When I look at the way my musical taste has changed over the decades, there are several bands that have remained and excelled. One of those bands is Deep Purple a band that has gone through many lineup changes but all of them seem to have preserved a certain style of music that I love. Not only that but many bands have been formed from ex-members of Deep Purple that I also love, such as Rainbow, Whitesnake and Gillan.
Deep Purple, like Black Sabbath, are added to a group of bands who experts say are the founders of heavy metal. While some of their songs can be classed as heavy metal, I would suggest that they also have elements of classic hard rock and progressive rock scattered throughout their huge discography.
They formed in 1968 and, despite the band splitting up in 1976 for eight years, they are still producing music. The line up changed a lot and the various incarnations have been labelled as Mark I to Mark IX as musicians and singers have come and gone. My favourite line up is the Mark II but all lineups have produced great songs. Most of the current and past members of the band have been my musical heroes since I was a teenager. Here are some of them:
Ian Paice – Current drummer - the only member who has been with all lineups of the band. He also played with Whitesnake when Deep Purple split up until the band reformed in 1984.
Roger Glover – Current Bass Guitar – has played with Rainbow as well and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left in 1973 to be replaced by Glenn Hughes but rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed.
Ian Gillan – Current vocalist – formed his own band called Gillan and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left the band to be replaced by David Coverdale in 1973 and rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed.
Jon Lord – Keyboards – also played with Whitesnake when the band split up and was part of the Mark II lineup. He was a constant member until he decided to retire in 2002. Sadly he passed away in 2012.
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar – the legendary guitarist and one of my favourite guitarists of all time. He formed Rainbow and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left in 1975 but rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed, leaving again in 1993.
Don Airey – Keyboards – also played with Rainbow and many other bands I like. He replaced Jon Lord when he decided to retire in 2002.
David Coverdale – Vocalist – joined after Ian Gillan left but formed Whitesnake when the band split up.
Glenn Hughes – Singer/Bass Guitar player – has had a varied career since Deep Purple split up in 1976 and is still going strong.
Steve Morse – Guitarist – had big shoes to fill replacing Ritchie Blackmore in 1993 but filled them very well. He left the band in 2022 to look after his wife who was ill.
Deep Purple were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and honoured past members as well as the line up at the time.
It has been difficult to list my top ten songs but I have managed it. If you ask me again this time next week it may be slightly different.
10. Birds of Prey (from Infinite – 2016)
This is the newest song in the top ten and features the Mark VIII lineup. It is a slow burner, a kind of heavy blues song, a style I like a lot. However, what makes this special is Steve Morse’s guitar playing. The song reaches a crescendo at around the 4 minute mark where Morse takes over plays an amazing outro that lasts almost two minutes and demonstrates perfectly why he was a brilliant replacement for Ritchie Blackmore.
9. Strange Kind of Woman (from Fireball – 1971)
Moving back in time, we have a song that is great but sounds much better live. This is from the legendary Mark II line up and when performed live features Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore trying to copy each other using the incredible voice of Gillan and Blackmore’s virtuoso guitar playing. You get an idea of what I mean at the 5 minute mark. And also listen to full power of Ian Gillan’s voice at the 8 minute 15 second mark. I doubt he can do that now.
8. Smoke on the Water (from Machine Head -1972)
This is the song from the Mark II lineup that everybody knows and loves and I am guessing that there are people asking me why this isn’t number one. It is an iconic and amazing song with a great back story but I have heard it so many times that putting it number one would be boring and a little lazy. I really honestly do prefer those higher in the list and I genuinely love the song. If you have been living under a rock since 1972, here it is in its full glory.
7. Weirdistan – (from Now What?! – 2012)
This is a song from the Mark VIII line up and once more features Steve Morse on guitar. Like me, this is a little bit of a weird song (you may have guessed from the title). The bass guitar is quite prominent on this song and it also features some great keyboard work from Don Airey. It all comes together in a package that pushes the right buttons for me.
6. Woman from Tokyo (from Who Do We Think We Are – 1973)
This is another classic from the Mark II lineup. It may seem like a typical Deep Purple song yet there is mellow interlude that makes my spine tingle a little bit and occurs around the 2 minute mark. I just love it.
5. Burn (from Burn – 1973)
This is from the Mark III lineup and I posted it in my favourite David Coverdale songs, where it settled at a lofty Number 2. It’s a great song and, as I said in that post, I love Ritchie Blackmore’s guitarwork.
4. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming (from Purpendicular – 1996)
I used to go to site a lot when I worked, which meant taking trips abroad, sometimes alone. And sometimes I was away for three or four weeks and on occasion in the middle of nowhere where there wasn’t much to do other than work hard during the day and return to a hotel in a place where there wasn’t much to do. And sometimes it was quite lonely.
This song from the Mark VII lineup is a sad but beautiful expression of that lonely frustration. It features superlative guitar playing from Steve Morse who really used this song to state that he was a worthy replacement for Ritchie Blackmore.
3. Perfect Strangers (from Perfect Strangers – 1984)
In 1984 I was astounded and delighted to learn that Deep Purple were reforming with the classic Mark II line up and the result of that was the album Perfect Strangers. The title track is a perfect example of how I think the Mark II line up would have evolved if they had stayed together. The live version of this song is also very special complete with lasers.
2. Highway Star (from Machine Head – 1972)
Highway Star from the classic Mark II lineup is a great driving song. I remember driving a car in the US and it was a boring and long journey with not a lot to see when I was stunned to hear this song appear on the radio. And this transformed the journey for me. I suddenly felt really good and the music make the journey far more interesting at least for five minutes. It features great interplay between Jon Lord’s keyboards and Ritchie Blackmore’s amazing guitar, all rounded off with Ian Gillan’s incredible voice.
1. Child In Time (from In Rock – 1970)
I love progressive rock and to a lot of people that means self-indulgent long songs. To me, a good long prog song is like a mini symphony with varied themes and a story. Child in Time, from the legendary Mark II line up, is, to me at least, a brilliant progressive rock song. Yes, there is a little self-indulgence from Jon Lord and Ritche Blackmore but so what? As for Ian Gillan, he displays his entire vocal range brilliantly on this song and shows what an incredible singer he is.
