If Life Was Easy is the fifth solo album by Deep Purple

Deep Purple

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

's bass player Roger Glover

Roger Glover

Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...

 released by earMusic/edel on July 11, 2011. The album was recorded in 2007 but due to personal reasons it wasn't released until now. Like its predecessor, Snapshot (2002), it features The Guilty Party which includes Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood,...

 and Gillian Glover. Guest appearances are from Nazareth's Dan McCafferty

Dan McCafferty

Dan McCafferty is the lead singer for the Scottish hard rock band, Nazareth. Under the influence of artists such as Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Otis Redding, McCafferty became one of the founding members of Nazareth in 1968...

 and Pete Agnew

Pete Agnew

Pete Agnew is the bassist for the Scottish rock band, Nazareth.Agnew has been with the band since its founding in 1968.-References:...

 as well as Walther Gallay and Sahaj Ticotin.

Tracklist

1. "Don't Look Now (Everything Has Changed)" (Glover/Bramblett)
2. "Box Of Tricks" (Glover)
3. "Moonlight" (Glover)
4. "The Car Won't Start" (Glover)
5. "The Dream I Had" (Glover)
6. "Stand Together" (Glover/Bramblett)
7. "If Life Was Easy" (Glover)
8. "Welcome To The Moon" (Glover)
9. "Set Your Imagination Free" (Glover/Glover)
10. "When Life Gets To The Bone" (Glover)
11. "When The Day Is Done" (Glover)
12. "Staring Into Space" (Glover)
13. "Get Away (Can't Let You)" (Glover/Glover)
14. "The Ghost Of Your Smile" (Glover)
15. "Cruel World" (Glover)
16. "Feel Like A King" (Glover)

Roger Glover notes about the album

This hodgepodge collection of songs reveals or obscures a range of emotions over a turbulent decade; separation, divorce, injustice, uncertainty, new love, escape, fatherhood, grand-fatherhood, emigration, touring and losing my mother are some of the extreme highs and lows during this storm-tossed period. All were written wherever I was living – on a MacPro with ProTools and a few instruments and gadgets – extra musicians were added in the studio as needed. By the way, I know that it should be If Life Were Easy – it’s a subtle irony.

I am most grateful to The Guilty Party, my collaborators, whose patience and talent has graced these humble efforts; Joe Bonadio – musical director, Randall Bramblett, Oz Noy, Nicky Moroch, Joe Mennonna. My guests; Gillian Glover, Dan Cafferty, Pete Agnew, Walther Gallay, Mickey Lee Soule, Sahaj Ticotin, Sim Jones, Don Airey, Eliot Denenberg, Harvey Jones.

Roger Glover, May 2011

In Memory of my dear mother, Brenda, who loved the song "If Life Was Easy" ("It should be a hit!").
Dedicated to Lucinda, Xavier, Myriam, Gillian, and...

Personnel

Roger Glover

Roger Glover

Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...

 - bass, vocals, baglama, guitar, piano, programming, percussion, harmonica, synthesizer

Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with such notable performers as Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood,...

 – vocals, keyboards, saxophone

Joe Bonadio – drums, percussion, electric drill

Oz Noy – guitars

Harvey Jones

Harvey Jones

Harvey Mabry Jones was an American football halfback and defensive back in the National Football League for the Cleveland Rams and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Baylor University....

 – syntesizers

Eliot Denenberg – drums, guitar atmosphere

Joe Mennonna

Joe Mennonna

Joe Mennonna is an accomplished session musician , most notably known for working with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover on their 1988 album Accidentally on Purpose, and for touring with Ian Gillan in September 2006 in support of the Gillan's Inn album...

 – horns, horn arrangement

Nick Moroch – guitar

Dan McCafferty

Dan McCafferty

Dan McCafferty is the lead singer for the Scottish hard rock band, Nazareth. Under the influence of artists such as Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Otis Redding, McCafferty became one of the founding members of Nazareth in 1968...

 – vocals

Pete Agnew

Pete Agnew

Pete Agnew is the bassist for the Scottish rock band, Nazareth.Agnew has been with the band since its founding in 1968.-References:...

 - vocals

Gillian Glover – vocals

Walther Gallay – vocals

Mickey Lee Soule – vocals

Sahaj Ticotin – vocals

Sim Jones - strings, string arrangement

Don Airey

Don Airey

Donald Airey has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, succeeding Jon Lord...

– pianet

Production notes

Produced by Roger Glover and Peter Denenberg.

Pre-production recording by Roger Glover.

Recorded and mixed by Peter Denenberg at Acme Studios, Mamaroneck, New York.

Assisted by Jonathan Jetter and Michael Messier.

Cover art; front photograph by Roger Glover, finessed by Travis Porter, portrait by Myriam Freitag.