For the third time in a row, Deep Purple and producer Bob Ezrin have delivered a stellar, rock-solid record that brings out the best in every participant. The 13 songs, presented in two acts, comprising Whoosh!, as it is called, range from straight-forward hard rock to ragtime fills to more intricate progressive rock strains, soaking in a stew of classical and neo-acid rock flavorings. A few spins in, and you begin to realize that this album, bundled with 2013’s NOW What?! And 2017’s inFinite, marks a significant creative streak in Purple’s storied 50-year history. Looks like The Long Goodbye they announced three years ago is going into overtime.
“Throw My Bones,” in its mid-tempo steadiness, is a proper way to introduce the record. Guitarist Steve Morse sets it all in motion with a swinging riff, and goes in for the kill at about the halfway mark with a searing lead. This is the seventh Deep Purple album for Morse, and his inimitable style plays a major role in the band’s oeuvre, no matter what Ritchie Blackmore loyalists think. “Drop The Weapon,” which follows, goes even further by putting both Morse and keyboardist Don Airey in the spotlight. Like Morse, Airey is his own man, and his keyboard work has only expanded and blossomed with each Purple album he’s played on (five at last count).
On NOW What?!, inFinite and Woosh!, there’s at least one or two songs that could have found homes on Purple classic albums from the 1970s like In Rock or Machine Head. “Above And Beyond” and “Uncommon Man” are two show-stoppers from NOW What?!. “Birds Of Prey” on inFinite is arguably one of the most epic numbers Purple have recorded since “Perfect Strangers.” Whoosh! doesn’t come up short either. If the Celtic jig of “Nothing At All,” billed as the album’s third single, doesn’t have you river dancing around the house, it may be time to turn over your four-leaf clover. “The Long Way Around” is another winner, pushed along by a gripping Steve Morse riff, a sweet little run over the synthesizer by Airey, and a mild, controlled vocal from singer Ian Gillan.
The banshee screams are long gone, yet Gillan remains the voice of Deep Purple, consistently right for the material. His lyrics are always a collage of various subjects, ranging from space and time, to war and science and love, to downright quirky. To many who know this band, the words often take a backseat to the music. Still, you can’t deny a certain amount of intellect and acumen are put into them, without sounding pretentious or mushy. The thought-provoking verses and pre-choruses need to match the monumental arch of songs like “The Power Of The Moon” to be convincing.
Being consistently right for the material also applies to the rhythm section of bassist Roger Glover and the group’s lone original member, drummer Ian Paice. That’s why a remake of “And The Address,” the opening number from the band’s 1968 debut album, Shades Of Deep Purple totally works. Here, it represents a tribute of to its writers — guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and keyboardist Jon Lord — whose tight interplay on their respective instruments was integral to the band’s signature attack. Steve Morse and Don Airey are mindful of the shoes they fill, while Glover and Paice, instinctively and without fail, provide the necessary groove and feel.
Coming out during one of the most challenging periods in modern history, Whoosh! is an ardent reminder that nothing is over until the last note is played, the band leaves the stage, everyone heads home and never comes back again. Now that everyone’s home, they want to get back out there. With a new record on the marketplace, it’s what Deep Purple does. Those with a passing fancy of their legacy may have written them off long ago. That’s too bad because the roll they’ve been on since 2013 sees no end in sight. If that doesn’t offer a small glimmer of hope for the rest of us, then nothing else likely will.
~ Shawn Perry
