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Album Details

• Artist: Deep Purple
• Album: Total Abandon: Australia 99
• Label: Eagle Records
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: gwhill on 2012-12-19

There are some people who won’t accept Deep Purple without Ritchie Blackmore as valid. Well, it’s time to get past that for a lot of reasons. For one thing, the post Blackmore period has been going on for a long time. The other is demonstrated nicely by this live album. That’s the fact that with Steve Morse the band really rocks.  This live album from Deep Purple finds the band in a killer performance. It’s amazing how much jam band seems to be built into this Deep Purple machine.

The set runs the gamut from the soulful “Ted the Mechanic” to the power ballad-like “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming.” There are a few places on the disc where we get some musical quotes from other bands and songs thrown into the mix. While Morse is the obvious Deep Purple member to address, because of the controversy of his presence (or more accurately the lack of Blackmore), it should be noted that every member of the group is on top of his game. It almost seems like the presence of Morse brought a new intensity and thrill to everyone, challenging them to really excel.

If you fall into the “No Purple without Blackmore” camp, you really should give this one a try. It’s a great live album. Sure, the sound is different, but it’s still Deep Purple. And, the performance is just great. I think it’s one of the best live albums to come around the corner in a while. Morse isn’t Blackmore and in a lot of ways he doesn’t try to be. He does his best to carve out his own piece of Deep Purple history while showing respect to Blackmore’s contribution. That’s a hard balance to meet, but he does a great job of it.

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