Bananas is the 17th studio album by English hard rock band Deep Purple, released on 25 August 2003 by EMI Records and on 7 October 2003 by Sanctuary Records in the US. It is the first album to feature Don Airey on organ and keyboards, replacing founding member Jon Lord.
Overview The album was recorded in Los Angeles during January and February 2003. The song "Haunted" features backing vocals Beth Hart. The album includes "Contact Lost", a short slow instrumental requiem for the Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts, written by guitarist Steve Morse when he heard the news of the crash.
The photo in the album cover was taken by the band's manager Bruce Payne. Bananas charted well despite lack of media exposure, especially in Europe and South America (notably in Germany and Argentina where it peaked in the top 10).
Unreleased tracks Since the Abandon album, Deep Purple performed three new songs onstage. "Long Time Gone" was debuted in the summer of 2000 but not included on Bananas. Another new song, "Up The Wall" was played on the 2002 UK tour and reworked into "I Got Your Number". The instrumental "Well Dressed Guitar" remained unreleased until the next album, 2005's Rapture of the Deep.
Track listing
Personnel Deep Purple Ian Gillan – vocals Steve Morse – guitars Roger Glover – bass guitar Don Airey – keyboards Ian Paice – drums, percussion
Additional musicians Paul Buckmaster – string arrangement and cello on "Haunted" Beth Hart – backing vocals on "Haunted" Michael Bradford – guitar on "Walk On"
Production Michael Bradford – producer, engineer Chris Wonzer – assistant engineer Andy Vandette – mastering at Masterdisk, New York
Charts Chart (2003) PeakpositionArgentinian Albums Chart 10Czech Republic Albums Chart 17Japanese Albums (Oricon) 212Polish Albums Chart 24
Certifications
References