''Bananas'' is the 17th studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Deep Purple, released on 25 August 2003 via EMI Records and on 7 October 2003 via

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

in the US. It is the first album to feature Don Airey on organ and keyboards, replacing founding member

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

Overview

The album was recorded in Los Angeles during January and February 2003. It is also notable as being the first

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

-fronted Deep Purple album to make use of backing vocals other than Gillan's own (since the 1972 sessions for the song "

Woman From Tokyo "Woman from Tokyo" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1973 album ''Who Do We Think We Are'', and later as a single. The song was featured on the 2011 DVD Deep Purple with Orchestra - Live in Montre ...

" in Germany which featured Jon Lord and Roger Glover singing backing vocals) with the song "Haunted" featuring

Beth Hart Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single " LA Song (Out of This Town)" from her second album '' Screamin' for My Supper''. The single was a numbe ...

. The album includes "Contact Lost", a short slow

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

requiem for the

Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the upper North American Pacific coast and the female personif ...

astronauts, written by guitarist

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

when he heard the news of the

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

. The photo in the album cover was taken by the band's manager Bruce Payne. ''Bananas'' charted well despite lack of media exposure, especially in Europe and South America (notably at Germany and Argentina where it peaked in the top 10).

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 Got Your Number". The instrumental "Well Dressed Guitar" remained unreleased until the next album, 2005's '' Rapture of the Deep''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Deep Purple *

– vocals *

– guitars *

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and R ...

– bass * Don Airey – keyboards *

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...

– drums ;Additional musicians * Paul Buckmaster – string arrangement and cello on "Haunted" *

– backing vocals on "Haunted" *

Michael Bradford Michael Bradford (born 1961) is an American musician. A native of Detroit, Michigan he is known mainly as a bass guitarist but also plays guitar and keyboards, and has done extensive work in music production and engineering. Among others, Brad ...

– guitar on "Walk On" ;Production *Michael Bradford - producer, engineer *Chris Wonzer - assistant engineer *Andy Vandette - mastering at Masterdisk, New York

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bananas (Album) Deep Purple albums 2003 albums EMI Records albums Sanctuary Records albums Albums produced by Michael Bradford