After Deep Purple disbanded in 1976, Warner Brothers issued the first compilation of their music, WHEN WE ROCK, WE ROCK AND WHEN WE ROLL, WE ROLL. A rather brief and far from complete overview of the Deep Purple oeuvre (at only 8 tracks covering 44 minutes in length), it was nevertheless welcome for all of their fans who were heartbroken over the band's slow disintegration, and missed their good ol' hard-rocking classics. Although incomplete, the record managed to span nearly their entire recording career up to that point, from 1968 to 1974. Ranging from their Mark I lineup classics "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman" (plus the powerful and rousing instrumental "Hard Road") through the standards of their most popular Mark II lineup "Space Truckin'," "Highway Star," "Smoke On The Water" and "Woman From Tokyo" to the one representative from the Mark III lineup "Burn," WHEN WE ROCK helped satisfy fans' thirst for Deep Purple---at least for the time being.

Then, beginning in 1979, original lead singer Rod Evans did something really stupid. He took advantage of his past status, and the band's then-current dormancy, to make a quick buck by gathering up a group of session rock musicians and going out on tour as "Deep Purple"---even going so far as to perform some of the Mark II songs on stage as if they had performed them to begin with! For example, Rod would introduce "Smoke On The Water" as being from "our album" MACHINE HEAD. After several months of this nonsense, the legitimate members of Deep Purple caught wind of this and promptly sued. Finding in their favor, a judge ordered Evans and his gang to cease and desist, which they reluctantly did. Deep Purple then got Evans to permanently give up his rights to ever perform any of their songs again---including those on which he had originally sung. (If he hadn't agreed to this, it would have meant a lawsuit that would have ended up stripping him of all his dishonest, misbegotten earnings from the "fake DP tour," and which would have thereby left him in utter abject poverty.) While this may seem harsh to some of you readers, keep in mind that Rod Evans made his own bed, and now he had to lie in it---permanently. This is why he hasn't been heard from since.

As a result of Evans' actions, and the new attention given to Deep Purple as a result of the lawsuit and victory, in 1980 they compiled what was at the time the longest single album in the history of popular music: DEEPEST PURPLE. Spanning a full 12-song roster, including the 10-minute plus epic "Child In Time," DEEPEST PURPLE clocked in at a then-ungodly 63 minutes, giving their die-hard fans more bang for the buck than they had ever imagined. Noticeably, there was a complete absence of anything from the Rod Evans-led Mark I lineup. When Warner Brothers released DEEPEST PURPLE in late 1980, record stores found it virtually impossible to keep it on the shelves. It was a very difficult album to get for months as a result. Pleasantly surprised by their newfound popularity, the members of the famed Mark II era of Deep Purple (guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Roger Glover, vocalist Ian Gillan, keyboardist Jon Lord, and drummer Ian Paice) then began to hold reunion talks, which culminated in 1984 with the recording of PERFECT STRANGERS.

So there you have the context, and the associated drama, under which DEEPEST PURPLE was compiled and released. Arguably the greatest Heavy Metal compilation in history, it features what were truly the best and most influential songs from both the Mark II & Mark III lineups (the Mark III lineup consisting of all the above bandmembers except for Gillan & Glover, who had left at the end of 1973 and were replaced by vocalist David Coverdale and bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes). Admittedly, this recording now sounds dated because of the relatively weak production values; still, you can't deny the presence of early-Heavy Metal scorchers such as "Speed King" from the DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK album (1970), which I believe is the earliest example of the subgenre known as Thrash Metal (although some would say that honor belongs to the 1974 Queen classic "Stone Cold Crazy"). There is also the almost-equally-scorching "Black Night" from the same album, "Fireball" from the 1971 album of the same name, the wonderously noisy epic "Child In Time" (also from IN ROCK), the most famous classics from MACHINE HEAD (1972): "Space Truckin'," "Highway Star" and "Smoke On The Water"), the lone popular classic from the 1973 album WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?, "Woman From Tokyo," and both title-song representatives of the Mark III-era 1974 albums BURN and STORMBRINGER. Oh, and I almost forgot, there is the bluesy and almost funky "Demon's Eye" originally from FIREBALL.

DEEPEST PURPLE is the perfect introduction to Deep Purple; for anyone who has heard some of their songs on classic rock radio and can't get enough of them, it simply can't be beat. For those who also love the Mark I classics "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman" (they are, after all, DP classics too, no matter what Rod Evans did afterwards), I recommend buying the earlier compilation in addition to this one. Deep Purple is one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and DEEPEST PURPLE is a great representation of their talents.

MOST RECOMMENDED

One of the greatest greatest-hit compilations ever compiled, Deepest Purple is simply a must have for anyone who is serious about their music collection. Twelve brilliant tracks representing one of the greatest bands in rock history at their peak, an absolute mind-blowing collection of tracks. You cannot not have this one. It is a go-to party CD. You get "Speed King" and "Fireball" and "Space Truckin'" and "Burn" and "Stormbringer" and "Woman From Tokyo" and "Strange Kind of Woman" and . . . oh, yeah, almost as an afterthought, you get the universally-known "Smoke on the Water". You CANNOT do without this one, it is as essential as the two Beatles anthologies or Led Zeppelin IV or the Stones Hot Rocks or any other must-have album you can think of . . . the only excuse in not having this album is that you already have all the other albums these songs come from. So order it now!

The songs are great, but this is a poorly done CD with terrible dynamic range. Too bad they didn't remaster it.

If you love 70's rock, you'll definitly love some of the songs on this album. Anyone who knows anything about classic rock already knows Smoke On The Water. Yet there's a lot of great songs on this album. Space Truckin', Highway Star, and Fireball are great fasted-paced songs and Child In Time is much more laid-back. Fireball, Burn, and Demon's Eye are perfect for you if you like organ highlights. The album's excellent and I highly recommend it for serious classic hard rock fans.

If you gotta have only one CD from this amazing (and still smoking after all these years) proto-metal-blues-rock band, then DEEPEST PURPLE is the one to choose. Absolutely ALL of the '70s CLASSICS are included, which means you can listen to 99% of the band's highlights.

There's so much I could write about these wonderful, energetic, innovative songs that I've been listening for the last 9 years. But let's try to stay focused.

If you are that kind of casual fan, looking for a "greatest hits" containing the classic riffs of "Smoke...", "Space Truckin'* and "Black Night", then it is perfect for you. If you are a headbanger looking for the roots of thunderous sounding, gothic metal, pay attention to "Burn" and "Stormbringer". If you are a classic rock listener, check out the melodies and arrangements of "Strange Kind of Woman" and "Woman from Tokyo". "Speed King" and "Highway Star" are delicious fast and exciting rock'n'roll. The solos in "Highway..." are simply unforgettable, and the sonic massacre of "Speed..." could even be enhanced if they hadn't cut the amazing decibelic abuse that opens the song in the album IN ROCK. "Fireball" is another adrenalin rush (check out the drums!), "Demon's Eyes" is solid blues rock, less derivative than most of the genre. Oh, and impossible to forget: "Child in Time" is AMAZING! There's everything in there: Ian Gillan's voice, at first gentle and during the crescendo just plain cathartic and wild; Lord's keyboards setting the tone; Blackmore's incredible solo, backed by the rock-solid-but-nimble rhythm section. Can rock music get much better than that? I don't think so!

If you are interested in Purple and was looking for an excuse to buy something from them, then buy this now! If you are a long-time fan, I consider this a terrific gift to the not-yet-converted friends and also a great opportunity to have the best of Mark II in a single CD (plus "Burn" and "Stormbringer", by far the strongest rock of the underated Mark III). That's Rock History, people!