Deep Purple released their new covers album, Turning To Crime, on November 26 (earMUSIC). Bassist Roger Glover spoke with Jim Ryan at Forbes about the record. An excerpt is available below.

Forbes: Some of the songs on this album are songs with which fans have a certain level of familiarity and are accustomed to hearing a certain way. How do you go about taking songs like that and really make them your own?  

Glover: "By using your imagination really. We have a great respect for the originals – because it’s the song. That’s the way it was born. But the other part is playing with it – and we do that with love.

Steve and Don did some amazing arrangements. I remember when I first heard Steve’s version of (Fleetwood Mac's) 'Oh Well'. It’s pretty similar to the original recording —and then suddenly he goes off into space. It was like, 'Wow!' And that’s really what we were trying to do.

Not all of the songs are quite as severe as that. Take 'Watching the River Flow'. I was doing 'Watching the River Flow' and I didn’t really want sort of the bluesy version that Bob Dylan did with Leon Russell. I just wanted a different kind of feel to it. And I just hit on that. Actually, I kind of wanted it to be a sort of ska beat. I thought that would be pretty original. But Paicey said, 'I’m not playing ska. Sorry.' He plays what he plays. But it’s great. It was a lot of fun to do, I have to say."

Read the complete interview here.

With strong tailwind from last year’s chart leading album Whoosh!, Deep Purple surprises with new album Turning To Crime, produced by Bob Ezrin.

Turning To Crime arrives only 15 months after Whoosh! - Deep Purple’s 21st studio album, which received acclaim by critics who praised the creative strength of a band that continues evolving with every release, and prestigious chart achievements (3rd consecutive #1 in Germany, #4 in the UK, and topped the US Independent Album and Hard Music Albums charts).

Turning To Crime continues the creative trajectory set in motion with Deep Purple’s “time trilogy”, consisting of NOW What?! (2013), inFinite (2017), and Whoosh!. Each produced by Bob Ezrin, these albums sold over 1 million copies, topped the charts 11 times, and garnered more than 40 Top 10 positions worldwide.

Order the new album here

Tracklisting:

"7 And 7 Is"
"Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu"
"Oh Well"
"Jenny Take A Ride!"
"Watching The River Flow"
"Let The Good Times Roll"
"Dixie Chicken"
"Shapes Of Things"
"The Battle Of New Orleans"
"Lucifer"
"White Room"
"Caught In The Act" [Medley: "Going Down" / "Green Onions" / "Hot ‘Lanta" / "Dazed and Confused" / "Gimme Some Lovin’"]

"Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu" video:

"Oh Well" video:

“7 And 7 Is” video:

Locked Up: The Making Of Turning To Crime:

Deep Purple is:

Ian Gillan
Roger Glover
Ian Paice
Don Airey
Steve Morse