Bananas (album)

Bananas
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released	9 September 2003
Recorded	January–February 2003 Los Angeles
Genre	Hard rock
Length	51:25
Label	EMI (UK) Sanctuary Records (US)
Producer	Michael Bradford
Deep Purple chronology
Abandon (1998) Bananas (2003) Rapture of the Deep (2005)

Bananas is the 17th studio album by English rock band Deep Purple,^[1] released on September 9, 2003 via EMI and Sanctuary Records labels.^[2]

Overview

This is the first Deep Purple album to feature Don Airey on the keyboards, replacing founder member Jon Lord.^[3] The album was recorded in Los Angeles during January and February 2003.^[1]

It charted well, despite lack of media exposure, especially in Europe and South America^[4] (notably at Germany and Argentina, where it peaked in the top 10).^[5]

It is also notable as being the only Deep Purple album featuring Ian Gillan which makes use of backing vocals other than his own, with the song "Haunted" featuring a female backing singer, Beth Hart.

It includes "Contact Lost", a short, slow instrumental about the Columbia astronauts, written by guitarist Steve Morse when he heard the sad news of the crash.^[6]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Steve Morse, Don Airey, and Ian Paice except where noted.

1. "House of Pain" (Gillan, Michael Bradford) – 3:34
2. "Sun Goes Down" – 4:10
3. "Haunted" – 4:22
4. "Razzle Dazzle" – 3:28
5. "Silver Tongue" – 4:03
6. "Walk On" (Gillan, Bradford) – 7:04
7. "Picture of Innocence" (Gillan, Glover, Morse, Jon Lord, Paice) – 5:11
8. "I Got Your Number" (Gillan, Glover, Morse, Lord, Paice, Bradford) – 6:01
9. "Never a Word" – 3:46
10. "Bananas" – 4:51
11. "Doing It Tonight" – 3:28
12. "Contact Lost" (Morse) – 1:27

Unreleased tracks

Since the Abandon album, Deep Purple performed three new songs onstage. "Long Time Gone" was debuted in the summer of 2000 but not included on Bananas. Another new song, "Up The Wall" was played on the 2002 UK tour, and reworked into "I've Got Your Number". The instrumental "Well Dressed Guitar" was unreleased until the next album, 2005's Rapture of the Deep.^[8]

Singles

• 2003 – "Haunted" (Mellow Mix) / "Haunted" (Album version)
• 2003 – "Haunted" – 4:22
• 2003 – "House of Pain" – 3:33 / "Contact Lost" (1:27)
• 2003 – "House of Pain" – 3:33

Personnel

Deep Purple

• Ian Paice – drums
• Ian Gillan – vocals
• Roger Glover – bass
• Steve Morse – guitar
• Don Airey – keyboards

Additional musicians

• Paul Buckmaster – string arrangement and cello on "Haunted"
• Beth Hart – background vocals on "Haunted"
• Michael Bradford – guitar on "Walk On"

References

1. "Bananas". thehighwaystar.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
2. "At a Glance: Deep Purple". amazon.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
3. Miers, Jeff. "Purple prose". Archived from the original on 15 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
4. Deep Purple – Bananas – Acharts US: http://acharts.us/album/17691
5. Blabbermouth: DEEP PURPLE: 'Bananas' In The Charts – 6 September 2003 – http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=15045
6. "Deep Purple's Shuttle Connection". guitarsite.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
7. Allmusic review
8. The Highway Star – Bananas