Martin Popoff did an interview with Bob Ezrin for BraveWords:
I didn’t come into this thinking that I had a mission. I came into this a little bit reluctantly, thinking that they were looking to me to make a contemporary rock album with Deep Purple, which I didn’t feel was appropriate, or could be done in an honest way. But when I met with the guys, after seeing their live show, and seeing especially the big jam that they do in the middle of the show, which was just masterful, virtuosic… after seeing that, and meeting with the guys, I realized that there was that original essence of Deep Purple that people hadn’t heard on record in a long time, and that if they wanted to do that sort of thing, I was really into doing it with them. And I think it was Roger who actually used the phrase, ‘put the deep back in Deep Purple,’ which was music to my ears, if you’ll forgive the pun. So once we figured that that would be the mission, then I was interested. I was interested in doing an album that didn’t have to tick all those boxes that modern records have to tick, that didn’t have to have the big single, that didn’t have songs that were four minutes or four minutes and 20 seconds and no longer. That didn’t have to restrict the length of solos, that didn’t have to watch what it talked about, and try to conform to current trends and fashion. So you know, they said they didn’t want to do that either, and so there we were, on the same page, and ready to rock.
Read more on BraveWords.
On May 22 Bob Ezrin received another honour when he was named the Honorary Fellow of The Royal Conservatory in Canada.
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![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan.jpg)
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
it is one of the great albums since the reunion. The intros, the use of ‘different’ sounding keyboards, and dare i say some more upbeat tracks makes this album great.
August 13th, 2013 at 06:09What Bob Ezrin had done on the NW album is fantastic! Like Martin Birch in the 70s, who “created” the band’s sound, he understood what Deep Purple was and is in all those years. You can hardly find a better man for this job, not on the production side, not as a human and friend. It’s easier to find a new drummer for Spinal Tap…
August 13th, 2013 at 08:01Ezrin is a Legend and coupling him with The LEGENDARY Deep Purple was a no brainer. Now What?! is an Instant Classic.
August 13th, 2013 at 11:24Thanks Bob for giving the band the boost they needed.
Get em in the studio Bob next year and record another gem.It is been “the album ” for me for the last 3 months.I love it !
August 13th, 2013 at 15:15Now What!? I feel is the best Hard Rock Album I’ve heard in at least 15 years. I use the term hard rock in the sense of the classic hard rock Purple and others created in the late 60’s and early 70’s. The freedom within the songs on this album is reminiscent of that style and re emergence of musical expression and experimentation. Well done my brothers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 13th, 2013 at 18:07Just a brilliant album. Let’s hope Mr Ezrin and the boys want to do it all again in a year or two.
August 13th, 2013 at 19:22Exactly how it should be done! I love this album and so do my twenty year old son!
August 14th, 2013 at 06:35NOW What?! should be album of the year. Bless you Ian Gillan.
August 14th, 2013 at 16:22Where are all of the crow eaters lately?! Oh!!! 😀
August 16th, 2013 at 06:15I think Bob Ezrin did what Roger asked for. Put the “deep” back into Deep Purple. He accomplished that! Cant get enough of this album! I blast it out everyday! I love it! In fact it’s playing now! LOL! Great album! Best album since Perfect Strangers !!
August 16th, 2013 at 23:58I have to admit that when I heard Ezrin was going to produce this album, I knew there would be a positive result. I stated as such way back when it was first disclosed. What I didn’t expect was just how good it would be. I am still constantly playing it. I still can’t get enough. I am overwhelmed with glee as to the result of the finished product. This album deserves a follow-up. The band needs to go right back in the studio and take what they accomplished here to the next level. The answer to the question… Now What?!.
Ch-BeerZ?!
August 21st, 2013 at 16:139
I had better things to do.
August 23rd, 2013 at 10:10