1967/ 1976
"Purplexed", a 1998 BMG Entetainment International UK & Ireland Ltd., is a great compilation, of course. Frankly, I still do not understand why the BMG period (1990's) is not loved by the fans of purple and Purple do not fit a song like "Anya" in their concerts. It is probably because of tensions between Gillan and Blackmore ... But what songs Purple wrote in the 1990's!
In this compilation there are the usual live versions of classic 1970's songs of Mk II, very tasty and Metal (great "Child In Time"). There are also two songs with Joe Lynn Turner. Fortunately, one is "King Of Dreams", a true masterpiece. Steve Morse is represented by two songs. One is "The Aviator", a normally song. The other is "Loosen My Strings", a masterpiece. All the band is great but Steve Morse... Sublime in technique, sublime in solo, sublime in megic and feeling... Who is Ritchie Blackmore? And all in a simple Hard Rock song that is a pure Heavy Metal song. The rest are Mk II songs. "The Battle Rages On" and "Anya" are great song for technique and feeling. "Solitaire" is a great song for magic. The problem is that these songs are close to Hard Rock and AOR. But... Is this a problem? No, because Deep Purple in 1990's remain a band with great songs and an incredible magic.
Probably "Purplexed is not the definitive BMG period (1990's) album. But as Deep Purple compilation (one of the too much Purple's compilation) is good... Extremely good.