Now What?! | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 April 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2012 | |||
Studio | The Tracking Room, Anarchy Studios and Rainbow Recorders, Nashville, Tennessee, US | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 57:06 | |||
Label | earMUSIC | |||
Producer | Bob Ezrin | |||
Deep Purple chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Now What?! | ||||
|
Now What?! is the 19th studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 26 April 2013 [2] and produced by Bob Ezrin. A dedicated official web site was also created by the band to post updates about the album. It was the band's first studio album in over seven years as Deep Purple's previous studio album, Rapture of the Deep, was released in late 2005.
On 26 February 2013, the album's title was announced. [3] Additionally a new single featuring "Hell to Pay" and "All the Time in the World" was released in both CD and vinyl formats on 29 March 2013. [4] On 6 May 2013 the band confirmed that a new single "Vincent Price" would be released on 7 June as download, CD single and 7" transparent vinyl. The single would also include the previously unreleased song "First Sign of Madness", two tracks from the now unavailable Rapture of the Deep limited edition and the track's video-clip. [5]
The songs "Uncommon Man" and "Above and Beyond", which includes the lyrics "Souls having touched are forever entwined", are dedicated to founding member Jon Lord who died in July 2012. "Uncommon Man" is partly inspired by the classical composition "Fanfare for the Common Man", and features a synthesizer-generated fanfare theme composed by Don Airey.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
BW&BK | 8/10 [7] |
Daily Express | 4/5 [8] |
Metal Hammer (GER) | 6/7 [9] |
Record Collector | [10] |
Sputnikmusic | [11] |
The Quietus | (favourable) [12] |
Ultimate Guitar Archive | 8.3/10 [13] |
Following its release, Now What?! was met with mostly positive reception from critics. AllMusic's Steve Leggett commented that the album sounded like a product of progressive metal's golden age, saying "Some things really shouldn't change, and Deep Purple recognize that. They haven't changed a bit and the group's many fans are going to find this release comforting in that regard". [6] Sputnikmusic reviewer wrote that "fans of Purpendicular and the group’s last two albums will find several pleasing moments and the band should feel proud of the outcome too." [11]
The album appeared at No. 104 on Sputnikmusic's list of the "Best Progressive Rock Albums of 2013." [14]
Now What?! sold 4,000 copies in its first week in the US. [15] Six months after its release, Now What?! was certified gold in Germany (100 000 copies sold). [16] It was the first Deep Purple studio album to enter both the Billboard 200 and the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart since The Battle Rages On... in 1993.
All tracks are written by Don Airey, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Steve Morse, Ian Paice and Bob Ezrin, except "It'll Be Me" by Jack Clement
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "A Simple Song" | 4:39 |
2. | "Weirdistan" | 4:14 |
3. | "Out of Hand" | 6:09 |
4. | "Hell to Pay" | 5:10 |
5. | "Body Line" | 4:26 |
6. | "Above and Beyond" | 5:30 |
7. | "Blood from a Stone" | 5:18 |
8. | "Uncommon Man" | 7:02 |
9. | "Après vous" | 5:24 |
10. | "All the Time in the World" | 4:21 |
11. | "Vincent Price" | 4:46 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "It'll Be Me" | 3:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "In Conversation (20 minutes)" | 22:35 |
2. | "All the Time in the World (alternative radio mix)" | 3:48 |
3. | "Perfect Strangers (live)" | 6:42 |
4. | "Rapture of the Deep (live)" | 5:17 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "It'll Be Me" | 3:02 |
13. | "First Sign of Madness" | 4:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "It'll Be Me" | 3:02 |
13. | "First Sign of Madness" | 4:26 |
14. | "Hell to Pay" (instrumental) | 5:11 |
15. | "Après Vous" (instrumental) | 5:23 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Highway Star" (live from the Hard Rock Cafe, London, UK, October 2005) | 8:09 |
13. | "Perfect Strangers" (live from the Hard Rock Cafe, London, UK, October 2005) | 6:41 |
14. | "All the Time in the World" (Alternative Radio Mix) | 3:48 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "It'll Be Me" | 3:02 |
13. | "Smoke on the Water" (live from the Hard Rock Cafe, London, UK, October 2005) | 6:50 |
14. | "Wrong Man" (live from the Hard Rock Cafe, London, UK, October 2005) | 4:29 |
15. | "Hell to Pay" (Radio Edit) | 3:42 |
This is Disc 2 of the November 2013 "Gold Edition Deluxe" double CD.
No. | Title | Recorded at | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Strange Kind of Woman" | Rock in Roma, Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome, Italy, 22 July 2013 | 6:06 |
2. | "Hard Lovin' Man" | Skovdalen, Aalborg, Denmark, 8 August 2013 | 6:24 |
3. | "Vincent Price" | Skovdalen, Aalborg, Denmark, 8 August 2013 | 4:29 |
4. | "Contact Lost" | Skovdalen, Aalborg, Denmark, 8 August 2013 | 3:38 |
5. | "All the Time in the World" | Dieci Giorni Suonati, Ippodromo del Galoppo, Milan, Italy, 21 July 2013 | 4:56 |
6. | "No One Came" | Getaway Rock Festival, Gasklockorna, Gaevle, Sweden, 10 August 2013 | 5:21 |
7. | "Bodyline" | Rock in Roma, Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome, Italy, 22 July 2013 | 4:22 |
8. | "Perfect Strangers" | Getaway Rock Festival, Gasklockorna, Gaevle, Sweden, 10 August 2013 | 6:53 |
9. | "Above and Beyond" | Dieci Giorni Suonati, Ippodromo del Galoppo, Milan, Italy, 21 July 2013 | 5:29 |
10. | "Lazy" | Getaway Rock Festival, Gasklockorna, Gaevle, Sweden, 10 August 2013 | 8:22 |
11. | "Black Night" | Rock in Roma, Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome, Italy, 22 July 2013 | 9:03 |
12. | "Smoke on the Water" | Rock in Roma, Ippodromo delle Capannelle, Rome, Italy, 22 July 2013 | 7:18 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Germany (BVMI) [44] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Russia (NFPF) [45] | Gold | 25,000 [45] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Revolver | United States | "Golden Gods Awards 2014" | 2014 | Comeback of the Year: Deep Purple [46] |