Abandon (album)

Abandon is the sixteenth studio album by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, released in May 1998. It was Deep Purple's second album with Steve Morse on guitar and the last album to feature founding member Jon Lord prior to his departure in 2002.

The album was followed by a successful 1998/1999 world tour which brought Deep Purple to Australia for the first time in 15 years. In 1999 a live album and DVD Total Abandon: Australia '99 recorded in Melbourne on 20 April 1999 was released.

The album title is actually a pun from Ian Gillan – "A Band On" – and the album was followed by the "A Band on Tour". It featured a reworking of a previously recorded song – "Bloodsucker" from Deep Purple in Rock (here spelled "Bludsucker"). "Don't Make Me Happy" was mistakenly mastered in mono and not amended on the album, one of the two versions of the song released on a promotional single was mastered in stereo.

The album cover art was designed by acclaimed album art designer, Ioannis.

Songs
"Any Fule Kno That" is the first song on Abandon. Vocalist Ian Gillan takes a spoken word approach in the verses to the song, comparable to rapping. The title is a popular phrase from the Nigel Molesworth books. "Any Fule Kno That" became the band's last charting single in the US, as it peaked at No. 25 on Billboard ' s Heritage Rock Chart.

Personnel

 * Deep Purple
 * Ian Gillan – vocals
 * Steve Morse – guitar
 * Jon Lord – keyboards
 * Roger Glover – bass
 * Ian Paice – drums

Other Personnel

 * Ioannis - Art Direction, Artwork

Production notes

 * Recorded at Greg Rike Studios, Altamonte Springs, Florida, 1997/1998
 * Produced by Deep Purple and Roger Glover
 * Engineered by Darren Schneider
 * Additional engineering by Keith Andrews
 * Mixed at Platinum Post Studios, Orlando, Florida by Darren Schneider
 * Assistant engineer – Kent Huffnagle with Shannon Brady
 * Mastered at Masterdisk, New York by Greg Calbi