Classic Rock Revisited recently spoke with Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey about his new solo album, One Of A Kind. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

Q: I am a fan of yours so I like all of your solo albums. This one…it is different.  In my opinion this is an all-around total 1970s style hard rock Rainbow-ish album.  Do you agree?

Don: "The idea was to create an English rock album, with riffs, melodies, solos and good musicians concentrating on playing together. Added to that we used Headline Studios in the leafy countryside just outside of Cambridge where the resident engineer is called Piers Mortimer…you can't get more English sounding than that!"

Q: When you did the writing sessions for One of a Kind did you predetermine this album was going to be done like this?

Don: "No, you never really know what is going come out of rehearsals, but the modus operandi if you like was the one by which Rainbow's Down to Earth was made only in a much more compressed time space."

Q: Your vocalist is now Nazareth’s vocalist. Carl can sing. I think he really shines on this sucker.

Don: "Carl is a very talented man and he comes up with a lot of the melodies, riffs, lyrics…he plays guitar too. He has transformed Nazareth into a force to be reckoned with over the last three years or so. He is really great to work with either on stage, or in the studio, or just sitting on a tour bus and having a laugh."

Read the complete interview here.

"One Of A Kind", the title track of Don Airey's new solo album released last month via earMUSIC, is now available for streaming. Listen to the song below.

In these days where everybody seems to want to show off at every given occasion, Don Airey is without a doubt One Of A Kind.

It is hard to find a name amongst all those that over the last 30 years have left their mark in the history of rock that has not utilized Don's keyboard skills at some point. Amongst them Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Judas Priest, Gary Moore, Brian May, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath and, obviously, Deep Purple, the band of which Don Airey has been a full time member for over 15 years.

But Don Airey has never been a session player. Bands and artists work with him for his unique musical vision, for the twist he gives to songs. It is with the same passion, the same energy, the same talent that Don Airey approaches his very own songwriting.

One Of A Kind is a true classic hard rock gem with melodies, great riffs and solos and a unique band unity. To top it all, his new solo album has been written and recorded using the spirit of a band featuring the following talented musicians: Carl Sentance (from the current lineup of British legends Nazareth) is a singer that all fans of metal voices like those of Rob Halford and Graham Bonnet will love; Bassist Laurence Cottle, who has played with everyone from Black Sabbath, to Gary Moore, to Chick Corea, forges a great rhythm section with the thunderous talent of Jon Finnigan, apparently as loud on stage as he is at the after show parties. Last but definitely not least, there is the incredible talent of Simon McBride, who has no fear of being compared to the many incredible guitar players Don has worked with before.

One Of A Kind is one song after the other for the delight of every hard rock fan, who would be making a big mistake were they to overlook this album. The title is available on 2CD (including a bonus live CD) as well as on vinyl and digitally.

It is not difficult to see Don Airey playing one day with Deep Purple in front of 15,000 people, and the next day, playing the organ in the church of his beloved local village with the same concentration and respect for the music and the audience.

It is with the same spirit that Don shows no discernible effort moving from the glories of the last two Deep Purple albums (NOW What?! and inFinite both having benefitted from his ever present talent) to playing in clubs with his own band. And always with a big smile on his face as soon as the guitar roars in, waiting to reply with his Hammond.

One Of A Kind tracklisting:

"Respect"
"All Out Of Line"
"One Of A Kind"
"Everytime I See Your Face"
"Victim Of Pain"
"Running Free"
"Lost Boys"
"Need You So Bad"
"Children Of The Sun"
"Remember To Call"
"Stay The Night"

Bonus CD (Recorded live at Fabrik, Hamburg on March 14, 2017):

"Pictures Of Home" (originally by Deep Purple)
"Since You've Been Gone" (originally by Rainbow)
"I Surrender" (originally by Rainbow)
"Still Got The Blues" (originally by Gary Moore)

"One Of A Kind":

"Lost Boys" lyric video:

"Victim Of Pain":