This album (2013) is pretty good. Some tracks are even kind of prog or metal-prog.
This album (2013) is pretty good. Some tracks are even kind of prog or metal-prog.
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Huge DP fan from way back here, and I'm of a mind that Now What?! is up there with the greats of the catalog, including Machine Head. Especially "Weirdistan" is not only a great song, it perfectly captures the refreshed, mutually supportive/enjoyable band groove that happened when Blackmore left and Morse came on board.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCtP-6PT-XQ
Another drag for me this one, sorry. I finally visited their show last autumn - and to my surprize they played quite a lot from Now What. Didn't work for me..they lost their flamboyant style almost completely since that bloody Bananas came out.. Sorry, but Mr. Morse is a spoiler.. when I saw the stage act I can't believe the thing as grateful for guitar as Lazy, could be performed in such ugly manner as he dared to do.
The album is certainly not bad. Some good songs, some throwaways, IMO.
I don't think it comes anywhere close to anything like Machine Head, which I don't even consider their best (That would be the third, self-titled one, IMO.).
I'm glad they're having fun, working, drawing crowds and making money doing what they love, which is all that really matters. I don't think they've tarnished the legacy. But, the hunger isn't there. Nor is the fire. That all left many years ago. I think Morse is a great guitarist, though a bit one-dimensional. But, he ain't no Ritchie. Not that he's trying to be.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I was kind of suprised that they kept going after Jon passed away. The only thing I've heard from the latest album was a track someone posted on PE last year. I thought it was mediocre. Totally forgettable. I have Purpendicular and Rapture Of The Deep from the Morse era. I think I have Abandon on cassette somewhere. These aren't bad albums. I played "Burn" recently and like that one a lot. I've never been a huge fan of DP or Ian Gillan to begin with. I am a Steve Morse fan so I really enjoyed seeing them in concert in 2001.
no better, no worse than Rapture of the Deep... (but light years below In Rock, Machine Head or Burn... or the Simper era)
Sad thing is that sonically they don't even miss Jon
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Wow, pretty happenin' stuff. Don Airey does a great job nailing the vibe on the B-3 and I dig his synth work too. I'm not a big chopsmeister guy but anytime Steve Morse cranks out a solo it excites the hell out of me. Glad to hear they're still goin' strong.
On a side note a couple of weeks ago I heard a complete song by Blackmore's Night for the first time, I always blew them off thinking whole BN thing was just seemed silly, much to my surprise it was quite good. I'm probably not going to be buying their albums anytime soon but it was very listenable.
I think I prefer the Purple's latest.
Last edited by progholio; 05-30-2014 at 11:43 AM.
Seems it all worked out for the best with the Purple guys. Blackmore appears very happy in medieval mode, and Morse and Airey were thoughtful choices for the DP group-chemistry dynamic. To echo the thread on the main forum...joy = good music.
Some of Ritchie's best playing has been with Blackmore's Night. I think they have done some really great work and are far more consistent that DP ever was.Originally Posted by progholio
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Now What is a great album except for Vincent Price. Listened to it again in the car today. Hoping to catch them live if they come
around SF area. Morse's solos are more thoughtful on this album as well.
A very pleasant surprise, this one. Apart from the 'gang vocals' which are very 80s, 'Hell To Pay' is the best 'rock anthem' type of song they've done for years- I like the long, 'Highway Star' style solo interlude in it. And with songs like 'Above And Beyond' and 'The Uncommon Man' they move very close to progressive rock, the song structures are more intricate.
I agree with the first, I'll take In Rock, but must yell in my finest John Cleese impression, BLASPHEMER! for the second. None of the first three have held up well over the years, at least for me, as the band was spotty at best.
Don Airey rips it up pretty well on this new one. I enjoy it just for that and that killer Hammond sound.
August 15, both DP and Yes will be here. DP is a free show, downtown with all the crazies and Yes is a bundle of bucks at the Joint, I believe. I really want a new Yes hat as mine is 12 years old and should be retired(it's gathered enough sweat over the years) but it's not cheap and, well, DP is. Couldn't be seperate nights, of course. I'd like to see both bands before they croak but alas only one can be seen.
Last edited by TheLoony; 05-30-2014 at 05:40 AM.
^
Plus, Ian Paice still HITS his drums .....
I love "In Rock." But, I like the third one more. Plus, it's my opinion. You don't have to agree with it.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Love the new album-along with Perpendicular, it's my favorite from the Morse era. Glad to see they are still making enjoyable music this late in the game. In Rock, Machine Head, Fireball, or Burn it isn't, but it's way better than the new music most bands their age are cranking out.
New Uriah Heep out soon too!
Jon had been out of the band years before he passed away.
I haven't heard this album yet, but I am going to see them this summer.
Following up, I do agree that the first two are a bit uneven. But, I think the third is anything but spotty. Sure, some might not go for Lalena, but I think it has some of Jon's and Ritchie's tastiest playing. A jazzier side of the band that we rarely saw.
Those first three are, by far, the proggiest and most creative work they ever did, IMO.
FWIW, I was never a huge Rod Evans fan. He always sounded like a self-taught singer bordering on lounge lizard. But, I do like Captian Beyond a lot and he deserves props for sticking with the proggier formula that DP seemed to abandon with "In Rock." I do think Ian Gillan is the preeminent DP singer, tho. Coverdale never did anything for me. And we know how Glenn Hughes over-sings just about anything he touches.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
For me the best singer in DP was Glenn Hughes.
Wow, um...wow...
I prefer Deep Purple after the first three albums, Ian is the only singer that matters, Ritchie was an asshole but played with fire, Jon Lord was a GOD, and the new lineup is just fine. Like I've said before, Ian is a lot like Robert Plant, he's become a better singer now that he can no longer rely on high screams and youthful power. There's some dogs on the new album (Vincent Price is awful) but there's some decent tunes. It'd be nice is Morse and Airey got into some extended jamming like Lord and Blackmoore used to but I'm happy that this band is still out there, making records and touring.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Well, as far as being a true "singer", this is probably true. But Gillan is the iconic and definitive voice of Deep Purple.
Sorry but I just never cared that much for Ian Gillan. Glenn sounded great with DP regardless of how he sounds now (which I love anyway).
If confronted by a listener new to DP, I'd choose the third album, Machine Head, Perfect Strangers, Purpendicular, and Now What?! as tentpoles by which to appreciate DP, then maybe fill in with Fireball, Come Taste the Band, and Bananas. No nod to In Rock? Lots of wild fire there to play with in live settings, not so much the good DP melodic contour--although it's great that it started to enjoy a resurgence of popularity in the 80s, maybe with folks like Lars Ulrich citing its influence. Burn...not so much beyond the excellent title song, largely because even back in the day the production as heard on vinyl was more than a bit "in the can" and still seems so. "Mistreated" and "Might Just Take Your Life"...meh. On the other hand, "Coronarias Redig" from the same period is fantastic until it loses steam and wanks out.
Re: Glenn Hughes..."You Keep On Moving" is a mid-70s highlight, but it could be that his best performance on a "Deep Purple" song is "Sister Midnight" from the first Hughes Turner Project album. Hughes brings on the soul, and his vocal is not only relatively restrained but also leavened by sharing duties with Joe Lynn Turner. Hughes on bass and Shane Gaalaas on drums toss around plenty of groove. Can't recall anyone ever mentioning that track as a standout...here it is for the curious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ZPI4IIEf0
Vincent Price? Here's another "Nay!" vote, fun as it is.
You must include Made in Japan, at the very least. But, I would also add Scandinavian Nights from 1970 to show how much they could really jam when they were still playing for their lives.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I would respectfully suggest that the playing on the two In Concert discs is even hotter than Made in Japan or Scandinavian Nights.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
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