Greg Prato from Songfacts spoke to Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan and topics discussed include the band’s upcoming new album, Whoosh!, if he connects with any of the Mark II lineup (Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore) songs, the meaning behind “Perfect Strangers”, and more.

The song he connects most with from the Mark II era:

Gillan: “I don't connect with any of them! We still do quite a few on stage and they're intensely important. At the moment, ‘Pictures Of Home’ I'm enjoying because of the orchestral melodies and the orchestral dynamics in the song. We don't think of things like that. We're thinking about new stuff, and I have no emotional relationship with any of my songs.”

About the song “Perfect Strangers”:

Gillan: “We had been apart for a while, so ‘Perfect Strangers’ is a contradiction in terms, like an oxymoron. That was pretty much how we described it – there was a lot of suspicion and worry and nervousness about getting together again and having a reunion, and when we all sat around in the basement of this old house in Vermont, there was a log fire and three feet of snow outside.

“We had a couple of beers, and nobody started playing. Then, Paicey [Ian Paice] started tapping away and people started grooving, and a little shuffle came along. In five minutes everyone had a smile on their face.

“So, ‘Perfect Strangers’ was how we were before, and ‘Perfect Strangers’ are how we are afterwards – with two opposite meanings to the phrase.”

Deep Purple's new album, Whoosh!, will be released on August 7 via earMusic. Whoosh! will also be available as a Standard CD, a Digital Album, a Limited Edition CD+DVD Mediabook (including the 1 hour feature “Roger Glover And Bob Ezrin In Conversation” and, for the first time, the full live performance at Hellfest 2017 video), and a Vinyl 2LP+DVD edition (earMUSIC). Pre-order here, and watch Ian Paice unbox the box set, below:

According to Darker Than Blue, HMV Records are offering a limited edition CD/DVD book box, which includes three more tracks from Rio 2017 added at the back end of the new studio album (not a separate disc).

Says Deeper Than Blue: "They are also doing their own limited vinyl version in purple wax. This may be the same as the German purple edition content wise; the reliably terrible hmv website isn't clear."

Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse, and Don Airey were invited by Bob Ezrin to Nashville to write and record, during which the band were inspired to push their creative boundaries. Letting go of any artistic limitations, they adopted the motto “Deep Purple is putting the Deep back in Purple”. Whoosh! embodies that freedom, with lyrics that reflect their sentiments on the current situation of the world.

“We’ve included everything that made the whole band smile, including Bob Ezrin,” exclaims Morse. “We’ve always enjoyed making music and having the incredible luxury of a loyal audience.”

Whoosh! marks Deep Purple’s third album produced by Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd). The first - 2013’s Now What?! - charted at #1 in five European countries, as well as Top 10 in over 15 countries worldwide. Cementing itself as one of their most successful albums, inFinite, released in 2017, broke chart records the band accumulated over their 50+year history. With chemistry this electric, it only made sense for Deep Purple and Ezrin to collaborate a third time.

Whoosh! tracklisting:

"Throw My Bones"
"Drop The Weapon"
"We're All The Same In The Dark"
"Nothing At All"
"No Need To Shout"
"Step By Step"
"What The What"
"The Long Way Around"
"The Power Of The Moon"
"Remission Possible"
"Man Alive"
"And The Address"
"Dancing In My Sleep"

Vinyl Side Split:

Side A:
"Throw My Bones"
"Drop The Weapon"
"We’re All The Same In The Dark"
"Nothing At All"

Side B:
"No Need To Shout"
"Step By Step"
"What The What"

Side C:
"The Long Way Round"
"The Power Of The Moon"
"Remission Possible"
"Man Alive"

Side D:
"And The Address"
"Dancing In My Sleep"

"Nothing At All":

"Man Alive" video:

"Throw My Bones" video:

(Photo - Ben Wolf)