With live performance off the table for nearly a year and a half amidst the global pandemic, and a pair of tours rescheduled, English hard rock stalwarts Deep Purple entered a remarkably creative stretch.
The release of the new album Turning To Crime, the group’s 22nd, marks their second full length studio album in 15 months, a clip they haven’t recorded at since the early 70s.
While 2020’s Whoosh! was made up of original songs, Turning To Crime consists of covers, a ridiculously fun affair which puts a Deep Purple spin upon everyone from Ray Charles to Bob Seger and Bob Dylan to The Yardbirds.
The new collection of twelve tracks was born out of necessity. Deep Purple, who’ve sold more than 100 million albums, typically record together with new songs born out of live jam sessions. But amidst the quarantine of pandemic, getting together was difficult. This time around, producer Bob Ezrin presided over cuts which grew from demos recorded in home studios.
“The whole idea came about during the lockdown. We didn’t want to twiddle our thumbs or anything. What could we do?” said long time Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover. “It was a challenge getting the sound. But Bob was a mastermind. When he did the mixes, he just made it sound as if we were all in the same room.”
We think the album is a triumph, but don’t take our word for it. Judge for yourself as we play tracks from Turning To Crime on our dedicated radio station.
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