NOW WHAT?!

Wow, with the preceding Rapture, I had to get used to a Lord-less Purple, but with this one, I've got to get used to the idea that he will never come back. So obviously Airey will probably remain for a while as only the group's second keyboardist ever in their 40-years+ career. In some ways, NW is a logical musical continuation of RotD, this time with the ever-alive Bob Ezrin behind the production control knobs and more surprisingly in the songwriting credits as well - no details as to who, what, when and why.

Opening slowly with a quiet intro, A Simple Song gives you the general Purple hard-rock feel that the band has never really left (outside a few mid-70's errors) for the better part of its career. The slightly Kashmiresque Weirdistan is hardly worth noticing, though, and the following Out Of Hand follows more or less suit Gillan even sounds a tad Ozzy-esque at times, especially in some of the relatively insignificant lyrics - at least to the casual observer. While Bodyline could easily fit in the sonic realm of In Rock, but Morse is definitely not as prominent as that other guitarist. By Above & Beyond, the album has sunken in a Purple daze (no relation to Dendrix ;o)p)), that only a Rhodes in Blood From A Stone or a lengthy and slow instrumental intro of Uncommon Man. The rest is just average Purple stuff that ranks from filler to run-of-the-mill stuff. Highlights are Bodyline, Uncommon Man and Stone Blood.

Well, if at one point, I'd feared Airy might bring his synth that I'd come to dread in Rainbow and other projects, I can no stop worrying, because he's a perfect it in his two Purple albums, both musically and in terms of human image. Indeed, one couldn't tell the difference that the newer members (Morse and Airey) are about a decade younger than the three historical members. Outside these (very) light considerations, one can wonder what the point is to a new Purple album, since they all sound more or less the same and never seem to bring anything new. NOW, an alright album, but WHAT is the point?! Outside a Jon Lord dedication.