Deep Purple

[Jérôme Frenchise]

I got both albums when they were released. Except the inevitable "Smoke on the water" and its B-side, "Never Before", I didn't know much about Deep Purple in 1984, the year when "Perfect Strangers" was out. I caught up my delay shortly after, buying "In Rock", "Machine Head" and "Made in Japan". Their tops, as it's often said, and I agree; yet, what they recorded in 1984 and 1986, if it's not exactly comparable, is worth listening carefully IMO.
I was impressed by that vinyl record, "Perfect Strangers", which I've probably listened to about 600 times until I bought the first reissue on CD (very disappointing because of a weak sound!). I've just downloaded both remastered albums, and it was still a pleasure to play them with volume in the last few days. :)

The compositions in "Perfect Strangers" are awesome, really. All five of them, I mean the only who can call themselves Deep Purple aka Mark II, that is Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord & Paice, all of them are in top shape here...
All 8 songs are powerful, Blackmore's guitar parts are splendid, Gillan's voice and words sound really, really great, and the other three sound like no other could do the job in their place... And it's like the whole of it comes from nowhere in time, and it sure sounds completely different from what was on air in 1984, while never outdated.
I dig every single song on that album, but especially "Under the Gun", Gypsy's Kiss" and "Hungry Daze" that still amaze me more than 20 years later. Blackmore is particularly inspired on these, which in his case means a damn lot! :cool:

http://www.rockdetector.com/assets/img/covers/16557.jpg

I was delighted when the same Five released "The House of Blue Light" in early 1987 - though it made me less enthusiastic while listening, because of 2 weak tracks (IMO, "Mad Dog" and "Dead or Alive, which I took out with no regret to put both albums on one CD).
But the remaining 8 tracks are still great tunes, full of ideas and energy, the band kicks ass, though the sound has changed, mainly because Jon Lord experienced different keyboards at times.
Perhaps the record is slightly less memorable than "Perfect Strangers", but it's still very high-calibre music of course.
"The Unwritten Law", "Strangeways" and "The Spanish Archer" are my faves in there.
In the rest of the song, they tend to stick to the structure of classic rock songs, with the extra guts and savoir-faire though. :cool:

I think that both records are rather underestimated.

http://aryianna0.tripod.com/cdimages/10002364.jpg

[Satan]

These were the last 2 albums worthy of the name "Deep Purple". Everything after that became a huge revolving door joke of a band.

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[Tiki-Tom]

"Perfect Strangers" was Great. Can't get into them without Blackmore though,It's just not the same Purple.
"Strangers" is a classic Purple record for sure.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Satan
These were the last 2 albums worthy of the name "Deep Purple". Everything after that became a huge revolving door joke of a band.

I dig this expression! :D It's very adequate here.

Then I think it's Ritchie Blackmore who quit, for reasons I don't remember; but that 4-year reunion was worth it back then, and it still is in retrospect. :cool:

BTW, I see it's only me who's got trouble with YouTube... I just can't start a search there, damned! And I know there are other vids, at least "Perfect Strangers", "Bad Attitude" and "Call of the Wild".

I've had a look at Google video, but it's infested with versions featuring Steve Morse... Aaarrgh! :mad:

[Terry]

Perfect Strangers was, and remains, a great record. Probably one of the few made by a reunited band that lived up to their own track record. Ian had kinda blew an o-ring on his throat valve screaming his fuckin' head off with Sabbath the year before (Born Again is definitely a killer Sabbath album, but I digress), but he did a fine job on PS.

I love the lyrics on so many of the tunes - Where brave men fall, Under crimson skies, There's a sadness reflected in soldier's eyes - hell, I'm STILL trying to figure out some of what he was singing about in A Gypsy's Kiss, and even having the lyric sheet doesn't help!

Blackmore did some great stuff on that one - was lucky enough to catch them touring that album, with Girlschool opening, and I remember they were both excellent and one of the loudest bands I've heard to this day.

House Of Blue Light I enjoyed (even the dreaded Mad Dog), although a little less, but really haven't bothered with them since Morse joined the band. Have seen some clips of them live with Morse and heard some of the stuff, but it wasn't anything essential to my ears. For some reason I'm thinking that after House of Blue Light Joe Lynn Turner joined the band for an album and tour, although I may be wrong...

Good call on it standing out from other stuff coming out in 1984, Jerome. It was both distinctive from everything else, remained true to what Purple was about, yet didn't sound like a bunch of geezers on a nostalgia trip. No easy feat to pull off, but they did it.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Well cheers, Terry! I agree with your post, and I've got to admit that I envy you who saw them on stage back then, therefore heard those particular tunes live...

As for "A Gypsy's Kiss", one day at that time I asked my uncle about what on earth it could mean, and he had no idea, adding that maybe one day I would understand... but I still don't! :D
And well, if you don't either, I can't see how I would. :cool:

I underlined two lines I especially get nothing about, though mainly these words are still a mystery to me as a whole.
"La la Janette"... :confused: :D

John San, what you can,
La la Janette dance in sand
What’s the mystery my son?...
Gypsy Dan caravan,
Won tun wan with your Chinese fan,
It’s part of history my son...

Murder and rape with your power,
The 10th Revolution in far away days,
It’s come to this,
A gypsy’s kiss,
All your power’s gonna fade in the haze...

Ya who’ jumme gae bile ya heed,
The senorita said
"I’ll drag yer lungs out through yer nose"...
Space truckers free and high,
Teamsters get ya by and by,
That should keep you on your toes...

They got a gun at your head,
But you ain’t necessarily playing their game...
They can’t resist
A gypsy’s kiss,
All that’s needed to drive them insane...

John Wayne, the Alamo,
Crazy Horse, Geronimo,
I’ll smoke a piece with you...
Mind, body, heart and soul,
We got rock and roll
And there’s nothing they can do...

Hear the small voice of truth,
Above the shouting despair of the crowd,
What do you wish?
A gypsy’s kiss,
Gets you strong for crying out loud...

[binnie]

I actually got tired of Purple when Coverdale joined.

No offence to him, he's a great singer, but without Gillan it just wasn't the same for me......


I didn't like most of the 80's output - but at their peak they were a fantastic band.

[Mr. Vengeance]

Those two albums were splendid. A group that was re-energised after a layoff.

But, if you're not listening to the band since then, you're missing out. With the exception of an album where Joe Lynn Turner (the backup quarterback of rock) is on vocals, all the Purple albums are strong. Even with the defection of Blackmore, who I've always regarded as being overated as a guitar god anyway, the band continues to rock and they're replaced original members with good replacements in Morse and Don Airey. You should check them out.

[binnie]

On the strenght of these recommendations, I'll go and hunt oit some later day Purple.....

[Terry]

Originally posted by Jérôme Frenchise
Well cheers, Terry! I agree with your post, and I've got to admit that I envy you who saw them on stage back then, therefore heard those particular tunes live...

As for "A Gypsy's Kiss", one day at that time I asked my uncle about what on earth it could mean, and he had no idea, adding that maybe one day I would understand... but I still don't! :D
And well, if you don't either, I can't see how I would. :cool:

I underlined two lines I especially get nothing about, though mainly these words are still a mystery to me as a whole.
"La la Janette"... :confused: :D

John San, what you can,
La la Janette dance in sand
What’s the mystery my son?...
Gypsy Dan caravan,
Won tun wan with your Chinese fan,
It’s part of history my son...

Murder and rape with your power,
The 10th Revolution in far away days,
It’s come to this,
A gypsy’s kiss,
All your power’s gonna fade in the haze...

Ya who’ jumme gae bile ya heed,
The senorita said
"I’ll drag yer lungs out through yer nose"...
Space truckers free and high,
Teamsters get ya by and by,
That should keep you on your toes...

They got a gun at your head,
But you ain’t necessarily playing their game...
They can’t resist
A gypsy’s kiss,
All that’s needed to drive them insane...

John Wayne, the Alamo,
Crazy Horse, Geronimo,
I’ll smoke a piece with you...
Mind, body, heart and soul,
We got rock and roll
And there’s nothing they can do...

Hear the small voice of truth,
Above the shouting despair of the crowd,
What do you wish?
A gypsy’s kiss,
Gets you strong for crying out loud...


SUCH a brilliant song all the way around. Think Blackmore's leads on this are fantastick!

Those two lines you notated - SOMEONE explain what the fuck Ian means!!:D

[Mr Badguy]

I think they`re good but not great Purple albums.

They don`t have the rawness of the earlier MKII albums, Lord`s organ (OO-ER!) doesn`t have the same distortion as the early 70`s which gave songs like "Black night" and "Space truckin`" a real growling bottom end.

I think letting Roger Glover produce them was a mistake as he made the sound too much like the later Rainbow albums which he also produced.

[Apollo]

Originally posted by Jérôme Frenchise
Well cheers, Terry! I agree with your post, and I've got to admit that I envy you who saw them on stage back then, therefore heard those particular tunes live...

As for "A Gypsy's Kiss", one day at that time I asked my uncle about what on earth it could mean, and he had no idea, adding that maybe one day I would understand... but I still don't! :D
And well, if you don't either, I can't see how I would. :cool:

I underlined two lines I especially get nothing about, though mainly these words are still a mystery to me as a whole.
"La la Janette"... :confused: :D

John San, what you can,
La la Janette dance in sand
What’s the mystery my son?...
Gypsy Dan caravan,
Won tun wan with your Chinese fan,
It’s part of history my son...

Murder and rape with your power,
The 10th Revolution in far away days,
It’s come to this,
A gypsy’s kiss,
All your power’s gonna fade in the haze...

Ya who’ jumme gae bile ya heed,
The senorita said
"I’ll drag yer lungs out through yer nose"...
Space truckers free and high,
Teamsters get ya by and by,
That should keep you on your toes...

They got a gun at your head,
But you ain’t necessarily playing their game...
They can’t resist
A gypsy’s kiss,
All that’s needed to drive them insane...

John Wayne, the Alamo,
Crazy Horse, Geronimo,
I’ll smoke a piece with you...
Mind, body, heart and soul,
We got rock and roll
And there’s nothing they can do...

Hear the small voice of truth,
Above the shouting despair of the crowd,
What do you wish?
A gypsy’s kiss,
Gets you strong for crying out loud...


Check out Ian Gillans autobiography.
He explains alot of his lyrics there and the story behind them.
Can't remember if this particular one is mentioned though.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Those two albums were splendid. A group that was re-energised after a layoff.

But, if you're not listening to the band since then, you're missing out. With the exception of an album where Joe Lynn Turner (the backup quarterback of rock) is on vocals, all the Purple albums are strong. Even with the defection of Blackmore, who I've always regarded as being overated as a guitar god anyway, the band continues to rock and they're replaced original members with good replacements in Morse and Don Airey. You should check them out.

Cheers, but I widely checked the live stuff with Morse and "Bananas" (what a bore, I thought) and the latest one (2005, which sounds a bit more intersting), but I can't get used to Steve Morse, really. I even hate the way he plays the golden stuff on stage and the fact he poses so much in the middle of the scene, so much more than Ritchie Blackmore himself!...
I also checked Morse's solo stuff, and I was way more interested in it. Him playing Deep Purple classic is heresy IMO. :cool:

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Terry
SOMEONE explain what the fuck Ian means!!:D

Yes, this would be worth a Nobel Prize! :D

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Apollo
Check out Ian Gillans autobiography.
He explains alot of his lyrics there and the story behind them.
Can't remember if this particular one is mentioned though.

Thanks a lot for the hint! :cool:

But hey, it probably took him a couple of hours to write those lyrics, then how long did it take him in his book for exegesis? :D

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
I think they`re good but not great Purple albums.

They don`t have the rawness of the earlier MKII albums, Lord`s organ (OO-ER!) doesn`t have the same distortion as the early 70`s which gave songs like "Black night" and "Space truckin`" a real growling bottom end.

I think letting Roger Glover produce them was a mistake as he made the sound too much like the later Rainbow albums which he also produced.

I didn't put "Perfect Strangers" nor "House of Blue Light" in the same league as "In Rock" or "Machine Head".
Their sound is different, you're right, but the context and their musical approach are as well; however I persist in thinking "Perfect Strangers" is more interesting in many points (inspiration, composition, energy) than "Fireball" or "Who do we think we are". :cool:

BTW, the search engine of YouTube still doesn't work as far as I'm concerned. Is it just me or a general breakdown? :confused:

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
I think they`re good but not great Purple albums.

They don`t have the rawness of the earlier MKII albums, Lord`s organ (OO-ER!) doesn`t have the same distortion as the early 70`s which gave songs like "Black night" and "Space truckin`" a real growling bottom end.

I think letting Roger Glover produce them was a mistake as he made the sound too much like the later Rainbow albums which he also produced.


I don't think Roger Glover is much of a producer anyways.

[binnie]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
I don't think Roger Glover is much of a producer anyways.

Yeah, wasn't it him that produced one of the 70's Priest albums, Sin after Sin I think....


Fucking stella songs with pisy production....

[Mr. Vengeance]

Originally posted by Jérôme Frenchise
Cheers, but I widely checked the live stuff with Morse and "Bananas" (what a bore, I thought) and the latest one (2005, which sounds a bit more intersting), but I can't get used to Steve Morse, really. I even hate the way he plays the golden stuff on stage and the fact he poses so much in the middle of the scene, so much more than Ritchie Blackmore himself!...
I also checked Morse's solo stuff, and I was way more interested in it. Him playing Deep Purple classic is heresy IMO. :cool:

I really don't hear that much of a difference, other than Morse IMO is a little more melodic.

It woudn't be hard to be more animated on stage than Blackmore. The guy was a fucking statue up there. Old, "I'm gonna play with my back to the audience" Ritchie.

I thought both Bananas and Rapture of the Deep were pretty strong records.

For Binnie- check out the following:
Rapture of the Deep
Bananas
The Battle Rages On
Abandon
Purpendicular

All are later Purple and all pretty good. Avoid Masters and Slaves with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals....ugh.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by binnie
Yeah, wasn't it him that produced one of the 70's Priest albums, Sin after Sin I think....


Fucking stella songs with pisy production....

He remastered In Rock...and the original mix is better.

[nosuchluck]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance


The Battle Rages On



isn't that with the Mark II lineup?

[Mr. Vengeance]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
isn't that with the Mark II lineup?

Yup. Reunited again after the Joe Lynn Turner Experience of Masters and Slaves.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
isn't that with the Mark II lineup?


Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Yup. Reunited again after the Joe Lynn Turner Experience of Masters and Slaves.

Hey good news! :) I thought I had everything they've made as "Mark II"... I'll be on the hunt for ""The Battle Rages On" no later than now. Cheers! :cool:

[Mr. Vengeance]

Originally posted by Jérôme Frenchise
Hey good news! :) I thought I had everything they've made as "Mark II"... I'll be on the hunt for ""The Battle Rages On" no later than now. Cheers! :cool:

Very little known about the album. Didn't sell well at all, but you can come across it in second hand shops. Or order it online.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Very little known about the album. Didn't sell well at all, but you can come across it in second hand shops. Or order it online.

Cheers again! What do you think of that album, by the way?

I mean, for the price I purchase it, I don't mind being disappointed, but I dig "Perfect Strangers" and "House of Blue Light" so much (especially the former), I'm curious about it, as far as it can be included - or not - in a "trilogy" as the sleeve suggests. :cool:

[nosuchluck]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Yup. Reunited again after the Joe Lynn Turner Experience of Masters and Slaves.

yeah. pretty good album...i'm sure i've got it around here somewhere.

Jerome, the Mark II lineup made a live album called "Come Hell or High Water" right after "The Battle Rages On".
i think there's a DVD or VHS from that tour too...

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Yea, I've got an old VHS copy. Its quite good, except for some of Gillan's higher notes. Some interesting interviews that were conducted just after Blackmore left as well.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
yeah. pretty good album...i'm sure i've got it around here somewhere.

Jerome, the Mark II lineup made a live album called "Come Hell or High Water" right after "The Battle Rages On".
i think there's a DVD or VHS from that tour too...

Cheers, NSL. So there was "Nobody's Perfect" in 1988, and then "Come Hell or High Water" in 1994 or so... Great!
I'll only go for the songs from "Perfect Strangers" and "HoBL" though, as I doubt the versions of the old golden tunes are indispensable in there... I'd rather keep "Made in Japan" in mind. :)

All I ever bought was from "Mark II", I never could give a damn about what they did before, and I couldn't care less about their stuff with Coverdale, Bolin and the rest.
I happen to have burnt copies of "Bananas" (so insipid IMO) and "Rapture of the Deep" (which is way more interesting I think), but honestly what has it got to do with Deep Purple?

I know you can say so about many a band, the "they're not half of what they used to be" thing, yet I wonder how people can feel that excited at their gigs today. Maybe it's just me. :cool:

[nosuchluck]

i don't think they should run the 'Deep Purple' name into the ground anymore - it ain't Deep Purple without Blackmore, Lord, Paice - Paice is the only one of the three thats still there.

also, the music is really boring - 'Bananas' was horrible and what little i heard of 'Rapture of the Deep' didn't really grab my attention. However, i thought 'Abandon' was a really solid album.

[Mr. Vengeance]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
i don't think they should run the 'Deep Purple' name into the ground anymore - it ain't Deep Purple without Blackmore, Lord, Paice - Paice is the only one of the three thats still there.

also, the music is really boring - 'Bananas' was horrible and what little i heard of 'Rapture of the Deep' didn't really grab my attention. However, i thought 'Abandon' was a really solid album.

I rather liked Bananas and Rapture.

Jerome, Battle Rages On is pretty much the same kind of stuff you got on PS and HOBL. Good music.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
i don't think they should run the 'Deep Purple' name into the ground anymore - it ain't Deep Purple without Blackmore, Lord, Paice - Paice is the only one of the three thats still there.

I would add Gillan and Glover here, personally. It's the five of them together or nothing. :)


Originally posted by nosuchluck
also, the music is really boring - 'Bananas' was horrible and what little i heard of 'Rapture of the Deep' didn't really grab my attention. However, i thought 'Abandon' was a really solid album.

One night I made dinner for a bunch of friends, and one of them, the one who's a fan - but how much can he state he's a fan as he can bear the Steve Morse joke (I insist I dig his solo stuff)? - brought me a burned copy of "Bananas".
I remember skipping tracks pretty fast (at least for him), saying "We-ell?"...", "what's the point?", "what's this?", "I don't care", etc... Which made him crazy, as he says he is a DP fan, which I keep on repeating he can't be for bearing such a shit from them... To be precise, he interviewed them three times for a Swiss mag, and he particularly had answers from Morse, so... For him, it's an explanation, for me... proof that he got gaga! :D

"Abandon", I never heard of that one... In French, it means "abandonment", which is probably what they should do, abandon the ship: it hasn't been going anywhere for such a long time...

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Jerome, Battle Rages On is pretty much the same kind of stuff you got on PS and HOBL. Good music.

Cheers Mr V.! Now I have the whole album, minus one track ("Anya").
I have to listen to it more carefully, but right away it seems the tracks aren't as coherent as they were in "Perfect Strangers"... I mean the first impression I had was that Blackmore had been manufacturing riffs and Gillan had DIYed lyrics on that, and the other three had played along.
I guess I need to listen to the album a few more times, but for now I haven't got a positive feeling about it.
Maybe growing old I've grown way harder to please? :D
But I'm not giving up on that record. :)

[nosuchluck]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
I rather liked Bananas and Rapture.



to each his own.

i always felt that Morse had way too many projects happening on the side to really contribute something unique to DP. he's a great guitarist...

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by nosuchluck
i always felt that Morse had way too many projects happening on the side to really contribute something unique to DP. he's a great guitarist...

I've once listened to two of his solo albums, and well, I really enjoyed them. So if there's something wrong with his involvement, then he should stick his fingers out of his butthole (as we say in French) and start REALLY working on Deep Purple's music IMO - maybe he thinks it's easy for him... :rolleyes: Fuck, he makes a total mess of the legendary catalogue, and I find what he does on the two studio albums I've listened to very dispensable...-, because the way he plays doesn't serve the band and its grandeur. It's only lessening. :cool: