A band formed 45 years ago are getting to their 19th studio album and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide, including 7.5 million certified units in the US. If this isn’t a true hard rock legend, don’t know what it is.
Drummer Ian Paice was there from the beginnings in ’68, bass player Roger Glover and singer Ian Gillan joined the band for the first time in ’69, guitarist Steve Morse replaced Ritchie Blackmore in ’94 after the band was refused by the touring replacement of Blackmore, the legendary Joe Satriani. Don Airey joined in 2002, when founding member, keyboard player Jon Lord announced his amicable retirement from the band.
I heard the single “All The Time In The World” for the first time and as result, I almost skipped the album. It’s a quite tasteless, mediocre, forgettable single, pretty bad choice I think. Fortunately I was curious enough and I had the time and the patience to listen into the whole album and I was pleasantly surprised.
True, this is not a “Deep Purple in Rock”, nor “Machine Head” or “Burn”, probably not even a “Perfect Strangers”, but this is a fair, solid and consistent hard rock album with several excellent moments and tasty melodies and riffs. “Weirdistan” have the spirit of the mentioned “Perfect Strangers” and throughout the album I started enjoy and appreciate both Steve Morse and Don Airey.
The other single track “Hell to Pay” it’s a little bit better, at least have a pounding rock’n’roll flavor and the chorus feels almost like a thundering AC/DC. But well, strangely, still not one of the best tracks from the album and I really don’t understand their picks to promote the album, but, fortunately, it’s not my business. Although, the organ solo from “Hell to Pay” it’s remarkable.
Tracklist:
01. A Simple Song 4:39
02. Weirdistan 4:11
03. Out Of Hand 6:10
04. Hell To Pay 5:11
05. Body Line 4:26
06. Above And Beyond 5:30
07. Blood From A Stone 5:18
08. Uncommon Man 6:59
09. Apres Vous 5:26
10. All The Time In The World 4:21
11. Vincent Price 4:46
12. It Will Be Me (Bonus Track) 3:03
13. First Sign of Madness (bonus track on German release)
I really enjoy it, actually I had listen it several times and I think worth to give it a shot!
Borrow it, maybe they will never ask it back!!
