixie Dregs and also Kansas for a while.

I was blown very much when I listened to "Purpendicular" album. There are two tracks I loved so much, "Loosen My Strings" and "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming". This album made me sure to enjoy some of their next albums such as "Banana" and "Abandon". Due to the poor quality of both albums, I was not confident to buy "Rapture Of The Deep". Well, the quality is definitely the same and I'm not so sure to buy their next album if they still can't move forward by creating more emotional songs.

However, as a legendary prog and hard rock band, everyone should have this album at home.

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.

Some good songs on this album, quite a surprise after the dismal "Abandon" and "Bananas". Steve Morse doesn't really understand the parameters of rock, though in my opinion. When Tommy Bolin replaced Blackmore he stayed within them, bringing a Hendrix and even an early R&B or garage band influence to the band. I just don't hear that directness, and punch with Morse, though "Wrong Man" seems a step in the right direction.

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!

I own every version of this cd...and it's good, probably one of the best DP has ever released. The decision to review this album hasn't been easy to take, because Deep Purple is not a former progressive rock band, BUT "Rapture Of The Deep" is very inclined to Progressive rock, not to mention that anyway it's a great rock album... The opening track "Money Talks" is a very powerful song, with occasional arabic-like riffs here and there (a peculiarity to this album). This mood just goes on with the following two tracks "Girls Like That" and "Wrong Man", simply hard rock. The title track rush in with his arabic riff and his quite visionary lyrics, very good song...The 5th song on "Rapture of The Deep", "Clearly Quite Absurd", is a gem a very sad ballad featuring a very touching perfomance by Gillan and an interesting guitar work by Steve Morse. "Don't Let Go" and "Back To Back" are good numbers to show the feeling between band members, but sincerely they're nothing more than a filler, in fact they add almost nothing to the album. The musical level begin ro rise once again with "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye", not so prog but definitely a better number then the previous two, now for those who owns the european version MTV should kicks in: it's quite a complex song by the musical point of view, and it features very ironic and sarcastic lyrics against MTV, a radio station called Classic Rock Radio, and generally speaking against discographic industry. The two numbers which close "Rapture of the Deep" are progressive seen from DP point of view: the great "Junkyard Blues" and the superb "Before Time Began": the first one as the title suggests starts off being a very bluesy simple song, until the middle section begin and we listen to the instrumental section featuring brilliant Morse guitar licks and Airey keyboards: here DP reminds so much of Pink Floyd, and that visionary kind of music; same for the closing song absolutely progressive, visoinary, with prophetic great lyrics: such a great number, excellent track, probably the best in the album. It's an interesting album, for sure, with only a pair of weak moments, which can be included in your progressive collection without any problem.

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

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.

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)

8/10

This is certainly a remarkable record, one of his best efforts.

It is clear that the addition of Steve Morse revitalized the sound of Deep Purple, and all the albums released so far have me captivated. It's no different with Rapture of Deep, his latest album to date (they will release a new next month, can not wait). The eleven tracks of this book (I heard the limited edition with a bonus track) prove that this band is not dated and still does to deserve its name.

I really like the way dark as the first track, Money Talks, begins. It reminds me a bit of 21st Century Schizoid Man It's been a long time since I hear it (long before I throw in the discography of the band), and is probably my favorite here. Other highlights for me are the title track, the ballad Clearly Quite Absurd, Back to Black (Please do not confuse with AC / DC) and the wonderful Junkyard Blues, which features an amazing interplay between the Morse's guitars and Ayrey's piano.

4 stars!

This is the hardest one from MK6/7 for me to review. I have conflicting visions here; it has some real good songs; but it is too uneven; maybe only "House Of Blue Light" surpasses it as an uneven work. Fastly speaking, HOBL has a bunch of songs, four of them, very strong; but the rest of the album is simple not easy to be heard. ROTD may not have songs as weak as HOBL; but its strong ones is not as powerful.

Even with this restriction, I can see "Rapture Of The Deep" as a improvement when compared to Bananas. The opener is (as always), a very good song. "Wrong Man" has an interesting guitar riff, not prog related but good to be appreciated by hard rockers ears. The song "Rapture Of The Deep" is good, not essential; "Clearly Quite Absurd" is good, but with Ian´s voice became a highlight in this album. Junkyard blues is ok, not more; and the closer "Before Time Began" is the other peak here.

Now comes the conclusion. Three stars, and the main point here is that about the real good songs, the opener is firmly planted in Deep Purple overall way of performing music and the other one is the closer. There are other average ones, of course; but the weak ones really put the album down. Good, not essential, with moments of bright that makes it deserves public attention.