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Bananas

Deep Purple - Bananas Audio CD

A fair review of the Deep Purple "Bananas" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Deep Purple reviews here, or go back to the Deep Purple tabs.

Band: Deep Purple
Title: Bananas
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-10-07
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: House of Pain 2: Sun Goes Down 3: Haunted 4: Razzle Dazzle 5: Silver Tongue 6: Walk On 7: Picture of Innocence 8: I Got Your Number 9: Never a Word 10: Bananas 11: Doing It Tonight 12: Contact Lost

Worst Cover Ever
I have not had the pleasure to listen to the record but with a cover like that it can't be any good. for a band like Deep Purple. I mean, what the hell, not even Frank Zappa or Woody Allen would come with such a horrible cover. If Deep Purple would have the sane idea to change it i may buy it, otherwise i would have to make my own cover for it. .

Unlikely Candidate For Entry in DP's Top 5
It was much better than 'Abandon' [DP's 1998 album], which I felt had no direction. In an interview given after he left the band, Deep Purple's organist extraordinaire Jon Lord said of their 1996 release "Purpendicular," "I think it's one of our best albums. " And indeed Lord was right about "Abandon," but it's a lack of direction that ironically makes 2003's "Bananas" so great.
Lord left Deep Purple after thirty-plus years in the band before recording on "Bananas" could commence, though he does have a couple songwriting credits here. "Fortunately," vocalist Ian Gillan said in 2005, "we were blessed with the talents of Mr. Don Airey. " Immensely talented, Airey had been a journeyman keyboardist for decades, recording and/or touring with the likes of Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Jethro Tull, and UFO.
"Bananas" has the least appealing (horrible pun not intended) album title and cover in Deep Purple's catalog, but I doubt the band themselves cared what the critics would think. They obviously had the same attitude towards the music within, making "Bananas" a tremendously entertaining and enjoyable album. "Bananas" gets a great sound thanks to producer Michael Bradford, and the arrangements are perfect. Don Airey proves to be a worthy replacement for the incomparable Jon Lord, whether he's tickling the keys like nobody's business on the title track, or tastefully playing with restraint on the surprisingly gorgeous 'Never a Word. ' Ian Gillan's trademark scream opens the album on 'House of Pain,' the lyrics of which are somehow delightfully hackneyed, but again, it's about time Deep Purple stopped listening to the legions of rock critics. 'Haunted' is a gorgeous ballad (one of only a few in Purple's catalog), and other highlights are surreal tracks like 'Walk On,' 'Picture of Innocence,' 'I Got Your Number' (which has remained in DP's live repertoire since its release), and the encore-worthy and sleazily reflective 'Doing it Tonight. '
"Bananas" will most likely never be as heralded as "In Rock" or "Machine Head," but Deep Purple's focus here was to please their audience and play the kind of music they wanted to play. Throughout the entire disc, they sound relaxed and careless, rocking and confident. Now for the intentional horrible pun - fans would truly be "Bananas" not to add this disc to their collection. .

Contact Lost
Every note is accurately transcribed. I purchased this product specifically with a view to learning Contact Lost in mind. The song displays Steve Morse's musical style and roots very well and its a great song to play. This book is a must for people who want to learn the songs in Bananas.

With an album title like Bananas it must be bad
I went out and bought this hearing all the great reviews about it. Ok I love Deep Purple if you're talking about classic Purple 60s, 70s and 80s but this is just embarrasing. People ranked it with classics such as Machine Head so I caved in and bought it. Once I opened the package I saw the band members names and the only original member left was Ian Paice. I didn't realize that John Lord had left. But I played the cd anyway. I have listened to it and the songs are just cheesy and bland and not very Purpleish. I mean if Blackmore was still in the band there is no way he would have let them call an album Bananas but this album sounds exactly like Bananas. The lyrics are bad and the music is terrible. I won't even bother to go by a track by track review because there is nothing on here worth mentioning. Deep Purple really need to hang it up. They get much worse on their next album Rapture Of The Deep. If you're a huge Purple fan and have not heard this then my advice to you is Don't. You will wish you never had. Stick with the great albums, In Rock, Machine Head, Fireball, Burn, Perfect Strangers and hell I eben liked House Of Blue Light. This cd is pure garbage.

Better than good!
The classic Machine Head was their first truly great album followed by Made in Japan the following year which became one of the best live classic albums of all time. Deep Purple has had some high moments in their career, followed by peaks and valleys in between. But fueding between band members constantly causing line up changes and members leaving and coming back into the band split them up at their commercial PEAK! But they came back with David Coverdale for the FABULOUS Burn album and Deep Purple's second high level was reached. Nobody would have ever expected Perfect Strangers to bring the band back fully commercially, but Purple hit their third peak in the 90's and unfortunatly, internal conflicts caused them to split yet again. By the 2000's, the commercial and hit making days of a hard Metal group like Deep Purple were OVER. But that didnt stop them from putting out Bananas, the FOURTH peak of their career and what an album this is! It should have been the followup to Perfect Strangers and had it been, it would have surely went Gold or Platinum and yielded hit singles on the charts! The songs are so catchy here and the musicianship is outstanding! There isnt hardly a bad songs on the entire album. It easily blows away anything Deep Purple did from House Of The Blue Light on! Part of the style reminds one of their earlier albums, with the vocals of Gillan a bit more refined and the guitar style different with Morse being on board. But the album is no less than suberb anyway. Great drum work, guitar solos, signature organ, and most of all to go with it EXCELLENT songs musically! Who knows if Purple will ever reach another peak like this, but for me I am still enjoying this one! Awesome! .

You can see a complete list of all Deep Purple discography, or go back to the Deep Purple tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.