The Purple Album | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 29 April 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2014–2015 | |||
Studio | Hook City, Reno, Nevada | |||
Genre | Hard rock | |||
Length | 66:01 | |||
Label | Frontiers Rhino/Warner (Reissue) | |||
Producer | David Coverdale, Michael McIntyre, Reb Beach | |||
Whitesnake chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Purple Album | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
The Purple Album is the twelfth studio album by British hard rock band Whitesnake. It contains remakes of songs from Deep Purple band lineups Mark III and Mark IV,when Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale was a member of that band. [1] It was released on 29 April in Japan,15 May in Europe,18 May in the UK and 19 May 2015 in the US through Frontiers Records. [2] On 13 October 2023,Whitesnake and RHINO reissued The Purple Album:Special Gold Edition in celebration of Coverdale's 50th anniversary of joining the Deep Purple,besides remixing and remastering,"features previously unreleased recordings,including the very demo that secured Coverdale's spot with Deep Purple". [3]
A collection of re-recorded songs from Coverdale's time in Deep Purple,the idea sprang from talks he and Jon Lord had about a possible Mark III reunion a few years earlier. After Lord's death in 2012,Coverdale discussed the idea with Ritchie Blackmore,but they were unable to come to an agreement on the nature of the undertaking. Coverdale then decided to move forward with the project under the Whitesnake banner. Originally,the idea was acclaimed by Coverdale's wife,Cindy,"who suggested I (David) consider it as a Whitesnake project" in late 2013. [4] He described the resulting record as a tribute to his time in Deep Purple. [5]
It is also the first album since the band's 1989 studio album, Slip of the Tongue ,to feature drummer Tommy Aldridge.
Whitesnake kicked off the North American leg of The Purple Tour in May 2015. [2] Joining the band was new keyboardist Michele Luppi. [6] At a show in California,they were joined onstage by Coverdale's former Deep Purple bandmate,Glenn Hughes. [7] They also held Japanese tour dates on October and November. [8] [9] [10]
The album reached number 18 on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at 2nd position on the UK Rock &Metal Albums Chart, [11] [12] while in the US it peaked at number 87 on Billboard 200 with first week sales of around 6,900 units. [13] [14] On the Billboard's Independent Albums chart it reached number nine, [15] and number eight on Japanese Oricon Albums Chart. [16]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Herald-Standard | (favorable) [17] |
KNAC | [18] |
The New York Times | (favorable) [19] |
New Noise Magazine | (favorable) [20] |
Metal Hammer (Germany) | 6/7 [21] |
Classic Rock | [22] |
laut.de | [23] |
The album was met with mostly positive reviews,but altogether polarized the critics. Among the favorable reviews, Associated Press as reported by The New York Times concluded that "it's good to hear someone dust off these tracks and breathe some life into them", [19] Rick Ecker of New Noise Magazine said about the songs that "you get the feeling of love and reverence that Coverdale has for them and the time he spent with Deep Purple. The performance of the band is fantastic with the power and sweetness of the songs present,of course it sounds more modern,but it doesn't take away from the beauty of these songs". [20] Duane Vickers in 4/5 review for KNAC concluded that "out of the past,comes something new,done big and done right. We see so many cover albums coming out and we usually come away thinking that they should've just left that alone. The fact that a band influenced an artist doesn't always translate to that artist being able to do the song justice by covering it. No worries with Mr. Coverdale,these were his songs and Whitesnake rocks them proud". [18] Matthias Mineur in a 6/7 review for Germany's Metal Hammer also praised that Coverdale gave songs new arrangements. [21]
However,other reviews weren't in-between yet very unfavorable. Dave Everley for Classic Rock gave it a 1/5 review arguing that it is "not hard to love the 13 songs here –it's impossible",although "let's be clear here. Whitesnake are one of the great British bands of the past 40 years,and Coverdale is one of the finest blue-eyed soul singers,full-stop" but "this wrong-headed travesty of an album won't just have Jon Lord spinning in his grave,it'll have Ritchie Blackmore making like a Catherine Wheel too". [22] Ulf Kubanke of laut.de also gave it a 1/5 score and considered it is "very posy,but without any charisma",such a "sad picture" that "so far,John Fogerty has held the record for the most consistent self-mutilation of his own work with his equally anemic Wrote a Song for Everyone . Whitesnake top this golden raspberry with surprisingly suicidal ease". [23]
Responding to the negative criticism,Coverdale proclaimed:"I've no space in my life for haters or negaters. [...] I owe those people nothing. Such opinions mean nothing to me." [24]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
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1. | "Burn" | Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, Ian Paice | Burn (1974) | 6:56 |
2. | "You Fool No One" (interpolating "Itchy Fingers") | Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice | Burn | 6:23 |
3. | "Love Child" | Tommy Bolin, Coverdale | Come Taste the Band (1975) | 4:13 |
4. | "Sail Away" (featuring "Elegy for Jon") | Blackmore, Coverdale | Burn | 4:53 |
5. | "The Gypsy" | Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice | Stormbringer (1974) | 5:29 |
6. | "Lady Double Dealer" | Blackmore, Coverdale | Stormbringer | 3:59 |
7. | "Mistreated" | Blackmore, Coverdale | Burn | 7:39 |
8. | "Holy Man" | Coverdale, Hughes, Lord | Stormbringer | 4:42 |
9. | "Might Just Take Your Life" | Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice | Burn | 4:14 |
10. | "You Keep On Moving" | Coverdale, Hughes | Come Taste the Band | 5:06 |
11. | "Soldier of Fortune" | Blackmore, Coverdale | Stormbringer | 3:18 |
12. | "Lay Down Stay Down" | Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice | Burn | 3:52 |
13. | "Stormbringer" | Blackmore, Coverdale | Stormbringer | 5:17 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
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14. | "Lady Luck" | Jeff Cook, Coverdale | Come Taste the Band | 3:02 |
15. | "Comin' Home" | Bolin, Coverdale, Paice | Come Taste the Band | 4:15 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
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16. | "Soldier of Fortune" (alternate mix) | Blackmore, Coverdale | Stormbringer | 3:18 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Burn" | 6:50 |
2. | "Lay Down, Stay Down" | 3:56 |
3. | "Love Child" | 4:13 |
4. | "Holy Man" | 4:48 |
5. | "The Gypsy" | 5:29 |
6. | "Lady Double Dealer" | 3:56 |
7. | "Might Just Take Your Life" | 4:36 |
8. | "Mistreated" | 7:37 |
9. | "Stormbringer" | 5:19 |
10. | "Sail Away" | 4:51 |
11. | "You Keep On Moving" | 5:11 |
12. | "Lady Luck" | 3:03 |
13. | "Coming Home" | 4:19 |
14. | "You Fool No One" | 6:41 |
15. | "Soldier of Fortune" | 3:21 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Burn (Live)" | 8:13 |
2. | "The Gypsy (Live)" | 5:21 |
3. | "Mistreated (Live)" | 7:55 |
4. | "You Fool No One (Live)" | 9:39 |
5. | "Soldier of Fortune" | 3:53 |
No. | Title | Length |
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6. | "Holy Man (Unzipped)" | 3:44 |
7. | "Stormbringer (Punch in the Nuts Mix)" | 5:19 |
8. | "Love Child (Alternate Mix)" | 4:13 |
9. | "Soldier of Fortune (feat. Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings)" | 3:19 |
10. | "Soldier of Fortune (feat. The Hook City Strings)" | 3:18 |
11. | "Soldier of Fortune (feat. The Hook City Strings) [Instrumental]" | 3:18 |
No. | Title | Length |
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12. | "Everybody's Talkin'" | 2:45 |
13. | "Get Ready" | 2:34 |
14. | "Lonely Town, Lonely Street" | 3:14 |
15. | "Dancing in the Street" | 4:32 |
16. | "1974 DC Demo Ideas for the Stormbringer Album" | 5:57 |
^ † Recorded at Genting Arena, Birmingham, England on 12 December 2015
All credits are adapted from Tidal, Apple Music, and its liner notes. [25] [26]
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In 2015 the vinyl LP charted on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart at the 16th position. [27]
Chart (2015) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [28] | 28 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [29] | 40 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [30] | 70 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [31] | 24 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [32] | 2 |
French Albums (SNEP) [33] | 150 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [34] | 13 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [35] | 9 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [36] | 91 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [37] | 8 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [38] | 32 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [39] | 16 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [40] | 17 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [41] | 11 |
UK Albums (OCC) [42] | 18 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [43] | 2 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [44] | 12 |
US Billboard 200 [45] | 87 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [46] | 9 |
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) [47] | 6 |
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [48] | 16 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [49] | 25 |
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
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Japanese Albums (Oricon) [50] | 48 |
Japanese Rock Albums (Billboard Japan) [51] | 8 |
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan [52] | 55 |
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [53] | 7 |
Whitesnake are an English rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entity, Coverdale is the only constant member throughout their history.
David Coverdale is an English singer and songwriter best known as the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Whitesnake. He was also the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after which he released two solo studio albums, White Snake (1977) and Northwinds (1978), before forming Whitesnake in 1978.
Burn is the eighth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 15 February 1974 by Warner Bros. and Purple/EMI internationally. It was the first album to feature then-unknown lead singer David Coverdale. The group's Mark III line-up for their recording debut included Coverdale, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboards, and Ian Paice on drums.
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