Search - Deep Purple :: House of Blue Light

You got yourself a load of trouble now...

Mark H. | Hanson, MA USA | 08/19/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Purple's follow-up to their highly successful `Perfect Strangers' record strangely mirror the events of the previous decade when the band was making `Who Do We Think We Are?', itself a successor to `Machine Head'. The tensions between Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore were ever present and did much to sabotage things in 1986 as they did in 1972. `House of Blue Light' may technically be a brilliant record but I don't care for it. The spirit and guts that made Purple's chemistry so unsettled through much of their Blackmore era career, was not reflected in the present recording. Hit singles seemed to be forced such as "Bad Attitude" (my personal favorite) and "Call of the Wild" (makes me wince!). They even try to make a female version of their old `In Rock' warhorse in "Hard Lovin' Woman" (yeesh!). Most reviewers have commented on the experimental second half of the album but I don't care for "Spanish Archer" or "Strangeways". It's all very Purple lite to me (lilac??). Even "Mitzi Dupree" isn't all that great after several listens. People seem to love this record, like it is some lost `80's gem but count me out. It sounds workman like (read as boring) and a little lame for me."

It's worth a listen

70s Punk Fan | 09/20/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There seems to be mixed attitudes about this one, but I do believe there are many likeable songs on here, including Bad Attitude, The Unwritten Law and Call of the Wind. Not among the best, that's for sure, but if you don't believe it could possibly get worse than this, I dare you to listen to a few Purple albums from the late 90s and 2000s. Real heavy metal has always been dark and angry, and I've always associated DP with those bands. But there are a handful of upbeat songs on here with a style that you would normally associate with bands like AC/DC. I listened to Hard Lovin' Woman and it made me feel like (whoa!)!!! Many of these tunes can make one feel strenuously orgasmic, so be warned. Orgasmic, but not cheesy like some other bands, so adopting a slightly different musical direction is not necessarily a bad thing. If you like the classic dark angry metal better, then I recommend Perfect Strangers over this, but this one's still worthy of some credit."