Deep Purple

In a world that is constantly changing and where trends and fashions are unforeseeable, Deep Purple are among the few reliable constant factors of music history. For more than 30 years now, they have enriched the spirit of rock music regularly with new albums, fascinating tours, and projects causing quite a stir. Five years after their latest studio album Abandon and three years after the spectacular re-release of Concerto For Group And Orchestra, Deep Purple now present their new album Bananas, seeped in a gripping atmosphere and once again showing off their enormous lust for playing. “It has always been like this in the history of Deep Purple, that a more difficult album would be followed by one that was easier for us”, says bass player Roger Glover, member from day one and organisational centre of the band. “Purpendicular was incredibly easy for us to realise at the time, while Abandon was quite a struggle. So we reckoned that Bananas would automatically be easier for us, and fortunately, it was.”

Deep Purple met up in L.A. in December of 2002, wrote the material for the album within only one month and in the spring of 2003 another month was all they needed for the complete recording. And this spontaneous and easy-going approach shimmers through the songs. Bananas, a completely rounded work of art, has Deep Purple rocking and conjuring up a whole arsenal of catchy melodies and masterly instrumental passages. Vocals, guitar, bass, organ, and drums interlock in such a natural-sounding way as can only be achieved by musicians who have known each other for years and have a mutual understanding. And yet, Bananas is the first album Deep Purple have written and recorded with their new organ player, Don Airey.

Airey, who among others has played for Rainbow, Gary Moore, and Ozzy Osbourne, is now treading in the steps of legendary Jon Lord, who left the band last year to meet new creative challenges. No quarrels preceded the parting, it was a decision the experienced and deserving musician made after due consideration. Guitarist Steve Morse explains the slow process that led to the separation: “Three years ago we realised the re-edition of the legendary Concertos with Jon in the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was very successful, we ended up doing a world-wide tour with it, and this experience woke the wish in Jon to do more in this style of music than he had done before. But that is quite impossible when you are engaged in a band, so he had to decide whether he wanted to keep touring with us or whether he wanted to dedicate himself to classical music. We respect his decision and we understand it.”

It was a dream come true for Deep Purple’s new member Don Airey. “Years ago I already pondered whether Deep Purple would turn to me if Jon Lord ever decided to quit”, he admits. “I couldn’t really imagine it, but it was my secret hope. And you can figure my joy when they did take me.” And Deep Purple didn’t want to bother their new organist with a status of guest musician – Airey is now a proper member of the band. Or as Glover puts it: “Deep Purple has always been a five-piece band, and nothing has changed that. From the very first rehearsal, Don was integrated in the song-writing just as Jon had been before.”

The new album Bananas has uplifting rock songs such as “House Of Pain”, “Sun Goes Down”, “Razzle Dazzle”, or “I’ve Got Your Number”. But Deep Purple are going to release “Haunted” as first single, a sensitive ballad, a song like a warm ocean breeze, that was given an appropriate sound frame in the studio. Glover explains the strong point of this song: “Of course, the rough idea, the structure is the basis of each song. But producer Michael Bradford, with whom we now worked for the first time, had some great ideas for ‘Haunted’. He invited Beth Hart, as background vocalist, into the studio and a string ensemble directed by Paul Buckmaster, who among others has worked for Elton John.” Even before its release, Deep Purple presented this song on their recent tour in June 2003. The audience was thrilled and the song will surely enter the long list of Deep Purple’s classics.

But what about the album title? It might sound very profane, but that was meant to be. Bananas offers plenty of different associations, but the story behind it is quite simple. Glover explains: “It all started with a little joke. About three years ago, I saw a photo of a man in a newspaper who was trying to hoist a huge banana tree onto the front of his bike. I said to Ian Gillan: ‘Look Ian, here’s the title of our next album. We’ll call it Bananas’. Ian wasn’t really looking, he just said: ‘Great idea.’ Of course his enthusiasm was ironic, but somehow the thought remained in our heads. Because Bananas is so striking and people can talk about what it’s supposed to mean. It leaves plenty of space for philosophical interpretations or whatever. And I’m sure Ian would be able to give you a deeply political explanation. But really, it’s just a word, nothing more.”

Deep Purple in the year 2003 are Ian Gillan (vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Paice (drums), Steve Morse (guitar), and Don Airey (organ). And Deep Purple in the year 2003 are characteristic for what they always were: a band with an intuitive feeling for powerful rock songs and with their own, unmistakable sound. Often copied, never reached and only to be found in this band. “The people often ask us what we think makes the typical style of Deep Purple”, Glover recalls. “I couldn’t answer it. I can only say: it isn’t certain songs or sounds, it’s the way we play them. We are a band full of wonderful solo artists and when we play together a certain chemistry unfolds that I can neither explain nor recapitulate.” And Bananas is the best proof of that!