''=1'' is the twenty-third studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 20 July 2024 by earMUSIC/Edel AG. It is their first album with guitarist Simon McBride, who replaced

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 ...

in 2022. It is also the band's fifth collaboration with producer

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 ...

, who has produced every Deep Purple album since 2013's ''

Now What?! ''Now What?!'' is the 19th studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 26 April 2013 and produced by Bob Ezrin. A dedicated official web site was also created by the band to post updates about the album. It was the band's ...

''.

Themes and reception

The album has been described as having a loose concept around " ymbolisingthe idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one". Music writer John Aizlewood described singer Ian Gillan's voice as "richer than it's sounded in years".Deep Purple rediscover their purpose on the invigorating =1
''LouderSound''. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.

Track listing

All Songs written by: Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, Simon McBride and Bob Ezrin.

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 ...

– lead vocals, backing vocals (tracks 1, 4–9, 13) * Simon McBride – guitar, additional guitar

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

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, shaker (track 3) *

Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moor ...

– keyboards, orchestral

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

(track 6) *

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 memb ...

– drums Additional musicians *

– backing vocals (tracks 1, 6, 8, 11, 13),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called " zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thou ...

(1), orchestral arrangement (track 6) * Nashville Music Scoring – orchestra (track 6) * Patricia Shirley-Okujene – backing vocals (tracks 11, 13) * Camille Harrison – backing vocals (tracks 11, 13) * Alan Umstead – concertmaster Technical * Bob Ezrin –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing * Robert Vosgien – mastering * Anthony Yordanov – mixing, engineering * Julian Shank – mixing * Jill Zimmermann – engineering * Justin Cortelyou – engineering * Piers Mortimer – additional keyboard engineering * Eike Freese – additional vocal engineering * Denny Meißner – additional vocal engineering * Michael Gnocato – engineering assistance * Daniel Goldade – engineering assistance * Jasper Terpstra – engineering assistance * Nick Spezia – orchestra engineering (track 6) * James Paice – additional drum production and engineering (track 6) * Alan Umstead – orchestra contractor

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Deep Purple 2024 albums Deep Purple albums Edel AG albums Albums produced by Bob Ezrin