THE HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHT

Deep Purple are one of the classic bands from the 70's. Although starting out in the late 60's, the 70's were the decade when the band rose to fame and fortune, releasing a series of classic albums before the band disbanded in the middle of the decade. The House of Blue Light is the second album released by the band after their 1984 reunion.

Musically they continue doing what they are best at here. Classic hard rock is the name of the game, with a regular verse and chorus structure, usually with some soloing in the middle of it all. The band has upgraded their sound quite a bit though.

On this release several members of the band have discovered new toys - synths. There were synths available back in the 70's as well, but in the mid 80's they were better, gave more and better options, and these options are used quite a lot here. Which results in a very slick and smooth sound; smooth to the extent of almost eliminating the hard in hard rock on this album.

The production further enhances this; the guitars of Blackmore are pushed back in the mix, and have a less dominant role in the overall soundscape than what they did last time around.

The songs are still mostly on the good side though. There's a couple of fillers here, but the rest of the songs here are highly enjoyable. No classic tracks, but quite a few good ones.