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Many of their 70's releases were plagued by filler material. In my opinion,this is the epitomy of all the Deep Purple (Gillian & Glover incl). It's a must have for any Purple fan. Not so here. albums. The band brings a maturity here that makes the CD strong from beginning to end.
I'd say there is no filler at all, although the blend of styles from the straight rock of 'Not Responsible' to the slow 'Wasted Sunsets' and the recurring Eastern motif's in that epic title track may divide some purists. My favourite Purple album by far. From the simple, yet iconic DP logo that i scrawled on countless surfaces to the thick and heavy production. So buy it.
For some reason it always makes the hairs stand up and makes me want to stand up, jump up, play air guitar and sing-a-long. Any album with even one song that makes you want to do that is worth the money, especially at the price this classic is going for. One word must go to my favourite track 'Hungry Daze' which recalls the story telling of 'Smoke On The Water' a style of writing Deep Purple were always very good at. It is very much an album from a band on form.
Heavy, hard and tuneful with a dash of experimentation. As such, i think there is a greater overall cohesion to this album than to many of Purple's other efforts. I love virtually everything about it. These are also complete 'songs' rather than a stitched together showcase for the individual talents to shine.
Blackmore is buzzing and the writing is top notch. From the opening riff of the dirty, dirty 'Knocking At Your Back Door' to the sprawling very 70's-esque title track, it's perfect Purple. It doesn't sound like supposed 'classic' Purple and it's all the better for it; this is a rejuvenated band showing the critics that there is still plenty of fuel in the tank and fire in the belly.
But if you ignore "big drum" sound on this album, this is still great album. I hate that "big drum" sound. I'm a fan of 70's hard rock. I don't like 80's music at all.
Blackmore and Gillan could only stand each other for so long. My other faves include "Nobody's Home" and "Gypsy Kiss" (I love the bridge section with Paice and Blackmore pounding along).
The rest of the band, refugees from Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Whitesnake, were now right where they belonged and never sounded tighter. Ritchie seems revitalized here as his playing was the best it had been since `Rising'.
In the fall of 1984, the unthinkable happened in which Deep Purple's greatest lineup reformed and reintroduced themselves to a younger metal audience who knew them only from the fact that their current rock heroes praised such landmark recordings as `In Rock', `Machine Head' and `Made in Japan' from this once and future mighty band. The title track is so creepily moody it immediately raises goose bumps and the hilarious and masterful masterpiece "Knocking at Your Back Door" opens the album brilliantly.
`Perfect Strangers' set a standard that was unfortunately not to be duplicated and band seemed tired by the time a follow-up was released three long years later, but the cracks were already reappearing. `Perfect Strangers' seemed like a once in a lifetime, happy accident and is it would soon pan out, the band would never again harness their volatile chemistry to make classic rock.
`Strangers' was a great record because it sprouted its own share of classics that could stand beside the ones from the early `70s.
However, this CD's defining moment is the title track, a song about how the past can hold you back which led to my decision to put looking good for my favorite female celebrities as a higher priority than food-related reunions at my old school. "Mean Streak" is about a vulgar or abusive woman (nowadays, one interpretation could include the stepmother in 2004's A CINDERELLA STORY); "Knocking At Your Back Door" is a rocker about thrill-seeking; and "Under The Gun" is an antiwar anthem that's highly relevant with the current situation in Iraq. Overall, the remastered PERFECT STRANGERS is one hard rock CD you don't want to miss. PERFECT STRANGERS, the reunion album by Deep Purple Mk II, was the best heavy metal album of 1984. The sound was very similar to MACHINE HEAD, and the songs were mostly top-notch.
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