DEEP PURPLE – Turning to Crime

Imagine going for a crowded session where some musician just wants to vent—just because it’s a deep purple. If you manage this thought experiment, you will have a very good impression of the latest production of the legendary rock band. My expectations for another DEEP PURPLE waned after the band announced that it would be an album full of foreign compositions, but already with the first sounds it spreads clear euphoria.

Of course, a set of covers cannot completely replace a new studio album, but “Turning To Crime” can even impress me as an advertiser of such projects. On the one hand, this is due to the carefully chosen selection of songs, which go far beyond the usual suspects and which, above all, amount to a rock history lesson for all listeners who have not accompanied the band since the sixties. On the other hand, the five musicians play themselves in a frenzy, constantly increasing until the last mix “Caught In The Act”. YES, WHO CAN DO IT – So you can stretch an arc from FREDDIE KIND, BOOKER T. MGs, ALLMAN BROTHERS, and LED ZEPPELIN to SPENCER DAVIS GROUP in one song. The fact that the flair of the originals is preserved at the same time and that DEEP PURPLE’s chromatic DNA exudes every tone can only be achieved by a truly exceptional talent.

Name two good things that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic: “WOOSH!” FOR DEEP PURPLE AND ‘SHIFT TO CRIME’