Deep Purple belong to those bands that just can't stop. Some may be happy, others more compassionate. At least it's been that way for a long time. In the meantime, two members of the group, founded in 1968, have crossed the seventy mark, and two others are about to do so next year. Guitarist Steve Morse with his sixty-two Lenzen makes himself out like a young boy among his colleagues. Meanwhile, Purple's new CD "Infinite" has nothing to say about Alterszipperlein. With strength and esprit the slaughter-tested troupe fights their way through ten songs, of which certainly not all have what it takes to become classics, but some can at least be put painlessly between the train numbers of the band.
The compact sound is striking, dominated above all by Don Airey's keyboards, Ian Paice's drums and Ian Gillan's surprisingly powerful vocals. The band had fun, even though the drummer had suffered a stroke shortly before and was temporarily restricted. This is also not to be heard on "Infinite". "First of all, it seemed as if we were using exactly the same formula as for the last album," says Steve Morse. "But thanks to producer Bob Ezrin, it turned out to be something completely different. He got things out of the band that we ourselves hadn't thought possible. Especially Ian Gillan was. Bob had countless ideas and was involved in virtually every stage of production. He had a clear vision and knew how to realize it with the band. All in all, this album is proof of how much a good producer can do with a record."
Sixth band member
Bob Ezrin is in the studio with the hard rock dinosaurs for the second time. The Canadian had made a name for himself in the early seventies as a producer of Lou Reed and Alice Cooper. His most successful work was Pink Floyd's "The Wall". Already for the "Infinite"-predecessor "Now What?! he had achieved passables in 2013, but the material was far less exciting than on "Infinite". What Ezrin himself has a share in, as Morse says: "Bob also got credits as a songwriter from us, because he was responsible for the fact that whole parts were changed or exchanged in the songs. If he didn't like a part, he told us that very clearly. He even influenced my guitar solos. I improvised a lot, but he intervened and said I shouldn't play as I'm used to, but simpler or more melodic. He was acting with the self-conception of a sixth member."
Bassist Roger Glover, with interruptions since 1969 at Deep Purple and even sometimes not always happy producer of the band, especially appreciates Ezrin's role for the album. "Bob is very important when it comes to making decisions. Agreeing on a key can take hours. He comes in, snaps his finger and says, "C sharp. He saved us a lot of time. Bob is also a songwriter. He looked at the lyrics and drew our attention to what worked and what didn't. He also laid hands on the arrangements. That of course challenged us all the more to give our best."
