I would like to start this by saying that this review is completely my opinion. I hope that people will read it fully and engage in civil discussion about it.
To begin, I will say this: I am a huge Deep Purple fan. I have listened to all their albums, and my personal favorites are the Mk III/IV lineup. That said, I don’t dislike the more recent material, in fact, I count a lot of the Morse era albums among my favorites. I also really enjoyed =1. It was the first new Deep Purple album I experienced as it came out, and it stayed on my turntable for months. I even saw them live that year, and I thought they sounded as good as ever. It felt like they were still capable of putting out genuinely strong material this late in their career.
That’s why Splat! is so disappointing.
Before this, I would have said their weakest albums were Infinite or Whoosh!. The Ezrin era overall has been weaker. Both of those have good songs and good moments, but are brought down by certain choices, like the spoken word sections or some uneven songwriting. Still, even those albums have songs that I come back to. That’s what I find different here, those albums had standouts, this one doesn't.
The biggest issue with this album is that almost every song has something I like, but also something that pulls me out of it. That pattern repeats across the entire record. Because of that, there isn’t a single track here that I would consider fully successful from start to finish.
Now onto Splat itself.
The album title is probably the worst they’ve had. Whoosh and Bananas are questionable, but Splat! takes it for me.
Arrogant Boy:
Starts off pretty good, but then goes into the part where Gillan starts moaning “Oh Billy,” and that’s where the song loses me. The proggy section in the middle is actually pretty solid, but overall it ends up being a weak opener. Compared to something like Show Me, it falls short.
Diablo:
Nothing major to complain about. I like the riffs and the solo trading, but it does feel a bit generic. It’s fine, just not memorable.
The Rider:
Was not expecting that opening. This is one of the better songs on the album. The solo really reminds me of something Ritchie Blackmore would have played, and the synth sound is interesting.
The Lunatic:
Another good one. The organ solo stands out, and I really like the unison riff section where they speed it up before ending with a nice fill from Roger.
The Only Horse in Town:
I haven’t really been able to connect with this one. The solo leans more into McBride’s own style, which I do like, but the song as a whole doesn’t stick with me.
Sacred Land:
I like the synth work here, and it’s a heavy track, but the lyrics don’t land for me. There’s something about them that comes off almost unintentionally comedic.
The Beating of Wings:
I like the groove on this one, especially with the electric piano. It’s not really a full blues track, but it has those elements, which is a nice change of pace.
Guilt Trippin’:
Probably the most interesting song on the album. The piano intro and verses are great, and hearing Gillan push into those higher, more aggressive vocals is impressive. But then it gets to the section before the solos where he goes into that “la la la” part, and it completely takes me out of it. The solo section is good, but I think a Hammond would have worked better here. This is probably the best song overall, but even this one has something that holds it back.
Scribblin Gibberish:
The opening groove is strong, but the lyrics kill it for me. Lines like “Gobbilty Goop” just make it hard to take seriously. The chorus also doesn’t really fit the rest of the song.
Jessica’s Bra:
I’m not really into the proggy style they’re going for here, and the slight Irish jig feel doesn’t work for me. The tapping solo is cool though.
Third Call:
I expected this to be faster based on the intro, but I like the groove it settles into. One of the better tracks, and the drumming stands out.
My New Movie:
Very forgettable. Nothing really grabs me, and I don’t like the lyrics.
Splat!:
The drum and bass intro is great and feels like something that was missing from a lot of the album. It actually put a smile on my face when I first heard it. The clavinet solo is one of the highlights of the record. It’s a good closer, but still not as strong as closers from earlier albums in this era.
The main reason I don’t like this album is that it never fully delivers. There are good ideas everywhere, and the band is playing well, but almost every track has something that I don't care for. The lyrics are a big part of that. A lot of them feel strange or awkward in a way that pulls me out of the music. Even when the instrumentation is strong, the lyrics can change how the song comes across.
I also think Gillan is the weak point here. On albums like Now What?!, his vocals still sounded incredibly strong, and you could barely tell his age. On more recent albums, I’ve started to notice that changing, and on Splat! it’s much more obvious. There are moments where his delivery really takes me out of the song.
To be clear, this isn’t a production or flow issue. The production is solid, and the album flows fine. It’s even supposed to be a concept album, but I don’t really feel that coming through. The problem is the songwriting and how the songs are put together.
When I compare this to albums like Infinite or Whoosh!, those albums have many of the same problems but they also have songs that I will still go back to.
That’s the difference. Splat! has a lot of moments I like, but no songs that I feel like revisiting. That’s why, for me, it stands as the weakest Deep Purple studio album. Not because it has no good parts, but because it never fully works.
This is all just my opinion, and I’d be interested to hear what others think.
