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With their latest studio effort Deep
Purple have really gone ‘bananas’ ! Throughout the band’s history
they have dealt with a lof of unsuspected departures which was
regarded by the media as being the ultimate death of the band. In
the end over and over again the band came out of it much stronger
than ever before. When Gillan left everyone thought this was the
definate end of the band but they became even more succesful with
Coverdale and Hughes on board. Then when Blackmore left fans thought
it was like pulling the heart out of a wild animal. Instead they
found the wonderful Tommy Bolin, a partnership which sadly didn’t
last very long due to Tommy’s sudden death. Later on Steve Morse
stepped into the difficult boots of Blackmore but right now I’m
convinced noone is sad about Blackmore’s move any longer as Morse
has proven to be more of an allround guitarist. When Jon Lord
decided to leave the band in order to concentrate more on the
classical side of the musical spectrum the media once again thought
this would mean the definate end of our beloved Purple. With yet
another longtime friend in their ranks the band fought back armed
with Don Airey. This new “Bananas” album is the first Purple product
featuring Airey who also concentrates on the Hammond but whose sound
sadly is mixed a little too much in the back.
Listening to “Bananas” one could never
tell the age of these immortal rockers. This album sounds as fresh
as you can expect and perfectly builds the bridge between
“Purpendicular” and “Abandon” although I also hear elements which
can be associated with “Burn” or “Stormbringer”. Fans of the rocking
side of the band might not be so pleased to hear their orchestrated
side such as during ‘Haunted’ which has been arranged for strings
and cello by Paul Buckmaster. Maybe the female choir makes it a
little too mellow yet it once again illustrates the band’s writing
skills as well as the fact that Gillan’s vocals still sound perfect.
When you put on a set of headphones and listen to a track like
‘Razzle dazzle’ it’s as if you’re sitting next to Ian Paice as the
sound of his drums gets damned close. The recipe of mixing energetic
rock’n roll with splendid arrangements is once again on the cards as
one can identify during ‘Silver tongue’.
When you take some of the classic
Purple albums wat strikes me is the diversity of material you could
find on every single disc. The same applies to “Bananas” which
contains all kinds of genres but which has that distinctive Deep
Purple thread running throughout the album. Take the bluesy ‘Walk
on’ which contains some very tasty guitarplaying by Morse. That same
bluesy approach continues throughout the intro for ‘Picture of
innocence’ as well before the music introduces a short acoustic
interlude which contains some medieval elements as well before
continuing in the typical Purple spirit. When you think of all the
wonderful melodies Deep Purple has conjured up over the years noone
will doubt the fact that this magic can still be traced on their new
album. ‘Never a word’ is such an example based on a very catchy
melody. Yet the traditional Purple music has to have that powerful
energy fuelled by the immortal Paice/Glover combination. The
titletrack ‘Bananas’ is an ideal statement of that Purple energy, a
song which also contains Gillan on harmonica and delivers a duel
between guitar and organ as if it was composed by Bach himself ! To
illustrate the fantastic composing skills of Steve Morse our
American friend gets the green light to close this album by
delivering the short instrumental ‘Contact lost’ which sounds like a
true classic to me.
So there you have it, the brandnew
Deep Purple album in their equally brandnew line-up. And what a
pleasant surprise this album is as it perfectly illustrates the
friendship in the band and the love of playing and composing great
music. In some parts however I would have loved the Hammond to be
more up front than the way it has been mixed. If this album is proof
of what’s cooking in the Purple kitchen right now no doubt they can
deliver this kind of menu for the next hundred years. A timeless
sound from a timeless band ! |
