In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover reveals that the band are again working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd) on their follow-up to last year's Now What?! album. An excerpt from the interview follows:

Q: The idea of a new Deep Purple album seemed like it was something that had a lot of question marks for a couple of years. What turned the tide and got things moving towards getting a new album completed?

A: "I think the real answer there is Bob Ezrin. About a year or two prior to meeting him, we started to think, “Well, maybe we should do another album.” You know, it was eight years in between albums and there was eight years of touring. We did some fantastic tours and albums seem to have fallen off of the radar in terms of [whether] people do albums anymore. We were too busy touring to even think about it much and somebody said, “Oh, yeah. It’s the new age and albums are old hat. You’ve got to put out a single on the internet,” and that kind of thing. That really didn’t appeal to us, so we just carried on touring. We’re very lucky we’ve got audiences all over the world. We can tour forever.

We did have a writing session a couple of years before the album, and that kind of whetted our appetite a bit. Then we did a tour in Canada and Bob Ezrin came to see us, and he met us the next day and he was very enthusiastic. He loved what he heard and he said some very astute things. He said, “You know, forget trying to make a big smash hit single. Those days are gone. Really do what you do and do it well.”

He said, “What you do live is stunning,” and what he wanted to do was capture that in the studio. I think that really gave us a big shot in the arm, because we went in and did another writing session before going to Nashville — and when we got in the studio, we had stuff prepared. For us, [our normal process] for an album is that you go in the studio, and you write it and record it in the same day. It’s all very, very quick.

We did have a bit more pre-recording plans [with 'Now What?!'] and had some songs finished. So by the time we got to the studio, we kind of knew it. It’s essentially a live album. Yeah, the vocals and some stuff were added later, but most of what you hear was done all at the same time with four musicians in the room. Very few solos were tacked on afterwards — they were live. I think that’s what gives it a kind of freshness. In fact, the intro to ‘Uncommon Man,’ Bob had seen us play and he said, “You know, what you play live, just do one of those — okay, we’re recording!” Take one, that was it. There was nothing written down. It was purely off the cuff.

I think he achieved what he wanted to achieve, which is to really capture that spark in the moment that we have onstage. Also, it sounds good. I really like the sound of the record. I’m very critical of the sound of our records. My No. 1 priority with making any record is that it’s just got to sound good. Talented bands used to give me CDs and they sounded better than we did, and I thought, “There’s something wrong here.” So I’m very pleased that Bob and his team did such a great job."

Read the complete interview at this location.

On April 3rd, 1975 the Mk III line-up of Deep Purple - guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, frontman David Coverdale, bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, keyboard player Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice - performed at the Liebenauer ice rink, located on the outskirts of mountain-cradled Graz, Austria’s second largest city after Vienna. Enthused by Deep Purple’s arrival in town, the local press dubbed the concert “das Rockereignis des Jahres [the rock event of the year]”. And it was - in more ways than one. Previously unreleased in its entirety, Graz 1975 - will be released in North America on September 23th on earMUSIC / Eagle Rock Entertainment.

After Graz, Deep Purple would play just two more shows - in Saarbrücken, Germany and Paris, France - before Blackmore left to form his new band, Rainbow. The remaining band members would regroup quickly with American guitarist Tommy Bolin in tow. In order to preserve Blackmore’s final run of Mk III concerts for posterity, Deep Purple’s managers had brought the Rolling Stones mobile recording studio over to mainland Europe. And what a show it was! Graz 1975 is absolutely electrifying and exhilarating. Indeed, it has long been regarded as the holy grail of concert recordings among Mk III connoisseurs. A performance that has never been available in its entirety until now.

Kicking off with a blazing performance of “Burn”. Graz 1975 is a wild eight-track ride, firing on all pistons. Blackmore plays with controlled brutality. The vocal interplay between Coverdale and Hughes has never sounded so good. And, of course, stalwarts Lord and Paice give it a good kicking - and then some. The tracklisting, naturally, is weighted heavily in favor of Mk III recordings, with just two songs from Deep Purple’s previous incarnation with Ian Gillan on vocals and Roger Glover on bass: the iconic “Smoke On The Water” and the almost-as-iconic “Space Truckin’”. Still, it’s true to say that, from beginning to end, Graz 1975 showcases Deep Purple Mk III at the absolute top - and also, ironically, at the end - of their game. After almost 40 years the concert is still captivating. It is the perfect example that, for Deep Purple, there is no need for extravagant video projections or expensive fire shows to play a unique and fascinating gig. All they need is their music. It is the love and passion for their music that makes every single show a unique experience.

Tracklisting:

"Burn"
"Stormbringer"
"The Gypsy"
"Lady Double Dealer"
"Mistreated"
"Smoke On The Water"
"You Fool No One"
"Space Truckin’"

On July 28th, Warner Music is release Deep Purple's Hard Road: The Mark 1 Studio Recordings 1968-69, featuring digitally remastered versions of the first three Deep Purple albums (1968-1969): Shades Of Deep Purple (Mono & Stereo Mixes), The Book Of Taliesyn (Mono & Stereo Mixes) and Deep Purple (Stereo Mix)

Bonus material includes: Digitally remastered alternative mixes and takes, instrumental versions, single and U.S edits, early and previously unreleased versions 5CD set includes a 48 page booklet.