Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Deep Purple
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1998
Length: 56:18
Rating: 3.5/5
»Abandon« was the sixteenth studio album from the legendary British hard rock godfathers Deep Purple, and also their last studio outing with keyboard virtuoso and original member Jon Lord (1941-2012), who four years later decided to retire from his career as a rock musician to devote himself to orchestral projects. Back when it was made, of course, nobody had the faintest idea that Deep Purple could carry on after a possible Lord departure. The album title is a cheeky pun on the phrase “a band on”, which came straight out of the head of jovial frontman Ian Gillan, who was slowly starting to wean himself off his alcohol dependence at the time.
Most of the lyrics on »Abandon« are full of playful social-critical metaphors, while the ‘broken heart confessions’ are in the minority this time, which is commendable. But that kind of inspiration was, on the other hand, nowhere to be felt in the actual songwriting. Compared to its phenomenal predecessor »Purpendicular« (1996), the thoroughly hard-hitting »Abandon« is a proper ‘lightweight’, even though most of the songs on it sound even rawer. That means it’s far from a bad album, but it’s chronically short of songs that wouldn’t sink into oblivion by the next listen.
You can tell on »Abandon« that the legendary quintet, after the triumphant arrival of American guitar maestro Steve Morse, who helped them so effectively reinvent themselves on »Purpendicular«, had run out of innovative ideas this time. They tried to blend the traditional Purple sonic finesse with a few modern stylistic touches, which mostly didn’t work out too well. Still, the album as a whole is solid, mainly thanks to the top-notch technical chops of the individual members and Gillan’s charismatic, colorful vocal performances. Purple classics, though? You wouldn’t find one on »Abandon« even with a magnifying glass.
Gillan tries to liven things up with some explicit humor and make up for the chronic shortage of fresh songwriting ideas, which you can feel already on the opening burlesque »Any Fule Kno That«. It also came out as a single and works as a classic hard rock opening banger with a pinch of funky rhythmic elements. By this point Morse’s guitar technique had adapted to the traditional Purple sonic needs, right down to kneading out punchy guitar riffs, and luckily he always avoided trying to sound like a Ritchie Blackmore copy. Gillan demonstrates his versatile vocal technique here with some half-‘rapped’ bits, easily slipping into different roles in the lyrics with real emotional punch. On the hard-hitting »Almost Human«, where a hefty guitar phrase rules over a backdrop of vivid organ textures, the vocal master is once again snarling for all he’s worth. Still, the main ‘spectacle’ comes from Morse’s fiery guitar soloing and Lord’s passionate organ improvisation.
»Don’t Make Me Happy« is a solid blues rock ballad with an angry chorus. It still won’t go down in the annals of classic rock as a classic, even though Gillan is excellent this time at conjuring up inconsolable vocal melodrama, while Lord complements him with rustling organ masterpieces and Morse’s guitar literally ‘weeps’ with overwhelming melancholy. »Seventh Heaven« has an interesting, symphonic-flavored intro that slowly builds a tense atmosphere. That’s over the moment the brutal guitar phrase and the thundering drum stampede crash in, while Gillan is in vocal ‘seventh heaven’ this time, throwing himself into the dreamy lyrics. As a bonus, Morse treats himself to a complex guitar improvisation, while the sound of Lord’s Hammond organ sounds especially massive and juicy amid all the punchiness. The unusual psychedelic rock experiment »Watching The Sky« has a characteristic Purple riff, but it’s anything but a traditionalist piece. On this slightly overstretched composition they drift between psychedelia and hard rock in an unusual way, hinting at a sudden attack of nostalgia for the end of the sixties, when Deep Purple first appeared on the scene.
It’s far from the only track on the album where they try to revive memories of the ‘good old days’, since on »’69« they bow even more openly to that era, which is so often described in overly romantic terms these days. 1969 was the year Gillan and the legendary bassist/producer Roger Glover joined Deep Purple, and their rise began. »’69« is one of the album’s better moments, with its fast tempo driven by Paice’s relentless drum rolls, the stormy backing of Morse’s fiery guitar phrases and Lord’s fierce organ passages. Gillan energetically helps conjure up some of that late-sixties psychedelic magic, with Lord chipping in with an iconoclastic organ solo.
»Fingers To The Bone« is an excellent track with a strong central melody, and the only candidate for a possible Purple classic on the entire album, since it’s a kind of stylistic continuation of the »Purpendicular« sonic magic. That means subtle acoustic guitar finesse and hard-hitting, electrified passages trade off smoothly, while Gillan delivers an unforgettable vocal performance in a witty-yet-emotional way. Thanks mainly to its pointedly melodic chorus, the atmosphere keeps climbing in intensity the whole time, with plenty of tasty seasoning including elegant piano improvisations and a playful harmonica in the background.
»Jack Ruby« is one of the very rare songs in Deep Purple history whose lyrics deal with politics, or rather with the American killer Jack Ruby. He went down in history in infamous fashion for shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of American president John F. Kennedy. Despite the interesting lyrics and Gillan’s bubbling vocal mannerisms, it’s one of the more boring offerings on the album, mostly set to a slow tempo with a nondescript chorus. Lord’s and Morse’s witty organ and guitar improvisations try to spice it all up, but even that’s not enough to dispel the sleepy atmosphere.
The spirited hard rocker »She Was«, yet another thoroughly average effort, has a raw guitar sound and irritated organ passages, while Gillan, with his voice-changing antics in telling yet another failed love story, goes almost over the line of good taste. Lord and Morse once again shine with stormy organ-versus-guitar duels, which is also the only positive thing about this rather dull number. »Whatsername« is, for the first time in a while, a somewhat more traditional Purple hard rocker, with a mighty guitar phrase up front and a rustling organ layer, while Paice keeps relentlessly pounding the drum kit. The lyrics are sadly typical Gillan heartache, the kind that can only sprout from a ‘graybeard in his later years’, livened up by masterful instrumental passages from the individual virtuosos. »Evil Louie«, a fairly decent effort where Gillan once again tries his hand at humor, relies on a slow tempo and an interesting guitar improvisation. Thanks to the burlesque lyrics and the searing interplay of the central guitar phrase with organ textures, the main motif is fun enough to give the artistically rather ‘sedated’ second half of the album a bit of a lift. And the best proof of just how chronically short of innovative songwriting ideas Deep Purple were back then is the closing »Bludscuker«, which is nothing more than a rework of the »In Rock« (1970) classic »Bloodsucker«. A pretty odd decision, especially considering you can already hear that the ravages of time had taken a bit of a bite out of Gillan’s high-register vocals, which was perfectly understandable at his age, while the instrumental performance is brilliant as expected, especially from maestro Lord.
Solid but unexciting, »Abandon« somehow lacked the real songwriting spark to earn a place among the classic Deep Purple albums. It did serve as a decent farewell for the legendary Jon Lord, who handed his Hammond organ over to Don Airey (ex-Colosseum II, Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake). Most longtime fans missed the unforgettable keyboard master, who decided to spend the coming years composing music for orchestra, all the way until his sudden death in July 2012, when the last long-lingering, half sci-fi hope of a possible reunion of the classic Deep Purple (MK II) lineup evaporated. Lord’s departure also meant the birth of the Mark VIII lineup and the fact that Ian Paice was left as the last original member of these hard rock champions, who, believe it or not, still haven’t been inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame by the Americans. As so many times before, the ‘old farts’ pulled themselves out of their creative slump on the next album, on the wings of Airey’s keyboards and fresh ideas, and gave their sound a refresh.
Line-up
Ian Gillan – vocals
Steve Morse – guitar
Jon Lord – organ, keyboards
Roger Glover – bass
Ian Paice – drums
Production
Deep Purple and Roger Glover
Track list
1. Any Fule Kno That
2. Almost Human
3. Don’t Make Me Happy
4. Seventh Heaven
5. Watching the Sky
6. Fingers to the Bone
7. Jack Ruby
8. She Was
9. Whatsername
10. ’69
11. Evil Louie
12. Bludsucker
