I have been a Deep Purple fanatic since 1972 with the releases of "Machine Head" and "Made In Japan." I have seen them in concert twice, once with Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Gillan and once with Tommy Bolin and David Coverdale (@ Radio City Music Hall, of all places.) I guess I am telling you all this in order to share my credentials. I'm journalist, collector, musician and rock trivia buff. And I know a thing or two about this band.
I have always felt (and still do) that Deep Purple was and still is one of the greatest rock bands ever, and the fact they aren't in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is scandalous at best. They have had a career that has spanned five decades and produced some of the genre's most classic songs, both enduring and endearing.That's why I am absolutely over the moon about this album. In my mind, "Purpendicular" the best thing they've done since "Burn," and the best Gillan-led set since "Who Do We Think We Are!"
You have to give Ritchie Blackmore credit. He always knows when to leave. (He did it first in 1975, only to be replaced by Tommy Bolin - which resulted in "Come Taste The Band," again, one of the best outings in the DP canon.) I thought the wholly forgettable albums the band released with Blackmore at the helm in the late '80s and early '90s would surely be the death knell for this once great ensemble. But off went Ritchie once again - in the middle of a tour no less - and the band was left to ponder its future. Deep Purple soon discovered its future in the elegant, yet incendiary acrobatic guitar riffs of Steve Morse - late of the rock/jazz fusion band Dixie Dreggs. (Weirdly enough, Morse also slummed briefly in a tenure with Kansas.)
While Morse's style is obviously different than Blackmore's, the album remains distinctly Deep Purple in both sound and attitude. (Morse is more fluid and improvisational, while Blackmore's influences come largely from classical music, giving his solos are more rigid, rehearsed sound ... not that they weren't blistering and, at times, breathtaking - ie. "Highway Star.")
The CD kicks off with the catchy and amusing "Ted the Mechanic" - a crunchy, rollicking song that owes a nod to some of the hair band metal from the '80s. The third track, "Soon Forgotten," is one of the oddest, most disturbing songs I've heard in a while. It's not the lyrical content that does it (it hardly ever is with Purple!), but it's the odd syncopation of the guitar and keyboard and Gillan's strange intonation as he sings. I hear a touch of Black Sabbath here.
One personal favorite track from "Purpendicular" is the shimmering "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming." It opens with some beautiful acoustic guitar picking (and yeah, when was the last time you heard an acoustic guitar on a Deep Purple song? Huh? Huh? I thought so! This is yet another dimension Morse brings to the band!) Ian Gillan's restrained, lilting vocal passage soon gives way to a head-on crash chorus that is highlighted by a gorgeous Steve Morse guitar signature that gets repeated throughout the song. Though I can't even imagine Blackmore coming up with something like this, the song remains undeniably Deep Purple.
Much has been mention in these reviews about "The Aviator," another song with not only acoustic guitar, but mandolin as well. It's catchy, touching, has lyrics one can actually understand and sing along to - and you'll want to - and a big fat accessible chorus. Gillan does an impressive Ian Anderson impersonation here and the whole thing smacks of early Jethro Tull with a twist. It's really cool... a delight!
"Rosa's Cantina's" - another highlight - is a thundering bluesy shuffle feature Gillan blowing some smokin' harmonica. Deep Purple you can dance to? Sure, why not!? It's down and dirty and just waiting for you to join in.
Deep Purple's lead vocalists (all three) have never been noted for their lyric-writing ability, but Gillan takes it up a notch on several outings here, most notably "A Castle Full of Rascals," a scathing attack on politicians, corporate execs and other fat cats. Nice to see the boys write about something else other than hookers and fast cars, eh?
Finally, there is a hidden track at the end of the CD... so let it play out. It's called (I think), "Don't Hold Your Breath," and ironically is one of the best tunes on the record. It's a fun, rockin' rave-up with a great catchy chorus that would have no trouble finding radio airtime as long as it was during an era when the airwaves weren't being marketed toward 8-year old girls and 14-year old boys. (I bet it would sound awesome live, as well.)
Overall, the band has never sounded as tight or as fresh as they do on "Purpendicular." I believe the addition of Morse re-vitalized Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Roger Glover and Gillan. In fact, Gillan sings with maturity, restraint and nuance throughout the album. His screaming gymnastics are kept to a minimum, thus making them more interesting (and apropos) when they do appear.
If you are a true Deep Purple fan, you are gonna love this record. If you are fan of hard, guitar-based rock, you are gonna love this record. If you've been away from Deep Purple for a while because you haven't liked what they'd been doing of late - you are in a for a big treat!
It's good to know that these guys at my age are stilling doing as good, if not better, then they were 30 years ago. If that's not something to smile about, I don't know what is!

If album (cd) sales were based solely on the quality of the music PURPENDICULAR would have sold ten million copies. Unfortunately, that is obviously not the case, but PURPENDICULAR is a spectacular album all the same. Combining classic MACHINE HEAD or IN ROCK style Deep Purple with the jazzy influences of new guitarist Steve Morse (ok, new to Deep Purple - the guy has been doing fusion albums forever!), PURPENDICULAR shows a band staying in touch with their roots, while growing musically at the same time. "Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic," "I'm Not Your Lover," "Somebody Stole My Guitar," and "A Castle Full Of Rascals" all have the great Deep Purple Hard and Heavy sound, and are given a little flash, courtesy of Morse. "Loosen My Strings" sounds like Purple meets Sting, "The Aviator" sounds like Purple crossed with acoustic Led Zeppelin, and "Rosa's Cantina" sounds like....well Purple meets ZZ Top with a 90's groove - very laid back and funky, but fairly uptempo (a GREAT song). "Hey Cisco" offers a combination of Purple and a jazzier Van Halen, while "The Purpendicular Waltz" would fit, well... perfectly on PERFECT STRANGERS. PURPENDICULAR shows a more mature version of Deep Purple willing to venture into new musical territory, while at the same time keeping themselves firmly rooted in their past. Strong performances from all in the band, but particualrly from drummer Ian Paice, who hasn't played this well since WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE! A HUGE artistic success. -(If you like this one, I also HIGHLY recommend UFO's WALK ON WATER!)

This album is probably the best thing Deep Purple has done since reforming in the Eighties. I don't know whether that's because of (then) new guitarist Steve Morse or not--he's terrific here, but so are Lord, Glover, Paicey and especially Ian Gillan, who hasn't sounded this cheerful and relaxed in awhile. "Ted the Mechanic" and "Rosa's Cantina" are typically nuts DP overkill; the real surprise is "The Aviator," a folky change of pace that shows off Morse' mandolin and Gillan's way with words (he's one of the most underrated songwriters ever, perhaps because he's in a band where the riffs tend to dominate the songs). Maybe the band finally was able to chill with Ritchie Blackmore out the door for good, but whatever the reason, PURPENDICULAR is a great one. Crank it up!

When guitarist and band leader Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1994, many fans doubted the band's ability to continue on without him. After all, Blackmore had been the primary musical force in the band throughout their entire career, and it didn't seem that Deep Purple -- an aging hard rock band whose glory days as the founding fathers of heavy metal (along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath) were nearly 20 years behind them and who were derisively known to the general public as a "dinosaur rock" act -- could survive his loss. In truth, when lead singer and primary lyricist Ian Gillan assumed Blackmore's leadership responsibilities and replaced the legendary guitarist with Steve Morse, he reinvigorated Deep Purple in a way that no one could have foreseen.

PURPENDICULAR is Deep Purple's strongest album since their 1972 masterpiece, MACHINE HEAD. While it's true that nothing on this album is going to make Deep Purple major rock stars the way that album's "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" did, PURPENDICULAR should succeed in silencing the critics who had written the band off as a group of outdated dinosaurs who played only an out-of-fashion brand of stomping, arena-ready hard rock. Without the arrogant Blackmore calling the shots, Deep Purple sound like they're having more fun than they ever have. This is by far the most adventurous, eclectic album the band has ever recorded.

A large part of this is due to Morse. Universally lauded as one of the best (and most underappreciated) guitarists alive, Morse brings to the band a whole new world of influences that would have been horribly out-of-step with Blackmore's narrow hard rock vision. It should be noted, in Blackmore's defense, that during the group's heyday, his brilliant incorporation of classical music themes into his guitar solos set incredibly innovative new standards for hard rock guitarists, who had previously never thought to venture outside of the standard heavy-handed whiteman blues licks of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. But Morse's ability completely eclipses his predecessor. Nothing he does on PURPENDICULAR is going to set new guitar-playing standards the way Blackmore's solos did, but his chops -- which he developed during his years as the leader of jazz-fusion pioneers the Dixie Dregs -- are far superior and more adventurous. This is a Deep Purple album that Ritchie Blackmore never could have led them to.

The rest of the band is in top form as well. Ian Gillan seems to have matured into his voice, with the result being his best vocal performances since the heart-stopping "Child in Time." The pseudo-operatic histrionics that alternately enhanced and marred Deep Purple's classic recordings are absent here, since Gillan is no longer capable of them; what we get instead is a mature voice not unlike that of a classic bluesman, no longer trying too hard (and failing pitifully) to recapture his bombastic heavy metal screams, but still capable of producing some soaring high points that send chills down the spine (in "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming," he does just that, and he does it well). Roger Glover's bass has never been this prominent or assured; Ian Paice's drumming stretches out more than he's dared to in the past, resulting in the best stuido performances he's ever done; and Jon Lord -- no longer under pressure to provide extra heaviness to the riffs with his Hammond B3 organ -- takes a slightly more subtle approach to his instrument. While Lord doesn't disappoint with some killer organ solos that without fail eclipse their guitar-based counterparts, he also uses other keyboards to provide textures, which he's never done (at least not this well) before.

The real cornerstone of PURPENDICULAR is Deep Purple's most fun and adventurous set of songs. While not quite as good or consistent as MACHINE HEAD's heavy riff rockers, these songs represent new heights of creativity for the band. Gillan's lyrics -- which were occasionally straightforward ("Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" being key examples) but usually ranged from raunchy (though you weren't sure why) to abstract to downright weird in the past -- are his most assured, which only enhances an already-strong set of songs. The most straightforward hard rockers -- album opener "Ted the Mechanic," "The Purpendicular Waltz," "Soon Forgotten," "Somebody Stole My Guitar" -- aren't really straightforward at all. The aforementioned "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming" is the album's centerpiece, and features a guitar theme from Morse that, if recorded in the early 70s, would today be as recognizable as Blackmore's immortal "Smoke on the Water" riff. "A Touch Away" is a beautiful ballad, "Hey Cisco" is a fun, jazzy shuffle, and "Rosa's Cantina" is a great blues-rocker. But the real gem to be found here is the Scottish highlander-flavored "The Aviator." Words alone cannot do justice to this song; it has to be heard to be belived.

Deep Purple and their die-hard fans have accepted that the band will never again be the major rock stars they were in the early '70s. But if PURPENDICULAR is any indication, their recording career still promises to be full of interesting and rewarding albums. "Dinosaur rock"? Hardly. That term applies to bombastic heavy metal that has long since lost its effect through being performed by old men who don't act their age. (It should be noted that not all early '70s/'80s hard rock falls into this category; a number of popular acts from that era are still capable of the same caliber performances they were in their prime.) Rock stars only "get old" when they refuse to mature as they age. And Deep Purple prove with this album that they have most certainly matured into a rock band still capable of equalling the recorded work of their prime.

if you got here because you are interested in checking out post-Blackmore DP, wait no further and get Perpendicular - this CD is fantastic. For details please check out what other enthusiastic reviewers said (there is no value in reiterating the same ideas) but rest assured that this one absolutely rocks, and is better than Abandon (somewhat darker and heavier) and Bananas (very good but a touch lighter). You can tell that the guys had fun recording this. Steve Morse, at his first album with DP, gives it all and is up there with S.Lukather as far as taste is concerned-his blistering chromatisms fit just perfectly with DP's blues-tinted rock.
Enjoy!