Louder Sound reprints a Classic Rock feature on Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball that originally appeared in the magazine in June 2018.

Of all the many Deep Purple offshoots and projects, there’s none more fanciful or just plain quirky than Roger Glover’s The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast. A poem for children written in 1802 by historian, art collector, botanist, sometime MP and occasional writer William Roscoe, The Butterfly Ball was adapted in 1973 into a then-popular book by author William Plomer and illustrator Alan Aldridge. Plomer died before it was published, but its success prompted Aldridge to conceive of expanding the idea into an album that would go on to soundtrack an animated film.

Initially, Aldridge imagined Pink Floyd as composers of the music to fit the theme of a woodland party for insects and other small animals. When that didn’t pan out, he approached first Jon Lord, who was too busy with Purple, and then the band’s just-departed bass player.

Continue reading in Louder Sound.

German outfit RND has an interview with Ian Paice and Don Airey promoting the new album =1. And little concerts in little churches. All the usual caveats regarding reverse translations apply.

The album title is “=1”. Does this stand for the unity and conspiracy(?) of the band in the new lineup – “Deep Purple = 1”

Paice: That’s a very nice conclusion. Everyone in the band has a different idea about the title because Ian (Gillan) never explained to us what it means. Ian always comes up with the title of the albums — we’re too lazy for that. I like the title because everyone asks themselves, “What does that mean?” It creates interest. On the inside cover there is an endless algebraic formula — at the end it adds up to 1. It all comes down to the one, the one: you are the one who is important, I am the one. That’s how I read it (laughs)

And what do you think, Don?

Airey: I think the title leaves a nice white space on the cover for autographs.

Read more on RND.de in German, or via Google Translate in your favourite language.

Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the heads-up.

Frank Zappa bassist Jim Pons was onstage performing with Zappa when someone in the audience fired a flare gun into the ceiling of the casino in Montreux and burned down the building in December 1971 – the inspiration for Deep Purple’s “Smoke On the Water.” Hear him tell his version of the story here.

With thanks to Chris.

More Purple coverage in the press, albeit not quite on the magazine covers level.

MOJO issue 369 (August 2024, with Stevie Nicks on the cover) has an extensive interview with the junior pole-vaulter-turned-vocal-acrobat Ian Gillan, covering his career from the first interests in music up to the present day.

From Hounslow to the Lake Geneva shoreline, Deep Purple’s air raid siren recounts a hard rock life. “You’ve got to get outside of a formula,” he tells Mark Blake.

Uncut magazine reviews =1 in their August 2024 issue, and places it under the “revelations” moniker (probably for the first time since Paicey was half Simon’s age).

Over in Germany, Hardline magazine also reviews =1 in their issue 62 (July-September 2024), gives it 10 out of 10, and concludes with

A really great album, which hopefully won’t be the quintet’s last.

Thanks to Marcelo Soares and Tobias Janaschke for the info.

The fine folks at earMUSIC have kindly allowed The Highway Star to review Deep Purple’s new album =1 ahead of its July 19 release date. We’re looking at a couple of songs per segment, and this time we’re opening with a full blown ballad replete with strings and painful lyrical conflict.

6 – If I Were You – opens calmly with a melody line from Simon McBride underpined by Glover’s signature choice of barely there yet superbly supportive bass notes.

Then we drift into a smooth and laidback ballad. At the forefront sits Ian Gillan’s sentimental voice with possibly the album’s greatest and most gripping vocals yet. Sounding both gentle and tormented in the here whispered there yelled delivery, Gillan’s voice is very much on the ball yet also displays the patina texture of 60+ years of experience. There’s a sturdy fragility here that carresses your ears in much the same way a beautifully aged and smoothly planed plank of oak receives the touch of your fingertips. Delicate, grained and strong.

Ian sings over a relaxed backing with Airey’s swelling Hammond chords creating a blissful atmosphere, and by the second verse we’re joined by the soothing sounds of a string section.

McBride turns in his best Steve Morse likeness on a melodic and gentle solo that slowly ascends to a beautiful climax. The tight band provide very classy backing while still letting a few fun details slip through – but always only so much as to support the song.

Towards the end, the’re an instrumental theme section with only backing vocals adding a lovely touch, then building up to a masterful crescendo ending.

The lyrics are worth a study. Your guess is as good as mine. I guess.

You hit me where it hurt
Left me face down in the dirt
You hit me with a cheap shot
Took me down, never gave it a thought

I never saw it coming, especially from you
Right out of the blue
If I were you
If I were you

And now you wanna make up
Put aside this little shake up
I don’t know what else there is to say
It all belongs to yesterday

Love and betrayal
Are not the best of friends
Getting back with you is the last thing on my mind
Without that feeling that goes against the grain
It can never be the same again

If I were you
If I were you
Why think of something when my blood runs cool?

SOLO

Love and betrayal
Are not the best of friends
Getting back with you is the last thing on my mind
Without that feeling it goes against the grain
Can never be the same again

If I were you
If I were you
I’ll think of something when my blood runs cool
If I were you …

7 – Pictures of You – was the deceptively catchy second single off =1. You will all have heard it by now, and it offers an entirely different slant on McBride’s Purple with its super melodic delivery and tight backing. At first, confusing, then developing into a slow grower that by now just rests easy on the ears.

It chugs along quite nicely before getting a little bit busier and slighty funky during the bridge, ending in a manic laugh from Gillan as McBride and Airey take it upon themselves to embellish the riff even more.

Then, after another chorus, the mood suddenly intensifies and we drift off into a classically inspired, quiet, emotive and moody ending. Very beautiful – and it could have gone on for much longer (perhaps live?) – but suddenly we’re taken right into the next track.

8 – I’m Saying Nothin’ – Gillan exclaims the title, and we’re into a mid tempo groove with a thick and relaxed swagger. The songs is heavy with intent, sports a smartish delivery with colourful synth effects and layered vocals, all to pleasing effect.

The song feels loose, the band feels live and we’re together with them in the same room.

The bridge sees a subtle change of feel, then a break and go off into a wringing, dirty guitar solo from McBride who trades licks with Airey’s airborne fingers in a manner which really reaches out and grabs our attention.

A couple of interesting chord changes finish the solo, and we’re back with Ian Gillan. In terrific form for the final verse, he gets bitchy on the words, spits them out with disdain while claiming to not be saying a word, his lips are sealed – before the song comes to a boomy, sudden ending.

Possibly the least excellent track on the album yet, but the band’s effortless efforts still display an incredibly high standard.

Did you catch the brand new promo video for track 9, Lazy Sod? Someone at EarMUSIC let it out, and we found it on YouTube – yet it seems to only appear at infrequent intervals. Keep looking.

Read also: Part Two. Part One.

The second part of the Sound & Vision interview with Dweezil Zappa on his Machine Head remix. Part 1 was here.

Mike Mettler: Did you reference, or at least get to listen to, the previous quad and 5.1 mixes of Machine Head as reference points for your Atmos remix?
Dweezil Zappa: I didn’t have access to those mixes at the time I was working on the remix—it was really just the stereo mix from the original album. And it was funny, because there was a bit of back and forth when the band was getting the stereo version back from me. On a few songs, they kept referencing some other version and I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I guess there had been a version released that [Deep Purple bassist] Roger Glover remixed.

Mettler: Yeah, there was a 25th anniversary 2CD set of Machine Head [released on Warner Archives/Rhino in 1998] that had his stereo remix on it.
Zappa: Yeah. So, sometimes, they were saying, “Oh, you know, it doesn’t have as much bass as the other mix.” They were referencing certain things I wasn’t hearing, and then finally they were like, “Oh, no, we meant Roger’s mix.” I was like, “Oh, I don’t even know what that is.” A lot of times, they were referencing the differences of the new stuff compared to Roger’s mix, and not even necessarily the old, classic [original] mix.

Continue reading in Sound & Vision.

A third single Lazy Sod from the new album =1 has been released.

[Update July 1]: The video clip was removed from public viewing just a few hours later without any explanation.

…And reinstated back a couple of days later:

[Update July 2]: Attempt #2, this time audio only Continue Reading »

Sweden Rock magazine has Messrs. Lord & Gillan on the cover of their #6/2024 issue. An 8-page feature based on an interview with Ian Gillan inside. IG: “Jon Lord was the godfather”… Bonus: a 3-page article on Black Country Communion, with Glenn Hughes’ interview.

Goldmine magazine summer 2024 issue (pardon the shouting, the quote is verbatim):

DEEP PURPLE FIGURE OUT A MUSICAL EQUATION JUST FOR GOLDMINE. VOCALIST IAN GILLAN AND BASSIST ROGER GLOVER TALK ABOUT THE BAND’S NEW PHILOSOPHY FOR HARD ROCK EXCELLENCE — THEIR NEW STUDIO ALBUM =!.

PLUS, NEW GUITARIST SIMON McBRIDE AND KEYBOARDIST DON AIREY PICK THEIR FAVORITE PURPLE SONGS OF THE ‘70S.

A WHOLE LOT OF PURPLE IN THE SUMMER 2024 ISSUE!

Powerplay magazine has the band on the cover of issue #275 (July 2024):

Ian Gillan tells us about writing and recording the band’s 23rd album which has the rather odd title ‘=1’ and is the first to feature new guitarist Simon McBride. Ian also recounts how he was assisted by a friend who he describes as a mad scientist!

German version of the Break Out magazine also puts the band on the cover of their July/August 2024 issue, and reviews the new album inside

Regardless they are veteran or young Deep Purple fans, they will all love the record and be grateful to the men around Gillan, Glover, Paice, Airey and McBride, because they have achieved more than just a fine old work.

And last, but not least (albeit not on the cover), Dutch magazine Lust for Life reviews =1 and gives it 5 stars.

Thanks to Benny Holmström, Emje, and Tobias Janaschke for the info.

German version of the Metal Hammer magazine has an interview with Ian Gillan and Simon McBride in their July 2024 issue, done on the occasion of the new album =1. Quote of the day:

Like its four predecessors, created under the sound direction and with the co-compositional skills of Bob Ezrin, the band around singer Ian Gillan pulls out all the stops and delivers — certainly also thanks to new
guitarist Simon McBride — in a class of its own on all levels.

Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the info.

Here is a trailer for the Access All Areas video that will be on the DVD accompanying some formats of the new album =1, once it is released on July 19, 2024. Continue Reading »