Flashback CD Review #59 - Deep Purple - Rapture of the Deep

This review was written for the Rock Is Life.com website in 2006

Deep Purple
Rapture of the Deep
Eagle Records - 2005
http://www.deep-purple.com

What's The 4-1-1?

Rapture of the Deep is the classic rockers follow up to their 2003 critically acclaimed album Bananas.

Genre

Classic Rock / Rock / Hard Rock

The Good

From the very first note, Deep Purple continues to serve notice that they are as musically relevant today as they have been in the past. From the hard rocking "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" to the pounding beat of "Money Talks," the classic quintet rocks harder than most of their younger counterparts could ever dream of doing.

Steve Morse dishes out some great riffs on the Rapture of the Deep album. "Wrong Man" has a guitar line that really digs into the listener. "Junkyard Blues" has a smoking solo as well. Ritchie Blackmore isn't walking through the door and any Purple holdouts waiting for that should simply give up the ghost and get on board with Morse. He's spent a long time carving out his own identity within the band and it is a richly rewarding experience.

Singer Ian Gillan has a few really shining moments on the album. He displays a great shading of attitude with his vocal delivery on "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye". He also stands out on tracks like "Clearly Quite Absurd" and "MTV". Oh, and check out the song "Back To Back". It's a standout track thanks to some great solos and Gillan's delivery of the down and dirty lyrics. The songs allow for each member of the band to have their own little moments with each song. Roger Glover remains strong on bass and after so many years together, he and drummer Ian Paice blend seamlessly. Don Airey fills his role on the keyboards and is a vitally important component.

The songs where the band reache their pinnacle on this album are the previously mentioned "Clearly Quite Absurd" and "MTV", as well as the song that wears the blues rock badge most prominently, "Don't Let Go." These are my three favorite tracks on the CD. "MTV" casts a cynically critical eye towards the prevailing attitude shown classic rock bands coming out with new material today. The delivery both musically and lyrically is superb. "Clearly Quite Absurd" isn't quite as deliberate a ballad as you might expect. It's got a great simple little guitar line running throughout the song. As for "Don't Let Go", the song just oozes that blues rock vibe that I love so much.

The Bad

While I thought Ian Gillan's voice sounded great during the verses on "Girls Like That", I thought the chorus made him sound a bit too "produced". I pointed out in the Good section that I liked the solo on "Junkyard Blues". Unfortunately, I didn't care for the lyrics or their delivery. It just left me cold along with the album's closing track "Before Time Began".

The Verdict

You've got a great album from one of the acknowledged masters of rock. There are a couple of mis-steps to this reviewer's ears, but overall this CD delivers the goods.

As pointed out in the song "MTV", classic rock radio will pass on playing anything from this album so they can play "Smoke On The Water" for the millionth time. The mindset that sidelines bands like Deep Purple to relative obscurity in favor of new bands with not an eighth of the talent just sickens me. Rapture of the Deep is without a doubt a fantastic rock record and you should run out and add it to your collection immediately.

Did You Know?

Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan will celebrate his 40th year in the music business with the release of an album called Gillan's Inn. Former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore currently plays in a group called Blackmore's Night, which specializes in a medieval musical sound.

Rating: 4 out of 5

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jon on April 7, 2012 at 5:22pm

I can't recommend more highly each of the Steve Morse DP albums. All 4 of the studio albums (Purpendicular, Abandon, Bananas and Rapture Of The Deep) should be must buys for anyone into rock. Nice review Tage'!