Purpendicular

Deep Purple | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 1996)
• Original Release Date: September 26, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B000001Y9I
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,266 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic

2. Loosen My Strings

3. Soon Forgotten

4. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming

5. Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover

6. The Aviator

7. Rosa's Cantina

8. A Castle Full of Rascals

9. A Touch Away

10. Hey Cisco

11. Somebody Stole My Guitar

12. The Purpendicular Waltz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Color me Purple! Color me impressed!, September 10, 2001

By 

Robert Dumas (Pawling, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purpendicular (Audio CD)

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!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Any Serious Rock Fan, April 27, 2000

By 

Erik Rupp (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purpendicular (Audio CD)

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!)

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dream's a dream, whatever they say, December 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Purpendicular (Audio CD)

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!