Deep Purple - The Very Best of Deep Purple

I own two Deep Purple CDs. The first one I ever owned was Come Hell Or High Water, a live disc I wasn't a fan of. The other is The Very Best Of Deep Purple released in 2000 by Rhino Entertainment Company, a subsidary of Warner Bros. Records inc.

Until I bought this CD I spent years searching for the perfect Deep Purple album to buy, but most of them were either regular albums, that I only knew one or two songs from, or compilations of vinyl length. In other words maybe ten songs at most, and only 45 minutes worth of material. This disc however has 15 tracks and they span an impressive assortment of styles, musicians, and years.

The album opens with Hush, which has been a favourite of mine since I first heard the opening "Nah, nah-nah-nah, nah-nah-nah, nah-nah-nah". This I only learned later was a cover, and I can't remember who did the original off the top of my head. It doesn't matter though because this song is just fantastic, although as I've gotten older I don't have the same love for it I use to have. Once upon a time it was my favourite Deep Purple song, now it's just a top ten.

They included the single version of Kentucky Woman on here. I'm guessing it's slightly shorter and that's okay, because I normally just skip this one anyway. I'm sure some people absolutely love it, but I never really cared for it.

Black Night falls into the same category as Kentucky Woman, but the riff in this one is way cool. All the best chorded riffs in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal were written by either Deep Purple's Richie Blackmore, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi or Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. I say this because Black Night shows how much one of Ritchie's guitar riffs matter. They take an otherwise skippabley boring song and turn it into pure genius.

Speed King and Highway Star are pretty much the same song, in a kind of sorta way. Both are good, thanks to the kicking music, but both are overplayed and I could live without ever hearing again. I'm also jumping the gun putting Highway Star here instead of in it's position at track nine. Both are muscle car kind of songs, and for that reason they kick ass.

I should state that every song that I rip on, rag on, make fun of, or say is skippable, are fantastic when thrown into a mix. I love cranking every single one on the stereo, I just don't bother with them for individual song listening.

Track five on the album is Child In Time. This song is too long and complex for standard radio, so you don't get to hear it too often. Not even on Detroit Rock Radio, which is really a bit of a joke these days. This is one of those songs that the music is written and performed in a way that's very operatic. This song truly represents the hell of war. You can picture the gun fire, and explosions, and panic, and death. This is one of those songs that allow the band to be considered Prog.

After the great epic comes Strange Kind Of Woman. "There once was a woman / A strange kind of woman / The kind that gets written down in history / Her name was nancy / Her face was nothing fancy / She left a trail of happiness and misery / I loved her / Everybody loved her / She loved everyone and gave them good return / I tried to take her / I even tried to break her / She said, I ain't for takin' won't you ever learn / I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you / I spent my money as I took my turn / I want you, I need you, I gotta be near you / Ooh, I got a strange kind of woman, yes I have". There are two things to point out about the lyrics here. The first is that Deep Purple like the Nancy/fancy rhyme, since I've heard/seen it multiple times on this album. The second is they really know how to writet music to match content. This song is as bouncy as Nancy's bed.

Fireball is an awesome fast paced song. It just cruises along at breakneck speed and doesn't stop. I like this one when it comes up on my Mp3 player during those moments when I need, or want, that big bust of energy.

Demon's Eye I'm sure is a favoutire of some Deep Purple fans out there. I personally think it could have been left off here. Although I like the instrumental work in the middle, it's a pretty stock song.

I really don't like Highway Star. It's just so over played at this point. I find it's more over played than Smoke On The Water, which I also enjoy better. There is something about last minute songs, inspired by tragic events that just make amazing history.

I remember that once upon a time, the first song anyone that wanted to be able to call themselves a guitarist would have to learn would be Smoke On The Water. This might just be the greatest rock riff known to man. I'm sure Tibbetan Monks even throat chant this one. I'm also aware that that last sentence has about three things wrong with it, and the idea of the monks performing this song is not one of them.

I have no idea why. I can't give a good explanation. I personally have no idea how I came about the love affair I have with Space Truckin', but I'm sure it has something to do with my dad and those stupid brown boats/cars we once had.

We owned two different brown cars in my musically formative years. One looked like a light brown turd, and the other looked like a chocolate brown turd. It was in these two cars I discovered Old School Classic rock, which really wasn't as of the early to mid 80's.

However, I know that my insane love for Space Truckin', along with Jethro Tull's Aqualung, Black Sabbath's Iron Man, Rainbow's Man On The Silver Mountain, and Rush's Fly By Night all came from those two cars. My daddy brainwashed me with good music very early on. Thanks!

Space Truckin' is my second favourite Deep Purple song though, and I won't apologize for it. That opening bass riff is just awesome. I mean they really drive cosmic gear shifting into over drive and thunder that baby home.

Woman From Tokyo is a great song, but I personally don't really care for it. I can't give a decent reason why, except that it doesn't have the normal gusto one would come to expect from Deep Purple. I don't want to say it sounds stock, but at the same time I will say that it doesn't sound like the band was trying very hard to come up with anything original. It could be they were trying too hard even.

Burn and Stormbringer go together with Demon's Eye. They are good songs, but a little on the stock side. Burn is much better than Stormbringer as far as I'm concerned, but both of them are a little too typically Deep Purple. However, they are fantastic driving music.

Though, one can not simply drive the speed limit while listening to Deep Purple. One must floor it and see the hyperdrive cause the stars to streak. These two songs can easily help you do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

The album finshes with my absolute favourite Deep Purple song, Knocking At Your Back Door. There are three things I learned about this song in just the last year. The first is that this song is in fact about trying to slip it into a girl's bum. Yes, I figured this since I was a young teen, but I learned from watching live footage on youtube, and direct from the horses mouth that my thoughts were right. I do like to have confirmation on things, though.

The second is that this song is actually relatively new by my standards. By that I mean it came out in my life time. I had no clue this was on the Perfect Strangers album, which was released in 1984. Which also brings me to the fact that this song was done by Deep Purple Mark II, which had broken up over a decade before hand.

Here's a list of every person that has ever been an official member of Deep Purple; Ian Paice – drums, percussion (1968–1976, 1984–present), Roger Glover – bass (1969–1973, 1984–present), Ian Gillan – lead vocals, harmonica, congas (1969–1973, 1984–1989, 1992–present), Steve Morse – guitar (1994–present), Don Airey – keyboards, organ (2002–present), Jon Lord – keyboards, organ, backing vocals (1968–1976, 1984–2002; died 2012), Ritchie Blackmore – guitar (1968–1975, 1984–1993), Nick Simper – bass, backing vocals (1968–1969), Rod Evans – lead vocals (1968–1969), Glenn Hughes – bass, vocals (1973–1976), David Coverdale – lead vocals (1973–1976), Tommy Bolin – guitar, backing vocals (1975–1976; died 1976), Joe Lynn Turner – lead vocals (1989–1991), and Joe Satriani – guitar (1993–1994). The most famous version of Deep Purple is Mark II, which is made up of Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice.

All in all this is the Deep Purple Album you want to buy, if you only want to buy one Deep Purple album. All the songs have been digitally remastered, for those that like that kind of thing, which on CD is needed. It's a fantastic assortment covering every album, except for two, and even the stock songs are stellar tracks that demand the need for speed. All in all just a great collection of well written and performed rock Songs.

10/10 - content

9/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias