Deep Purple "Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple (USA, Warner Bros. Records, 3486-2)"

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 list:

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

1. "Black Night" – 3:28 (7-inch single, 1970)"Speed King" (Edited version) – 5:04 (from the album Deep Purple in Rock, 1970)
2. "Fireball" – 3:25 (from the album Fireball, 1971)
3. "Strange Kind of Woman" – 3:52 (7-inch single, 1971)
4. "Child in Time" – 10:20 (from the album Deep Purple in Rock)
5. "Woman from Tokyo" – 5:51 (from the album Who Do We Think We Are, 1973)
6. "Highway Star" – 6:07 (from the album Machine Head, 1972)"Space Truckin'" – 4:33 (from the album Machine Head)
7. "Burn" (Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Lord, Paice) – 6:02 (from the album Burn, 1974)
8. "Stormbringer" (Blackmore, Coverdale) – 4:06 (from the album Stormbringer, 1974)
9. "Demon's Eye" – 5:22 (from the album Fireball)
10. "Smoke on the Water" – 5:40 (from the album Machine Head)

Time:  01:03:51

8 page booklet

All tracks feature the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Pace except tracks 9 and 10 which feature the Mark III line-up of David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes who replaced Gillan and Glover.

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

Full title is "Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple".

Mastering by Nick Webb. Compiled by EMI and Ian Paice. 

The version of "Speed King" on this album is the single version that lacks guitar intro. 

Album was heavy commercial success (partially thanks for advertising campaign), and hit the charts reaching #1 in UK. From crossing total 100,000 sold copies in UK it got a gold certification from British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in august 20, 1980. In US, from crossing total sales of one million copies, it got a platinum certification from Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 16, 1997.