It’s been a long and interesting ride for Deep Purple, a band who began their career nearly six (!) decades ago. Through varied lineups and sounds, they’ve rocked the world. Repeatedly. While not every album has been a masterpiece, you have to admire the hell out of these guys for their longevity and perseverance. Anthems like “Smoke on the Water,” “Woman From Tokyo,” and “Highway Star” remain stapes of classic rock and hard rock radio, and rightfully so. Aside from a break-up from 1976-1984, the band has always been active in one way or another.
Fast forward to the 2020s. The band had their first lineup change in two decades with the departure of ex-Kansas and Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse. In his place has come new guitarist Simon McBride, nearly two decades the junior or the other guys in the band. Deep Purple’s current lineup features three of the five men who played in the classic MK II lineup – vocalist Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, and drummer Ian Paice (Paicey is the only person to play on every single Deep Purple album). On keyboards is Don Airey, one of the best ivory ticklers in the business, having previously served stints with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, and Rainbow.
I will admit, as much as I like Deep Purple, I haven’t been a huge fan of every single album the band has ever recorded; some of the more recent releases have been ho-hum efforts I could take or leave. The band also no longer performs certain anthems live anymore due to Ian Gillan’s struggles to hit the high notes (the ten-minute gem “Child In Time” from 1970s’ seminal DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK comes to mind). That said, this fan has mad respect for all things DP, and I was most definitely going to give this release a shot.
I’m glad I did.
=1 ends up being one of the most pleasant surprises of 2024. While it’s hard to say if this set of tunes will stand the test of time like releases from Purple in the days of old, what I won’t deny is that this is the strongest ensemble of original songs the band has put out since 2013’s NOW WHAT?! release. The thing I was dreading the most coming into =1 was how Ian Gillan would sound; it’s known that the guy struggles on stage sometimes these days. But I’m happy to say he sounds like his classic hard-rocking self from start to finish on this one; these songs seem to have been written with his current vocal capacity in mind. Newcomer Simon McBride absolutely soars on the guitar, and I truly hope this guy will be a part of DP for years to come because he absolutely holds his own. Part of what makes Purple, well, Purple, is the keyboards that fill out the band’s sound, and Don Airey definitely adds some much-needed atmosphere to these tunes. And that classic Glover/Paice rhythm section is as reliable as it’s ever been. While I think my appreciation of the album will appreciate with further listing, I won’t deny that I’m having one hell of a time listening to =1.
Deep Purple’s still got some gas in the tank. When they rock and roll, they rock and roll. And =1 is easily the strongest release to come from the band in a decade. I didn’t come in here with the highest expectations, but was blown away. To these guys, it may as well still be 1984. And that’s fine with me. =1 is one of my favorite rock albums of the year from these aging-but-still-superb rockers.
Highly recommended!