An ivory-tickling goliath, whose Joanna seducing fingertips have illuminated some of the world’s biggest rock anthems, is probably underplaying the genius of the great Don Airey. Not content with scoring a fourth Number One album in a row with his regular day job in Deep Purple, he has now put on his solo hat for his new album Pushed To The Edge.
Don Airey – Pushed To The Edge
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Brian Boyle
For a bloke who is one of the most revered and reliable musicians in the business, Don Airey appears to take it all in his stride. Playing with global heavyweights like Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow and Whitesnake and breathing life into timeless classics like Here I Go Again, Since You Been Gone, I Surrender, and Mr Crowley is just meat and potatoes and another day at the office for the Sunderland A.F.C. fanatic.
And for such a reluctant rock star, he knows how to fire up an album with copious amounts of shock and awe. This thing goes off like an alarm on a Scotsman’s wallet with the straight-to-the-vein rocker Tell Me.
Not a man for hogging the limelight, this track is as much about the weight of performance by Nazareth vocalist Carl Sentance as it is about Airey’s prowess.
There is more of the same on They Keep On Running, where they prove to be the perfect foil for one another on a tune glistening with ’70s rock gold.
While he is the album’s front of the house, and this is naturally a keyboard-heavy record, it is not entirely a case of Airey showing off all his toys.
Along for the craic is guitarist and Purple band mate Simon McBride, who typically dazzles throughout. The Northern Ireland man and the Mackem combine exquisitely on the colossus that is Godz Of War, an atmospheric banger that is individually masterful and collectively epic.
There are lesser moments, however. Moon Rising and Power To Change may require after hours attention, but the impressive lungs of former The Voice UK contestant Mitchel Emms gives them a stay of execution.
On a vocal level, Sentance’s shoes fit a lot better. He has been poured into these tunes. Undoubtedly, the finest track on the album is the cruising ballad Flame In The Water, where his serene vocals soar with majesty and finesse.
On a track like Out Of Focus, Messrs Gillan, Glover, and Paice could be forgiven for spitting feathers, as it would undoubtedly enhance any possible future Deep Purple release.
Closer, Finnigan’s Awake should quench the thirst of those who were just craving an out-and-out instrumental offering. And what better way is there to go out than with a full-on Don prog-asm? And the frivolous spoken word segment at the tail end proves that despite his high rank in the biz, he has never lost his man in the street likeability.
Some might say Airey does not need to be releasing solo albums at this stage of his career or life, and his quality spare time might be better spent berating a referee on the terraces at the Stadium Of Light.
But the vibrato of a Hammond A-100 is what powers this man and lights up everyone else as a result.
He probably won’t give a fiddler’s you know what if this album does not return respectable sales. But that does not take from Pushed To The Edge being a tidy piece of work from one of rock’s most precious gems.
Don Airey – Pushed To The Edge was released on 28 March 2025 via earMUSIC and is available from here.
