Fifty-seven years after its debut, Deep Purple keeps on rollin’. The hard-rock pioneers’ 23rd studio album, =1, is the first with new guitarist Simon McBride, who replaced Steve Morse. To hone their chops, vocalist Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice, and keyboardist Don Airey toured with McBride before recording, and it was time well-spent.

Sonically, the material is lean, hard-rockin’ Purple; McBride and Airey skillfully trade licks and runs, expanding upon the band’s stormtrooper thud. McBride gets a variety of fat tones, primarily from his Paul Reed Smith planks, while Airey (Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne) fills the very big shoes of the late Jon Lord with organ and synth tones.

The single “Portable Door” swings with a chugging riff, propulsive organ, and rumbling bass and drums. McBride’s precise solo has a beefy-yet-biting humbucker tone and “Old-Fangled Thing” includes some of the best McBride/Airey trade-offs. “Pictures of You” features a distinctly double-tracked melodic guitar solo and a hypnotically arranged band finale that ends abruptly – just as things were getting interesting!

=1 startles with its “let’s get down to business” approach. If you yearn for the crunch of vintage Purple, this one’s for you.

This article originally appeared in VG’s September 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.