When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll

Editors’ Notes As a greatest-hits album, this awkwardly titled compilation features incarnations of Deep Purple so dissimilar that one could easily mistake this album for a various-artists collection. After all, singer Rod Evans isn't singer Ian Gillan and certainly not David Coverdale, whose appearance for “Burn” takes the band to the end of its dominance. “Kentucky Woman,” “Hard Road," and “Hush” feature the earliest looks at the group, while “Space Truckin’,” “Woman from Tokyo,” “Smoke on the Water," and “Highway Star” feature the hard rock ensemble that became one of the early influences on heavy metal. Taken track for track, this is an excellent album; for a brief summary, it does the trick. Fan of the 45 single need this album. However, much of Deep Purple’s charms were its excesses. People who love the musical chemistry between Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice should also own Machine Head and Made in Japan at minimum, while fans of the original band should focus on Shades of Deep Purple.