=1 is the 23rd studio album by English hard rock band Deep Purple, released on 19 July 2024 by Earmusic/Edel AG. It is their first album with guitarist Simon McBride, who replaced Steve Morse in 2022. It is also the band's fifth collaboration with producer Bob Ezrin, who has produced every Deep Purple album since 2013's Now What?!
Themes and reception =1 is a hard rock and progressive rock album, which the band described as having a loose concept around "[symbolising] the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one".Exclusive: Deep Purple Drummer Ian Paice Talks the Concept Behind New Album, '=1,' Reveals His Favorite Songs From the Record. American Songwriter. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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
Personnel Deep Purple Ian Gillan – lead vocals, backing vocals (tracks 1, 4–9, 13) Simon McBride – guitars, additional guitar engineering Roger Glover – bass, shaker (track 3) Don Airey – keyboards, orchestral arrangement (track 6) Ian Paice – drums
Additional musicians Bob Ezrin – backing vocals (tracks 1, 6, 8, 11, 13), tambourine (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, 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)
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for =1 Chart (2024) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 58 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 31
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for =1 Chart (2024) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 84 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 77
Notes
References