ON THIS DATE (39 YEARS AGO) October 29, 1984 – Deep Purple: Perfect Strangers is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 4/5 # Allmusic 2/5 stars # Rolling Stone (see original review below) Perfect Strangers is the eleventh studio album by Deep Purple, released on October 29, 1984. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart during its 28 weeks on the chart, and #5 on the UK Albums chart. Perfect Strangers was the first Deep Purple studio album in nine years, and the first with the Mk II lineup for eleven years, the last being Who Do We Think We Are in 1973. Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover arrived from Rainbow, Ian Gillan from Black Sabbath, Jon Lord from Whitesnake, and Ian Paice from Gary Moore's backing band. In the early '80s, many of the top metal acts of the past had either disbanded or soldiered on despite the loss of founding members. Deep Purple had officially disbanded in 1976, with only two original members present in the final lineup, but by 1984, the classic lineup of vocalist Ian Gillan, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, and keyboardist Jon Lord had reunited. Responsible for such classics as Machine Head and Made in Japan, the group was considered amongst metal's elite, and judging from its first comeback album, 1984's Perfect Strangers, Deep Purple hadn't lost its magic touch in the slightest. The album was a major worldwide hit, going platinum in the U. S., and spawning several rock radio hits. Despite the changes that occurred in the musical landscape during the band's absence, the group did not change its sound much for the reunion, sticking to the ingredients that made them so exceptional in the first place--Gillan's wailing vocals, Blackmore's shredding guitar, and the rock-steady three-part rhythm section. The title track recalls Led Zeppelin's sprawling epics ("Kashmir," etc. ), while the melodic rockers "Knocking At Your Back Door" and "Nobody's Home" prove to be standouts as well. __________ ORIGINAL ROLLING STONE REVIEW The title track comes blasting out of nowhere, like an I'm-alive-and-well message from an old friend you'd given up for dead. With its steamy vocal and genuine, if uncharacteristic, touches of wit throbbing above Deep Purple's heavy signature sound, "Perfect Strangers" sets the tone for this venerable band's reunion album. Lead singer Ian Gillan – who's never been in finer, and deeper, throat – sinuously glides into lyrics that suggest these veterans have something to say about where they've been in the last few years ("Can you remember, remember my name ... I am the echo of your past") and have lots more to offer in the future. For a moment, you almost wonder why Purple ever faded away in the first place. Until, that is, you hear the rest of the album. Excepting the title cut and the rambunctious but less effective "Knocking at Your Back Door," the material consists of hastily knocked-off jams that allow guitar demigod Ritchie Blackmore to whip out his finger exercises in public. The band spent about six to eight weeks recording this comeback. (The current lineup is actually neither the original nor the final Deep Purple but the most successful – of "Smoke on the Water" fame.) It doesn't sound as if they spent much more time thinking about it, either. Blackmore's Strat has such a great roar that you're willing to just let it reverberate in your eardrums for a bit. And it's nice to hear Jon Lord's unsynthesized organ squalls, Ian Paice's meaty pounding, Gillan's howls and whispers and Roger Glover's solid bass lines once again. Eventually, though, it's "enough of the sound check already – where are the songs?" Instead of Glover, an outside producer might have forced the band to tighten up its licks and arrangements. Then again, did Deep Purple ever have more than one or two really good, concise numbers on an album? Maybe they're just making the kind of record they always did, the only kind they know how to make. So why are they doing this? To cash in on the current heavy-metal craze, in which dozens of young upstarts are making fortunes playing Purple riffs? Following a recent meet-the-press shebang promoting the album and impending world tour, the band members (minus the temperamental Blackmore, who, true to his "enigmage," didn't show) insisted they don't need the dough. Perhaps the answer lies in "Wasted Sunsets," a portrait of an aging rock star who's got "gold and silver for the blues" but nothing to do except drink the nights away. It's nice that Perfect Strangers got the Purples out of their respective mansions; too bad they didn't venture farther from home. (RS 442) ~ Deborah Frost (February 28, 1985) TRACKS: All songs by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover except where noted. Side one 1. "Knocking at Your Back Door" - 7:09 2. "Under the Gun" - 4:40 3. "Nobody's Home" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice)4:01 4. "Mean Streak" - 4:26 Side two 1. "Perfect Strangers" - 5:31 2. "A Gypsy's Kiss" - 5:14 3. "Wasted Sunsets" - 3:58 4. "Hungry Daze" - 5:01 #deeppurple