Purpendicular Deep Purple

Twenty-eight years after the band's inception, Deep Purple venture into the most adventurous album of their storied career. With guitar virtuoso Steve Morse, of ex-Dixie Dregs and Kansas fame, replacing the legendary Ritchie Blackmore (his second departure from the band), fans get the breadth of Morse's influences…

"Bombay Calling" was recorded in early 1995 and is one of the first shows Deep Purple played with Steve Morse showcasing his virtuosic guitar skills and some of the new material would later make it onto the widely celebrated studio album "Purpendicular". Astonishingly, the long thought lost master tapes for this unforgettable show in Mumbai were found lying around in an old cardboard box in November 1999.

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, but their musical approach has changed over the years. Originally formed as a psychedelic rock and progressive rock band, they shifted to a heavier sound with their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid- seventies". They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band" for a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

As a present to their fans, particularly the ones on the Internet, the band decided to put out another live album - such live releases now tallying in double figures, unprecedented for any rock band. Unedited, undubbed and with a three-piece horn section blowing in on four tunes at the Olympia in Paris, Deep Purple are in their best habitat - exhibiting raw power, free-for-all jamming and charging into the new numbers culled from Purpendicular. Reinvigorating the classics, namely "Smoke On the Water," "Speed King" and "Highway Star," the veterans still prove they can mess with the best on stage.

Some may say that Deep Purple lost their heart and soul when Ritchie Blackmore bid the group sweet adieu in 1993, while others may argue that the arrival of Steve Morse signaled a much-needed transfusion of energy and fresh ideas. Regardless of the side of the Purple fence where you reside, there's no denying that the group still appears to be enjoying itself circa "the Morse era," as evidenced by the steady stream of road work displayed throughout the mammoth four-DVD set Around the World Live…

Twenty-eight years after the band's inception, Deep Purple venture into the most adventurous album of their storied career. With guitar virtuoso Steve Morse, of ex-Dixie Dregs and Kansas fame, replacing the legendary Ritchie Blackmore (his second departure from the band), fans get the breadth of Morse's influences…

Twenty-eight years after the band's inception, Deep Purple venture into the most adventurous album of their storied career. With guitar virtuoso Steve Morse, of ex-Dixie Dregs and Kansas fame, replacing the legendary Ritchie Blackmore (his second departure from the band), fans get the breadth of Morse's influences…

Deep Purple continued cranking out new albums into the late '90s, despite diminished audiences and little attention from the media. But as long as they continued to satisfy their hardcore fans, those factors didn't matter; Abandon should satisfy those fans. Granted, the band isn't as young and energetic as they once were, but they are willing to try new material, which can't be said about other aging hard rockers from the '70s. The addition of guitarist Steve Morse has revitalized the band and he sounds more a part of the band here than he did on his debut, Purpendicular. Abandon is a harder-rocking album than its predecessor, but there's a number of layers to their rock, as they occasionally stretch into challenging neo-prog territory. But the main thing about the album is that it hits hard and heavy – harder than any Deep Purple album in recent memory and that makes a welcome revelation for hardcore followers.