Fondly remembered as authors of one of the two most heard guitar riffs (Smoke On The Water, the other being Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven) proudly strummed by aspiring superstars in guitar shops the length and breadth of the country, Deep Purple have nevertheless failed to release anything particularly memorable since their on-off reformation a few years ago.
And Slaves & Masters isn’t likely to change that.
Like many ’70s rock refugees, the reassembled Purple have failed to take significant note of the changing face of heavy rock and the changing demands of its new generation of fans, except to develop a surface gloss by effectively embracing modern production values. With a new album that is musically somewhat stagnant, the smoke on the water now surrounding Deep Purple is disturbingly like that from a burning lifeboat.
