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Dopo dieci anni di dichiarazioni, attese, accuse e smentite, i Deep Purple, band culto dell’hard rock, si ritrova a Malibu per realizzare l’attesissimo ritorno : “Ci offrirono un anticipo di due milioni di dollari ed iniziammo a lavorare” dichiara Ian Gillan, voce storica del quintetto.
Nonostante le premesse, la band, guidata magistralmente da un ispirato Blackmore, realizza uno dei dischi migliori della sua produzione, secondo solo agli irraggiungibili “Machine head” e “In rock”. Non si trovano forse in questo disco i brani-simbolo che hanno fatto la storia del gruppo, o capolavori che facciano gridare al miracolo, ma si ascolta l’album riuscito di una grande band che sa di poter contare su un passato leggendario ed invidiabile.
L’apertura in crescendo con l’impareggiabile “Knockin’ at your back door” è una delle più incisive sin dai tempi d’oro, con un Jon Lord sopra le righe, a disegnare trame musicali suggestive, sottolineate dalle ammiccanti liriche di Gillan, che si allontanerà dalle sue consuete timbriche esasperate per divenire uno chansonnier di grande mestiere; “Under the gun” mantiene lo stesso gusto musicale schietto, seguita a ruota dall’infuocato hard rock di “Nobody’s home”, sospeso tra il glam e i Rainbow più radiofonici.
La successiva “Mainsteak”, in cui Gillan si diverte con licenziosi doppisensi, abbassa momentaneamente il registro qualitativo dell’album, proponendoci un rock stanco e poco originale, come lo sarà anche “Not responsible”, presentandoci uno spiraglio di quelli che saranno i Deep Purple negli anni ‘90.
“Perfect Strangers”, il brano più riuscito dell’opera è, a tutti gli effetti, uno degli ultimi classici del gruppo : dopo un’apertura oscura, entrano gli strumenti con un tema marziale per descrivere scenari decadenti . L’intera struttura del brano è giocata sull’imperioso riff di Blackmore, che modera gli eccessi virtuosistici offrendo una prestazione fatta di appassionato gusto musicale. Il livello rimane alto con lo scatenato rock ‘n’ roll di “Gipsy’s kiss”, colpevole però di riciclare alcune idee degli ultimi Rainbow, che diverranno un fantasma presente su molte parti dell’album, data l’evidente influenza di Blackmore sul processo di scrittura del gruppo.
“Wasted Sunsets”, introdotta da un ispiratissimo fraseggio di chitarra, richiama le atmosfere drammatiche di una “When a blind man cries” o i delicati lamenti di “Soldier of fortune”, dove voce e chitarra si inseguono in modo straziante nelle spire di un tormentato rock-blues. Un capolavoro dei Purple, purtroppo mai eseguito dal vivo. La successiva “Hungry daze” non aggiunge molto agli episodi già descritti, risultando accattivante quanto basta per entrare a pieno diritto nel repertorio dei must del gruppo, anche se la struttura riprende cliché compositivi già noti .
“Perfect strangers” si dimostra un album privo delle eccezionali intuizioni che portarono i Purple alla gloria negli anni ‘70, vincolato alle strutture che li hanno resi grandi. Nonostante ciò i Deep si dimostrano ancora capaci di creare grandi canzoni, come raramente saranno in grado di fare nel ventennio successivo.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Knocking at Your Back Door (07:04)
Sweet Lucy was a dancer
But none of us would chance her
Because she was a Samurai
She made electric shadows
Beyond our fingertips
And none of us could reach that high
She came on like a teaser
I had to touch and please her
Enjoy a little paradise
The log was in my pocket
When Lucy met the Rockett
And she never knew the reason why
I can't deny it
With that smile on her face
It's not the kill
It's the thrill of the chase
Feel it coming
It's knocking at the door
You know it's no good running
It's not against the law
The point of no return
And now you know the score
And now you're learning
What's knockin' at your back door
Sweet Nancy was so fancy
To get into her pantry
Had to be the aristocracy
The members that she toyed with
At her city club
Were something in diplomacy
So we put her on the hit list
Of a common cunning linguist
A master of many tongues
And now she eases gently
From her Austin to her Bentley
Suddenly she feels so young
02 Under the Gun (04:34)
Infidel can you hear
Would be strange delight
I need you to give your sympathy tonight
When you hear what I say
Deeds I've done
Realize I've never lost and never won
I've got a feeling that it's never right
There was reason, but it's out of sight
It's going down somewhere tonight
Under the gun
Put death in my hand
Learn to fight
Who could care if it's wrong or if it's right?
We got no choice
Under command
We're ordered to die or take this land
Stupid bastards and religious freaks
So safe in their castle keeps
They turn away as a mother weeps
Under the gun
When brave men fall
Under crimson skies
There's a sadness reflected in a soldier's eyes
Tears will dry
For those I kill
Remember no more their names but someone will
The only way to be victorious
Screw the fools who think it's glorious
Who gives a toss about the likes of us
Under the gun
04 Mean Streak (04:20)
She come home last night, rotten rolling drunk
She talk no sense, but she sound good so she think
So I reached over and said Hello
Is there some planet you'd care to go
And she said Venus on the rocks
She got a mean streak
Black Mamba don't compete
She got a mean streak
Temptation bitter sweet
She drives me crazy, gets inside my brain
She spend my money down a drain
So I roll over for my reward
How much can I afford?
And she says
Just a little more
I can't take this no more
I tried so hard, but I can't get thru the door
Because one smile from those eyes
And I stand there paralyzed
And she says
Beg for more, get down sucka, you know what I like
Oh hang on.
05 Perfect Strangers (05:21)
Can you remember remember my name
As I flow through your life
A thousand oceans I have flown
And cold, cold spirits of ice
All my life
I am the echo of your past
I am returning the echo of a point in time
and distant faces shine
A thousand warriors I have known
And laughing as the spirits appear
All your life
Shadows of another day
And if you hear me talking on the wind
You've got to understand
We must remain
Perfect strangers
I know I must remain inside this silent well of sorrow
A strand of silver hanging through the sky
Touching more than you see
The voice of ages in your mind
Is aching with the dead of the night
Precious life, your tears are lost in falling rain
And if you hear me talking on the wind
You've got to understand
We must remain
Perfect strangers
06 A Gypsy's Kiss (05:12)
John San what you can
La la Janette dance in sand
What's the mystery, my son?
Gypsy Dan Caravan
Won Tun Wan with your Chinese fan
It's part of history my son
Murder and rape with your power
The 10th revolution in far away days
It's come to this
A gypsy's kiss
All your power's gonna fade in the haze
Ya who' Jumme gae bile ya heed
The Senorita said
I'll drag your lungs out through your nose
Space truckers free and high
Teamsters get you by and by
That should keep you on your toes
They got a gun at your head
But you ain't necessarily playing their game
They can't resist
A Gypsy's Kiss
All that's needed to drive them insane
John Wayne, the Alamo
Crazy Horse, Geronimo
I'll smoke a piece with you
Mind, body heart and soul
We got rock and roll
And there's nothing they can do
Hear the small voice of truth
Above the shouting despair of the crowd
What do you wish
A Gypsy's Kiss?
Gets you strong for crying out loud.
07 Wasted Sunsets (03:57)
the day is gone when the angels come to stay
and all the silent whispers will be blown away
lying in the corner, a pair of high-heel shoes
hanging on the wall, gold and silver for the blues
one too many wasted sunsets
one too many for the road
and after dark, the door is always open
hopin' someone else will show
someone is waiting behind an unlocked door
grey circle's overhead, empty's on the floor
the cracks in the walls have grown too long
the slow hand is dragging on, afraid to meet the dawn
one too many wasted sunsets
one too many for the road
and after dark, the door is always open
hopin' someone else will show
08 Hungry Daze (04:56)
In a dark and sweaty room in '69, tables turning
Dancing girls, silly girls, all kinds of girls and it was loud
Tuning up to madness in the back room, candles burning
Present the Stinking Hippy and throw the naked thunder to the crowd
In the Hungry Days
The long and lonely highway drags along, it's going nowhere
Sickness and disease and mad corruption, something's going wrong
The mountain's getting cold and lonely, the trees are bare
We all came out to Montreaux, but that's another song
You've heard it all before
In Hungry Days
Along the Mountain Road to do some drinking
And now we're mobile again
Different girls, laughing girls, forever girls, and it's so loud
The crew have lost again, they are beaten men
The winning team united, living for the crowd
These are the Hungry Days
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Altre recensioni
Di cliffburton86
Gran parte del merito per la bellezza del disco va proprio a Ritchie Blackmore.
In poche parole un…'Perfect disk'….
Di claudio carpentieri
Un concentrato di mordace hard rock energico caratterizzato dal portante guitar riffing, arricchito ulteriormente dalla laboriosità di Lord.
I Deep Purple erano (e sono) ben più di una semplice rock band... forse un'IDEA!
