Deep Purple: Roger Glover Interview "There's Been Disagreement in the Band About Whether To Do Another Album"

Deep Purple's Roger Glover spoke with Darryl Sterdan from the QMI Agency recently about the band's upcoming North American orchestral tour dubbed Deep Purple: The Songs That Built Rock. Here are a few excerpts from the chat: 

QMI Agency: Why an orchestral tour? 

Glover: "Well, it's good to have a new hook to hang your coat on. We've toured so much and so many people have seen us. So we thought this was a different kind of challenge. We're best known for the old songs, so it's about time to try something a little different." 

QMI Agency: What is the orchestra going to add to songs like "Highway Star", "Hush" and "Smoke on the Water"? 

Glover: "It'll be just bigger, I suppose. Still the riffs you know and the melodies you know, but bigger and more intricate. But the orchestral-symphonic idea sounds a bit more highfalutin' than it is. I think we're actually leaning more towards the jazz side of orchestral music rather than symphonic. So there will be an element of subversiveness in there." 

QMI Agency: It's been six years since your last record -- your longest break between albums when you weren't on hiatus. Is that because nobody buys albums anymore? 

Glover: "There's an element of that. There's been disagreement in the band about whether to do another album. They really don't make money any more. My opinion is that we are an album band and should make them even if it costs us money, because that's what we do. Maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I believe we should stay what we are. We can progress with our music, but the way we do it should be the way we've always done it. There's nothing wrong with that. An album is like capturing a moment in time. And in a band with a history like ours, those moments mean a lot." 

Read the entire interview here.