Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is the music good - yes. Is it severly digitally clipped - YES, 21 Aug 2006
Why is it that so many great albums are being released on such poor quality CDs?
Before I comment further on this I should say this is a very good album. Mostly strong material, lyrically Ian Gillan is as usual all over the place (this is NOT an album of 11 stupid love songs) and the band have struck a good compromise between sounding like Deep Purple, but throwing new elements in. This includes a retro sounding synthesiser on one track!
Bits I didn't like were the track "Girls Like That" which sound like a cliche I've heard too many times, and Clearly Quite Absurd, which is lyrically interesting, but left me yawning. Another slow ballad, sigh. I suspect many will disagree with the above.
Tracks I really liked were.... well, pretty well all the rest.
Now back to the mastering. You can buy this album two ways. A reasonably mastered import (German) double LP, or one of several garbage CD variants. I know it is not a Deep Purple problem, almost every new rock CD has this problem, but it breaks my heart to buy a new Purple CD and hear a digitally clipped peice of [expletive deleted] mastered for loudness. And this one comes with a mix that barely rises above mono. What were they thinking. But the LP doesn't come with the bonus content of the tour edition - aarrrgh.
The bonus disc is a laugh and wretched at the same time. It contains material we all want - but Well Dressed Guitar was mastered for the Bananas CD, The Things I Never Said and Quite Absurd alternate take for ROTD, and the live tracks separately - three different awful masterings come together on one disc. If you look at it on a waveform editor you wonder what the **** is going on! The live material is a little better than the studio stuff, but the studio stuff is musically the essential bit.
And anyone who doesn't know why this and all other new rock CD's are so bad should type Loudness War into Google and check out the Wikipedia entry.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Deep Purple - Rapture, 30 May 2006
When talking about rock music's legends, there are a select number of bands whose name instantly makes it's way to the tip of your tongue. One of those names is undoubtedly that of DEEP PURPLE - now in their 39th year of existence. 2006 is to be a busy year for the band as they are about to play their largest gig for years when they headline the rejuvenated 'Monsters of Rock' festival at the enormous Milton Keynes Bowl on June 3rd. On the Monday following the gig, the band will celebrate the performance by releasing a very special edition of their most recent album 'Rapture of the Deep', featuring a strictly limited edition 8 track bonus CD.
'Rapture of The Deep' received a warm response from the rock press last year and it's easy to see why. Opening track 'Money Talks' is a bombastic keyboard driven track thats one of the finest DEEP PURPLE album openers for a long time! Following that is the jazz tinged 'Girls Like That' which may have a catchy chorus, but listening to a bunch of blokes in their 60's harp on suggestively about young girls doesn't really float my boat!
One of the album's heavier moments is 'Wrong Man', with a powerful lead riff shining through, but for me, the highlight of the album is the title track itself, with a brilliantly mysterious feeling vocal from Ian Gillan and outstanding guitar work from Steve Morse.
'Rapture of the Deep' is a real cross section of the many qualities of DEEP PURPLE. The epic, prog rock genius is still evident on album closer 'Before Time Began', while the band's sense of humour is still as ripe as ever, particularly on tracks like 'MTV' and the previously mention 'Money Talks' where the band seem quite happy to poke a bit of fun at themselves!
The almost obligatory ballad appears with 'Cleary Quite Absurd', for which there is an alternative new version on the bonus disc. Both are enjoyable and the song itself is a definite improvement on 'Haunted', the ballad from 'Banana's' (DEEP PURPLE's previous studio record). The other bonus studio tracks on offer are Don Airey's best FOCUS impression on 'Things I Never Said' and the instrumental 'Well-Dressed Guitar', which unsurprisingly revolves around an amazing guitar solo from that man Morse again.
The highlight of the bonus disc has to be the five track live feast recorded at the intimate show that rocked London's Hard rock Cafe to it's very foundations last October. There's an excellent performance of 2 new songs ('Rapture of the Deep' and 'Wrong Man'), along with the usual blistering renditions of timeless classics 'Highway Star', 'Perfect Strangers' and yes you guessed it, the four millionth live version of 'Smoke on the Water'.
'Rapture of the Deep' is itself a very strong and consistent album, proving that DEEP PURPLE are still full of interesting ideas and melodies - even without key member Richie Blackmore at the helm. For the real PURPLE fans this bonus CD version will be an essential purchase to add to their ever growing collection and for everyone else, it might just be the tempter that's required to see what Gillan and the boys are up to these days - well if you're one of them...try it!..a very enjoyable listen indeed!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
purple patch for purple, 6 Jun 2006
i have seen deep purple on every tour since belle vue manchester 1974 and been a loyal convert since 1970 and this is definately in the top three of all their work.the other two being made in japan and machine head.it is obvious they are having more fun nowadays than ever and it shows in this upbeat confident album.it is just good music-full stop.yes they have been around for years but so what open your mind and listen.this is a band at their best,it has just taken 35 years to get there !!!!
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