Purpendicular is the fifteenth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released on 5 February 1996.[4] It is their first album with guitarist Steve Morse from Dixie Dregs, who replaced Ritchie Blackmore. The album entered the UK Charts on 17 February 1996, where it peaked at No. 58.[5]
The album was recorded at Greg Rike Productions, Orlando, Florida from February to October 1995 and engineered by Darren Schneider and Keith Andrews. It had a more experimental approach than previous albums. The arrangement to "The Aviator", employed an acoustic folk/country arrangement that had not been heard on the band's previous work since "Anyone's Daughter" from Fireball. Several of the songs such as "Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic" featured less keyboard, focusing on guitar. Morse introduced pinch harmonics to the band's sound, such as on "Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic" and "Somebody Stole My Guitar".[6] "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming" and "Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic" remained regular features in Deep Purple's live setlist in recent tours.
Like the title of the band's following album, Abandon, Purpendicular is a pun; in this case, based on the band's name and the word "Perpendicular".