Rapture of the Deep - Deep Purple

I saw Deep Purple back in 1994 when Steve Morse had just joined the band (the gig I saw with him was his third ever). In that review, I wrote this.. "Very good concert by a band who surprised me. Well worth the long trip to see them, and I hope they continue." Boy have they continued, and they're like a good wine, they're getting better with age. Their last few albums havent' done well sales wise in the US, which is a damn crime.

Purpendicular was spectacular, one of the best of Purple's entire catalogue. Abandon I didn't care for, but some did. Bananas was a wonderful album, but I think suffered from the perception it got from its goofy title.

Rapture of the Deep is very much a traditional sounding Deep Purple album, and when I started writing this review, I planned on doing a track by track review of it, which is something I generally do. The problem I have is that the album is so universally solid, I'd end up saying most the same thing for every track. This is a great album from start to finish. Even the tracks that others feel are weak in some other reviews I've read I like. It's been said Ian Gillan isn't the screamer he used to be, and that's for sure. He can't wail like he could when he was in his 20's, but his "modern voice" fits the material perfectly. There's rockers, ballads, and everything in between. A great piece of modern music from one of the bands that defined hard rock. The lyrics in the song "MTV" are fairly amusing, and when I saw Purple turn up on Eddie Trunk's show on VH1 Classic, that's all I could think of. :)

You cannot go wrong with this album. Geezer rock be damned.