Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Deep Purple
Label: Edel Records
Release: 2005
Length: 55:48
Rating: 4/5
»Rapture of the Deep« was the eighteenth studio album from British hard rock legends Deep Purple. On its excellent predecessor »Bananas« (2003), a landmark record mainly because it was the first Deep Purple album without keyboard legend and founding member Jon Lord (1941-2012), the band convincingly pulled together a quality new lineup. On »Rapture of the Deep« that lineup cemented its standing with some top-notch songwriting. By then, cult American guitar virtuoso Steve Morse (ex-Dixie Dregs, Kansas) was already a proper Deep Purple veteran, on his fourth album with the legendary hard rockers, while keyboardist Don Airey (ex-Colosseum II, Rainbow), on his second album with his new buddies, sounded more and more convincing as the best possible replacement for the great Lord. The engine driving the Deep Purple train after the keyboard legend’s departure was three long-serving members: sturdy vocalist Ian Gillan, Welsh bass wizard Roger Glover, and drum hero and last remaining original member Ian Paice.
Since »Rapture of the Deep« was produced by Michael Bradford, who was also behind the production of its predecessor »Bananas«, the album shares plenty of stylistic parallels with it. Still, it’s different enough that nobody can accuse them of sliding into some predictable routine in recent years, the way quite a few of their hard rock contemporaries have, cranking out albums in their old age that are as alike as two peas in a pod. On individual tracks you can really feel that the so-called MK VIII version of Deep Purple managed to build convincing chemistry, a neat mix of virtuosity, a strong sense of variety, and punch. The lyrics, thanks to Gillan’s ‘contribution’, remain their weaker side, since, as so many times before, they revolve around femmes fatales, although some tracks also carry a bit of social criticism, mostly aimed at the plastic commercialism and emptiness of the modern globalized world.
The opener, »Money Talks«, which pokes fun at neoliberal philosophy, successfully continues Deep Purple’s long tradition of energetic openers. Gillan’s vocals haven’t been at their former, enviable technical and emotional level for a long time, but even under the changed circumstances brought on by the weight of the years, he remains an unmistakable vocal personality, mostly thanks to his distinctive timbre and his often witty approach ‘to the matter’. Rustling organ harmonies are backed by hefty guitar phrases, while Gillan’s singing peaks in a mischievous chorus. Morse, of course, doesn’t hold back on his virtuosic chops and casually tosses in a few short but wild guitar improvisations.
»Girls Like That«, riding on rustling organ, playful guitar phrasing, and dynamic drum fills, has a really interesting structure, especially with its series of unexpected tempo shifts, and in the lyrics the legendary singer retreats to his favorite subject – femmes fatales. Along the way he also tries to reach a few vocal highs that were unexpected for his age at the time, and he even partly pulls it off. »Wrong Man« is among the best moments on »Rapture of the Deep«. With its pronounced, iconoclastic, wrecking-ball guitar phrase, the kind that might have appealed to Morse’s famous predecessor Ritchie Blackmore in his younger days, and a mighty chorus that nods toward some of their finest moments, it deserves Purple classic status. Morse once again doesn’t skimp on fast-fingered guitar variations, backed by Glover’s thick bass lines, while Airey’s full-bodied layer of Hammond organ is key to the old-timer atmosphere that recalls their best days.
The title track, »Rapture of the Deep« itself, is the next candidate for a Purple classic and another triumphant moment on this album, even though the central, orientally tinged arrangement, led by the main guitar phrase, strongly recalls the long-standing classic »Perfect Strangers«. Its epic, enigmatic atmosphere is built from pentatonic rhythmic shadings, highly variable keyboard textures, and witty guitar phrases that might once again have caught the ear of a younger Ritchie Blackmore, with Gillan’s narrative-minded singing climbing all over them. Morse’s solo, as expected, sounds almost nothing like Blackmore’s solo artworks from the ‘distant’ past, but Airey’s organ variations stay all the more faithful to the memory of Lord’s keyboard legacy.
»Clearly Quite Absurd« is a tender love ballad carried on gentle chords from Morse’s acoustic guitar and symphonic arrangements from Airey’s keyboards, while Gillan, with his melancholy singing, shows he hasn’t lost much of his traditional heartfelt delivery over the years, even if he can no longer reach his former, technically demanding vocal range. »Don’t Let Go«, with its funk-flavored rhythm, is a mid-tempo crowd-pleaser whose best moment is a melodic chorus spiced with layered vocals and carried over a massive layer of Hammond organ, while Morse, at the first opportunity, once again lets loose with complex guitar variations. Eventually, he’s followed by a splendidly in-form Airey with an elegant piano solo.
»Back to Back« features a classic, old-school Purple guitar phrase and scattered drum transitions, which are at least as scattered as Gillan’s vocal performance and Airey’s crazy keyboard improvisations, the kind many a prog rock band would kill for. »Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye« opens with a shamanic drum pattern, then a punchy guitar phrase takes the lead, backed by combative organ passages, while Mr. Gillan once again snarls his heart out, since yet another ‘femme fatale’ has scrambled his head, even though the legendary singer had already turned sixty by the time »Rapture of the Deep« came out.
The special edition of »Rapture of the Deep« includes a bonus track, the cheeky »MTV«, a playful satire of the music channel of the same name, which over the last two decades mutated from something respected by lovers of good music into a complete cesspool of sensationalist ‘big brother’ kitsch that only rarely has anything to do with music. The all-around rhythmic variety of this track, with its mocking lyrics and chorus, is flavored with wild guitar and organ improvisations. The satirical lyrics are among the better ones of Deep Purple’s recent years and include, among other things, an allusion to an old friend of the band, the legendary Frank Zappa, who was consequently ‘to blame’ for the biggest hit of their career.
»Junkyard Blues« is, as its title suggests, a somewhat more blues-oriented number with plenty of bouncy barroom piano passages, uncompromising drum transitions, and sharpened guitar lines. The level of improvisational playfulness, mostly thanks to Morse’s solo and Airey’s keyboard mastery, is once again thrilling amid the overall punch, and proves that Deep Purple haven’t lost their traditionally strong feel for artistry over the years. The closer, »Before Time Began«, where the legendary band looks back in the lyrics at the road they’ve traveled so far, is also the longest and most complex track on »Rapture of the Deep«. It opens with a longer, enigmatically tinged intro, where Gillan’s watchful timbre is accompanied by creeping, fairly complex instrumental improvisations, until, on the wings of a punchy guitar phrase and powerful drum fills, it shifts into an energetic section. Gillan’s vocals suddenly change character and take on much more combative shades. Airey and Morse once again toss in some admirable improvisations that deepen the art rock nature of this complex closer.
With »Rapture of the Deep«, Deep Purple convincingly proved they’re nowhere near ready for the ‘scrapheap’. There’s a lot more life in them than in plenty of their ‘old-school’ peers, who tend to spend their later creative years either recycling old ideas or just ‘stumbling around in the dark’ (hey, Ritchie Blackmore). The album is loaded with their trademark finesse, which often harks back to the ‘good old days’. The credit for that goes mostly to the legendary trio of Gillan, Glover, and Paice, and it’s they who will thrill longtime Purple fans the most, while the two main carriers of the virtuosic mischief are their buddies Morse and Airey, a few years younger. After »Rapture of the Deep« came busy touring, while the band gave itself a pretty long rest in the studio. A new, as yet untitled Deep Purple album is slated for release in 2013.
Line-up
Ian Gillan – vocals
Roger Glover – bass guitar
Steve Morse – guitar
Don Airey – keyboards
Ian Paice – drums
Production
Michael Bradford
Track list
1. Money Talks (5:32)
2. Girls Like That (4:02)
3. Wrong Man (4:53)
4. Rapture of the Deep (5:55)
5. Clearly Quite Absurd (5:25)
6. Don’t Let Go (4:33)
7. Back to Back (4:04)
8. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (4:19)
9. Junkyard Blues (5:33)
10. Before Time Began (6:30)
