Search - Deep Purple :: Smoke on the Water & Other Hits

Simple yet effective

Ryan K. Fry | Sherman, TX | 05/08/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's a very limited number of bands in the world of rock music that can ride atop a wave of hits indefinitely through the decades, remaining successful and culturally relevant against all odds. By and large most bands simply have one brief but nonetheless respectable period of artistic focus during which that particular slice of their work is immortalized; the latter proves to be the case with Deep Purple. Smoke on the Water and Other Hits, a concise yet quintessential budget compilation of their finest cuts, spans the group's early to mid 70's heyday. The band's most popular era remains firmly rooted in their 1970-1972 output recorded with second vocalist Ian Gillan. This particular period boasts the majority of Deep Purple's most incendiary hits including "Black Night", "Smoke on the Water" and "Woman From Tokyo". Also in attendance are a fine selection of later cuts sung by David Coverdale in the vein of "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Gettin' Tighter". The ten tracks featured on this disc function if nothing else as a concise introduction to Deep Purple's robust brand of grit. Much like other hard rock recorded during first half of that decade, it is simple, unselfconscious and above all: catchy as hell. The freshly initiated fan might consider The Very Best of Deep Purple for further listening, which graciously includes the infectious late 60's covers "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman", sung by original vocalist Rod Evans."