Audio Fidelity to Release Deep Purple 4-CD Boxed Set on 11/19/13

Article Contributed by W3 Public Relations | Published on Thursday, October 31, 2013

Hot on the heels of the news that they have been nominated for 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, classic rockers Deep Purple will be feted with a deluxe, limited-edition boxed set featuring 24-Karat Gold CDs of four of their best-selling albums, according to Audio Fidelity president Marshall Blonstein.  November 19 is the release date for DEEP PURPLE:  THE AUDIO FIDELITY COLLECTION, which will include IN ROCK (1970), FIREBALL (1971), MACHINE HEAD (1972) and WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE! (1973).  The four CDs, containing such breakthrough Deep Purple hits as "Smoke on the Water" and "Woman From Tokyo," will be housed, appropriately, in an embossed metallic container, each engraved with a unique edition number, and will be sold through both online and traditional retail outlets.THE AUDIO FIDELITY COLLECTION features the legendary second lineup of Deep Purple, which originally formed in 1967 in Hertfordshire, north of London. By 1970, the pioneering hard-rock/metal quintet consisted of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, vocalist Ian Gillan, keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice. Originally issued in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Records, the four albums represent the band at the peak of its popularity and creative powers. The double-platinum MACHINE HEAD reached No. 7 on Billboard's Top Albums chart; FIREBALL, IN ROCK and WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE! all were certified Gold. "Woman from Tokyo" (from WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE!) and "Smoke on the Water" (MACHINE HEAD) were Top 10 singles and remain staples of classic-rock radio. (Reflecting in 2012 on Deep Purple's long overdue nomination for Hall of Fame induction, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather commented, "What's the first song every kid learns to play? 'Smoke on the Water.' And they're not [yet] in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?")All four discs in THE AUDIO FIDELITY COLLECTION will contain original album artwork and will feature the remastering done by engineer Steve Hoffman when the individual CDs were previously issued by Audio Fidelity. "They have been unavailable for five years," says label president Blonstein, "and since then we've had numerous requests from customers to 'reissue the reissue.' So we decided to offer them again, but in this special boxed-set edition." Indeed, copies of the earlier MACHINE HEAD and WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE! currently fetch handsome prices on sites like Amazon and eBay. To distinguish the forthcoming CDs from the earlier editions-and to enhance the unique collectability aspects of the boxed set-the new discs' outer sleeves come with gold, instead of black slip cases.

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