Purple Battles Complacency on "...Rages On

Review Score: (4/10)
Not one of Purple's better efforts, this album is plagued by stale, recycled riffs from earlier Purple and Rainbow recordings (for example, the riff from "One Man's Meat" is virtually identical to Rainbow's "LA Connection") and flat, muddled production. That said, this album has its moments. Songs like "Anya" and "Ramshackle Man" are completely unlike anything else on the album and a bit unlike anything else Purple had done up until this album's release. "Anya" features a Spanish-influenced acoustic guitar intro (Blackmore sounds great - he should play acoustic more often!) and builds into a powerful climax. "Ramshackle Man" is the highlight of the album and features Ritchie Blackmore at his distinctive best: continuous, blistering lead guitar over an uptempo "Green Onions" rythm progression. "Time to Kill" is quite good, as is the somber and dark "Solitaire", although these fail to break any new ground. The rest of the album, with songs like "Lick It Up", "Talk about Love", and "One Man's Meat" is as forgettable as the silly titles. Still, if you're a Purple fan, this album is worth getting for its aforementioned highlights.

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