Album · Compilation
Smoke on the Water: The Best of
Smoke on the Water: The Best Of is a compilation by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1994 on EMI. It gathers highlights from the group's catalogue under the name of their best-known song, the title track from 1972's Machine Head.
France got it first, and it did well there, reaching double gold status in December 1998. Italy, Australia and New Zealand followed with their own releases. For listeners who want a way into a band with a long and shifting story, from Shades of Deep Purple in 1968 through to the albums of the 1990s, a single-disc best-of like this offers a handy starting point before exploring the studio records in full.
Smoke on the Water: The Best of: tracklist, credits and charts
18 tracks · 1:17:24Tracklist
- 1HushJoe South4:23
- 2Kentucky Woman (single edit)Neil Diamond4:03
- 3The Bird Has Flown (single version)Blackmore, Evans, Lord2:51
- 4HallelujahRoger Cook and Roger Greenaway3:42
- 5Black NightBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:26
- 6Child in TimeBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice10:17
- 7Speed King (Dutch single version: alternate take)Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice4:23
- 8Strange Kind of Woman (single edit)Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:46
- 9FireballBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:21
- 10Smoke on the Water (US single edit)Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:47
- 11Highway StarBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice6:07
- 12Never Before (single edit)Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:30
- 13Space Truckin’Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice4:31
- 14Woman from Tokyo (single edit)Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice2:40
- 15Might Just Take Your Life (single edit)Blackmore, Coverdale, Lord, Paice3:33
- 16Burn (single edit)Blackmore, Coverdale, Lord, Paice4:31
- 17StormbringerRitchie Blackmore and David Coverdale4:05
- 18You Keep on Moving (single edit)David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes4:27
- Produced by
- Derek Lawrence, Deep Purple, Martin Birch
- Recorded at
- Pye Studios, De Lane Lea Studios, IBC Studios, Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Musicland Studios
- Recorded
- May 1968 – September 1975
- Mixed by
- Derek Lawrence, Martin Birch, Roger Glover, Ian Paice
- Mixed at
- The Record Plant
- Engineered by
- Barry Ainsworth, Andy Knight, Louis Austin, Martin Birch, Alan O’Duffy
- Labels
- EMI, EMI France
- Length
- 1:17:24
Line-up
- Ritchie Blackmore · electric guitar
- Jon Lord · Hammond organ, background vocals, piano, keyboard
- Ian Paice · drums (drum set)
- Nick Simper · electric bass guitar · guest
- Rod Evans · lead vocals · guest
- Roger Glover · electric bass guitar
- Ian Gillan · lead vocals
- Glenn Hughes · electric bass guitar, vocals · guest
- David Coverdale · lead vocals · guest
- Tommy Bolin · electric guitar · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1994 | 20 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1994 | 28 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1994 | 30 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| France · 1998 | 2× Gold |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
20.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3
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3.2k
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Deezer fans (all editions)
More from Deep Purple
Full discography →
Murmullo – Hush
1968
Shades of Deep Purple
1968
Shades of Deep Purple
1968
The Book of Taliesyn
1968
Deep Purple
1969
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1969
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1969
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1970
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1970
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1970
Fireball
1971
Hits
1972
Never Before
1972
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1972
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1972
Purple Passages
1972
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1972
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1973
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1973
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1973
Mark I&II
1973
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1974
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1974
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1974
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1974
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1974
Lay Down Stay Down
1975
Child in Time
1975
24 Carat Purple
1975
Come Taste the Band
1975
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1976
Come With Me / Smoke on the Water / Woman From Tokyo
1977
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1977
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1977
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1977
New Live & Rare
1977
Powerhouse
1977
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1978
When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll
1978
New Live & Rare: Vol. 3
1980
Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple
1980
In Concert
1980
Live in London
1982
Perfect Strangers
1984
Smoke on the Water
1985
Lady Double
1985
Smoke on My Mega‐Mix
1985
The House of Blue Light
1987
Bad Attitude
1987
Perfect Strangers
1988
Nobody’s Perfect
1988
Live in Stockholm
1988
Scandinavian Nights
1988
Slaves and Masters
1990
In the Absence of Pink: Knebworth 85
1991
Knocking at Your Back Door: The Best of Deep Purple in the 80’s
1991
Smoke on the Water
1993
The Gemini Suite
1993
The Battle Rages On…
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Come Hell or High Water
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On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat: Live in California 1976
1995
Purpendicular
1996
California Jamming
1996
Deep Purple Mk III: The Final Concerts
1996
Live at the Olympia ’96
1997
Smoke on the Water
1998
Abandon
1998
30: Very Best Of
1998
Shades 1968–1998
1999
Friends & Relatives
1999
Total Abandon: Australia ’99
1999
Days May Come and Days May Go: The California Rehearsals, June 1975
2000
The Very Best of Deep Purple
2000
Smoke on the Water & Other Hits
2001
This Time Around Live in Tokyo 75
2001
Deep Purple The Soundboard Series 2001
The Soundboard Series
2001
Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy
2001
Live at Inglewood 1968
2002
Listen, Learn, Read On
2002
Deep Purple The Best of Deep Purple: Live in Europe 2003
The Best of Deep Purple: Live in Europe
2003
Bananas
2003
The Early Years
2004
Deep Purple The Platinum Collection Sampler 2005
The Platinum Collection Sampler
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Rapture of the Deep
2005
Live at Montreux 1996
2006
Kneel & Pray
2006
Deep Purple Original and Remixed Hits 2007
Original and Remixed Hits
2007
Live in Concert at the 2006 Montreux Festival
2007
Phoenix Rising
2011
Live at Montreux 2011
2011
All the Time in the World
2013
Now What?!
2013
Above and Beyond
2013
Live in Verona
2014
Deep Purple Out of Hand 2015
Out of Hand
2015
Long Beach 1976
2016
Time for Bedlam
2017
All I Got Is You
2017
Infinite
2017
Johnny’s Band
2017
Throw My Bones
2020
Whoosh!
2020
Turning to Crime
2021
Lazy Sod
2024
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2024
Things I Never Said
2025
SPLAT!
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date only month precision available
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1994 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | July 1994 | |
| Wikidata | 1994 |
2 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | FR | EMI | 724383026821 | original |
| 1994 | FR | EMI | 724383026821 | original |
Cover art sources
fanarttv · upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| fanarttv ✓ | 1000×1000 | upscaled: major: best source 1000x1000, upscaled to 1500 (x1.50) |
| coverartarchive | 599×593 | upscaled |