We’re still waiting for a 200- DVD box set containing all of Deep Purple’s vast and convoluted filmed history but, until that happens, this will suffice as a quick and easy complement to last year’s Deep Purple Around The World set – a much larger document of the current line-up.
History, Hits & Highlights is a compilation of live footage from the eight golden years between the Purps’ Mark I formation in 1968 and the collapse of the Mark IV line-up in ’76. It’s inevitably a tad brief – there was just too much good stuff released in that period to squeeze onto two DVDs – but nonetheless the compilers have done a solid job. There’s a strong bias on the Ian Gillanfronted Mark II line-up, which makes commercial sense, though fans of the more soulful versions which followed may feel a little short-changed. Meanwhile, the short (13- minute) documentary on the history of the band is too cursory for anyone but complete beginners. One for the Purple novice in your life.
