The hype sticker on my copy screams "Destiny Brought Them Together. Again." So we'll presume then that it was destiny that intervened and broke them up. Again. Or it could just be that Blackmore and Gillan couldn't stand each other. But on this reunion of the famous "Mk. II" band, their first together since 1973, the band sounded fresh. 1984 was an odd time for an old fashioned hard rock band to be trying to make a comeback in a world full of heavy metal bands and New Wave pop artists. Undeterred, Deep Purple did just that. The title track sounding more classic Led Zeppelin than Deep Purple, nonetheless they caught fire and Deep Purple were back in the limelight for the first time in a decade. Jon Lord's organ hasn't changed one bit (no need for cheap synthesizers), Blackmore is ripping solos in his inimitable way, and Gillan is still sounding like a virile young man. The only downside is that Glover and Paice did decide to sound more 80s, and the wide open beats are too simple for these guys. 'Burn' this is not. All the same, a triumphant comeback album.
Ownership: LP: 1984 Mercury (USA). Single sleeve with lyric insert. Another album I picked up for $1 at the Denver record show (perfect mint too - much better than this Discogs copy). I bought my first copy not long after release while still in college. Like so many records of its type, I sold it in the mid 90s to pare down the collection (to be fair, I was moving a lot, and didn't have the space in the apartments I lived in). Today we have the space, and don't plan on going anywhere. And - I like this much better than I did then!
12/31/21 (new entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment