Ranking the Discography: Deep Purple Part XI: Perfect Strangers (1984)

Nine years after Come Taste the Band, the Mark II lineup returned for Perfect Strangers. This was the most successful album recorded by the lineup. Three singles were released: “Knocking at Your Back Door”, “Nobody’s Home”, and “Perfect Strangers” . The album peaked at #17 in the US and #5 in the UK. At the time, each of the 5 members had played in other bands, making it a supergroup of sorts. Ian Gillian was in Black Sabbath, Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover were in Rainbow, Jon Lord was in Whitesnake, and Paice was backing Gary Moore.

Members:The

Ian Gillian: vocals

Ritchie Blackmore: guitar

Roger Glover: bass, synthesizer

Jon Lord: organ, keyboards

Ian Paice: drujs

The Tracks:

1. “Knocking at Your Back Door “: The album starts off strong with this banger, and a killer Blackmore riff. The song was used by the Seattle Supersonics in their line-up intro at home games.
2. ” Under the Gun”: Some great guitar and bass here.
3. “Nobody’s Home” : This is the only song credited to all 5 members. Lord has an excellent keyboard riff and Paice does some great drumming. Best song on the album.
4. “Mean Streak”: This is about average.
5. ” Perfect Strangers “: This song kicks off side 2 with a good bass and rhythm section.
6. ” A Gypsy’s Kiss”: I didn’t like this one much.
7. “Wasted Days”: Some more great drumming and a killer solo from Blackmore.
8. ” Hungry Daze”: The worst song on the album for me.
9. “Son of Aleric”: This is a cool instrumental song.

Final Verdict: The album is pretty front -loaded, and winds down towards the end. It’s an excellent comeback.

Grade: A-

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Ranking the Discography: Deep Purple Part X: Come Taste the Band

With Blackmore busy with Rainbow, Deep Purple recorded their first album without him. He was replaced by Tommy Bolin. Bolin had played in many bands, often as a replacement (for example, he replaced Joe Walsh in the James Gang) . Bolin suffered from addictions to several drugs, including cocaine and heroin. This line-up is Mark IV, and this album is its sole appearance. The band disbanded temporarily after the album, allowing Bolin to record a solo album. Unfortunately, Bolin died of a drug overdose. This was also the last album to feature Coverdale and Hughes. The album had two singles: “Getting Tighter” and “You Keep On Moving”. It reached #19 in the UK and #43 in the US.

Members:

David Coverdale: vocals

Glenn Hughes: vocals, bass

Tommy Bolin: guitar

Jon Lord: keyboards, piano, synthesizer

Ian Paice: drums

The Tracks:

1. “Comin’ Home”: This is a great opener. Coverdale has good vocals and Lord ‘s keyboards sound great.
2. ” Lady Luck”: This song has a good bassline. It’s the only song on the album that was co-written by a writer who isn’t a member of the band, Jeffrey Cook. Bolin sounds good here.
3. “Gettin ‘ Tighter”: Hughes sounds excellent here, and Paice has some good drumming.
4. ” Dealer”: Bolin sounds good here too.
5. “I Need Love”: Not a fan of this song. I don’t think the band’s chemistry is good.
6. ” Drifter”: This has Coverdale’s best vocals on the album.
7. “Love Child”: Lord has some good keyboards on this one.
8. “This Time Around/Owed to ‘G ‘” : The second half of this song has a good instrumental portion.
9. “You Keep On Moving “: Pretty good closing number.

Final Verdict: Tommy Bolin doesn’t sound bad, but I felt as if he had a tough act to follow. For the situation, he was good. Overall, this album feels like an experiment. It’s been called “not a true Deep Purple album” by both Jon Lord and Ian Gillian (although Lord does say that it’s surprisingly good). I did like what I heard, but I can see why it’s not well -received.

Grade: B-

Ranking the Discography: Deep Purple Part IX: Stormbringer (1974)

Before I start this review, I want to correct something from the previous review. I’d totally messed up and gave some inaccurate info on the vocals. I don’t know how I did this, as I’ve listened to bands that Coverdale and Hughes fronted after Deep Purple, including Whitesnake and Black Country Communion. I’ll try better this time.

Stormbringer is named after a magical sword that appears in books by Michael Moorcock. This makes Deep Purple one of three bands that have referenced his works (the other ones are Hawkwind and Blue Öyster Cult). Three singles were released: “You Can’t Do It Right” , “Lady Double Dealer”, and “Stormbringer”. The album reached #6 in the UK and 20 in the US. After this album, Blackmore formed Rainbow, which he initially intended to be a side project. However, Coverdale and Hughes stayed for one more album.

Members:

• David Coverdale – lead vocals (all but “Holy Man”), backing vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – lead guitars
• Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, electric piano, backing vocals
• Glenn Hughes – bass guitar, lead vocals (all but “Soldier of Fortune”), backing vocals
• Ian Paice – drums, percussion

1. “Stormbringer”: Although I haven’t read any Moorcock books, I thought this was an awesome opener. The vocals are really good, and I like Hughes’ higher range. Paice’s drumming is intense.
2. “Love Don’t Mean a Thing”: Blackmore and Lord do some great instrumentation for a good funky tune.
3. “Holy Man”: Hughes really gets a chance to shine by himself. Lord has some excellent keyboarding. Another one of my favorites.
4. ” Hold On”: This one is decent, with a good bass line
5. “Lady Double Dealer”: This is a fun song. It’s too bad Blackmore doesn’t like the funk elements Hughes and Coverdale brought in, because they sound great. Hughes has a great wail on this.
6. ” You Can’t Do It Right (With the One You Love) “: A good blues feel on this one.
7. ” High Ball Shooter”: My third favorite song on the album. Hughes and Blackmore have great synergy.
8. “The Gypsy”: For some reason, this song didn’t work for me.
9. “Soldier of Fortune”: This is a good closer, and Coverdale sounds good.

Final Verdict: Of the two albums featuring Hughes and Coverdale, I like this one best. The band has better synergy than they did on Burn. It’s a shame this is the end of Mark III.

Grade: A-

Ranking the Discography: Deep Purple Part VIII: Burn

Due to fatigue from touring, Deep Purple had lost both Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. Two new members joined, both of whom were in other bands: David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. Coverdale had three local bands (Vintage 67, Government, and Fabulosa Brothers.) He and Government had actually opened for Deep Purple while on tour. Glenn Hughes was both bassist and vocalist for Trapeze. This marked the beginning of the Mark III line -up.

Burn had two singles, “Might Just Take Your Life” and the title track. The album reached #9 in the US and #3 in the UK.

Members:

David Coverdale: vocals

Glenn Hughes: vocals, bass

Ritchie Blackmore: guitar

Jon Lord: keyboards, organ

Ian Paice: drums and percussion

The Tracks:

1. “Burn”: With the new members comes a new sound as well. This album introduced a funkier, soulful side of the band. “Burn” kind of makes me wonder why today’s classic rock stations ignore Mark III. It’s a great opener.
2. “Might Just Take Your Life”: Of the two hits, this is the stronger one. Coverdale really shows he’s up to the challenge of replacing Gillan.
3. ” Lay Down, Stay Down “: Hughes has a good bass on this, and Blackmore wails away.
4. ” Sail Away”: Paice has a good beat, and some good keyboards from Lord on here.
5. “You Fool No One”: Another favorite song, with stellar Coverdale vocals and good keyboards and guitar.
6. ” What’s Going On Here”: This song feels a little like filler for me.
7. “Mistreated” : A nice bluesy tune here, and the best song on the album. Blackmore had intended this song for the previous album, but held off. Coverdale sounds excellent.
8. “A 200” : Weird title. I think this was a weak closer.

Final Verdict: I’ve never heard the Mark III version of Deep Purple, so this was a great introduction.

Grade: B+