Music Review

Shades 1968-1998 (1999)

Deep Purple

Reviewed by Tom Sinclair | Apr 02, 1999

Tom Sinclair

Tom Sinclair is a senior writer for EW and has been called "the handsomest man in rock criticism'' (by his wife)

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EW's GRADE

B-

Details Lead Performance: Deep Purple; Genres: Metal, Reissues

This four-CD journey through 30 years and eight incarnations of Purple delves deeper than necessary into their uneven legacy, but at least it offers generous loads of hard-rock riffage and majestic swaths of moody organ. While the latter-period stuff is depressingly formulaic, discs 2 and 3 on Shades 1968-1998 showcase this once-vibrant band at the top of its early-'70s game; cock an ear to ''Fireball,'' ''Highway Star,'' and ''Smoke on the Water'' before you start with the Spinal Tap jokes. B-

Originally posted Apr 02, 1999 Published in issue #479 Apr 02, 1999 Order article reprints

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