''Now What?!'' is the 19th studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Deep Purple. It was released on 26 April 2013 and produced by

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin's car ...

. A dedicated official web site was also created by the band to post updates about the album. It was the band's first studio album in over seven years as Deep Purple's previous studio album, '' Rapture of the Deep,'' was released in late 2005. On 26 February 2013, the album's title was announced. Additionally a new single featuring "Hell to Pay" and "All the Time in the World" was released in both CD and vinyl formats on 29 March 2013. On May 6, 2013, the band confirmed that a new single "Vincent Price" would be released on 7 June as download, CD single and 7" transparent vinyl. The single would also include the previously unreleased song "First Sign of Madness", two tracks from the now unavailable '' Rapture of the Deep'' limited edition and the track's video-clip. The songs "Uncommon Man" and "Above and Beyond", which includes the lyrics "Souls having touched are forever entwined", are dedicated to founding member

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

who died in July 2012. "Uncommon Man" is partly inspired by the classical composition "

Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that year ...

", and features a synthesizer-generated fanfare theme composed by Don Airey.

Reception

Following its release, ''Now What?!'' was met with mostly positive reception from critics.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Steve Leggett commented that the album sounded like a product of

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

's golden age, saying "Some things really shouldn't change, and Deep Purple recognize that. They haven't changed a bit and the group's many fans are going to find this release comforting in that regard". Sputnikmusic reviewer wrote that "fans of '' Purpendicular'' and the group’s last two albums will find several pleasing moments and the band should feel proud of the outcome too." The album appeared at No. 104 on Sputnikmusic's list of the "Best

Progressive Rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

Albums of 2013." ''Now What?!'' sold 4,000 copies in its first week in the US. Six months after its release, ''Now What?!'' was certified gold in Germany (100 000 copies sold). It was the first Deep Purple studio album to enter the UK top 40 albums charts since '' The Battle Rages On...'' in 1993.

Track listing

The Now What?! Live Tapes

This is Disc 2 of the November 2013 "Gold Edition Deluxe" double CD.

Personnel

;Deep Purple *

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

– vocals *

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

– guitars *

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and R ...

– bass * Don Airey – keyboards *

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...

– drums, percussion ;Additional musicians *Jason Roller – acoustic guitar ("All the Time in the World") * Eric Darken – percussion ("Bodyline", "All The Time in the World") *Mike Johnson – steel guitar ("All The Time in the World", "Vincent Price") *David Hamilton – additional keyboards ("Uncommon Man", "Weirdistan", "Above And Beyond") *Students of

Nimbus School of Recording Arts Nimbus, from the Latin for "dark cloud", is an outdated term for the type of cloud now classified as the nimbostratus cloud. Nimbus also may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Halo (religious iconography), also known as ''Nimbus'', a ring of ligh ...

– gang vocals ("Hell to Pay") *

– additional backing vocals & percussion ;Production *

- producer, mixing *Justin Cortelyou - engineer, mixing *Li Xiao Le - assistant engineer *Zach Allan, Jarad Clement - additional engineers (The Tracking Room), *Rob Harris, Mike Airey & Nathan Sage - additional engineers (Rainbow Recorders) *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

- mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Deep Purple albums Albums produced by Bob Ezrin Edel AG albums