Deep Purple • Now What

This page is to keep tabs on the new studio album, let us know if you have any news.

Sept 20 2013 • A special edition of Now What with a bonus live set from the summer tour is due out in November. Full details here.

May 8 • Vincent Price will be released on June 7th as a single (download, 5″CD and 7”).  As we suspected they are including the otherwise ‘available only as a download to certain customers in Germany’ bonus track First Sign Of Madness as the b-side.
The vinyl edition is clear vinyl. Extras on the CD are a video for Vincent Price and two more Hard Rock Cafe cuts, Well Dressed Guitar  and Wrong Man. We’re still waiting confirmation on whether the single will be available through DTBOnline store.

May 7 • Chart placings for the album have been impressive, the highest charting UK album from the band since House Of Blue Light back in goodness knows when, and straight in at Number One in Germany! You can see that stats on the posting here.

April 15 • Roger Glover has posted his day-by-day account of recording Now What on the web, which you can read here:
The bonus tracks on the Deep Purple single do come from the Hard Rock Café release, which is a bit of a cheap move, as most fans had to buy special editions of the last album just to get the live tracks some years back. It’s not as if they haven’t got any other live stuff either. Bitter? When we ordered 50 copies of the CD single and were rationed to 10 so the tax fiddling Amazon could take all the rest? Of course not!
The two Ian’s have been doing some press interviews recently and also appeared on Radio 6 last week.

March 21 • The track listing and sleeve art for the album has now been released. Pausing only to wonder how much the bill for the artwork was (!), the tracks are: 1. A Simple Song 2. Weirdistan 3. Out Of Hand 4. Hell To Pay 5. Body Line 6. Above And Beyond 7. Blood From A Stone 8. Uncommon Man 9. Après Vous 10. All The Time In The World 11. Vincent Price. It’ll Be Me is the bonus track on special editions. Ltd Ed CD and vinyl can be pre-ordered at the DTB Online shop. The Americans are apparently persisting with the old Dual Disc format, so the UK CD/DVD limited edition 2disc set will be just one disc there.

Deep Purple Now What sleeve

March 11 • Tim Summers says he got to hear a couple of clips off the new Deep Purple single via an official French download seller, but when we tried this morning they’d shut the preview audio option. These showed what he describes as one being a bit laid back in a One Eye To Morocco vein, the other a ’69 era rocker. The sleeves for the CD and 7″ singles have been released. DTB Online are stocking the CD but cannot supply the vinyl. Nobody can (or will) confirm where the bonus live tracks are from, though as they do NOT say ‘previously unreleased’ it’s likely they are off one of the many recent live releases.

Deep Purple new single Hell To Pay cover Deep Purple new single All The Time In The World cover

Feb 26 pm – another update! NOW What?! is confirmed as the title of the new album and according to their press release features 11 new songs and “shows a modern and fresh production… to the point that Deep Purple have never sounded so close to the spirit of the 70s in the last 20 years as they do now.” (spot the contradiction in terms in that and win a prize!). It also “has the excellence and elegance of Perfect Strangers and the wild freedom of Made in Japan (that’s the 1972 live recording, not the 2011 version). 
The limited edition of the album CD includes a DVD featuring the group discussing the album and a bonus studio track (an unnamed cover version). We suggest this is the one to go for (it can be ordered at DTBOnline store now).
The group will release a single at the end of March (on vinyl and 5CD: 7″ – Hell To Pay (radio edit) / All The Time in The World (radio mix – edit) (only 1,000 pressed which is woefully small). CD – All The Time In The World (radio mix – edit) / Hell To Pay (radio edit) / Perfect Strangers (bonus track live) / Rapture Of The Deep (bonus track live). Origins of the bonus live tracks are not given.
(We are of course assuming All The Time In The World is not a cover of the fab Louie Armstrong track from OHMSS movie!). Thanks again to Tim Summers, who doesn’t like to see me with nothing to do.

Feb 26 am – Tim Summers reckons the album is called Now What (?! optional?), seeing as how they’ve changed the name of their new website and issued the following rather better than usual ‘urban style’ publicity photo.

Deep Purple Now What

Feb 25 – Formats for the new album include a Limited Edition of the CD, and also a Limited Edition on vinyl. You can pre-order either now at DTBOnline store.

Feb 22nd 2013 – Deep Purple’s label have released another album teaser, this time synched to a video. Sounded to us like Deep Purple meets ELP, you’ll hear what we mean as soon as the guitar intro ends! Here’s the link: http://youtu.be/ePb78Ont8Ts

There is also an audio clip from another track online, scoot over to the link or read the post here.

Deep Purple recording new album 2013

first publicity photograph of the recording sessions (thanks to Stephen Clare)

Gillan updates • Ian Gillan says the album has 13 tracks. Titles include Out Of Hand, Hell To Pay, Weirdistan, Uncommon Man and Above And Beyond (which has a nod to Jon Lord in the lyric). “There’s a big question mark over the name at the moment. And possibly an exclamation mark as well. You can read what you like into what I’ve just said. All will become clear – as mud – later on. That’s all I’m allowed to say. The question mark and the exclamation mark might get you intrigued.” IG is interviewed in the next issue of Classic Rock on sale in early January.

Release date • Roger Glover is now suggesting April as the likely release date for the new album.

Vocals and lyrics update : RG has said that writing and recording of the lyrics is now completed and they are letting Ezrin get the mix sorted while they’re on the road. Most of the lyrics were done by him and IG down at Ian’s pad in Portugal. Roger has posted a couple of paragraphs about this with some photos here. Meanwhile the band are saying February for release. Thanks to Tim Summers and others.

===

The band were recording through until the third week of July 2012 when Steve took a break for the G3 tour. He says they have more than enough material for the CD already, and good to hear him so upbeat about the project. Latest estimate is an early 2013 release with tour to promote.

Producer Bob Ezrin was tasked with arranging a choir on the song Hell to Pay. As one of the founders/owners of the music school Nimbus School of Arts, he asked them for volunteers and 20 students showed up. According to Ian Paice the music on the new album is “fairly heavy”. Good to know they’ve not gone nu-country then!

Thank to Eirik Solum

83 Responses to “Deep Purple • Now What”

  1. Harry Heathman III Says:

    Got the All The Time In The World CD single yesterday. (Thank you DPAS). Sounds so much better than the MP3’s going around the Internet.

  2. JMcE Says:

    Why didn’t they include the rejected track, ‘No End To This Party’, as a ‘bonus’ instead of the re-issued ‘live’ ones!

  3. Xavier Rulló Says:

    Just bought the new single, cd and vinyl versions (2 copies of the latter at 5,90 € in my regular record shop in Barcelona; I was surprised to find plenty copies to choose from).
    At first I thought ‘All The Time In The World’ sounded like an outtake from the ‘One Eye To Morocco’ Gillan album and wasn’t really happy about it. Now I really like the track, it makes me feel good. ‘Hell To Pay’ is pure Morse-Purple, it reminds me of ‘Cascades’ but shorter. I’m sure it will work really well live. I’m really looking forward to buy the new album later in the month. As usual since ‘Bananas’, I’m sure at least it will have 4 or 5 really good tracks, I’m not asking much more than that. Happy just to be able to enjoy them in 2013.

  4. Market for Mk.8 Says:

    Interesting comments here. Better than the blind faith some bands attract, I reckon. But it’s hard to fathom why folk are so keen for DP to “get heavier”: Abandon was heavy by any Purple standards, yet it got a general thumbs-down. Purple are never going to get as hard-rocking as they did in 1970, and they’re too subtle to do that perforce. But I was a happy purchaser of Zep’s In Through the Out Door in ’79, so the heavy stuff can come and go as it pleases! (Then again, if Mk.8 decided to cover Mr Universe (title track, not ’60s single), wouldn’t that be something?)

    • simon robinson Says:

      Abandon was a great-sounding album and I love the production and sound on it, but you’re right, it does seem to have passed people by. But then they did rather give up on promoting themselves for a few albums, whereas they seem to be making a bit of an effort this time round.

  5. roel Says:

    Two links to the audio snippets are here: http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/detail/-/art/Deep-Purple-Now-What/hnum/2414736 and here http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/detail/-/art/Deep-Purple-All-The-Time-In-The-World/hnum/3392620 Hope you have fun with them and it might answer a question or two. Waiting for the whole thing. Cheers Roel

  6. JMcE Says:

    The track listing is now on ….

  7. David Says:

    Hi, I don’t know if anybody mentioned that the producer is Canadian (from Toronto). He did Cooper’s albums… so the new Purple record will be great. I hope they play Canada again.
    Cheers!

  8. Roberto Says:

    This you tube link works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erazPasthdY

  9. Roberto Says:

    Corky (who mixed the album) made two mistakes in my opinion, one is what you (or someone here) reported about the words on ATTITW are too low on volume and the other is the guitar solo on HTP which has the same problem…
    And about song’s structures, I would have added on HTP few more notes/little instrumental passage after the guitar solo, and then followed the song with the bridge, not with another verse. That would have worked better in my opinion…
    For ATTITW I would haven’t put in those unmelodic choruses after the verses, that broke the melody of the song in my opinion.

    • simon robinson Says:

      I think we need to remember these particular edits have been tweaked and mixed to appeal to radio producers. I’m not sure myself if it’s worth compromising music for that aim, but it has seen them played on BBC Radio which is unlikely to have been the case otherwise. But there is a risk in doing this as it colours people’s opinions of the actual album. I do admire the stalwarts who tell me they are not listening to any previews, but waiting until the album itself. I haven’t found a reliable link for the Hell To Pay preview, let me know if you have one. I’d post the MP3 here but probably get dragged into court! It’s certainly rockier but a bit of a mad ‘Gillan Band meets early DP reunion Blackmore’ effort (funnily enough).

  10. Neil Cutler Says:

    Like the new graphics or not, I find it astounding that whoever designed the graffiti-style look, especially taking in to account that we’re talking about one of the greatest rock bands in the world, couldn’t be bothered to re-draw repeat letters so they didn’t all look the same (the e’s and p’s of Deep Purple). Shoddy stuff.

    • simon robinson Says:

      I did spot this and it sent a shudder through me as well, as it’s the laziest typographical trick in the book. But then I figured I already moan on about design on here enough! I did have a flick through the fonts trying to find which it was, but quite a difficult task…

  11. Roberto Says:

    “We are of course assuming All The Time In The World is not a cover of the fab Louie Armstrong track from OHMSS movie”… not even the unreleased David Coverdale cover from the album ‘Into the light’! Anyway these new songs are disappointing. “All The Time…” is a left over from One Eye To Morocco while Hell To Pay is just simple ’80 Hair Metal song. I hope the rest of the album will be much better…

  12. Ottar Pettersen Says:

    Some “snippets” here..
    http://www.qobuz.com/album/all-the-time-in-the-world-digital-special-edition-deep-purple/4029759086932

    • simon robinson Says:

      I think this is the site which has now blocked the advance audio options Ottar (either that or my French is even worse than I thought it was!).

      • Ottar Pettersen Says:

        Yep Simon, they closed it earlier today, but why? All The Time In The World is now available at the Russian radiostation rockfm.ru

      • simon robinson Says:

        It now seems to have had an ‘official’ (what’s official?!) release on a number of sites, so maybe they just wanted to stop people jumping the gun.

  13. Jack. Says:

    This album has to be a killer. It has to be! With plenty of heavy riffing and wild vocals! This one has to take Purple back to the charts. No more Purpendiculars or Abandons please. More in the line of In Rock, Machine Head, Perfect Strangers. Though it’s hard because Blackers, the main songwriter is not there, but just try dudes!

  14. Lee Wood Says:

    Just saw the band in Sydney on the weekend, and I must say that we went with a touch of apprehension, fearing that this may be the last time they venture our way, and looking at the same old setlist, our concerns were probably fairly understandable. Journey (very good) on first, and then blow me down, one of the freshest, most inspiring and progressive Purple shows we have ever seen, and this was our 15th show over the years.
    A combination of Bob Ezrin, the new album and Jon’s passing, seem to have imbued them with a fresh slate and a freedom for inventiveness that hasn’t been as pronounced in recent years, and IG was in far better voice than he has a right to be. Without a doubt, Don’s finest hour for my ears, as he seems to have finally settled into his role (perhaps Jon’s passing has given him license), and his call and responses with Steve were jaw dropping in fluency and attack.
    If this show is an indicator to the band being happy and inspired because of a new album, we may have the makings of a great set of new material to look forward to. To my ears, they haven’t been as collectively inspired since Purpendicular, so this may be the one we’re hoping for?

  15. David Black Says:

    Simon, Is the single going to be available for order from here? Dave Black

    • simon robinson Says:

      Dave – the distributors cannot guarantee supplying enough of the vinyl single (10 copies is all they could promiss!) so reluctantly we will not add this to our store as we don’t like rationing our customers. We will be able to supply the CD edition, and this is now up on the store under All The Time In The World.

  16. Rob Says:

    Purpendicular still stands tall for me. Let’s hope I can put Now What?! up there with it.

  17. Palle Hichmann Says:

    What’s modern and fresh if it sounds like the 70’s? They never sounded as close to the 70’s in the last twenty years? Well that was in 1993. Sounds like a contradiction. And yes, the whole album ought to be dedicated to Mr. Jon Lord.

  18. Mic Says:

    Gotta good feeling about this LP.

  19. Scott Herbert Says:

    I’d love to see Gillan reform “Gillan” – probably won’t happen, never got to see them in the States so unfortunately (have to watch on) DVDs

    • simon robinson Says:

      Now that’s a reunion we’ve not seen talked about ever. Of all the splits though theirs was one of the most bitter and still raises hackles. Great band live though. Just ask the manager of Sheffield City Hall.

      • john blackburn Says:

        Gillan. Sheffield City Hall 1979. Bloody marvelous. One of my favorite gigs ever.

  20. john blackburn Says:

    I really enjoy hearing the last few albums when they come up on the old playlist – some great numbers, so going to look forward to more of the same from these great musicians.

    There – something positive. I’ll go and sit down now.

    • simon robinson Says:

      Well certainly there are tracks to go back to on nearly all their last few albums (though Rapture still gathers dust on the shelf here) so fingers are crossed.

  21. JB Says:

    “11 original tracks” but we were promised “13 tracks”, so two covers then. Perhaps one IS Louis Armstrong, minus the ‘We have’.

    Why are so many people being down on the album before they even hear it and telling the band to call it a day? If you don’t want to hear it don’t buy it and go and do something that makes you happy.

    By the bye, there’s a tribute band playing near me soon called PurpleZeppelin. Two thoughts; decent of them to put the better band first, but how can a DP tribute band not have a keyboard player?!

  22. Michael Anthony Says:

    … “ the excellence and elegance of Perfect Strangers and the wild freedom of Made in Japan” … sounds like my kind of album! Bring it on!

  23. Grannypants Says:

    Curiouser and curiouser.

  24. Mike Galway Says:

    Don’t buy it – it only encourages them…

  25. Les Hedger Says:

    Sounds a lot like Mk 1 to these ears – which is a very good thing! Can’t wait!

  26. RB Says:

    Hmm, can’t say that gets me excited and so bored of Steve’s widdly picking where everything from the 12th fret and above is played on the neck pickup. Paicey’s punctuation with the toms sounds as if he were unsure of what to do, whereas the a young Ian would have been all over it, showing flare, imagination and hunger. I hope they prove me wrong when I listen to the album ‘cos I want my favourite band to blow me away, show me how wrong I was not to have faith in them. The key for me is if Gillan is in good voice, but I’m not sure he is capable of singing at this level anymore.

  27. michael Says:

    Thanks for not allowing my comments. Just because I can’t be sycophantic about the new album

  28. Kevin Staden Says:

    So far, so good! Both trailers, little as they are, showing great promise, especially the second longer one. Sounds like a more solid classic Purple sound rather than the Rapture sound…. which to my thinking is much much better. Leaning a lot towards a Jon Lord sound with the organ as well, not that Airey has ever been that far away from it anyway.

  29. MKJ Says:

    Horrible keys , sounds like ELP around 1976-77 (not the best period for 70’s groups). Please give up and retire gracefully

  30. Jeff/Over the hIll Says:

    Great to Hear Don Airey prominent. No disrespect to Lord and he would probably have admitted that Airey is more versed on Synths. I was always hoping they would feature Airey more, rather than just using him for color and texture.

  31. Christophe Colussa Says:

    Ian Paice seems to play a la “Woman From Tokyo” on the audio trailer. Smile !

  32. mitsaras Says:

    Bob Ezrin? Well well well… great producer

  33. Neil Cutler Says:

    Nice for Ian to get us going on the title!! Maybe a comp here Simon!
    Question marks and exclamation marks? Will this be their final album? Its been a long time coming…..so how about something along the lines of;
    Deep Purple at Last?!

    • simon robinson Says:

      Not sure we’ll be getting any copies for competition purposes Neil! Maybe they’ll just run with this as a cover, or perhaps it’s just a stop-gap until they can find a sleeve they all like.

  34. big al Says:

    Let’s hope they play some of it live!

  35. Grannypants Says:

    Ok I’m getting a little more excited now, actually I can’t wait. I really hope this album is a gem and dedicated to the memory of Jon Lord. I almost expect his presence to be felt in the music, but maybe that’s just me.

    • simon robinson Says:

      Pity nobody thought to bring Jon and DP together to cut some bits and pieces to weave into the album… but I guess this isn’t what the album is about, though they reckon one track does honour the man.

      • Grannypants Says:

        Ya, that would have been cool. Perhaps Jon stored some recorded stuff that could be used posthumously?

      • Peter Wolff Says:

        Simon great to have a teaser, we get to see them next week with Journey, I feel there is also a little “Asia” influence in the new “teaser” from their first album way back in 1982,

  36. Harry Heathman III Says:

    I can’t wait for new release. It will be released on my son’s 38th birthday. So you can do the maths; Deep Purple has been my favorite band for many decades. Both my children were raised on Purple. Now my 4 grand kids are fans! I hope for a US tour to follow. I will plan to see many shows like the “Smoke” Tour where I saw 4 shows. Nice to hear of a song dedicated to Jon Lord. God Bless Deep Purple!

  37. Rob wyatt Says:

    So very very! Cool. I’m the biggest DP fan, cannot wait! Ian is the best! Cheers from Los Angeles. Cya soon!

  38. Mark Nolde Says:

    I suppose receiving this today means you forgot your coffee again?

  39. collins Says:

    “Fairly heavy” in 2013? Morse isn’t Ritchie especially when you’re talking about hard… he’s fast and brilliant, coloured… but he can’t play heavy. I’m not interested in new albums because rarely can we hear anything good nowadays from these old groups….

    • Finn Says:

      I can only (and I’m sad to say it) agree 101%. Steve is a great player BUT he is NOT a guitar player for Purple. Great person and great on guitar but NOT in this band. This is Deep Purple NOT at jazz / ELP / band. Do you think Black Sabbath would come up with this kind of thing. NO WAY! Sure it can’t be In Rock again, but you hear what Ian can sing when he was with Tony Iommi. THAT was rock. Why not in Purple? They don’t have a rock guitarist.

  40. Daniel Andriot Says:

    Last Friday, Mâcon France, they say new album now April 2013.
    Great show, Steve broke a string, but he continued masterfully.

  41. Michiel Says:

    And what is below zero? ‘Love Conquers All’, I assume.
    (And don’t say ‘Anthem’, because its organ sound is very dark & moody)

  42. vince chong Says:

    I am always stoked for a new Purple offering but with Jon’s passing I am not sure what I will be feeling when I listen to it. I know he has not been involved for 3 lps but…. I am quietly optimistic anyhow.

  43. Christophe Colussa Says:

    On french TV FRANCE 2 this noon IAN GILLAN says “new album for february 2013” !

  44. n mills Says:

    If “In Rock” is the heaviest album, say 10 out of 10, then surely “Into the Fire” gets an 11? And the plinky plonky intro to “Anyone’s Daughter” (which cheers me up no end every time I hear it) a nice round zero.

    • simon robinson Says:

      Still think I need to do some work on the first three albums to get this scale properly worked out. It’s the middle ranking stuff which confounds, sort of Might Just Take Your Life kind of pitched at around 4 or 5.

      • n mills Says:

        Perhaps it needs two scales:
        One for the songs and one for the albums.
        The album with the tracks whose total gives the highest number must be the heaviest. QED.
        And then it could be done for line-ups …….

  45. Grannypants Says:

    Optimistic but not holding my breath. Of course I will buy it, of course I will play it a lot and hopefully I will be satisfied. I just hope its not too sterile and over-produced. I want raw, heavy, comatose inducing, mind altering, sonic madness of unequalled realization. Alas, there can only be on “In Rock”, but I just hope its better that the last couple.

  46. Michael Salahoris Says:

    Well the phrase ‘fairly heavy’ coming from the DP camp does not satisfy me at all, but let’s wait and see maybe something good may
    come from this collaboration. At least I wish they can deliver another REAL HARD DEEPURPLIN’ ROCK, supposing that it could well be their studio swansong!

  47. Paul G Says:

    Ian Paice, at his drum workshop the other week (17th Sept) said that Ian Gillan was just about to lay down the vocals before they left for Russia, that it was a very powerful album and that they’re all quite excited by it. I was looking forwards to its release, now I’m really looking forward to it.

  48. Roy Davies Says:

    “Fairly Heavy”? Most unlike little Ian to be so descriptive!

  49. Bill Grange Says:

    New album…superb!

    • simon robinson Says:

      Why, have you heard it Bill? Or just the fact that they’re getting one out after six (or seven) years…

  50. Bo Says:

    “fairly heavy”? Is that compared to In Rock or to the last with Morse. I hope it will be compared to In Rock.

    • simon robinson Says:

      What we need is a scale of heaviness with ten the climactic madness of Hard Loving Man and one the opening of Anyone’s Daughter…

  51. Heavy Metal Overload Says:

    The Bob Ezrin / Deep Purple collaboration is an intriguing one. Ian Gillan always talked about Purple doing their “Sgt. Pepper”. Maybe Bob’s the man to help them pull it off? Although, it’s also worth noting that whenever Ezrin is involved there is always a much higher than average chance of a choir or children singing on the album. So no surprises there…

    • simon robinson Says:

      Yes, we’d heard he was fond of the old choral effect. At least it’s not out of tune kiddies, which mars one or two classics (I have to fade out one Talk Talk album to avoid one grim example). And I don’t mean Grandad either.

      • Heavy Metal Overload Says:

        Haha! Well I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t find an excuse to get some kids on there too… what Talk Talk album has got kids on it? I’ve got a couple of theirs but I’m not too familiar with them. Overall though, Bob’s an interesting choice for Purple. I’m intrigued about what they’ll come up with.

      • simon robinson Says:

        From recollection it’s a track called Happiness Is Easy from the Colour Of Spring album. Fab track, but then the kiddies break out at the end. Great band too, I loved following their progress from pop wannabees to out on the edge experimentation (except for their final album which just fell apart).

      • Heavy Metal Overload Says:

        Oh right, I do have that one! I got a few of their albums very recently but it’s the Spirit of Eden album that I keep choosing out of them. It’s fantastic… so it’s probably high time I moved on to another one. Cheers Simon!

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