30 years ago today (2/5/96), Deep Purple launched their Steve Morse era with the release of Purpendicular. Released after the final exit of Ritchie Blackmore, Purpendicular is the first album to feature guitarist Morse, and instead of trying to clone Blackmore’s style, Morse retooled the Deep Purple sound to remain as heavy as before but with melodic solos and new types of jazz and prog phrasing. This era would become one of the longest and most stable in the band’s history.
