Despite the band's constant personnel changes, which featured a revolving cast that included
Ritchie Blackmore,
David Coverdale, and
Ian Gillan at one time or another,
Deep Purple's then-innovative blend of hard rock, prog rock histrionics, and nascent heavy metal in the early '70s makes them, in retrospect, the perfect template for bands like
Led Zeppelin, who then pushed hard rock toward hair band metal later in the decade. This 11-track set makes an OK introduction to the group's legacy, but not a great one, since the versions collected here of the band's biggest hits "Smoke on the Water," their cover of
Joe South's "Hush," "Woman from Tokyo," and "Strange Kind of Woman" are all live versions and not the original radio mixes. The live versions are both credible and fine, but
Deep Purple was really one of the first arena bands, which forced them to draw large strokes in concert, and the versions here lack some of the precision of the original singles. That said, there are some cool cuts included of songs that are lesser known but no less memorable like "Knocking at Your Back Door" and "Perfect Strangers" (which sounds like
Led Zeppelin before there was a
Led Zeppelin), and all of it adds up to a fair survey of what this band was all about -- you'll find yourself wanting to hear the original single versions of the big hits, though. ~ Steve Leggett
![Greatest Hits [A&M]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0731454052320_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Greatest Hits [A&M]")
![Slowhand [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0600753407202_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Slowhand [Deluxe Edition]")
![Then Play On [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227964436_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Then Play On [Deluxe Edition]")
