Deep Purple

"Machine Head"
1972, Warner Brothers

Once dubbed "The World's Loudest Rock Band", Deep Purple has now descended to the status of one of the most under-rated bands of all time. Luckily, this archaic treasure has been re-released and remastered with a CD of remixes thrown in for good measure. But enough about that. Let's get to the songs. And what ass-kickin' songs they are! Although "Machine Head" sports only 7 tracks (which would be commercial suicide in the 90s, where it's now hip to have 18 or 19 songs on a CD!), they all pretty much rock, except for "Space Truckin'". Sorry, guys. I just can't stomach that kinky little song for some reason. However, "Highway Star" and "Smoke On The Water" still rock after a thousand or so listens. The former simply kicks the living piss out of Led Zeppelin (even "Communication Breakdown", which i love so much) and is horribly under-rated. The latter is probably the most recognized guitar riff of all time (However, I've heard people vouch for "Iron Man" and even "La Bamba"), and was even featured in a Burger King commercial. Oh well, at least "Iron Man" hasn't been used to sell childrens' vitamins.

RATING: 8


"When We Rock, We Rock...And When We Roll, We Roll
1978, Warner Brothers

Whoa, talk about a tongue twister! That title could tongue-tie that little white weasel, Eminem, any time of day! This Warner Brothers "cash grab" of a record features 8 classic Purple tracks that a hardcore fan would already own, anyway. For your hard-earned money, you get "Space Truckin'" (ick!), a surprisingly hip-sounding cover of "Kentucky Woman", a prog-rock instrumental track from '69 ("Hard Road"), flower-power rocker, "Hush", and the rest are well-known Purple anthems ("Burn", "Woman From Tokyo", "Smoke On The Water", "Highway Star"). The only incentive to buy this is the live versions of "Smoke" and "Highway Star", both of which are better than the studio versions. Although a pretty solid collection, this album is only of interest to first-time listeners. However, since "The Very Best Of Deep Purple" just came out, this crusty old CD will probably disappear from the shelves.

RATING: 7.5


"Purpendicular"
1996, CMC International

The coolest thing about Purple is that even though they are as old as water, they can still write good music. Think about it-- How many other veteran hard rock bands can still write good new material? Priest and The Scorpions are merely OK, Maiden and Sabbath suck at it, and Aerosmith's power-ballads are starting to sound like self-parody. Meanwhile, Purple continues to impress with songs like "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming", "Ted The Mechanic", and "Hey Cisco". Keep on rocking, no matter how many ignorant record-buyers fail to take notice.

RATING: 8


"Abandon"
1998, CMC International

Another somewhat impressive record from Deep Purple's latter days... New guitarist, Steve Morse, proves that he is an adequate replacement for Ritchie Blackmore, but where the hell are all the flashy solos and epic 7-minute songs that make Deep Purple a damn good band? Although the CD rocks harder than its predecessor (witness "69" and the remake of "Bloodsucker"), there are quite a few filler tracks that simply chug along with mid-tempo mediocrity and fail to impress (a.k.a. The Silverchair Syndrome). "Jack Ruby" (named after the guy hired by the Mafia to kill Lee Harvey Oswald) is 4 minutes of wasted pounding and "She Was" ain't that much better. I don't really know if I'd call this a better record than "Purpendicular", but fans who like to hear the band rock should mind it mildly amusing at least.

RATING: 7.5


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