Deep Purple
The Battle Rages On...

After the successful outcomes of the tour supporting “Slaves And Masters”, Blackmore intended to continue with the line-up featuring Joe Lynn Turner on vocals. However, both Lord and Glover, as well as Paice, didn’t quite agree with this. So, whether due to the insufficient market response garnered from the “Accidentally On Purpose” experience (signed by Gillan & Glover in 1988) or the factor of friendship, which saw them once again lean towards the artistic partnership that remains in the hearts of fans as the classic lineup of Deep Purple, Gillan was offered a new contract for the creation of a record — released somewhat quietly — marking the group’s 25-year career. The peaceful good intentions behind this reunion did not help to maintain the recording sessions, which didn’t immediately turn into expansive teamwork occasions, as Gillan’s return led to a re-recording of the vocal parts, which his predecessor had already successfully completed.

A quick look at the alluring cover and then hitting the play button to listen to the title track, where the sharp riff and solid rhythmic scanning of the Paice/Glover duo are refined by vocals in an ongoing enjoyable crescendo, for a raging battle. The blend of hard and funk is well expressed in “Lick It Up,” which gives Gillan’s lyrical naughtiness a chance to best express itself. Blackmore’s enchanting acoustic introduction — foreshadowing a future filled with simple melodies and sounds that would soon arrive — leads us by the hand into “Anya,” in the opinion of the writer, the most beautiful track on the album. With the sumptuous Blackmore/Lord interplay — impeccable architects of the sound structure — it carves a winning path of notes and mesmerizing Arabic-inspired echoes that fascinate throughout the entire piece... Noblesse Oblige!

Listening to this album gives us the certainty of being pleasantly inundated by a well-crafted hard rock product closely tied to the publications of the previous decade, without incorporating the trendy sounds that had ultimately monopolized the market (let’s not forget that back then, the Seattle sound reigned supreme…). It’s a performance that leaves no room for doubt about the authenticity of the songs, firmly anchored to the roots of quality by those who, after coining a certain sound, continue to spread it without considering the release of an album as merely fulfilling a sufficient work assignment.

As you continue listening, you notice the irreproachable variety of songs like the biting “Talk About Love” or the hard blues of “Nasty Piece Of Work,” where Gillan’s voice suffers a bit in terms of interpretation. Meanwhile, the immediacy of “Time To Kill” clarifies its perfect suitability for heavy radio rotation. Towards the end, there is “Solitaire,” where the pathos of its layered vocals blends well with a sound clearly reminiscent of Rainbow, making it the second highlight of the album.

The fourteenth studio chapter developed through long pre- and post-recording sessions and wouldn’t certainly evoke the natural splendor and impeccable quality that characterized the ‘70s. The group is left fully free to deliver a good album, which, regardless of personal preferences, won’t leave a bitter taste for anyone, considering that if the “Man in black” had still been at the helm in the years following the return of mark 2, some of the songs contained here could have occupied a place in history, due to subsequent relentless and tenacious live activity as happened with “Perfect Strangers” and “The House Of The Blue Light.”

At first glance, the impression is of facing a crafted album conceived for Turner’s voice, with Gillan merely having to sing them again, highlighting the noted difficulty in interpreting most of the songs conceived and developed when he wasn’t in the band. As mere observers, we could perhaps take the following statement by Joe Lynn Turner with a grain of salt or ponder upon it — whose career seems marked by the number three both in Rainbow and in Purple — maybe expecting a posthumous release to confirm or refute:

“The Battle Rages On sucks! When Gillan returned, they redid it from scratch, but I still have the original demos saved, and I can guarantee you it was a real bomb (Classic Rock Revisited, 2004).”