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=1 is the twenty-third studio album by English 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
The album has been described as having a loose concept around " the 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".
Track listing
Personnel
Deep Purple- Ian Gillan – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Simon McBride – guitars, additional guitar engineering
- Roger Glover – bass, shaker
- Don Airey – keyboards, orchestral arrangement
- Ian Paice – drums
- Bob Ezrin – backing vocals, tambourine, orchestral arrangement
- Nashville Music Scoring – orchestra
- Patricia Shirley-Okujene – backing vocals
- Camille Harrison – backing vocals
- Alan Umstead – concertmaster
- 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
- James Paice – additional drum production and engineering
- Alan Umstead – orchestra contractor
Charts