[hand] [face]
The Original Deep Purple Web Pages
The Highway Star

The joy of music

Japanese Burrn! magazine has a 17-page Deep Purple special in its August 2020 issue. The feature includes pictures, discography, and interviews with Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice. Our Japanese correspondent Akemi Ono has graciously supplied us with the reverse translation of the more interesting tidbits of the three interviews. Here is the first part. We will present the other two installments over the next couple of days.


Burrn! August 2020 edition

Interviewer: Howard Johnson

Deep Purple completed its 21st studio album Whoosh. Whoosh is, without doubt, a wonderful album. Identities are wide-spanned, melodies are easy to remember, with musical interaction which enhances the spirit, and packed with passion. It appears that bands which were born in the golden era of rock music no longer have the intention nor ability to revolutionize itself again, but with Whoosh, Deep Purple shows that while they progress, they maintain the essence of what made them such a wonderful band when they first debuted. That is a real feat.

Ian Gillan interview

Burrn!: How are you doing? You seem to be living through the current environment with a positive attitude.

IG: Fine, thank you. I grew up with Calvinist work values so I can enjoy anything I do, even if it was to clean sewers.

B: You don’t seem to be down by the cancellation of the shows.

IG: The shows will just all be moved to 2021, I imagine.

B: Is it very important to you what other people think of your new album?

IG: I think what is most important is that I am satisfied. Of course, I am grateful to every person who buys our new album, but the standard of accomplishment is within yourself, and you know yourself whether that standard was met. I think we did a good job.

B: I think the new album is fresh and dynamic for a band with such a huge experience behind them. Why do you think that is so?

IG: Probably because no one wrote with the mind of writing for Deep Purple. It has been like that since we first rehearsed in August 1969. We jam for about 6 hours. When something interesting comes up, Roger starts recording. After a few days, we talk about it, and pursue what we like. What this means is that Deep Purple is an instrumental band. And that is what I mean by “no one wrote with Deep Purple in mind.” During this process, I don’t think of the melody or lyrics or even the title. It could all be for nothing if someone decides that they do not like the song. So, it is always the instrumental first, and then I join later. That has worked well, and at the end of the day, it sounds like the instrumental section supports the singer. It should sound like it, even if the truth was the exact opposite. We have always been a democracy without a leader. Although things have changed since Bob Ezrin became our producer.

B: Why is Bob so important to you?

IG: He has sped up the whole process. He encourages you, but also tells you when “you should stop beating a dead horse”. He makes our life much easier. And he has made our sound very rich and wholesome. There are no longer “holes” in the sound. The sound that you hear on stage, with all the nuances, becomes what you want to recreate in an album. With Bob, this wish was realized, all of a sudden.

B: You said Deep Purple is an instrumental band at heart, and don’t mention your achievements so much, but I was actually awed by your lyrics in Whoosh. They reflect the current world very intensely, with references to crimes with knives, and global warming.

IG: There comes a time when you think about the dignity of various matters, and you want to write about something other than fast cars and uninhibited women. To me, it came when I was in my late 30’s. I call it the “grey pony-tail syndrome.” The lyrics of this album is affected by where my thoughts were at the time of the writing. It was around the early summer of 2019. Extinction Rebellion (environmental organization) and young children stabbed or shot in London were in my mind at that time.

B: Drop the Weapon is definitely about young people’s violence in London.

IG: The matter was in my mind frequently at that time. But at my age, it is better to give a hug rather than say harsh words. I want to tell young people that life continues, they should not waste their future with an act of folly at the spur of the moment.

B: Are you interested in getting new fans with the music you create?

IG: If new fans cannot find us, we are not sending the right signal. We have really never thought about the audience, the industry, the commercial side of the media. If we did, we would have to guess what would make us popular. We have never defined ourselves as a heavy rock group or heavy metal group or classic rock group. We have always kept a distance from “exciting movements”. We have a long life because we stayed away from fashionable trends. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but that was really our survival instinct. And that gave us freedom.

B: You have created so much music. How is it possible not to repeat yourself?

IG: We have what is called “horse’s eyes”. When we are jamming, someone would raise their face and give a sign by rolling their eyes. That means we are finished, we have pretty much given everything. Staying together for so long, we know when the horse’s eyes are coming. It’s like we are marching together as a group. Someone says “Make a turn!” and we can all turn at the same time. 95% of what is in Whoosh, and the two recent albums as well, were recorded live. There is not much over-dubbing, and most solos are recorded while we are creating the backing tracks. This has been useful in not repeating ourselves. We need to maintain a superb balance, almost concert level. That pushes us to the limit.

Technically, there is an infinite combination of melody, tempo, chord structure, and rhythm. Even now, my band mates practice for 6 hours a day. They practice basic things, but sometimes it becomes a free-flowing jazz. I just sit there. And all of a sudden, I hear master players absorbed in their music. I give my word that there is no room for repetition in that environment.

B: Which song would you like Burrn! readers to focus on from the perspective of something special or extraordinary?

IG: I don’t use words like “special” or “extraordinary”, but I know what you mean. I would recommend Step by Step. It is a perfect example of Deep Purple jamming style. It happened naturally. The song was born from a moody and short 3-4 phrasing, and became a crazy crossover song with a strange rhythm. It all happened live, and it was great to see the song shining through. The lyrics are based on the famous Niagara Fall scene of The Three Stooges.

I also like We’re All the Same in the Dark. It is based on the theory I am contemplating, that if the reason for a war goes back one week, then the war lasts for one week. Every action causes the same level of reaction. The only reason wars are prolonged is simply the way we are brought up. We really need to have the ability to have doubts and think for ourselves.

B: How about Nothing at All? That is my favorite.

IG: It is my favorite, too. The guitar and keyboards are complete equals musically, and Don’s solo, much like a fugue, is amazing. It’s an unusual song for Deep Purple. I wrote the lyrics in 20 minutes. I don’t want to lecture with my lyrics, but it shows 3 sides of the discussion on how we treat the world. The young generation, older generation, and mother earth. In this song, nature is depicted as an old woman.

B: How do you feel about the situation that you will not be able to perform these songs in front of an audience this year?

IG: I was looking forward to the gigs. That is our job, and that excites us. Let me tell you a story. When I was “one of the fans” back then, I went to see Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. I’m still in touch with him. When I saw him, I realized I wanted to do exactly what he was doing. To be in the middle of music, with wonderful players. Having an audience was not a factor, really.

B: You belong to the generation of musicians for which being on the road was always an option for you.

IG: Interesting enough, I am in the process of brushing up old materials. This reminds me of various incidents that happened during the tours, which makes me chuckle. It’s difficult to imagine if anything could be more fantastic than traveling around the world with a group of people with the same objective. Musicians tend to have a dry, dark sense of humor because of all the difficulties we faced for being rejected on many occasions for contracts, canceled tours… We had already developed a stoic approach in the 60’s.

In my first interview, I was asked to give an anecdote, and I didn’t know what an anecdote was. I didn’t realize I had created my first anecdote during that interview. All of that comes back to me in songs such as 69 (from Abandon), which was a song about a professional band. “Flying through the night in a beat up wagon, a mike stand up my jacksy.” Six people and all of our equipment were jammed into a Ford Transit, and we drove all night. I didn’t know what a roadie was. We set up and repaired the equipment ourselves.

Touring was wonderful, and I don’t know why people have negative comments about touring. Interestingly, the touring environment prepared us for the pandemic.

B: Why is that?

IG: When you’re touring with a rock band, 90% is waiting and 10% is exciting action. So, we were well prepared for a lockdown. It feels like touring musicians are paid for waiting patiently.

B: You are a very successful musician. Is it difficult to connect your current self with your younger self?

IG: Not at all. I don’t have a sense that my life changed. I can go back immediately to my childhood when my grandfather was singing opera and my grandmother was teaching ballet. My uncle was a jazz pianist. And I was a soprano in a church choir!

The joy of music and performance, and being with other musicians, were always at the center of my happiness, and that never changed. That was true when I was in Episode Six and did not have a single hit. I remember making songs with Roger, thinking we wanted to make songs liked Lennon and McCartney. When we finally had a hit song in Deep Purple, Roger and I were already writing together for 5 years. We are a musical team.

Lastly, here’s a story that shows my passion for music is unchanged. On Whoosh, there is a song called Dancing in my Sleep. There was an old Danelectro guitar in the studio, and Bob Ezrin suggested Steve to play it. The song itself is quite outstanding, but Steve’s baritone guitar solo is truly amazing. I think it must be one of the best guitar solos I ever heard. That is the essence of my love for music. More than all of the music that we created in the past, what we are doing as Deep Purple right now excites me the most!

Listening party in Helsinki

Whoosh listening party in Helsinki

Perfect Strangers of Finland will be hosting a Whoosh pre-release listening party tomorrow, August 4, 2020, at The Riff in Helsinki. The album will be played twice in its entirety, first round starting at 18:00 local time. Caveat: the actual listening is still contingent on the mailman delivering the album in time 😉

What: Whoosh listening party
When: Tuesday, August 4, 2020, 18:00
Where: The Riff, Iso Roobertinkatu 3-5, 00150 Helsinki, Finland
Age limit: 18+

Thanks to Jari Kaikkonen for the info.

Less groove, more metal

There is a tribute album to Deep Purple out in Brazil. The shtick is that all the covers are done by metal bands with female vocalists. And apparently Brazil has quite a few of them. Some of these can be rather interesting, as long as you don’t expect faithful reproductions of the originals.

Revengin – a very Tarja-esque version of Knocking at Your Back Door:

Sacrificed – Fireball:

Rizzi – Stormbringer (premieres Aug 2, 2020):

Sleepwalker Sun – Burn:

Duo Arcanum – The Gypsy:

Volkana – Highway Star

The Knickers – Hush

Pleiades – Woman from Tokyo

Final Disaster – Black Night

Dixie Heaven – Ted the Mechanic, a song that rarely gets a cover treatment

Thanks to Mike Whiteley for the heads up.

Whoosh early reviews

Deep Purple, promo shot Dec 2019

Several Whoosh reviews from around the web, and they are all very, very positive.

Get Ready to Rock:

There’s no dip in quality; in fact just when you think there should be, track 9, three belters appears. Storming. The band do not sound like they are going to quit any time soon. Only actual physical death, or serious arthritis, is going to stop these guys. No pressure, no expectations, just album of the year so far. Between producer Ezrin and label Ear Music, Deep Purple are in a good place right now. Let’s hope it stays like that. *****

Sonic Perspectives:

When I say they ALMOST completely forgot about their rearview mirror, it’s because their history is too rich to be ignored. “Whoosh!” is undeniably a Deep Purple album, and carries all the elements that made them a force to be reckoned with in the classic rock arena. The title and cover artwork harkens back to the previous release “Infinite”, where the end of the road seemed to be fast approaching. Instead, this new entry in their discography effortlessly scrapes any doubts about their ability to deliver and promises to take the listener into outer space. This may look like an unattainable goal for a band whose members are well into their 70’s, but they reach it with unparalleled flair and ease.

Markus’ Heavy Music Blog

‘Now What?!’ and ‘InFinite’ are for sure great longplayers but in retrospective it feels like they paved the ground for ‘Whoosh!’. Deep Purple’s newest album contains all you can ask for. It’s the typical Deep Purple sound signature providing consistency on which variety shines. These five guys still know how to Rock and it seems they still have a lot of fun in writing and recording stellar Rock music.

9 stars out of 10

Roppongi Rocks

“Whoosh!” is a solid album of grown-up bluesy rock but with some nuanced twists and turns.

BraveWords:

No worries, this is a standard Purple release with just a few new wrinkles about it that bring an up to date sense of relevance you will not be able to deny, especially how the lyrics reflect a real-time presence. They manage to wrap their classic sound around current affairs and turn down the wattage for what is a super digestible outcome. Make no mistake this is Deep Purple, but with perhaps a side of something they have not explored enough in the past.

Sentinel Daily:

If this is the swansong then it’s a very good one…

The funky hard rock of Drop The Weapon (which with it’s little Dancing In The Streets quote from keyboarder Don Airey hints at the playfulness of something like Mary Long from 1973’s Who Do We Think We Are) aside, you don’t get much of the ‘classic’ Deep Purple sound anymore. This, of course, shouldn’t come as any sort of surprise should you know anything about the band; singer Ian Gillan is now seventy four years old, and long past any suggestions that he should try and regain the glories of yore…

What is surprising is just how well Purple have repurposed their sound to face the challenges of septuagenerian rock n’roll; Whoosh!, their twenty-first full-length studio album and first since 2017’s Infinite, finds the band in musical repose, broadening their sound to take in, well, anything they feel like doing really.

Ultimate Guitar:

Reviewer’s score: 8 Superb
Users’ score: 5.3 (6 votes)

“Whoosh!” is a good album, perhaps not a future classic or anything, but it’s hard to really find too many glaring faults with it, since its songwriting and musicianship are fairly good, and the band is clearly not resting on its laurels, even more than half a century into their career. About the only negative thing I can say about the record is that it won’t particularly “wow” you if you’ve been following all of the band’s releases up to this point. But it’s still a good effort from a band that has been around practically forever and refuses to simply become a nostalgia act.

Thanks to Attila and Gary Poronovich for the info.

Recorded on a Saturday and mixed on Sunday

The late Derek Lawrence discusses his relationship with Tony Edwards and John Coletta in the early days of the band and why the band got signed to two different record companies at the time.
Continue Reading »

Accidentals and dominants

Gotta Hear ’em All blog has a rather technical review of Nothing at All from the new album Whoosh. If you enjoy reading about E – D# – C# – B progressions and dominant tonic motions, you’ll enjoy this.

It goes something like this:

The key of the piece is predominantly E Major, with a short set of shifting keys during the instrumental solos. Steve Morse’s is hard to exactly figure, but my closest guess would be G Major with several accidentals. Don Airey’s, on the other hand, is pretty easy to peg as primarily D Major, helped along by Roger Glover’s consistent bass tone (and sadly, besides this solo, Glover is once again the least audible member of the group. My apologies to Mr. Glover that I say little about him…again).

Continue reading in Gotta Hear ’em All.

Thanks to Attila for the info.

What’s gonna happen when they’ll run out of movie titles?

Roger Glover, Windsor, Canada, Aug 21 2014; photo © Nick Soveiko cc-by-nc-sa

Italian webzine Truemetal has a lengthy interview with Roger Glover, which was done by an obvious fan. That makes it twice as interesting for us as the usual fare from the mainstream press (even the musical mainstream press).

This album is the band’s twenty-first over more than 50 years of career. I guess this is a question you hear a lot, but where do you still find the inspiration after all this time?

[Laughs] That’s a good question, the best answer I can give you is something I thought when I was about eight years old.
When I was about eight, I lived in Wales, in a village, and every week we go to the market in the main town and there was a cinema there, and the cinema had big posters outside with the catchy titles of movies, and I actually did think, “What’s gonna happen when they’ll run out of movie titles?”.
Now, that’s a silly thing to think, that’s a typical eight years old thing to think, you can never run out of anything.
Things change and evolve, there are new ways of doing even the older things, that’s how mankind has been going on; we find new ways of doing the same things.

And the question that caused quite a stir in certain quarters recently:

I’ve seen the booklet of the album and noticed that Bruce Payne is not mentioned. He’s been your manager and Deep Purple’s manager for a long time, what happened with him?

We kind of reached an end to our productive years with a manager.
It’s very sad, Bruce is one of my best friends, we still talk, we’re still friends, but we felt the need to change and so we changed.
It doesn’t make any difference to the band, to the music of the band.

Read more in Truemetal. Seriously, it’s well worth your time.

Thanks to AndreA for the info.

We do is what pleases us

Rock Candy magazine, issue #21 (aug/sep 2020)

Rock Candy magazine has Deep Purple as their cover story of issue 21 (August/September 2020). Inside is a feature promoting Whoosh that includes interviews with both Ian and Ian. Check out the opening spread (pdf).

Couple of quotes from Gillan:

The early days were fabulous. Everything was new and wonderful and shocking. Things got bigger and bigger and bigger, so we became very confident. But as young men, we were also wealthy. We had more money than we could ever imagine. In those circumstances, you can end up becoming surrounded by sycophants who tell you you can’t do a thing wrong. At that age I thought I knew everything. How wrong I was.

We never try to second-guess what the public wants, or what the business might desire from us in terms of the records we make. What we do is what pleases us, and we cross our fingers and put our hands together in prayer that the public will like it.

The issue of the magazine can be ordered directly from the publisher.

Thanks to BraveWords for the heads up and the quotes.

Learning what not to do

Paicey with the new installment of The Chief answers your questions on his DrumTribe channel.
Continue Reading »

Unboxing Whoosh

Paicey is unboxing the Whoosh box set. The album is due for release on August 7, finally!
Continue Reading »

||||Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
© 1993-2025 The Highway Star and contributors
Posts, Calendar and Comments RSS feeds for The Highway Star