'Whoosh!' Review: Deep Purple's 21st record is an ode to the classic rock 'n' roll sound they helped pioneer
Rock legends Deep Purple have returned with their twenty-first studio album 'Whoosh!', the highly-anticipated follow-up to their worldwide chart-topping albums 'Infinite' (2017) and 'Now What?!' (2013). Cryptically teased several times by singer Ian Gillan last year and originally scheduled to drop in June 2020, the album was delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Not for too long, thankfully, as the August 7 release date for 'Whoosh!' was seen through and the album is now out.
The album includes three songs that were previously released as digital singles, including 'Throw My Bones', as well as a gorgeous instrumental track titled 'And the Address' which first appeared on the band's 1968 debut album 'Shades of Deep Purple', as the opening track. Drummer Ian Paice is the only musician who featured on both recordings; however, owing to several lineup changes over the decades since. Currently, the group also includes bassist Roger Glover, guitarist Steve Morse, keyboardist Don Airey, and Gillan on vocals, harmonica, percussion.
Changes aside, 'Whoosh!' is an interesting release. It has a gorgeously classic rock sound to it, one that is sure to transport you back to the height of rock and roll's glory days, but it isn't one that sees the band's sound stagnate in any way. Despite evoking a sense of nostalgia, Deep Purple keeps things fresh on 'Whoosh!' As they tell it, on this album, the band has "stretched out in all directions," truly allowing their creativity to be their guiding light. And the result is the band's most versatile record to date.
Deep Purple's process essentially involves putting the members together and allowing them to organically create what they want to. This is extremely clear when one listens to 'Whoosh!' It has the essence of being a live album with the songs giving listeners a sense of fluidity to them, which can make it easy to miss the crisp production on these tracks. In an interview with Cleveland, the band shared, "We just want to do what Deep Purple does best, and that's explore the nuances, the textures, the dynamics of a musical idea and just go with it. And Bob trims it as needed." 'Bob' being Bob Ezrin, the producer with whom the band has now recorded three albums.
With the motto "Deep Purple is putting the Deep back into Purple" in place, the band began crafting an album that took everything good about their music and blended it with a bit of experimental rock and a whole lot of social awareness. On the experience, Morse has stated, "We’ve included everything that made the whole band smile, including Bob Ezrin. We’ve always enjoyed making music and having the incredible luxury of a loyal audience." They're certainly not wrong about that, seeing as their previous release, 'Infinite', turned out to be one of their most successful albums to date, breaking chart records from the band's own 50-year history and becoming their highest-charting album since 1984's 'Perfect Strangers'.
Deep Purple's fans will always be around for another album from the band. But it isn't just fan loyalty that breaks records. What is truly remarkable about Deep Purple is that they consistently put out good, quality rock music that is as contemporary as it is timeless. And their willingness to experiment with their sound and the themes they address is the icing on the cake when it comes to the tried-and-tested method Deep Purple has used to put out number one albums, one after the other.
'Whoosh!' is thus a celebration of what makes Deep Purple one of the best rock bands of all time. Their half-a-century-long run is a series of musical triumphs, and 'Whoosh!' is the culmination of that. But don't let that fool you: it might be some of their best work to date, but Deep Purple is far from laying down their guitars and riding off into the sunset. "I‘ve been asked a lot: Is this our last album?" Glover shared. "I remember when we did 'Now What?!' which is now what…8 years ago? And then we did 'Infinite' and Don was asked is this the last album? He said: I thought the last album was the last album."
Pre-order Deep Purple's 'Whoosh!' HERE.