![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/glover4.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan.jpg)
=1 it is
It is official — the new Deep Purple album is called =1, and the release date has been set to July 19, 2024.
But Deep Purple is more than just their members and â=1â embodies the essence and attitude of their 1970s incarnation possibly more than any other album in recent memory. With the legendary Bob Ezrin once again producing, the record evokes the pioneering bandâs classic sound, without relying on nostalgia.
The enigmatic title â=1â symbolises the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one.
Its full meaning will be revealed in the coming weeks, with the artwork also playing its part. Fans have already been speculating after mysterious equations and depictions of multiverses appeared in London, Paris, and Berlin in recent days.
Track listing:
- Show Me 03:59
- A Bit On The Side 04:10
- Sharp Shooter 03:44
- Portable Door 03:48
- Old-Fangled Thing 04:08
- If I Were You 04:42
- Pictures Of You 03:51
- Iâm Saying Nothinâ 03:28
- Lazy Sod 03:40
- Now Youâre Talkinâ 04:05
- No Money To Burn 03:21
- Iâll Catch You 03:20
- Bleeding Obvious 05:50
The first single is due on April 30th, and little birdie told us that it might be Portable Door.
Available formats for the album will include CD jewel case, CD+DVD digipak, 2LP (in crystal clear, picture disc, black, and purple vinyl), and cassette (sic!).
DVD content:
Access All Areas documentary with exclusive Deep Purple Behind-The-Scenes footage
Duration: 57 min
Screen Format: NTSC, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo
Region Code: 0
Disc Format: DVD-5
Language: English
Subtitles: English, German, Spanish, French
There will also be a box set (pictured above), including
- 2LP Gatefold (180g)
- CD+DVD Digipak
- 3 x exclusive 10â vinyl editions featuring live recordings from 2022
- Exclusive Collectorâs T-shirt (Size XL)
- 2x exclusive guitar picks
- Art print
- Lanyard
Pre-orders are available via this link, and there is plenty of merchandise in the official store.
Thanks to janbl, Nohrmann, Stathis, and our editor emeritus Benny Holmström for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Frankly, after a blurb like that, about everything simplifying down to a single, unified essence, this album should be called 42.
April 24th, 2024 at 15:58https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg7ScERP8jc
April 24th, 2024 at 16:44I am so looking forward to this release.
April 24th, 2024 at 17:17Simon seems to fit well with the “legacy” members.
I’ll be buying whichever CD set includes the live performances.
Looking forward to it as this is the 3rd time I am going to see/ hear them on my birthday and now also the release of a new album. There must be some intention:-)
April 24th, 2024 at 18:13and i think to myself in this academy of fear
April 24th, 2024 at 18:50where am i going what am i doing here
but strangeways is all i got
If nothing else, there’s going to much fun to be had with the track names! But, as with all, looking forward to hearing what the re-injected band have up their sleeves.
April 24th, 2024 at 19:03Can’t wait!
April 24th, 2024 at 23:15Yo,
Awesome news, thanks admin & band…
Though 13 tracks are available, it’s interesting that they’re all of short duration for DP early 1970’s standards, but that’s OK…”Bleeding Obvious” comes in at 05:50…
The CD + DVD version is what I’m going to opt for, simply because of the shyte exchange-rate…(I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this will cost over $100:00 AUD)…
Hopefully the outstanding “DP (overseas) Live Series” releases will follow before Christmas 2***………………….
Peace !
April 24th, 2024 at 23:33I can’t wait to buy this. Here’s my initial reaction without hearing the music.
Promotion = great! (9/10 for me)
Producer = the best! (10/10 for me)
Title = cool, I like it. Not a common title for a hard rock album. (10/10 for me)
Artwork = s**t!, I could draw better than this. Did elementary student did this? (2/10 for me)
I predict and hope the music would be very good.
April 24th, 2024 at 23:45It is interesting to see only one song over 5 minutes. Back in the Banana days the record company attempted to make them do this!
April 25th, 2024 at 01:58@Uwe. You had me at
âOh, God! Yes! . . .â
April 25th, 2024 at 03:31This is quite unbelievable. IG and RG will be 80 next year. Whoose! from a few years back was very strong testimony of their capabilities.
April 25th, 2024 at 06:44Probably just a coincidence that the release date is the same date as the ‘official’ split announcement in 1976.
April 25th, 2024 at 11:36@ 5….. Great call Tony, i love that song and lyrics.
April 25th, 2024 at 11:55I would love to buy ALL formats, but wait! Behold:
April 25th, 2024 at 13:03Quite cleverly from ear music to operate the Official Store from the U.K.
Now all fans in the EU have to pay import sales tax. Super clever!
Another chapter in the ongoing DP saga, I just love following how it develops. In hindsight, there is no twist I would have wanted to miss: Not the change from Mk II to Mk III, not Ritchie’s two departures, not the Tommy Bolin experiment, not the Mk II reunion and Big Ian’s forced vacation from it, not the JLT intermezzo, the re-reunion knowing it wouldn’t last, Joe Satriani and Steve giving the band faith to continue, not even Jon’s or Steve’s respective good-byes because they legitimately had grown to other priorities in their lives. And now the new Belfast kid, all very interesting.
I’m not surprised about the shortness of the new songs, if you look at his solo albums then Simon really doesn’t write lengthy “pieces”.
Great to see Bob Ezrin continuing with production duties as well. I recently read (in German) an interview from the Whoosh!-period where he mentioned that he has made DP more “necessity of a chorus”-aware (never a great focus of Mk II! đ), spends hours in the studio with Big Ian getting the words right because lyrics are important to him (Ezrin) and how Big Ian who was initially stand-offish has become a family friend meanwhile with Ezrin’s wife even inviting him to stay at their house when Big Ian is recording in Nashville, something she usually doesn’t do with her husband’s clients/customers.
April 25th, 2024 at 13:27Artwork: handwriting seems to be trendy these days, but does it suit a Deep Purple Album? No! Do you need a t-shirt with Deep Purple in handlettering? You could do it yourself.
April 25th, 2024 at 13:48The last three Albums were top of the Art in my opinion, nice concept, superbly implemented.
đ
The Access All Areas DVD…..an expansion of the disc of the same name that was with the Around The World Live set ??? All new??
April 25th, 2024 at 19:26“… (a) very strong testimony of their capabilities …!
That was already rendered some 58 years ago when they wrote the blueprint to Highway Star! đ§
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=192CYz4hwxg
April 25th, 2024 at 20:18The track lengths are mainly very disappointing,there is no time for the music to really unfold,how can you have a proper guitar/keyboard duel in 3 minutes or so?Ian Gillan himself once said “What’s the point in writing a 3 minute track!”There are six of them here!I love Deep Purple,but i also wish they would drop the humour sometimes,it rarely makes for better music.I really hope i’m proved totally wrong here,and i’ll reserve judgement until i’ve heard the album,but to be honest,i’m not expecting too much.
April 25th, 2024 at 20:37Deep Purple is nothing without Gillan’s off-the-wall and slightly anarchist humor. It’s what elevated Mk II above other line-ups.
Led Zep’s piousness about the perceived sanctity of their music always drove me nuts in its pretentiousness. “Does anybody remember laughter?!”, my ass.
April 25th, 2024 at 21:55The days of yore with extended jams or guitar & organ duels are well & truly behind us. It doesn’t have to be lengthy songs for me these days, we have plenty of that from the bygone era of the classic bands. Has Ezrin replaced Ritchie as the third songwriter in a sense. Yes indeed it seems that way & Ezrin has always been a songwriting involved producer with certain artists. He has a good history with others & also with the crafty lyrics from the Alice & Floyd days. If McBride has implemented some good riffs & solo’s it could be grand. It is the songs that matter, time will tell.
April 25th, 2024 at 23:17@ 21- come on Uwe, Percy was simply asking a question, even if it was at the flower power time. We (humans) need a good laugh, it is known as a human conditional requirement in many aspects, especially in this day & age with the way things are going. Even at the early 70’s era we were trying to drag ourselves out of dark times. And he was British after all, from the Python era. Cheers.
@20 said…
qt.”The track lengths are mainly very disappointing,there is no time for the music to really unfold,how can you have a proper guitar/keyboard duel in 3 minutes or so?Ian Gillan himself once said âWhatâs the point in writing a 3 minute track!âThere are six of them here!I love Deep Purple,but i also wish they would drop the humour sometimes,it rarely makes for better music.I really hope iâm proved totally wrong here,and iâll reserve judgement until iâve heard the album,but to be honest,iâm not expecting too much”.
Short & sweet tunes in the studio make for excellent expansion in the live arena…And you can actually squeeze a lot of information into 3-minutes or so, but I’d sooner think of the tunes as teasers for the live arena. It will be interesting to see which tunes make it there.
It’s DP, with a new musician on-board, I’d be expecting an awesome album to be honest.
* And I also like the artwork…My home-town in the 1970’s had a lane-way in the middle-of-town where my Dad would park the car, to get to his business. There was one-full-length of the lane-ways buildings cemented side-walls, that was painted with a lunar landscape very similar to the artwork found here. Great stuff, cool memories, & nice to walk along-side at night-time lol !
Peace !
April 25th, 2024 at 23:50BTW, I like the sparseness of the album cover art … LESS = MORE !!!
Ignoring the period piece of the debut, the worst DP covers are Perfect Strangers (pretentious, yet empty), House Of Blue Light (too literal), TBRO (Are we on a tattoo convention or what?) and Slaves & Masters (garish and cheap). Come Taste The Band was kind of corny too. But ever since Ritchie left again, I’m fine with all album cover art they’ve presented, even the much derided Bananas. The most iconic covers to me from the 70ies are In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and Burn. Of the newer stuff Abandon and Infinite stand out though Now What?! and Whoosh! are good too.
April 26th, 2024 at 00:24@ 19 – Episode Six & The Moody Blues from that mid 60’s era. I much prefer what came a little later & here we say farewell to Mike Pinder from the Moodies who has passed into the ether. The Mellotron man & astral traveller dare I say. RIP.
April 26th, 2024 at 01:26Interestingly, the names of the songs seem to make reference to DP songs throughout their history.
April 26th, 2024 at 01:37any info yet on where the live tracks are recorded?
April 26th, 2024 at 07:09@ 21 – Uwe what have you done summoning the gods in this way? Here is a interesting look at it, the laughter line that is. I actually couldn’t remember which song at first, thinking more along the lines of Zep 3 & Going to California or some other folkie tune. Then I remembered it as it is one of your favourite songs. Cheers.
https://dangerousminds.net/comments/robert_plant_is_still_embarrassed_about_his_does_anybody_remember_laughter
April 26th, 2024 at 07:51@ 21 – I will tell you what though Uwe, there is something very similar going on here with Zeppelin & Purple. Don’t tell me Percy has had an influence of sorts, surely not. Cue the ‘when all are one & one is all’ line, hmmmmmm. Cheers.
And as we wind on down the road
April 26th, 2024 at 08:02Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one, and one is all, yeah
To be a rock and not to roll
When it comes to cover artwork I agree 100 %, Uwe. While Bananas was nothing to be ashamed of I often tried to hide the covers of the albums when I played the music to friends. S&M and The Battle rages on were just ridiculous coverwise. Same goes for many Purple family releases as far as I am concerned. Gillan comes to mind and Rainbow too though I did have a soft spot …errr… for those corny WS covers of the 80s. At least they’d make me smile (Come an’ get it …)…Hey pal, did you notice…? Now THAT was Rock’n’Roll. And I was 16.
April 26th, 2024 at 08:18bonjour pour ma part je n’achĂšterai pas je n’adhĂšre pas au groupe depuis le dĂ©part de Ritchie.
April 26th, 2024 at 09:58I’m fine with the cover, however it reminds me of an unhappy smiley đ
April 26th, 2024 at 10:39The valiant Zepmanian @28 & 29: See, dislike is no excuse for ignorance, I know my Zep! đ And that line by Percy about laughter was never funny, but just incredibly blasĂ©, something at which Zep excelled 24/7.
And that lyric quote âŠ
âAnd as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one, and one is all, yeah
To be a rock and not to rollâ
Seeing it written down like that really puts the finger on what a bunch of outright rubbish & whimsical hippie shite Plantâs nonsensical lyrics were. đ Damn right it makes you wonder – though mostly about his state of mental health at the time.
Give me âNo, not swimminâ, wimminâ, wihimminâ!â for an in depth and profound observation of life any day! At least I can relate to that. No laughing in (stairways to) heaven âŠ
April 26th, 2024 at 13:10@31: That is trĂšs regrettable, cher Francis, and we had so hoped that someone from the womb of history-changing, seismic events (â-> French Revolution) would not turn out to be a (sole) supporter for DPâs ancien rĂ©gime! đ„
Come to the Light Side of the Force!
https://youtu.be/_G95vcrzAGk
April 26th, 2024 at 13:43I just hope the guitar is high enough up in the mix, and that guitar and Hammond aren’t always playing together, so that we get the variety that was such a distinctive feature of Mk. 2.
April 26th, 2024 at 19:00@ 33 – “in depth & profound” for you perhaps Uwe, but possibly not for others. The naivety of youth could be another way to look at certain things from ones past, including Mr Gillan & Mr Plant. But that is all it is, whimsical writings of certain thoughts or experiences at a certain time, is it not. Plant had an obsessions at that time for certain folk lore etc, so what. Gillan had an obsession with being an observer of life, still does as most of us do. They both also had an obsession with teenage adolescent behaviour at that time in our lives. Women, fast cars, debauchery etc etc. Not profound lyrics at times are they. They are males as we are, it happens. However the last thing I need to hear as I did back then is people banging on about crap like that. It reminds me of being in a pub as a youngster, which I didn’t enjoy as many others seemed to. So banal & unfortunately it seems to keep going with certain people. That is why I don’t go for those sort of lyrics. You like a lot of Gillan’s lyrics, I only like some of them, the more clever lyrics. A good story indeed, good humour also, history in many aspects yes & other ‘normal’ adult conversations. As you know I enjoy mysticism, folklore, magic & occult etc, it opens the door wider for me. I guess it is that youthful wonderment story telling thing with me from my past, maybe I should grow up. The lyrics to Stairway (you brought it up, not me) but you know me I like to keep things in perspective. Those lyrics actually fit the song really well. Gillan & Plant have both written very good lyrics to certain songs which I won’t bother mentioning, however I could mention the woeful lyrics by both writers, but what is the point of that? And don’t forget the ad lib ‘can anybody remember laughter’ is just that, live in concert, it isn’t on the studio record. Each to their own as we say, such is life. Cheers.
April 26th, 2024 at 22:52This announcement sounds very familiar. Hmmm, songs like they used to play, just like the 70’s. If the talking heads need to tell the supporters of this band that everything is getting like it used to be. I think they’ve got the wrong advertising. Ezrin has done well for this band. Stability and a well suited environment to develop their music. But going to the well to much?
April 26th, 2024 at 23:58I like witty wordplay (not DCâs juvenile double entendres) and sarcasm/irony or a decent message. There is zero of that in Zepâs lyrics. And Zep fans tend to be just the same in their sourpuss, dead-earnest devotion to their band. As if the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven are some sort of high art.
Bob Dylan got the Literature Nobel Prize for a reason. Thatâs lyrics for me.
https://youtu.be/voH11xV4AKI
(Music starts at o2:04.)
April 27th, 2024 at 00:27@ 23: How many will make it into the setlist? Here in the States? 3 on a good night. Wait, scratch that. They are pretty short songs, so maybe 4, but that would be a surprising thing.
April 27th, 2024 at 03:20Yes from that side of the pond Dylan, Paul Simon & Steely Dan were exceptional writers. Desire is my favourite Dylan album by a long mile. I don’t own any other albums from him, I used to on vinyl years ago. I have that triple cd set, so I get all those individual songs from the 60’s. A note though in regards to the Desire album. Jacques Levy wrote or co-wrote the lyrics on all but two songs Sarah & One More Cup of Coffee I think. A good partnership at that time & another reason along with the violinist as to why I like that album so much. Also Emmylou Harris sings or co sings a few songs, just giving them a more sweeter melodic touch. It is a cracking album indeed. “I like witty wordplay (not DCâs juvenile double entendres) and sarcasm/irony or a decent message. There is zero of that in Zepâs lyrics. And Zep fans tend to be just the same in their sourpuss, dead-earnest devotion to their band. As if the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven are some sort of high art”. No not that at all, just good lyrics to fit the arrangement & melody for Stairway, what else should they have written? It is a bit like Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t it? It works for the song, some like it others do not. As we have discussed before Zeppelin have some really poor lyrics, but most writers do at certain times, nothing is perfect. Back to the personal likes or dislikes again. The Rain Song is very good, No Quarter & a few others. But I would say that wouldn’t I. Cheers.
April 27th, 2024 at 09:259:
ItÂŽs GillanÂŽs cover art if we can call it like that. Cover is IGÂŽs handwriting.
April 27th, 2024 at 10:48I’m hoping =1 excites me as much as Purpendicular did – the change in feel was evident live and if it transfers through to this recording then it will capture the new era nicely.
April 27th, 2024 at 11:15Shorter songs, fine by me. It could mean another record with a strong lyrical content, which will entertain me.
We are twins separated at birth (and then people abused you via having you listen to Led Zep), Brother McGregor, âDesireâ is my fave Dylan album too!
Now that you mention it, I think the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody are crap too!
Itâs not that I despise all types of fantastical or sci-fi lyrics, I always thought Bob Calvertâs lyrics in Hawkwind great and can smile about most of Rob Halfordâs graphic novel nonsense populated with âHellionsâ, âMetalliansâ and âPainkillersâ. đ
But when it comes to literature, yeah, Iâm more the John Steinbeck and âOf Mice and Menâ than the Tolkien sagas guy.
And I think that something like GILLANâs âPuget Soundâ is a great lyric, weaving autobiographical snippets from his first trip to the US as an adolescent crisscrossing the country in a Greyhound bus into observations on first love đ and blossoming sex drive. Itâs totally immersive, touching, wistful, yet never cheesy (just imagine what DC would have done with it âŠ).
âI remember the bus, just the Greyhound and us
It was in between St. Paul and Fargo
There were two days to go, but we virgins were slow
And my hand hadn’t moved since Chicago
Moving over your knee was new territory
We were passing through Billings Montana
As we slipped through Spokane, you said something profane
And I shifted up into nirvana
I can feel you I can see
Puget Sound you belong to me
I can feel you mighty sea
Puget Sound you belong to me
Lying there like a pearl, oh my Ithaca girl
We’ve got 44 days in Tacoma
And we lay in the sand with my life in your hand
I just drifted in pacific coma
I can feel you gentle sea
Puget Sound you have set me free
Feel the ocean feel the sun
Puget Sound feel your waters run
There was nothing to say we just shivered all day
And we touched and I kissed you all over
They said go west young man and it’s true that you can
For an old 99 dollar Roverâ
The older I get the more I admire Big Ianâs lyrical prowess which is beyond compare in the heavy rock world (I can only think of Phil Lynott really). And itâs very much part of Mk IIâs, IGBâs, GILLANâs, Gillabathâs and Mk VII to IXâs enduring charm. He gets way too little credit for it.
April 27th, 2024 at 13:36What will the little guitar Wunderkind from Belfast have in store for us? đ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwlWgYsyp1k
“I’m gonna be with Deep Purple some day!”
April 27th, 2024 at 15:06Most people I have come across who like certain music do not really listen to the lyrics as such. If we like the unison of both in a good song it is the best of both worlds. I don’t listen to a poor song because it may have good lyrics, but I do & especially in my younger days listen to a good song with poor lyrics. Excepting a good chorus hook or a verse outlining an evocative emotion of sorts, most people probably don’t give a toss about lyrics. I am glad I do like a good story as you do yourself Uwe. I do also think a good singer songwriter should write their own lyrics as it encapsulates the very essence of quality vocal delivery to my ears. Although there are exceptions to that rule, as witnessed in Rush as Neil Peart wrote the lyrics. There obviously is a good connection there with Geddy, as he can capture a true delivery of the message within the song. He did have to manipulate certain lines & words occasionally & that is to be expected. It does work occasionally for certain artists however I don’t see that very often in original composition & the performance of rock music. The Who would be another exception. Cheers.
April 28th, 2024 at 01:14ÂŁ85 postage for the box set!!! I thought Deep Purple always claimed they never took drugs?
April 28th, 2024 at 08:49“I thought Deep Purple always claimed they never took drugs?”
I took that as legend even at the time. I also remember how Status Quo would brag in the 70ies about being a drug-free band in the teen magazines, allegedly generating all that frenzied live energy by themselves, yet come the 80ies/early 90ies it turned out that Rossi and Parfitt had snorted up half of Colombia and Peru in the 70ies (Lancaster and Coghlan were drinkers, it caused a split in the band) and recorded albums like Blue For You in a coke haze.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5P3gvQ3f5E
Rossi used to be able do this nice trick of sticking a paper tissue up his left nostril and pulling it out of the right one – septums are generally overrated. đ
April 28th, 2024 at 16:36all songs (except one) are less 5 minutes long… This will another forgetable and boring album by this band
April 29th, 2024 at 02:0843 – Not forgetting Uwe rhyming “Ultrasonic” with “Gin & Tonic” in Sleeping On The Job!
April 29th, 2024 at 11:34The new song, Portable Door, reminds me of a modern version of Pictures Of Home. In other words, a great track!
April 29th, 2024 at 22:30I’m excited – a new Purple-album (the 23rd studio album). With Simon McBride on the guitar! I love it. But how to pronunciate the album title? đ
May 1st, 2024 at 08:11Bonjour.
A Francis 31 et Uwe 34.
Salut Francis.
Bon d’accord Ritchie et Jon sont irremplaçable.
May 2nd, 2024 at 04:33Mais je dois te dire que tu as rater qq mémorable morceaux au cas ou tu aurais zapper DP depuis 1993.
L’histoire ne c’est pas arrĂ©ter. Et rien que pour ça je remercie les remplaçants de Ritchie et Don airey.
Ils ont sauvĂ© DP et pour ma part j’ai continuĂ© a survivre a Ă©couter la musique que j’aime car depuis 1990 il y a pas grand chose d’intĂ©ressant a ce mettre sous la dent, a par qq rĂ©surgences des anciens groupes des annĂ©es 70 comme Blue oyster cult, Jethro tull et les descendants de la DP family.
Enfin tu as le droit je te juge pas.
Long live DP family.
@46 said…
qt.”ÂŁ85 postage for the box set !!! I thought Deep Purple always claimed they never took drugs” ?…
Yo, that’s not DP’s fault, it’s the greedy post-man…Wait until you buy something from the US-of-A…I have Little Feat’s new album / CD on order, & all the band want is $16:00…And after exchange-rate conversion & post, this CD has cost me just under $60:00 AUD…
If you can wait, (& not pre-order), I’d seriously check-out offers from Amazon, or e-bay, as these “people” seem to have far better postage fees, sometimes even “free postage” is offered…But Amazon can be a slippery bastard too, so be careful, as often the “full amount” is not revealed in your currency until after you’ve paid…
Since this bollox happens quite often, I also recommend the use of a debit-card, since you’ll never over-pay for something, especially when you only top-it-up knowing how much you’re spending. It also upsets the internet thieves LOL !
Peace !
May 4th, 2024 at 10:51