The Purple Album
Studio album by
Whitesnake
Released29 April 2015 (2015-04-29)
Recorded2014–2015
StudioHook City, Reno, Nevada
GenreHard rock
Length66:01
LabelFrontiers
Rhino/Warner (Reissue)
ProducerDavid Coverdale, Michael McIntyre, Reb Beach
Whitesnake chronology
Made in Japan
(2013)		 The Purple Album
(2015)		 Flesh & Blood
(2019)
Singles from The Purple Album
  1. "Stormbringer"
    Released: 25 February 2015
  2. "Burn"
    Released: 24 March 2015
  3. "Lay Down Stay Down"
    Released: 7 April 2015
  4. "Soldier of Fortune"
    Released: 22 April 2015
  5. "Mistreated"
    Released: 10 January 2016
Alternative cover
2023 Reissue Special Gold Edition

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 8 September 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]

Background

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.

Touring

Whitesnake performing at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, July 2015.

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]

Reception

Commercial performance

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Burn"Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, Ian PaiceBurn (1974)6:56
2."You Fool No One" (interpolating "Itchy Fingers")Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, PaiceBurn6:23
3."Love Child"Tommy Bolin, CoverdaleCome Taste the Band (1975)4:13
4."Sail Away" (featuring "Elegy for Jon")Blackmore, CoverdaleBurn4:53
5."The Gypsy"Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, PaiceStormbringer (1974)5:29
6."Lady Double Dealer"Blackmore, CoverdaleStormbringer3:59
7."Mistreated"Blackmore, CoverdaleBurn7:39
8."Holy Man"Coverdale, Hughes, LordStormbringer4:42
9."Might Just Take Your Life"Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, PaiceBurn4:14
10."You Keep On Moving"Coverdale, HughesCome Taste the Band5:06
11."Soldier of Fortune"Blackmore, CoverdaleStormbringer3:18
12."Lay Down Stay Down"Blackmore, Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, PaiceBurn3:52
13."Stormbringer"Blackmore, CoverdaleStormbringer5:17
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
14."Lady Luck"Jeff Cook, CoverdaleCome Taste the Band3:02
15."Comin' Home"Bolin, Coverdale, PaiceCome Taste the Band4:15
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
16."Soldier of Fortune" (alternate mix)Blackmore, CoverdaleStormbringer3:18
The Purple Album: Special Gold Edition (2023 Remix)[3]
No.TitleLength
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
Disc 2: 2018 The Purple Tour Five Live (2023 Remix) [Tracks 1-5]
No.TitleLength
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
Disc 2: Alternate Mixes (2023 Remix) [Tracks 6-11]*
No.TitleLength
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
Disc 2: David Coverdale's Demo Tapes [Tracks 12-16]*
No.TitleLength
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
  • - previously unreleased tracks

Personnel

Whitesnake

Additional musicians

  • Derek Hilland - keyboards

Production

  • Michael McIntyre - producer, engineer, mixing
  • David Donnelly - mastering

Charts

In 2015 the vinyl LP charted on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart at the 16th position.[25]

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 28
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[28] 70
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 24
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[30] 2
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 150
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 13
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[33] 9
Italian Albums (FIMI)[34] 91
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[35] 8
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 32
Scottish Albums (OCC)[37] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 17
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[40] 18
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[41] 2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[42] 12
US Billboard 200[43] 87
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[44] 9
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[45] 6
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[46] 16
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[47] 25
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[48] 48
Japanese Rock Albums (Billboard Japan)[49] 8
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan[50] 55
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[41] 7

References

  1. ↑ "WHITESNAKE RETURN WITH THE PURPLE ALBUM". Whitesnake.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Whitesnake's David Coverdale Pays Tribute To His Time With Deep Purple On 'The Purple Album'". Blabbermouth.net. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 Rolli, Bryan (24 August 2023). "Whitesnake's 'Purple Album' Reissue Includes David Coverdale's Deep Purple Audition Demo". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Dick, Jonathan (26 July 2015). "VICE Magazine". Interview: Whitesnake (and ex-Deep Purple) Frontman David Coverdale Is a Charming Badass. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Whitesnake – The Purple Album EPK (Official / New Album / 2015)". Frontiers Music srl. 18 March 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Lach, Stef (17 April 2015). "Whitesnake hire keyboardist Michele Luppi". Louder. Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Glenn Hughes Joins David Coverdale's Whitesnake On Stage To Perform Deep Purple Classic (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "ホワイトスネイク、2年ぶり来日公演決定" [Whitesnake to perform in Japan for the first time in two years]. Oricon (in Japanese). 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "【ライブレポート】ホワイトスネイク、日本列島を熱狂の深紫色に染め上げる" [Live Report: Whitesnake dyes the Japan archipelago a frenzied deep purple]. Barks.jp (in Japanese). 20 October 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Tomoyuki Yamazaki (4 November 2015). "【ライブレポート】ホワイトスネイク、千秋楽に相応しい盛り上がり" [Live Report: Whitesnake and Chiakiraku]. Barks.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100: 24 May 2015 – 30 May 2015". Official Charts. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Purple Album - Whitesnake". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Billboard 200 – The Week of June 6, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Whitesnake's 'The Purple Album: First Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Independent Albums – The Week of June 6, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "ホワイトスネイク『ザ・パープルアルバム』、大ヒット" [Whitesnake's "The Purple Album" is a big hit]. Barks.jp (in Japanese). 8 May 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  17. ↑ Rhodes, Clint (5 June 2015). "Music review: Whitesnake - 'The Purple Album'". The Herald-Standard. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  18. 1 2 Vickers, Duane. "Whitesnake - The Purple Album". KNAC.com. KNAC. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Review: Whitesnake Delves Deep Into Purple Past on New Album". New York Times. 22 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  20. 1 2 Shrum, Tony (17 June 2015). "Album Review: Whitesnake -The Purple Album". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  21. 1 2 Mineur, Matthias (4 June 2015). "Whitesnake - The Purple Album". Metal Hammer. Berlin, Germany: Axel Springer SE.
  22. 1 2 Everley, Dave (17 April 2015). "Whitesnake: The Purple Album". Classic Rock. Retrieved 9 December 2020 – via Loudersound.
  23. 1 2 Kubanke, Ulf (15 May 2015). "The Purple Album von Whitesnake". laut.de (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  24. ↑ Ling, Dave (15 May 2015). "Remember that time we really upset David Coverdale?". Louder. Classic Rock. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  25. ↑ "Official Vinyl Albums Chart on 5/7/2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Whitesnake – The Purple Album" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Whitesnake – The Purple Album" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Whitesnake – The Purple Album" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Whitesnake – The Purple Album" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  30. ↑ "Whitesnake: The Purple Album" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  31. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Whitesnake – The Purple Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  32. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  33. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  34. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Whitesnake – The Purple Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  35. ↑ "ザ・パープル・アルバム". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  36. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Whitesnake – The Purple Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  37. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  38. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Whitesnake – The Purple Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  39. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Whitesnake – The Purple Album". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  40. ↑ "Whitesnake | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  41. 1 2 "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  42. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  43. ↑ "Whitesnake Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  44. ↑ "Whitesnake Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  45. ↑ "Whitesnake Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  46. ↑ "Whitesnake Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  47. ↑ "Whitesnake Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  48. ↑ "Oricon Albums Chart on 23/10/2023". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  49. ↑ "Oricon Rock Albums Chart on 23/10/2023". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  50. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of October 18, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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