DEEP PURPLE – DEEPEST PURPLE – THE VERY BEST OF DEEP PURPLE LP – Nr MINT UK

Deep Purple – Deepest Purple – The Very Best Of Deep Purple
(Warner Bros Records   1980   XPR3486  Canada Press)

Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– a little wear to edges

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are 1 or 2 light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. The band is considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years. Originally formed as a progressive rock band, the band shifted to a heavier sound in 1970. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies”. They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as “the globe’s loudest band” for a 1972 concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre, and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Deep Purple have had several line-up changes and an eight-year hiatus (1976–1984). The 1968–1976 line-ups are commonly labelled Mark I, II, III and IV.^[ Their second and most commercially successful line-up consisted of Ian Gillan (vocals), Jon Lord (keyboards, backing vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Paice (drums), and Ritchie Blackmore (guitar). This line-up was active from 1969 to 1973, and was revived from 1984 to 1989, and again from 1992 to 1993. The band achieved more modest success in the intervening periods between 1968 and 1969 with the line-up including Rod Evans (lead vocals) and Nick Simper (bass, backing vocals), between 1974 and 1976 (Tommy Bolin replacing Blackmore in 1975) with the line-up including David Coverdale (lead vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass, vocals), and between 1989 and 1992 with the line-up including Joe Lynn Turner (vocals). The band’s line-up (currently including Ian Gillan, and guitarist Steve Morse from 1994) has been much more stable in recent years, although keyboardist Jon Lord’s retirement from the band in 2002 (being succeeded by Don Airey) left Ian Paice as the only original Deep Purple member still in the band.

Deep Purple were ranked number 22 on VH1’s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme and a poll on British radio station Planet Rock ranked them 5th among the “most influential bands ever”. The band received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards. Deep Purple (specifically Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan, Glover, Evans, Coverdale and Hughes) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple is a compilation album by the British hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1980 on LP. It features the original hits of Deep Purple before their 1984 reunion. Aided by a TV advertising campaign it would become Purple’s third UK No. 1 album. In 1984 this compilation additionally was published on CD.

It was at one point the longest album ever released as a single LP, but it was overtaken by Def Leppard’s Hysteria album in 1987. Being a 60+ minute vinyl LP, Warner Brothers Records used Noise Reduction, which lowered the volume considerably, on all tracks to fit both sides equally.

This also marked the debut of “Demon’s Eye” for the North American release, where it was replaced by “Strange Kind of Woman” on Fireball.

All songs from this album appeared in 2000 on Rhino’s The Very Best of Deep Purple, along with three additional songs.

In 2010 a 30th Anniversary Edition of this compilation was released (in the UK, 25 October and US, 2 November). It contains four additional tracks, two of them from the Mark I & IV eras, plus a bonus DVD containing previously unreleased video footage and an exclusive track-by-track commentary from founding member Jon Lord.

Track listing

All titles composed by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, except where indicated.

Side one

1. “Black Night” – 3:28 (7-inch single, 1970)
2. “Speed King” (Edited version) – 5:04 (from the album Deep Purple in Rock, 1970)
3. “Fireball” – 3:25 (from the album Fireball, 1971)
4. “Strange Kind of Woman” – 3:52 (7-inch single, 1971)
5. “Child in Time” – 10:20 (from the album Deep Purple in Rock)
6. “Woman from Tokyo” – 5:51 (from the album Who Do We Think We Are, 1973)

Side two

7. “Highway Star” – 6:07 (from the album Machine Head, 1972)
8. “Space Truckin'” – 4:33 (from the album Machine Head)
9. “Burn” (Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Lord, Paice) – 6:02 (from the album Burn, 1974)
10. “Stormbringer” (Blackmore, Coverdale) – 4:06 (from the album Stormbringer, 1974)
11. “Demon’s Eye” – 5:22 (from the album Fireball)
12. “Smoke on the Water” – 5:40 (from the album Machine Head)

Personnel

All songs are performed by Deep Purple in different line-ups (Mark I–IV).

Deep Purple Mark II

• Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
• Ian Gillan – Vocals
• Roger Glover – Bass
• Jon Lord – Organ, Keyboards
• Ian Paice – Drums and Percussion

Deep Purple Mark III

• Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
• David Coverdale – Lead Vocals
• Glenn Hughes – Bass, Vocals
• Jon Lord – Keyboards
• Ian Paice – Drums and Percussion

Original album compiled by EMI in conjunction with Ian Paice and mastered by Nick Webb at Abbey Road Studios.