For Deep Purple, The Long Goodbye has changed to We’re Not Going Anywhere. Indeed, it appeared the group was winding down when they announced their fabled Long Goodbye tour in 2017. In recent years, they’d taken an admirable step up with two tremendous albums produced by Bob Ezrin — 2013’s Now What?! and 2017’s inFinite. Then they went into overtime with a third Ezrin-produced release for 2020 called Whoosh! followed a year later by the cheeky covers album, Turning To Crime. Now, they’re back with =1, their 23rd studio effort and fifth produced by Ezrin, and it’s a whole new coat of paint, with a few nods here and there to the past.
Rather than showing signs of hanging it up, the members of Deep Purple have dug in their heels this time around. Maybe it was the 50th anniversary celebration of Machine Head that got their blood boiling. Or more likely, it’s due to longtime guitarist Steve Morse, for personal reasons, leaving the group. That gaping hole could have ended it right then and there. A group that’s experienced numerous personnel changes, Deep Purple prompted themselves for a bit of a readjustment. Hiring guitarist Simon McBride to replace Morse quickly put any doubts to rest.
From the outset, =1 exhibits an attitude, a sniff of a snarl, affirming Deep Purple is still a viable rock and roll outfit. “Show Me” is a powerful starter and an indication of what Deep Purple has to say at this juncture of their career. Ian Gillan’s voice and distinctive tone glide through the verses, supported by the rumble of the rock-hard bass and drums from Roger Glover and Ian Paice. The pièce de resistance comes when keyboardist Don Airey and McBride engage and do the patented keyboard and guitar twist. It’s an important Deep Purple component. Airey pumps out a few fiery synth notes, which he does more than ever on this album, and McBride answers back with sleight-of-hand reverence before they both lock in and sprint to the break.
One of greatest performances from McBride comes next. The infectious galloping riff that drives “A Bit On The Side” limbers up with shades of Ritchie Blackmore and Steve Morse-type flourishes. It’s arguable the guitarist’s playing isn’t as individualistic and defined as his predecessors. They are obviously the template he’s using to mesh with the band. His approach and style operate on a fresher, more energetic level with a flash all its own. For all practical purposes, he’s the man for the job and =1 hammers that point home.
“Sharp Shooter” is cast in a classic mid-tempo Deep Purple mold, while “Portable Door” finds Gillan’s melody and lyrics at their optimum best with a sardonic edge. As the first single from the album, it’s a spirited, lifting rocker that’s bound to rile up the masses. All the pieces fall together as McBride and Airey take their solos and Gillan comes back to wrap up his tale of veiled annoyance.
The second single “Pictures Of You” chunks forth, beaming with all the trimmings of a hit from the golden age of 1972. “Lazy Sod,” the third single, is a snappier toe-tapper where Gillan offers an acerbic, humorous admission of being unable to solve the world’s problems, partly inspired by a posing question during an interview that referenced Dolly Parton.
“Now You’re Talkin’” bears all the hallmarks of a classic Deep Purple track, rich in depth and booming with life. McBride delivers one of his standout performances throughout, bolstered by a cracking solo. Gillan goes guttural at one point and tempers it out for the rest of the tune. All of it comes to a close on a cosmic plane, sustaining the band’s edge and mystic.
By the time you reach “Bleeding Obvious,” the album’s final epic, it should become — ahem — bleeding obvious that =1 is a definitive statement from one of rock’s most enduring and hard-working bands. The acoustics and piano that lush it up a little bit there toward the end only add to the band’s arsenal. In the scope of Deep Purple’s extensive discography, It’s not easy to assess where =1 lands. Even Machine Head had a slow start until “Smoke On The Water” was unleashed upon the world. With seemingly no expiration date, Deep Purple are on a new path with a spring in their step and a feather in their history. For them, even at this late stage in their run, =1 confirms that their determination to stay afloat and continue as a force in music rages on.
~ Shawn Perry
