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Rating:
The title track seems to recall the influences of "Perfect Stranger." This type of track will be the main subject of the subsequent and last album of Rainbow: "Stranger Us All." In the second track, we find a song dense with blues nuances: "Lick It Up." The overall judgment is mediocre due to the imperfect combination of the track with Gillan's voice. The peak of the album is reached with the next song: "Anya." Blackmore introduces it with one of his majestic phrasings. Then Lord comes strongly with a breathtaking melody. In all the 6 plus minutes, it doesn't drop in level. Splendid! Also, note a similarity (not blatant) with "Ariel," also from "Stranger Us All." These details aim to show that the main inspirer and composer of the pieces is indeed the Man In Black.
The album does not drop in level. "Talk About Love" is supported by a solid riff, the guitar riff that introduces it. The song then develops with Paice accompanying it with a very "bluesy" rhythm. For those who did not fully appreciate the previous work "Slaves And Masters," "Time To Kill" will not satisfy much, as the song was certainly written for Turner and only at the last moment replaced by Gillan's voice. Underwhelming track.
"Ramshackle Man" is a classic piece in which Lord first, and then Blackmore, unleash all their blues influences. Good work, but nothing more. The next "Twist In The Tale" is surprising. The track proposes itself at a sustained pace with a good dose of aggression that was still missing from this CD. To listen to!
"Nasty Piece Of Work," track 8, sees Gillan engaged in a song halfway between the epic and the blues rhythms that, however, result in mediocre. Note that in this and the next two tracks, Gillan significantly exploits the double recording of the voice in two tones. One low and the other an octave higher. The best effect is with "Solitaire," the last majestic track worthy of this lineup. Usually, Gillan adapted poorly to such songs; here, he instead proves to be up to it and to move, despite having lost his biting voice for years. To conclude the CD is "One Man's Meat" characterized, once again, by blues rhythms and cadences.
The duration of this mark is practically irrelevant. And it was evident that coexistence between Gillan and Blackmore was almost impossible. But the interesting thing is that the breakup was testified by a DVD ("Come Hell Or High Water") indeed, almost to show the whole world how much Blackmore couldn't take it anymore and how definitive the separation was. Let me describe the initial scene, which is hilarious: Paice starts "Highway Star" with his classic drum roll, and gradually Glover and Lord join in. Gillan enters and runs from side to side of the stage. The track starts, but Blackmore isn't there! Like a true lunatic, he lets the four poor souls play until it's time for his classic solo when he finally deigns to enter and alternates glances from the white Strat to Gillan. Besides appearing really upset, he heads towards the camera, which was strangely being used by Gillan's girlfriend, and throws a glass of beer at it.
Blackmore will leave Deep Purple immediately after just a few days, and what happens after is now known to all.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Battle Rages On (05:56)
Been so many words so much to say
Words are not enough to keep the guns at bay
Some live in fear some do not
Some gamble everything on who gets the final shot
Oh don't talk to me of love
It's obvious it's not enough
Annihilation kill them all
Capitulation watch the mighty fall
The road to glory is lined in red
And though the reason now is gone
The battle rages on
Was it love or hate that got here first
Hate's a habit it's hard to shake the curse
Kill to live and live to die
Human nature you let the strong survive
Oh don't talk to me of love
Be serious it's not enough
Annihilation kill them all
Capitulation watch the mighty fall
The road to glory is lined in red
And trough the reason now is gone
The battle rages on
02 Lick It Up (04:00)
My shoes are heavy
My feet are winding down
I look for her in comers
But she's not around
What I eat is eating me
It hits me hard
I'm one jack short of a royal flush
A stranger holds the card
Here come the salvation in the shape of my guitar
And I'm gonna ride it like a shooting star
I don't want your money
I don't want your soul
I don't need a reason
I just want to get right down and lick it up
Mother Mercy told me
A picture never lies
She told me no self respecting hero
Ever cries
The prisoner walks in circles
The victim walks alone
Scissors cut the paper
The paper wraps the stone
Standing at the entrance to the gates of paradise
The lights go down the heat goes up that's when I cry
I don't want your money
I don't want your soul
I don't a reason
I just want to get right down and lick it up
I put my faith in fortune reaching for the sky
The only game in town that gets me high
I don't want your money
I just want to get right down and lick it up
I don't want your soul
I just want to get right down and lick it up
I don't need a reason
I just want to get right down and lick it up
03 Anya (06:32)
I'm so far away
From everything you know
Your name is carried on the wind
Your ice blue waters Anya
Where do they flow
Where have they been
Where have they been
A hidden passion
Touching a spark
Flame of revolution
Burning wild in your gypsy heart
Your gypsy heart
Anya - The spirit of freedom
Anya - Oh Anya
The light of freedom buried
Deep within your soul
Across the puszta plain to see
The rhapsody of angels
Refuse to dance alone
What do they mean
What do they mean
Your jewel flashing
Across the dark
Forbidding distance
I love your gypsy heart
Your gypsy heart
Anya
09 Solitaire (04:42)
Door
Don't close the door
I want to feel the cold
I want to see the light
Momma where you gone
This is no dream
Can't make it right if it's wrong
Dancing with strangers
Fighting with friends
It's a matter of time between love and despair
Falling over the line
Empty hearts and icy stares
Call me Solitaire
The eyes
In the face on the wall
Follow me round the room
Follow me everywhere
A heart without an echo
A man without a child
Alone with all my sorrow
Dancing with strangers
Fighting with friends
It's a matter of time between love and despair
Falling over the line
Empty hearts and icy stares
Call me Solitaire
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Other reviews
By claudio carpentieri
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.
Blackmore’s enchanting acoustic introduction leads us by the hand into 'Anya,' ... the most beautiful track on the album.
