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 »

Louder Sound reprints a Classic Rock interview with David Coverdale from 2011. It is a long read, covering everything from a Saltburn-by-the-Sea schoolboy listening to Elvis through to the latest at the time Whitesnake album Forevermore.

One time a guy came in the shop while I was reading the Melody Maker. And he knew I sang and said sarcastically I should go after the job with Deep Purple, and walked out laughing. I went back to reading and right there in the Melody Maker was a picture of Jon Lord sitting at the organ, a bit Monty Python like, with a little line that said: “Deep Purple are still looking for a singer and are considering unknowns.” That was all it took.

So I went round the corner to a public telephone box, and called a guy called Roger Barker, who managed the local band I was with, and I asked if he had any contact numbers for Deep Purple. He gave them to me. They wanted a demo and a photo, so I sent them something I’d done when I happened to be very drunk. Ian Paice was the one who collected my tape from the Purple office. And apparently he called Ritchie [Blackmore] and said: “I think I’ve found somebody. He’s rat-arse drunk but he’s got a good tone.” So they set up an audition for me. They never asked me to do any Purple songs at the audition, but Ritchie said: “Is there anything of ours you want to do?” So I sang my version of Strange Kind Of Woman, more expressive, moving around the melody rather than following the guitar, or whatever, and Ritchie came over and said that’s how he’d heard it when he first wrote it. Which was really cool to hear, as you can imagine.

Read more in Louder Sound.

And speaking of Classic Rock reprints, another one is a Joe Elliott interview done on the occasion of his contribution to the Re-machined tribute album. In this chat, Joe professes his love for all things Purple, and shares some anecdotes:

Have Def Leppard ever crossed paths with Deep Purple over the years?

Ian Gillan and I did a duet on his Gillan’s Inn album called I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight. It’s a cover of the Dylan song, and it was great fun. For 20 years or more we swapped Christmas cards. We first met Ian Paice in 1983 when Def Leppard had just started to go ballistic in America. We were touring with Krokus and Jon Butcher Axis were supporting. Jon Butcher lasted a little while and then Gary Moore came out instead, and Gary had Ian Paice on drums. Here we were – 22 years old or something – and we had Ian Paice playing drums in the band that were third on the bill to us! We were all going up to him and saying, ‘Er… I’m really sorry…’ But he just burst out laughing and told us, ‘Don’t be so fucking daft.’ Then he started telling us stories about how when he goes into restaurants and can’t get a table, he says, ‘Don’t you know who I used to be?’

Have you had any experiences of The Man In Black?

Def Leppard opened for Rainbow in Europe in 1981. I remember Ritchie saying to me, ‘I want you to watch the audience tonight during Long Live Rock’N’Roll.’ So I stood at the side of the stage and he winked at me and then went down in to the pit with a box full of tomatoes and started throwing them at [Rainbow singer] Joe Lynn Turner. Of course, Joe couldn’t see Ritchie because of the spotlight and so he starts berating the crowd thinking they’re throwing them at him. People talk about the moody man in black, but I saw a different Ritchie Blackmore when we toured with him.

Read more in Louder Sound.

Thanks to the fine folks at earMUSIC, The Highway Star is reviewing Deep Purple’s new album =1 in segments ahead of its July 19 release date. Since the first segment, the band has spoiled us with no less than three new songs in their live set; the single Portable Door, A Bit on the Side (already reviewed) and Bleeding Obvious, which is the album’s very intense closing song. More on that eventually.

3 – Sharp Shooter opens with a gritty, dirty bluesy riff over an infectuous mid-tempo shuffle. Ian Paice’s busy hi-hat pushes the song forward, and the swagger and groovy swing will set your dimples alight.

Ian Gillan is let loose with another colourful story told through subtle innuendo and brilliantly reimagined clichés. Check out the photo above. Gillan and Roger Glover sketching out plays on words over tea in a shady Portugese garden. Oh to be a fly on the wall …

“You’re just another sharp shooter, with your finger on the trigger, you’re aiming at this big head of mine. And from there you can’t miss, the only trouble is, I have to put you in line.” The self-assured storyteller doesn’t miss a beat. “You’re my baby face assassin with your weapons of seduction, you get me sooner or not.” The joys of Gillan and Glover penned lyrics in full creative flow.

“I’ve got friends in louder places,” exclaims Gillan before Airey flies off into a classic Moog-style flurry that’ll brighten your day – before McBride is given free reign – within the song’s structure, and it’s all good fun and happy energies.

Rich ooh-aah backing vocals add to an uplifting semi-naughty party atmosphere, and while this song may not be breaking new territory, the craftmanship is beyond competition with accentuations left and right to keep your ears busy.

4 – Portable Door was unleashed on us as the album’s first single, and as such we won’t spend too much time on it here. Being our first glimpse of the new Simon McBride’d line-up, the single set a high standard and offered promise of a solid and altogether amazing album.

The song sports a strong, heavy groove, a catchy melody and a ton of instrumental intent. It gallops along with good-humoured lyrics and solos to punch the air for – before it gathers itself and climaxes with an effective and proper ending. Yay!

5 – Old-fangled Thing ups the ante yet another notch. What were they drinking?! Over an uptempo and intense keyboards and guitar riff, Gillan delivers another story with telling lyrics and lyrical vocals.

“It was hot steamy night, I was drinking on my own, just me and my guitar, the bottle’s empty except for the record of you, then along came you.”

Don’t be fooled by words reminiscent of an old blues standard. This one’s got a sweaty swing, plenty of lifted accents, and a bridge with backing vocals that mean business.

Suddenly there’s a half tempo break before a surprise spicy left turn, and during the bridge, Gillan sings with the mad conviction of a wrongly convicted deathrow convict. Ferocious!

Then McBride’s guitar takes over with a strong long noted solo in a very becoming contrast to the otherwise very busy backing track. Possibly an Ezrin request. Thank you!

After another verse we’re into a different break and a different left turn backing the organ solo. Woah. It’s all a bit reckless and intense yet tightly controlled. Sounds like fun!

Gillan goes for a long wailing scream as the backing lift and lifts and boom! We’re done. Such a blast and yet another highlight! You couldn’t make this stuff up – and yet it’s exactly what they did in that Toronto studio (see photo above). Such a delight.

This takes us five songs into the album’s 13 tracks, and when we continue (before long, promise) there’s a grandiose orchestral ballad on the horizon, I kid you not!

Read the first segment of this review.