Perfect Strangers. The 1984 reunion album of the Mark II lineup of Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, John Lord and Ian Paice. Everybody thought, "oh, they haven't played together in 11 years, this wont be good". Correction, Ian Paice and John Lord played in Paice, Ashton and Lord after the split and then in Whitesnake with David Coverdale, and Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover were just in Rainbow together. So Anyways, 11 years after "Who Do We Think We Are", Deep Purple still knows how to impress. Easily one of the classics.
1. Knocking at your back door: The opener does not disappoint. A little ditty about anal sex shows no weakness or any lost groove. Ritchies solo shows he's changed, but its been for the better. Great keyboard work from Lord, and Glover holds down the groove with Paice very, very well. 5/5
2. Under the Gun: Great keyboard intro from Lord, great lyrical work from Gillan, and an excellent solo from Ritchie in the beginning, then another great one towards the end. Solid work from Glover and Paice one again. 5/5
3. Nobody's Home: Sweet synthisizer opening from Lord, then Gillan comes in with some great singing (man its never sucked, not even Born Again with Black Sabbath). Great riff from Ritchie who proves he's still got it. Finally a John Lord solo. Not as BAM! as Highway Star or Rat Bat Blue, but still holds its own. Ritchie closes the song with another great solo, then a nice ending riff. 5/5
4. Mean Streak: I dont get how Gillan comes up with the lyrics he does, it just talks about wierd things and it just fits so great. An opening Blackmore/Lord duel busts out good. About halfway through, Ritchie busts in with another excellent solo (same as Gillan, everything he did never sucked). Great improvising thing from Blackmore towards the end of the song, Lord has a great keyboard ending. 5/5
5. Perfect Strangers: Come on. Perfect Strangers has the single most awesome and coolest keyboard intro ever. John Lord is the MAN. Rudess, Moore, Sherinian, Wakeman, Airey, nobody touches him. Gillan busts in with his classic singing style (its changed since the early days, but its still just as good). Really simple style of riff from everyone, but it still has that excellent groove. Blackmore busts out some good fills during the semi breaks before the end styles. No real solo's, except for kind of John Lords keyboarding towards the end of the song, but its not a real solo. 5/5
6. Gypsy's Kiss: Cool intro, then an awesomekeyboard/guitar riff. Sweet guitar solo from Blackmore, then busts into a different style, then into another sweet different style solo. And to make it better, Lord has a great solo to make it the greatest solo's on the album. Gillans lyrical phrasing such as "John Wayne, The Alamo/CrazyHorse, Geronimo" is just perfect. Best song on the album. Blackmore has another ending solo, reminds me of the "Difficult to Cure" solo's. Just pure perfection, nothing but from Blakcmore. 6/5
7. Wasted Sunsets: Man, Ritchie Blackmore is the riff master. Proof with this one. Slower tempo song, Gillan shows it doesn't have to be fast to be great. Sweet little fills from Blackmore and Lord through the chorus', then into a Blackmore solo. Glover and Paice hold it down very well. Probably the greatest rhythm section music has seen to this very day. Another Blackmore solo to end the song. 5/5
8. Hungry Daze: Straightforward same note thing for the open, then into another wicked riff (reminds me of the Kill the King part where its like *riff* "Kill the King". Straightforward from there until another superb Blackmore solo. The band breaks off, with Paice hitting a tamborine (or is it Gillan?) and solo's from there. Then a Paice/Glover thing for a bit, not much from Glover or Paice, but then it goes into a Lord keyboard ditty. Song ends with the same riff used within the song. 5/5
9. Not Responsible: Just a formal Blackmore guitar riff, then goes into a semi-energy style, trying to pump you up. Gillan uses his worst word in Purple yet, the F WORD!! 1:15 passes, then it speeds up. Goes to normal tempo, then back up to the "faster" one. Paicey does good in this. Blackmore has another solo, semi-different from the ones on the rest of the album. Still good, just different. Towards the end of the solo, Gillan has one line phrases from the chorus and Blackmore just goes great. Improvision solo to the end, then just stops. 5/5
Easily one of the greatest from the greatest band. For Pro's, Blackmore was still great. Nobody beats the Man in Black. Paicey and Glover held down the grooze just like the old days. Gillans lyrics are still just as great as before, and Lord is still the Hammond Master. Cons, John Lord should have had more solo's and fills, but the ones he has still put out as much as before. Sure, you can say what you want, but this album is a 5/5 hands down. If you have In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, Who do We Think We Are, Perfect Strangers is just as good if not better. Once again, 5/5.
