Deep Purple’s new album Whoosh was supposed to come out on June 12 this year. But then the coronavirus struck and record company pushed release date back to August 7. Apparently not everybody got the memo, and on June 12 the album went on sale through at least one online retailer (and was soon removed). Our contributor Hein Bierman managed to purchase a download copy and offers us his thoughts on the album.

A popular HD-audio site had Whoosh available for a short while on June 12th: they probably missed the mail about the changed release date. I bought a copy (24 bit) and played it several times over the last days. I didn’t get a booklet with my download, so there’s probably a few details about Nashvillian banjo players guesting on track #14 I have missed.

Here are my first impressions:

It’s a very strong album. The songwriting is of a high level. I think as time wears on, What the What is the song that probably gets skipped first, but that is only because there’s a bunch of really great songs here and time is limited.

Lyrically, it’s a bold, outspoken (political?) album. The boldness is not so much in addressing controversial topics, but in the prominent use of the first-person perspective. IG tells it like he sees it, and he doesn’t hold back.

Production wise, it’s more compact and less trebly than Infinite and the drums sound a little less prominent than on previous albums. Both Now What!? and Infinite gave you the feeling they were semi-live albums, recorded more or less in one session, but Whoosh feels more produced. Compared to the previous Ezrin albums, there’s a lot more sonic variety between the songs. The semi-live aspect is less prominent; for example, there are a surprising amount of background vocals on the album.

What I miss: an opportunity to get out the air guitar. I really love Birds of Prey of Infinite, and there’s no song like that on Whoosh.

IG: The star of this album. Sings like he’s afraid of no one, with a lot of bravado. The best reference for his singing style on Whoosh is Infinite’s All I got is You.

SM: Less flashy and more melodic than on other albums. Over the last 20 years his guitar sound has evolved a lot. I don’t miss the Peaveys.

RG: The variety of songs of on this album makes you realize how versatile RG is as a bass player. He plays rock ‘n roll, heavy and funk effortless and tight.

DA: Uses every opportunity to shine on this album, especially on synthesizers and piano. I could do with a bit more organ.

IP: There’s no drum-focused song on this album like Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, but IP impresses on every track. Love that ride cymbal and the kick drum. Superb.

1. Throw My Bones (3’38”): We all know this track as it is the first single of the album. It’s a very good introduction to the general style of Whoosh.
2. Drop the Weapon (4’23”): great interaction between DA, IP and RG. They get a nice choppy groove going. IG has plenty of swagger: “little brother, I’m telling you now, your pride can take a hit.” One of the more organ-oriented tracks on the album.
3. We’re All the Same in the Dark (3’44”): The riff is not really special, but as soon as IG starts singing the song gets a huge boost. Unusual guitar sound / style in the solo. The way SM bends the notes is unlike anything he’s ever done in DP. There are more background vocals in this song that on the previous five DP albums combined.
4. Nothing at All (4’42”): This song’s a bit widdly widdly. I like it, but stylistically it would fit better on Rapture of the Deep than it does on this album.
5. No Need to Shout (3’30”): After the intro reminiscent of Perfect Strangers, the song reminds me of Stormbringer. You hear Gillan revisiting his rock ‘n roll roots. “I got your message loud and clear. The meaninglessness is ringing in my ear. What a bunch of trash you’ve got exuding from your ass, that’s not the shit I want to hear. No need to shout, I’m hearing what you say.”
6. Step by Step (3’34”): Vincent Price meets Purpendicular Waltz. Very good but also very gothic: DA a bit too eager to show his Transsylvanian credentials.
7. What the What (3’32”): Nostalgic piano driven rock ‘n roll in the vein of Purple People Eater / It’ll Be Me. A bit forgettable, but every kick on that bass drum is right on the spot.
8. The Long Way Round (5’39”): tight groove, instrumentally very strong. Can see this working very well live.
9. The Power of the Moon (4’08”): the amount of vocal effects, combined with the prominent synths give it a retro flavor. Great bass! SM manages to get a very dark, Tony Iommi-like sound and add a groove to it.
10. Remission Possible (1’38”): a short instrumental that sounds like four people having a great time in the studio while the fifth band member is checking if he’s left his wallet in the car, cleverly disguising that in all probability it’s very hard work to play something like this. Fades into:
11. Man Alive (5’35”): when I heard this first as a single, I was disappointed. But it fits well in the flow of the album.
12. And the Address (3’35”): the most live sounding song on the album. Doesn’t add a lot to the original, but it’s a great tune to revive.
13. Dancing in My Sleep (3’51”): IG is 74, but this is a song where he sounds full of energy, like he drank a tray of Red Bull. This song is heavy, but it’s also funky. Great bass lines.

Paicey does a drum clinic, sharing some anecdotage from his illustrious career and playing some drums in between.
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Another gem from Paicey’s private video stash — the band tracking Out of Hand for their 2013 album Now What?!
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Fox News has a new interview with Ian Gillan, promoting the upcoming new album. Some questions are quite mundane, some are off the beaten path.

Fox News: As an artist, how do you feel about audiences making cellphones part of their concert experience?

Gillan: Well, at first it was weird. It just connected with me. Why would someone film you at a show when they’re at the show and missing out on the experience? But generations change. It became pointless to try and resist that tidal wave. We kind of got used to it. In fact, it became amusing to see everyone holding up their phones in the air when back in the day, it was lighters. Initially, I didn’t understand why everyone had to share everything and be in constant communication. But [with this pandemic], thank goodness for it. Because my phone hasn’t stopped ringing thanks to friends and well-wishers from around the world. I may not always understand it, but I’m too old *laughs*.

Read more on Fox News.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Behind every band is a hard working crew. And Deep Purple’s one is quite a few steps above the average. The band trusts them to have everything set up so perfectly that they rarely do the soundcheck themselves.

Unfortunately, the current global pandemic means there is no touring and no touring means many in the crew are really struggling financially.

The band and the crew has put together a couple of exclusive t-shirts with all the profit going to help the crew. They are available through the online store set up for the purpose. You know what to do.

Thanks to Mike Airey for the info.

The three Deep Purple’s German dates in the Fall 2020: Oberhausen, Berlin, and Stuttgart — which had already been under suspicion — have now been rescheduled for 2021. Another summer date in Colmar, France has also been rescheduled and confirmed for 2021.

Don Airey & Friends will appear at this years Virtual Cambridge Rock Festival on June 20. It will not be a live performance per se as the festival will be broadcasting recorded performances from the previous years. However, these recording will not be available afterwards, so once you’ve missed it, you’ve missed it.

Foreigner’s tour is being rescheduled for 2021, with The Dead Daisies still opening on some dates — confirmed so far are Hamburg on June 6, Katowice on June 10, Halle on June 11, and Stuttgart on June 12. The Daisies’ last weekend performance at the virtual Taste of Syracuse is now available on Facebook (starts at around 1:45 into the broadcast).

Thanks to Nigel Young, Yvonne, Lutz Reinert, Andrea Lukas, and andreas leutgeb for the info.

Roger Glover writes:

Insightful, stimulating, talented and funny, I feel privileged to have known and worked with him.

Read his full statement on rogerglover.com

Just like he promised last time around, Paicey keeps getting us entertained in these trying times by showing off his drum room. Which looks more like a drum warehouse 😉
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Louder Sound (née Classic Rock) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of In Rock by reprinting in fresh electrons a feature that first appeared in issue 83 of the magazine on the occasion of the album’s 35th.

Heavy rock, hard rock, pomp rock, space rock, heavy metal – they’re all genres that today’s average music fan would regard as part of the vocabulary of everyday life. There’s no getting away from rock in all its forms – even if you wanted to.

Acts as disparate as, say, Coldplay, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Audioslave all fall under the mantle of rock, a term we associate mostly with big guitar riffs, powerful vocals – and a broad array of (sometimes questionable) sartorial styles and hairdos. Everybody knows what ‘rock’ means. But it wasn’t always so.

More than a third of a century ago the death of the 60s had landed the world and its groupie with a colossal cultural hangover. The decade of free love, peaceful protest and sticking flowers in soldiers’ guns was over, and the grim 70s – oil shortages, over-generous sideburns, Margaret Thatcher, punk – was just getting into its stride.

The Beatles had just waved farewell to the world after arguing themselves into dissolution. Jimi Hendrix, the man thought most likely to bring guitar music to the masses, had recently checked out; The Doors’ Jim Morrison, the lizard king, had mere months to live. Cream and Blind Faith had been and gone in a multimillion-selling flash. Loud music from blokes with generous facial hair and a fondness for lots of drugs and/or girls (usually both) was an endangered species.

Luckily, however, three British – yes, British, not American – groups weren’t about to take this lying down…

Continue reading on Louder Sound.

Thanks to Gary Poronovich for the info.

RG gives some insights on songs he likes to listen to:

So, I thought I’d share some of the music and songs that interest me, plucked from my collection, sorry, database.

Head over to RGs website for the first part of “Hear Here“.