Few would deny that Deep Purple were one of the most influential and popular heavy rock bands to emerge from the melting pot of the late 1960s. They went through several line-up changes and stylistic shifts before splitting up for the first time in the mid-1970s. Talismanic guitarist Ritchie Blackmore carried the spirit on when he formed Rainbow after leaving Purple in 1975, particularly through his partnership with legendary singer Ronnie James Dio. Deep Purple reformed some years later, of course, but many consider this original, sometimes turbulent, decade to be their most significant. In this updated new edition, Steve Pilkington puts his focus on the period from Shades Of Deep Purple in 1968 through to the first dissolution of the band after Come Taste The Band in 1976, via such classics as Machine Head and In Rock. He also discusses the first four Rainbow studio albums, including the classic Rainbow Rising and the hit-laden Down To Earth album in 1979, taking a look at every song from every album in detail. He also discusses live recordings, plus DVD and video releases. Critical! opinion rubs shoulders with facts, trivia and anecdotes, making this alternative history the most exhaustive guide to the two bands' music yet produced. Steve Pilkington is a music journalist, editor and broadcaster. He was Editor in Chief for the Classic Rock Society Magazine Rock Society and is now co-administrator of the rock website Velvet Thunder as well as presenting a weekly internet radio show called A Saucerful Of Prog. He has recently published. His books include On Tracks on Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, plus Supertramp – Crime Of The Century, Rock Classics, all for Sonicbond, and he has also written the official biography of legendary guitarist Gordon Giltrap. He lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK.