I tried sending this review to Rasmus to get the site to post it to no avail. Therefore, I shall post it here so you can all read it and enjoy!
***
Deep Purple SPLAT! Album Review
“Do I like this? I *think* I like this… I’m not sure I like this. Hmm. I think I need to listen to it more to see if I like it or not.”
Never before. Never, never before, to quote a familiar tune, have such words been uttered from my lips upon finishing a first listen to a new Deep Purple record. Yet, there I was, unsure if I liked what the boys had put out or not. It sounded wholly familiar and comforting, and, unlike anything in their entire catalogue.
There is no other record that sounds quite like SPLAT! – it is equal parts pop and prog rock, and is both Purple’s most accessible and poppy sounding album as well as their most challenging and progressive sounding.
For the first time in a long, long time, I felt I was being challenged on what I thought Deep Purple sounded like.
Something you should know about me is I love and relish a good challenge, so I was more than up for having my preconceptions of what I thought the band should sound like turned on their dainty little heads.
It took me three more consecutive listens – four in total – for this record to grow on me, and now I can absolutely say that I love and adore SPLAT! and that I think it might be Deep Purple’s most progressive sounding record to date – even more progressive than the peak of the Morse Years with Purpendicular and Abandon.
Those of you who know me well enough on The Highway Star will likely find that astounding coming from my mouth, given how much of a Steve Morse Fanboy I am, and yet, I think it holds true for me and is still going strong after repeat listens. Where Equals One was an instant love fest for me, SPLAT! took its time to warm/worm its way into my heart, and I’m so very glad it did.
On my first listen, I hated the first seven tracks – they didn’t grab me at all. 80s arena rock? What is this?! I asked myself. And yet, something deep inside me loved it, I just want ready to admit it yet. The second half of the album from Guilt Trippin’ onward I loved, but it took me three more listens before I dug the first half of the record just as much.
That’s probably because the last time Purple tried 80s Arena Rock with The House of Blue Light and Slaves and Masters it came across as cheesy, forced, and trying to fit into a trend. In my opinion, those albums aren’t very good at all – in fact Slaves and Masters is, in my opinion, the worst record Deep Purple ever made because it doesn’t really sound like Deep Purple. There’s something very unnatural about that record – so I think when that all too familiar sound cropped up again at the start of The Rider, my psyche must have recoiled from the latent trauma that suddenly arose within me.
Oh no, I must have been thinking subconsciously to myself, not again…
And yet, the more I listened to SPLAT! the more accessible the 80s rock and pop leanings became, and upon my third listen of the record they actually felt more natural to me and began to make sense.
Where they felt forced in the 80s was no longer the case here, as Purple were no longer following a trend, but being themselves. And that is all thanks to Simon McBride, who is one of the standouts on this record – more on him in a bit.
The MVP of this record, in my reckoning, is none other than Ian Gillan, who to me is the star of this record.
I dislike doing track by track reviews, so lets start with the contributions of Mr. Gillan who I firmly believe is the absolute standout on SPLAT!
On past Purple records of late, Ian’s age has been creeping into his voice. He’s nearly 81 now, so that’s no surprise, and yet on SPLAT! he sounds young, fresh and reinvigorated and full of energy once more.
And… he is screaming again! Screaming! At 80!
Just listen to those screams on Guilt Trippin’! Yes Ian, do start screaming again at 80 years of age! Let it out, man! Throughout this whole record, Gillan shines, giving a vocal master class that is equal parts restraint and hard driven, rock n roll energy. He has really mastered his baritone range now and his voice is full of confidence and control. He knows where to hold back, and when to rip and let loose within the parameters of his lowered vocal range.
His real stand out to me, though, are his lyrics on this record.
I’ve never laughed so much when listening to a Purple album, and Ian’s wit and word play are at their finest here. The Rider has so many delightful Gillanisms – I simply must find out what a poddy-macologist is! – and it’s satire of the swollen headed lead rock vocalist is spot on. Who exactly Ian is poking fun at I can’t quite tell, but it’s bloody brilliant, whoever it’s talking about.
Other witty lyrics include the jaunty Jessica’s Bra which is full of tongue in cheek humour, the philosophical and humorous title track of SPLAT!, and my personal favourite, My New Movie which had me howling with laughter till the very end and reminded me of my days of youth and trying to convince my friends to be in my own terrible home made movies when I was a teenager. My partner is quite convinced Ian is singing of making a film of the more X rated nature, and given his history of bawdy lyrics, I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if this were the case. It’s a sure fire riot, and the riffs on that track alone are worth the price of admission.
The best lyric on the whole record for me, however, is to be found in Scriblin’ Gib’rish, a marvelous anti AI rant which contains this little nugget of pure gold – “I’m a sophisticated man, emphasis on fist.”
Pure genius. This record is Ian’s time to shine, and shine he most certainly does!
Now, to the rhythm section!
Ian Paice and Roger Glover are, of course, the most thunderous and best rhythm section in all of rock and roll, and boy, do they deliver on this record. Roger’s bass lines are fluid and adventurous, with Third Call and the title track being absolute standouts for the bass master to shine with his harder-than- they-appear-to-play bass lines. Simple they may seem, and as we know with Roger, they are anything but!
Paicey is playing far less flashy than he was on Equals One, but he’s thundering away like a monster on SPLAT! While I do find Bob Ezrin’s production to be a bit too compressed for my tastes, I actually think he’s done a great job at making Paicey’s drums sound driving and thunderous, and I feel this is the best drum sound of all the Ezrin produced records.
Ian Paice is laying down the thunder hard on this record, focusing more on monster grooves, and driving that train as always non stop. He doesn’t elt up for a second, and why would he? The standout moment for him and Roger is of course the intro for the title track, with the way Paicey just comes barrelling in and then Roger adds that fantastic bass line, is just a pure chef’s kiss, in my opinion.
If I had one small criticism of SPLAT! it’s that I wish Roger’s bass was turned up a bit more in the mix – I actually appreciate Bob’s contribution of turning him up more on past records, and I feel we could use a bit more of that here. If my only major complaint is that the record could use a bit more low end, you know the boys have made a damn fine record indeed!
Now, on to the other MVP of this new record, our fantastic resident banjo player, Simon McBride, who has really put his stamp on this album and is not afraid to display his influences and be himself, and thank goodness for that!
Simon comes from the world of 80s rock, I feel. It seems very natural to him – you can hear Gary Moore in his playing, yes, but listen closely and you can also hear a ton of Steve Lukather in his lead lines. What is more 80s pop rock than Toto, I ask you? Simon wears this influence on his sleeve very comfortably and naturally, and so, these influences have now become a natural part of the band’s sound. It is no longer forced or trendy like it was on Slaves and Masters, but rather it’s now become the band stretching out and daring to try something new again.
Simon has come into his own on this record – his tone is warm, direct and a complete force of nature. There are so many astounding guitar solos and lead lines on SPLAT! that are just too good, it’s really hard to pick a favourite, and that’s a high compliment. I think however, that if I had to pick just one, the solo in My New Movie takes the cake for me for its sheer take no prisoners quality.
SPLAT! Is not Purple’s heaviest sounding record, despite what the promo material may have you believe – I still feel that honour goes to Abandon – Steve Morse’s cold, aggressive, over driven snarling tone littered with pinch harmonics gives that record the heaviest sound in the Purple Catalogue for me.
SPLAT! does however come very close – listen to the main riff on Scriblin’ Gib‘rish and tell me to my face that ain’t bloody heavy metal! Second Heaviest Purple Record by a country mile? I’ll take it!
Speaking of Abandon, where that record failed with having too many mid tempo songs one after the other, SPLAT! attempts the same parlour trick and this time succeeds wildly – where Abandon’s songs felt a bit too plodding at times, the material on SPLAT! has enough drive and sheer power to make you not care that most of the first seven tunes sit in and around the same mid tempo range. That is no small feat, and that is in large part thanks to the dream team of Simon McBride and Don Airey.
Simon and Don have really fallen into their own groove with each other and seem to be thinking inside each other’s head. Their musical synchronicity is rivalled by only that of Jon and Ritchie. For some reason, I always felt Don and Steve never quite clicked the same way Steve and Jon Lord did, or Jon and Ritchie for that matter, and finally, finally we have the return of that most essential of Deep Purple elements, The Very Thing That Makes Deep Purple What It Is.
The Gorgan – Jon’s lovely made up word for that wonderful blended beast of distorted guitar and Hammond Organ where you can’t quite tell where one starts and the other ends – has returned at last, and thank goodness for that!
It’s been missing for quite some time - the last time I feel it appeared was very briefly on the title track of Rapture of the Deep and Money Talks – and now it has returned, albeit in a leaner and meaner form.
I shall readily admit, I’m not that big a fan of Don’s Hammond sound on this record – it’s not distorted and aggressive enough for me. He prefers an over driven Leslie 122, to my ears, with its more crackly hiss and pop tone when cranked all the way up, where as I vastly prefer the sound of Jon’s roaring Leslie 147, which has a meatier, heavier and more distorted sound when pushed to its utter limits.
That said, Don’s leaner sound blends perfectly with Simon’s guitar tone, which is infinitely more distorted than Ritchie’s tone ever was, thanks to those PRS humbuckers of his, so I guess it’s all about different ways of getting the balance of the Gorgan just right.
Different strokes I suppose, but the important thing is, this leaner and meaner Gorgan works beautifully on SPLAT! and the riffs and comping created by Simon and Don are to die for! This record has no shortage of great Purple riffs – The Rider, The Lunatic, The Only Horse In Town, Diablo, Arrogant Boy, Guilt Trippin’, Scriblin’ Gib’rish, Jessica’s Bra, My New Movie, SPLAT! – there is such an abundance of choice riffage that we are practically spoiled for choice here. Dare I say it, the last time this happened was on Machine Head, so that is high praise indeed!
Returning to Mr. Airey’s talents, Don does have some particularly lovely solos and moments on this record – the menacing intro and solo on Third Call is the Hammond highlight of the record for me, with that snarling solo being absolutely glorious to behold! My other favourite is his solo in My New Movie, with that wondrously cheeky little Bach quote at the beginning, which I absolutely adore.
Don’s synth sounds are more on the cheesy side, I will admit, and yet somehow being the Mad Professor that he is, he makes those sounds work and sound totally natural to the song in ways that Jon never quite could – that’s not a knock against the great Mr. Lord, but even he admitted synths weren’t quite his forte. And yet, Don is comfortable in both realms of Hammond and synthesizer, and so he’s the perfect man for the job. His synth intro and solo on Sacred Land is ethereal and otherworldly, creating a creepy blend of Celtic and Middle Eastern influences in his choices of scales and modes.
His songwriting contributions on this record are evident in all the little prog moments that get thrown in with Simon’s 80s pop influences – Guilt Trippin’ is the crown jewel of the album, and it’s a poppy, concise prog feast if there ever was one. That sounds like a contradiction in terms, to be sure, and yet I think that sums up the record quite nicely – prog in the sense of it’s original meaning of not being afraid to try new things.
Don sneaks in little complex lines hear and there, or he might throw in a strange chord change that somehow works – one need not look any further than the strange and stark contrast between the heavy metal style verse of Scriblin’ Gib’rish segueing into it’s bizarre, happy major sounding chorus, and yet this rather alarming and strange juxtaposition somehow works. Now, I can’t prove to you that that particular contribution is Don Airey’s, and yet somehow it feels like something the Mad Professor would do. The record also has I think the most key changes for a Purple record and it is constantly pushing new ground within the context of the three to four minute pop tune format.
If Bob Ezrin wants to try and contain the boys within those lines, they simply will not be contained and will cause an absolute riot within those three to four minutes!
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mr. Ezrin did not have song writing contributions on this record and that for the first time since Rapture of the Deep the band have found their footing once more and are leading the charge again and rediscovering their confidence. It really shows in the songwriting: I honestly think this is some of their best material they’ve ever written, and I’m beginning to agree with Ian Gillan that the material on SPLAT! is on par with or even better than their Mk. 2 seventies material.
On the whole, the band’s writing and playing on SPLAT! is decidedly focused, direct, confident and classic Purple while not being afraid to push boundaries and challenge our very concepts of what Deep Purple is or should sound like.
That, to me, is what makes a great record, and SPLAT! is a great record and a monumental achievement in the band’s history, full stop.
It’s going to take me some time to figure out where it lands for me, but I think I can easily say it’s now within my top five – not even Equals One managed that, and I love that record as well. SPLAT! is a monumental achievement for a band who are now pushing on sixty years, and yet, Deep Purple show no signs of stopping, nor should they. If this is the trajectory they are on and are already talking of making their third record with Simon McBride, I can’t wait to see what they pull out next.
With SPLAT! Deep Purple have given us their most progressive and their most accessible record to date, and that is nothing short of a Herculean achievement. It’s a damn fine record, a very special record, and there is nothing else like it in the history of the band.
It is, in a singular word, unique, and perhaps that is the highest praise of all that I can give it.
Endlessly creative, bold and challenging, yet familiar, comfortable and accessible all at the same time.
In sum, it’s a bloody masterpiece. If you haven’t heard it yet, you should.
To the guys in the band I just want to say this as a longtime fan: thank you for giving us your absolute best and most challenging record in decades. While I may have my gripes and quibbles over the years, when you put out music of this kind of calibre, all those things fall away and I remember why I fell in love with your music all those years ago when I was a nineteen year old kid.
If this is you guys as your best, then please don’t stop being your best, you deserve nothing less than that. I love you all, the music, and this version of the band.
Keep going, and please, don’t ever stop.
Mike Nagoda
Album Rating: 10/10
Standout Tracks – The Rider, The Only Horse In Town, Guilt Trippin’, Third Call, My New Movie and SPLAT!
