Review Summary: Do they need money? Can they still play? Are they still a thing? Yes to two of the questions. They, i think, need to play until the last day. =1 is exhibit A.
In a time when trying to be young and relevant is a exhausting task for every one of us, when plastic surgery is at its most, we have these guys who released records on 7 decades in a row (literally), film a video without any hesitation of showing their aged faces (and showing off their new and "young" guitar player), but most important, giving zero interest on "modern music" and nowadays´ trends. This is the Deep Purple i love and i love them even more after listening =1 (hey, they didn´t spend time on choosing the title either).
Now, who are these guys? I always see Deep Purple as two different bands. First, we have Deep Purple, the metal and hard rock pioneers, those early seventies powerhouse rock band who -alongside Led Zepp and Sabbath- changed the music world forever. They went into funk territories (sweet times) to finally vanish. Then there is the second Deep Purple band, born 2005 -more precisely 2002-. That band was brand new and had a new sound while paying homage to their own roots. What happened between those periods were several attempts to take the world again, some successful (Perfect Strangers and Purpendicular) and some not so much. But on 2002 they found out that the key was to start doing music for themselves. After their FIRST record (Bananas -man they are so lame with the names-), they really kicked in with Rapture of The Deep. For me, Rapture, Now What and Infinite is a trilogy gem. Sure, there is no Lord (RIP) or Blackmore, but Airey and Morse are the next best thing. Don Airey is just perfect for the job. Morse is a different guitar player, more on the prog side (not saying better btw) and refreshed the DP sound. And we have the oldies. Gillan stopped trying, and started singing confident on his current sound. Glover is the man behind for sure. And Paice... Ian Paice is playing better than ever. The power is there, but the finesse and the gusto of every drumming choice is superb.
But let´s talk of =1. Oh i forgot to mention Whoosh. Still great, but it didn´t get me as the trilogy. Ok now with =1. Sadly, they had to part ways with Steve Morse due to Steve´s wife health condition. The band, at first, toured with Simon McBride as his temporal replacement, but now Simon is a full and official member, specially after recording a record with them, something even Joe Satriani didn´t get. Listening the new record repeatedly i couldn´t not think on another example: Gary Cherone. The Extreme singer got an impossible job: vocals on Van Halen after Sammy and, well, Lee Roth. It was too much for him and he stumbled on trying to copy both. Returning to Deep Purple, Simon hadf the task to replace Morse and, well, Blackmore. But he is actually doing a terrific job. The kid -as they surely nickname him i assume hehe- is a more straightforward rocking guitar player comparing to Morse, but he has swagger for ages. Clean guitar licks, pretty precise and he can get to the studio with clear ideas. The guitar on =1 is really impressive. Simple, groovin, straight to make you move your head but without trying too much. Gillan is sounding at his current best, at 78 years old. His lyrical approach is kinda dull, but give the man a break, he earned his right to write whatever he wants and get away with it. Glover is as solid as ever, the true glue that holds their sound together. Paice, comparing to their last records (Rapture, Now, Infinite, Whoosh) is now less sutile and more rocking. The mix clearly goes on to highlight his powerful sound. The 26` bass drum sounds massive. But this time i have to give it to Don Airey. He owns this record. What is with a 2024 record with this "old" style keyboard parts? Absolutely priceless. Don Airey makes Jon Lord live on our souls for sure. Thank you british gentleman for that.
The songs. You probably listened to Portable Door, Pictures of You (a hint on Pictures of Home, titlewise) and Lazy Zod (another homage). Good first singles. Portable sounded good enough for me, nice intro to the new duel on town: Airey vs McBride (sounds like a real noon pistol duel doesnt´it?). Pictures of You found me a little less interested to be honest. But then Lazy Zod had me. That amazing riff, on a chord progression i (not a guitarist) find on Smoke on the Water waters. But it was the pounding groove, the swag of the whole song, and of course, the double solo, guitar and keys. Simon fires some amazing shots, but Airey cheated and brought a chaingun to the show. Amazing.
We have several great songs on this 13 track record. Perhaps it cooks slowly on the first tracks (Show me, A Bit on the Side and Sharp Shooter) before reaching the first single, though A Bit on The Side has an infectious double bass all over the song that drives it home. After Portable Door, Old-Flanged Thing. It´s ok i guess, a little bit old school rock and roll, but still fails to win me completely. If I Were You is the softie here. I do like it a lot, specially those sublime keyboards. There is a Purpendicular feel to it. Wrapping Lazy Zod we have the fresher I´m Saying Nothing and Now You´re Talking. The first has an steady cool riff with some weird sounds cortesy of Airey, with Gillan feeling so commanding. The latter one feels so seventies. It could kinda be on Who do We Think We Are flawlessly. No Money to Burn is more on the Rapture sound while I´ll Catch you is a second ballad, with a more subtle drumming, a powerful guitar and Airey really setting the tone. Gillan is stretching, but at 78 what else do you expect?
Finally, Bleeding Obvious. That "Stranger Things" intro. Feels deep in the eighties. Then we have an aggressive riff, followed by the whole band and Gillan on top of it, at his best. Oh but the song doesn´t stop there. The bridges are quite phenomenal. Simon absolutely shines here on every single note, rhythm and solo. The whole song never ceases to surprise you at every turn, walking almost on Prog territories here. And the finale. That long drum fill finale. If those are the last seconds of this legendary band, i think is a fitting end for the larger than life entity that is Deep Purple.
