For the first time in a long while, I’ve put Abandon to play (damn incomplete streaming services, long live physical media).
This for me is the album in which I consolidated my good opinion of Steve Morse, mostly because Bludsucker allowed me to compare him directly to Blackmore. (I was 21 and had strong opinions, as we all did once.)
The only thing is Don’t Make Me Happy brought me back some memories from my first damn breakup, which had the nicest view in Brazil. The CD came months after that and it was still a strong memory. But then who didn’t pass by that?
Penny for a guy, penny for your thoughts, one a penny two a penny, penny in your pocket - what do you think about this album, in hindsight?
It sounds a bit forced and overthought, as if they were struggling to find inspiration after the effortlessness of Purpendicular. Some nice moments too (Fingers to the Bone).
Popoff has said the album suffered a little under - or was at least influenced by - Jon’s absence for most of the sessions, he was busy with recreating the Concerto and only added his keyboards towards the very end, not participating in the writing process at all.
It’s one of the darkest and densest Purple albums ever, but in no way a bad piece of work. Purpendicular sounded fresh, Bananas offered variety and Abandon sounded … committed! Seventh Heaven and Watching the Skies are two of the best and catchiest in their own way Prog Rock tracks DP have ever recorded. Excellent production too, among Roger’s best as regards Purple.
But then with the exception of ROTD there is not a single Morse Era DP album that I find subpar.
Turning To Crime is not really a DP album to me , it’s like a collection of B sides. It was good fun under the COVID constraints, but is pretty much irrelevant in DP’s canon.
I have nothing against the album at all except that I don’t take it serious. And it wasn’t intended to be either.
But, yeah, if you count TTC in, then even ROTD is better, no argument there.
Anyway, with me the thorny laurel of the worst DP album ever is held by TBRO.
I thought Jon was presented with the re-created Concerto score on the Absndon tour (Rotterdam, 1998). Also, the Tour Book shows Jon ar the various writing/recording sessions.
I do know that the Concerto show was made public at the Shah Alam, Malaysia Press Conference in May 1999, and none of the “journalists” there picked up on it. Jon hardly left his room during their stay as he was working on the score then.
My guess is that Jon knew, in his heart of hearts, that without Blackers the old magic would never be regained, despite how hot the new hotwife was (Steve).
Perhaps, he even meant the Concerto reboot to be his farewell from both rock’n’roll and the band…?
Thus, the more subdued, but still good Abandon, after the glorious honeymoon of Purpendicular.
All and every word of the above is just my personal speculation, of course…
I don’t think so. He and Steve had great rapport. I do believe Jon’s version that he didn’t want to tour too hard after 60 and all the evidence that he wanted to dedicate himself to other kinds of music (Pictured Within is from the time of Abandon).
In the noughties, Jon began fading away with DP, ever so slightly, but noticeably so. I remember seeing him on the Abandon tour and he was goodnatured and all, but he didn’t play like DP was his band anymore, it was like he was jamming with another band (think Whitesnake). Not sure whether he really liked the new stage set-up with him being to the right and elevated rather than his traditional “ground floor” position on the left.
He did say in the aftermath that the Machine Head classics had started wearing him down. And also that Steve, much as he liked him as a person and a musician, just by the nature of his playing left less room for him in the sonic picture than Ritchie’s often disparate “rhythm guitar” eruptions had. (I agree with Julio: Jon missed how Ritchie and him had gelled together, both of them sounded best with the other.) Add to this the travel time entailed with a touring life.
It all made sense to me that he left at the time and doing it pretty much after the Concerto restaging highlight was an ideal choice.
Actually my regret is that he didn’t leave Purple even earlier so he would have had more time to write and publish his own music. He could have created his own little cottage industry niche: The ex-DP elder statesman caring for his very own and very English pastoral garden. Actually full circle given that the backing band of the Flower Pot Men he was a member of together with Ged Peck and Nick Simper was called just that: The Garden.
I listened often to Abandon while driving to and from work , don`t remember all them song titles , more the ovetrall sound which reminded me to a mixture of Machined Head and Pefect Strangers , loved the gigs of the Abandon-tour , remeber Ian sing Watching the Sky at an open air show at Burg Clam while the sun disappeared slowly - magic , ah yes , when the world was younger
Jokes aside, it’s great! My favourites are Seventh Heaven and Watching the Sky, but I really like them all. 69 was for a long time evidence to me that the band could still go really fast and Bludsucker finale gave me goosebumps with Gillan’s screams.
In hindsight, it is forever embeddee in nostalgia being the first time I bought a new album and the first time I went to a gig on my own. And it was wondefully loud! There’s more but I will get to it later.
Steve mellowed out a little towards the end of his tenure with DP, but need that be condemned? Purple’s music became more sophisticated and cinematic in the process.
One example does not negate the trend. I’ve seen 6 shows in 1998, plus 3 more in '99 before RAH. It was obvious that by that time Jon has lost a lot of enthusiasm that was evident in 1996.
Popoff, ha ha ha ha ha, why cannot you do any better Uwe? Why do you bother to read that guys comments, you would be better off here at THS with us folk. We noticed the blip oh so well. Use your own mind Uwe, that is what it is for and it will get you into less ‘trouble’. Cheers.
Going off my distant memory here, but didn’t Jon have to have some surgery after the turn of the millennium. Then Don was brought in as a replacement while Jon was away. Upon Jon’s return, well he well and truly already knew he wanted to travel his own musical road before his health issue. But that was the catalyst and most probably gave him the ‘confidence’ to relay the ‘bad’ news to his band comrades. Only from my memory, not Popoff’s or even Uwe’s, heaven forbid. Cheers.
I agree with Daniel, Abandon sounds forced and they already appeared to be out of fresh new ideas. Plus the fact that they attempted to redo an old classic says that as well. Gillan attempting that was madness, he was in his mid 20’s when he nailed that originally. It happens to other artists too, history has shown a burst of ‘natural’ creativity with a new lineup etc, then thud, 'what are we going to do now". My take on it as Abandon to me sounds like they were trying to be too ‘heavy’ for some reason. And of course Jon wasn’t involved frig all, he had better more personal things to do. Apart from a couple of songs, a dud album that so many DP followers do NOT like. At least the production is good. Have to love that Glover boy eh? Each to their own. Cheers.
