13 Comments to “There will be hell to pay”:

1. 1
   Uwe Hornung says:

   This would nake a nice stand-alone CD release too – handy to have it in one place.

   April 10th, 2026 at 20:38
2. 2
   MK44 says:

   IMHO – Since Now What?! almost everything except parts of Infinite, have sounded “wooly” and very bass/low frequency heavy production-wise, at least to my ears. I think it takes away from the definition and punch needed in Purples music. I much prefer the production on Purpendicular, mostly because it’s pretty dry and in your face which I think suits their music better. Just have listen to Paradise Bar here, just a load of low bass frequencies, meaning everything else suffers, and punch is lost.

   =1 instead I think was too harsh in bits, and loud vocals here and there, and annoying cymbal sounds/way over compressed and same with the vocals. Hoping for a better result with the new album, although I know nothing about it yet.

   As said, my opinion… flame on! 🙂

   April 10th, 2026 at 21:06
3. 3
   Uwe Hornung says:

   and very bass/low frequency heavy production-wise

   Your point being, MK44?! 🤣

   Until the lack of bass on Rainbow Rising is ever sufficiently compensated, they will have to bring out a lot more bass-heavy albums!

   Bob Ezrin productions are never crisp and dry, he’s a wall of sound man, an atmosphere creator.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDTwL15ZHZs

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDjJpmt-wzg

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fse6F1jG6oM

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6E4GOAI2t4

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7v35-pWyU

   After having had all their 70s albums “only” engineered (and Martin Birch was great at that), I’m happy that “senior citizens DP” finally have for once a real producer!

   April 10th, 2026 at 22:33
4. 4
   Andre Sihotang says:

   Paradise Bar is my 2nd most favorite Deep Purple ‘hidden” track after “Painted Horse”. I think I’m responsible for hundreds of views on its YouTube official video (112.000 views, an impressive number for a B-side track).

   A mid-tempo Mk8 song that maybe would never make it live on stage, but an enjoyable track to treasure while enjoying my evening tea or country-road driving. Soothing Airey’s keyboard intro, poetry-verse lyric sung heartfully by Gillan, nice chorus with vocal-keyboard-guitar following each other, plus the melodic keyboard & guitar solo. It’s a well-written song.

   And like I said on the video, “Paradise Bar” could have been a wonderful song to draw the closure of Infinite album. Not that blues cover of The Doors “Roadhouse Blues” that should have been relegated into B-side track.

   April 11th, 2026 at 01:32
5. 5
   RB says:

   I agree, especially on =1, the vocals often too loud in the mix and could do with some reverb, plus the drum sound could be better. As a producer Bob’s eras may not be what they were, which is no doubt age related. I still think that both Purpendicular and Abandon have superior production, there seems to be more clarity, the bass end is tight (wonder if Bob made Roger use the bass that has had the same strings on it for 46 years?! I don’t care if Roger Waters used the guitar on The Wall, change the damn strings!). I find it hard to understand how a band of Purple’s stature and reputation don’t override a decision if they’re not happy with it. They allowed both Bananas and ROTD to have awful production and a rushed recording process. Similarly, Ian Paice has spoken of his loathing of click tracks, so why not refuse, his timing is so good anyway. That’s why live his playing would often be more like his old self when the band reformed in ’84, compared to the Perfect Strangers album, where he plays very straight. Loved to have heard every album without a click track as I reckon he’d be flying, there would be more drive and dynamics because he is an inventive player.
   Unfortunately, Paicey probably gave in to pressure from others, including the management.

   April 11th, 2026 at 01:51
6. 6
   Ivica says:

   I love “Infinte” album, I listen to it often,for me in the Steve Morse era, the best album after Purpendicular . Lots of progressive songs
   “Paradise Bar” – great song,too bad it’s not on the album,instead of “Roadhouse Blues” (a song that could have been on album “Turning to Crime” )
   “Time for Bedlam” Among the best songs in the Steve Morse era. Very heavy and progressive (reminiscent of Pink Floyd song “Sheep”). I love that instrumental ride, great hammond and classic unison with the guitar, Jon and Ritchie would be happy with the end result

   April 11th, 2026 at 08:31
7. 7
   MK44 says:

   @3
   My point being exactly what I wrote, so I will quote myself here 🙂
   “I think it takes away from the definition and punch needed in Purples music.”
   It’s wonderful that we all can still have our own personal view of things here 🙂

   April 11th, 2026 at 16:30
8. 8
   MacGregor says:

   @ 7- don’t worry MK44, Uwe always mentions Ezrin’s past endeavours when someone dares to talk about todays recent production. Caught in the past perhaps is Mr Hornung. Only problem is we are talking about the present. That says something. I agree with your comments as I do with others also and I have mentioned the production plenty of times too. As a lot of people do around the planet, all these people cannot have hearing problems, surely. It is simply that we all like to hear clarity and punch in rock music, that is what a rock band should sound like. It is the modern day way of recording things that has unfortunately ruined many artists recordings, the final result of it all. But let’s not talk about it for ‘fear’ that someone will start jumping up and down and throwing a ‘tantrum’ attempting to defend Saint Bob, he he he. Cheers.

   April 11th, 2026 at 23:45
9. 9
   Uwe Hornung says:

   I’ve always loved Ezrin’s productions, never forget how I was an Alice Cooper fan before I was a Deep Purple one and how Destroyer is my favorite KISS album. I love that panoramic sound he gives bands. I do however also notice that most of you guys here remain relatively unimpressed by what he did in the past and does with Purple today. Maybe cinemascopic sounding music isn’t your thing, you guys want a photorealistic depiction of Purple —> Martin Birch (and in his wake also Roger, though a bit more poppy/glossy).

   That is not to take anything away from how Martin Birch “documented” DP’s natural sound. His productions engineering in the 70s ensured that Purple always sounded live like they pretty much did in the studio, he captured their trademark sound on tape very well.

   As for the Purple productions of the 80s up to when Bob Ezrin took over the steering wheel, I’m no great fan of them. Personally, I deem Roger a better producer for other bands such as
   Nazareth, Judas Priest, MSG and BÖC than for his own, ie Rainbow and DP. I found Roger’s productions for Purple serviceable, but unremarkable, there is little grandeur. Same goes for his collaborations with other producers, what Thom Panunzio contributed to the inexplicably always heralded TBRO sounds to me unnecessarily abrasive, I hate the merciless sound of that album, it’s painful to me. The Michael Bradford productions don’t do too much for me either though I welcomed the fresh air he brought.

   But the worst thing about Roger producing DP himself is the fact that it puts the role of his bass within the band sound on the back foot – and forgive me for seeing this selfishly as more of a bothersome issue than what it seems to mean to you guys. In the newish Martin Popoff bio, Roger is quoted as having to wait for the Bob Ezrin productions to realize how loud and prominent his bass could be in the overall DP sound and thereby make a real contribution – he credits Bob with bringing his bass out, the very same thing some of you now seem to criticize. And it is true, Ezrin’s productions favor the bass, just listen to his early 70s work with the original Alice Cooper Group and then tell me if you can remember Roger’s bass being nearly as prominent on In Rock and Fireball as Dennis Dunaway’s (btw: great) bass playing.

   Yup, sign me up as an unabashed Bob Ezrin fan. He was my favorite producer decades before he teamed up with DP which I had frankly never expected given DP’s past preference for “photorealistic engineering” over real production work.

   April 12th, 2026 at 13:55
10. 10
    Uwe Hornung says:

    🙄🙄🙄🙄

    Don’t ask me to explain how I got to stating that Roger ever produced BÖC, that was of course Martin Birch. I should have said Quo because Roger’s production of Wild Side Of Life was really good:

    He turned the ramshackle Quo demo sounding like this

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6sM5Y2Z9cA

    into the version everybody knows and loves, playing the bass part along the way as well (Alan Lancaster was unavailable for the recording as he was in Australia so Roger – quite ably so – aped his style for WSOL, Alan didn’t mind).

    https://youtu.be/82_jIzWHPUY

    April 12th, 2026 at 21:53
11. 11
    MK44 says:

    @8 Yeah well, I only give my personal view of things here, as we all do and I think we can all respect that we hear and perceive music differently, in our own personal way.

    @9 I wasn’t talking about the instrument bass – I referred to the whole low end register which is very prominent on for ex. Now What and on that track Paradise Bay, and Whoosh! To me it takes away some of the joy of listening, makes the production flat and not servicing the songs. I don’t mind if you have a different view. 🙂

    April 15th, 2026 at 16:55
12. 12
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I get it, MK44, Bob Ezrin’s productions have more ambience than what we were used to from Martin Birch. That ambience comes at a price, the old stuff sounded sharper.

    It is just that to me Ezrin’s “fuzzier” production is more in line with what DP are now than what Martin Birch’s approach would be. The latter suited DP when they were angry young men, but as senior citizens Bob’s warmer sound seems more apt to me. One should also not forget that Ritchie’s in the studio very neat, direct and relatively undistorted guitar is no longer there. Bolin, Morse and McBride simply never sounded like that though McBride probably comes closest.

    April 17th, 2026 at 09:22
13. 13
    Cameron1391 says:

    @ Uwe Hornung – This has had a CD release, in Japan only. From The Infinite Live Recordings Volume 1 CD, Disc 1 is the Hellfest 22 concert and Disc 2 is pretty much all the same bonus songs we have here.

    April 18th, 2026 at 09:42

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