Deep Purple = 1 (Ear Music)

 

Deep Purple returns with its first post pandemic studio album, and a new guitar player.  Simon McBride replaces Steve Morse, and adds more of a heavier edge to Purple’s music.  At first glance, the album’s title and the cover offer no mysticism Deep Purple were known for in the past.  Luckily, the music speaks volumes, and there is plenty to be attracted to inside.

Forty years ago, Deep Purple, reformed and released, Perfect Strangers, one of the finest reunion albums of all times.  So how does = 1 mirror against a monster that was Perfect Strangers?  It’s a good album, it will not set the world on fire, but it will please band’s long-time fans, and there are many.  What’s really cool is that Deep Purple is still willing to be creative and record new music.  They have enough great material to have a live setlist stretching at least for four hours, and they only play for about 90-100 minutes on average.  Many of their contemporaries threw in the towel, and stick to being only a live attraction.

The artistry of the band is still very evident, the new songs are creative and somewhat adventurous.  There are some reminders the sounds and the melodies of the past.  One such  example would be Portable Door and Pictures of Home, but that’s what you get when you develop a definite style.  There is also that gentler side of Deep Purple that’s been evolving over the last few decades.  It seems like Gillan and Glover’s Accidentally on Purpose is as much of a template as let’s say Machine Head.  It’s a fair mix, and definitely a pleasant listen.  Now You’re Talkin’ even has Gillan reaching out for his higher register which he no longer uses on regular basis.

Guitar and keyboards were always two primal sounds in Deep Purple.  Don Airey definitely drives things here.  His performance is actually superb throughout the entire album.  He is definitely understanding the roots of Deep Purple, and Jon Lord’s approach to music in general.  Simon McBride is truly a powerful player, has a style of his own, but there are moments where he gets close to Steve Morse or even Ritchie Blackmore.  McBride occasionally comes across being able to build up that Blackmore feel without having that definite Blackmore touch.  His playing is convincing and sincere.  He makes Deep Purple a band again, and sometimes that in itself is the name of success.

= 1 is really a fun album, and it gets better with each listen, there are a lot of hidden melodies.   It’s a very grown-up sounding record, and reflects the ages of all involved.  Also, it proves that you can create this sort of magic regardless of your age.  Having grown up alongside the music, this writer understands the process perfectly and appreciates the effort.  Will this be the last statement from Deep Purple?  Time will show, and at this point of the game time is the only currency that counts.  So, how to answer the question asked three paragraphs ago?  Perfect Strangers was definitely a shot in the dark, whereas = 1 is a walk in the park. 

Mark Kadzielawa