Ranking the Discography: Deep Purple Part XVIII: Purpendicular (1996)

Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple after The Battle Rages On. In 1997, he met Candice Knight, which eventually led to them forming the folk music group Blackmore ‘s Knight. He was replaced by Steve Morse, who had a band called the Dixie Dregs. He also joined Kansas in the 1980’s. In addition to these, he’s also worked with Angelfire and the supergroup Flying Colors.

Purpendicular had 2 singles: “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” and ” The Aviator “. It reached #58 in the UK, but did not chart in America. It was produced by Darren Schneider and Keith Andrews. The album is not on Spotify.

Members:

Ian Gillan: vocals

Steve Morse: guitar

Jon Lord: keyboards

Roger Glover: bass

Ian Paice: drums

The Tracks:

1. “Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic”: Gillan based this song on a man he met in a pub during the recording if The House of Blue Light. The song really allows Morse to show his skills.
2. ” Loosen My Strings “: Glover has a great bassline on here and Paice has a cool beat.
3. ” Soon Forgotten “: Jon Lord ‘s keyboards are excellent. I saw a comment on YouTube that said this song sounded like “Willy Wonka nightmare music”.
4. ” Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming “: This was one of the first songs Deep Purple recorded with Morse. It’s one of the best songs on the album. It kind of makes me wonder if the band was listening to Alice in Chains.
5. “Cascades: I’m Not Your Lover”: A great song with some of Gillan’s best vocals.
6. ” The Aviator “: Another one of my favorite songs. Lord and Morse are the stars on this one.
7. ” Rosa’s Cantina”: My first thought when I heard this was “Paice sounds nice on this! He can go!”
8. “A Castle Full of Rascals”: Another good bassline from Glover.
9. ” A Touch Away”: Lord’s keyboards are great.
10. “Hey Cisco”: This is one of the few songs I don’t like on the album, but I don’t hate it.
11. “Somebody Stole My Guitar”: Funny title, but Morse has a wicked solo on this.
12. “The Purpendicular Waltz”: The only other song I didn’t like. But I didn’t hate it either.

Final Verdict: An excellent start for Morse. Just because Spotify skipped it doesn’t mean you should. Check it out!

Grade: A

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