30 : Very Best Of - Deep Purple

And as long as my heart will beat, lover, we’ll always meet here in my deep purple dreams. ’’

Dont ask me who sang this song or who penned the lyrics . (In case you have got to find out , ’twas Dean Martin ). All that I know is in an old issue of Darker Than Blue, the journalist asked Ritchie Blackmore and Nick Simper what the name of their band was. Ritchie looked at Nick with a grin, and said ’’It’s Deep Purple’’. Nick smiled back, and the rest as they say was history .The name was derived from the lines quoted above which was an excerpt from Ritchie’s grandmother’s favourite song . The band which was formerly known as Roundabouts were to be renamed Deep Purple and would eventually go on to make their impact felt upon the music world ......metalheads and prog-rockers alike.They were named in the same bracket with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin as the pioneers of heavy metal .

Deep Purple has had probably the maximum number of line-ups over the years . Chris Curtis , Dave Curtiss (no relation) and Bobby Woodman-Clarke left   the band within a few days of its formation . The Mark I lineup , Rod Evans (vocals), Nick Simper (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar) and Ian Paice (drums) released their debut album ’’Shades of Deep Purple’’.This included dramatic rearrangements of well-known songs, including a faithful cover of Hendrix’s version of Hey Joe and the Joe South-penned, Billy Joe Royal hit Hush, the latter hitting the 4th position on the US charts but not troubling the UK chart-compilers one bit. The band , thus ignored at home , started touring the American concert circuit and gradually began to dominate it . The following releases ’’The Book Of Taliesyn’’ and ’’Deep Purple’’ also featured several excellent reworkings, notably Neil Diamond’s Kentucky Woman and River Deep Mountain High originally performed by Ike And Tina Turner .

The band also began drawing acclaim for their original material and the dramatic interplay between Lord and Blackmore. In concerts these guitar-organ duels would go on for over 20 minutes!

In July 1969 both Evans and Simper were axed from the line-up, which was then buoyed by the arrival of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover . This Mark II lineup was undoubtedly the best Deep Purple lineup ever . The following years would eventually see the departure of Gillian and his

re-admittance , followed by the departure of Blackmore , advent of Joe Lynn Turner , Steve Morse , Glenn Hughes , David Coverdale et al .

The album which we’re gonna talk about is called ’’Deep Purple - 30: very best of’’ released on EMI , spanning their 30 year long career and featuring the Creme de le’ Creme . This album features selections from ’’Shades of Deep Purple’’ , ’’In Rock’’ , ’’Fireball’’, ’’Machine Head’’ , ’’Who Do You Think We Are’’, ’’Burn’’, ’’Stormbringer’’ , ’’Come Taste The Band’’, ’’Perfect Strangers’’ ’’Purpendicular’’ and ’’Abandon’’ . A selection naturally inclined towards albums released earlier on EMI , with only Polydor’s ’’Perfect Strangers’’ and BMG’s ’’Purpendicular’’ being the exceptions.

Firstly , don’t be surprised if you dont find a lot of classics and essential components of Deep Purple history , in this album .Afterall , shortlisting just 18 Purple songs must have been a hell of a task for , Nigel Reeve , who compiled this cd . So , you might be asking yourself where’s April or Anya or Knocking At Your Backdoor . Secondly , to fit a single cd many songs have been edited or cut short .This basically murders Child in time in particular . Other than these shortcomings the album is a pretty awesome collection.

It kickstarts suitably with Hush the band’s first and foremost claim to fame . Followed by Black Night , Speed King and the classic Child In Time . Featuring Gillian’s full throated roars which soar above Blackmore’s hard-edged riffs .The trademark sound of the band . Child in time had some of the best lyrics ever penned by the band...

Wait for the ricochet ’’

This is followed on a humorous note by Strange Kind of Woman....’’There once was a woman, a strange kind of woman .....The kind that gets written down in history’’ ...was there ever!!!!

Fireball and Demon’s Eye are trademark racy , upbeat Purple numbers anchored by the solid rhythm section of drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover . Then comes two of the biggest hits in the history of hardrock/metal.....Smoke on the water and Highway Star . The former gives a first hand account of the burning down of the Casino in Montreux, when an idiot fired a flaregun into the celing at a Frank Zappa concert . Highway star almost captures Gillian and Blackmore trying to outdo each other to produce the classic ..

The album then moves on to the Floydianesque When a Blind Man Cries which features the band in an introspective mood . Burn and Stormbringer are notable because they are from the first Purple albums to feature Glenn Hughes and vocalist David Coverdale, and as such have a more bluesy sound with Coverdale’s throaty roars , combined with Hughes’ soaring vocal . Perfect Strangers is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir . It marks the re-entry of Gillian and a song recorded by the classic lineup . The album ends with Ted the mechanic and Any fule know that ...the two tracks featuring Steve Morse who makes his presence felt through the shredding opening licks of Ted the mechanic .

All in all , if you are a Deep Purple addict and have all or most albums you dont need to buy this cd. But if you are new to Deep Purple and looking to build a collection , start with this cd as this will give you an idea as to what the band is all about .