Label: earMusic
Website: http://www.deeppurple.com
Once
officially recognized as the loudest band in the world, Deep Purple are one of
the towering figures of heavy metal from the 70s, along with Led Zeppelin and Black
Sabbath. With over one hundred million albums sold and a career spanning six
decades, they are one of the most influential bands of all time. Formed in
1968, in Hertford, England, the band currently consists of Ian Gillian (vocals,
harmonic, and percussion), Ian Paice (drums, percussion), Roger Glover (bass),
Steve Morse (guitar), and Don Airey (organ, keyboards).
Having
released nineteen studio albums and dozens of live albums, they show no signs
of slowing down. This year has seen the
release of three live albums, two of which are double albums. They are Long Beach 1971, …To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) featuring Ritchie Blackmore and Jon
Lord from the DP MK2 lineup and From The
Setting Sun…(In Wacken).
The
thing I like about “Speed King” is the way it captures the atmosphere of
playing live. From the talking to the audience to the rawness of the music, it
is easy to just close your eyes and imagine being there all those years ago. Clocking
in at just over eleven minutes, “Speed King” is the first of four long jams,
with this being the shortest, to make up the album. Whereas “Speed King” acts as a bit of warm up
for the band, “Strange Kind of Woman” finds them loose and comfortable in a
kind of blues rock style reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. It starts of rocking and
wild enough, and keeps getting better from there. The guitar parts are great,
the drums consistently on point, and the vocals sparse yet effective. It is
easy to tell that they are enjoying themselves.
“Child
in Time” is a truly epic song, clocking in at over twenty minutes in length. There
is a great energy
running throughout the song, and a nice even pace to it all. The
tempo changes are smooth and effortless. The guitar part in the beginning of
the second half of the song is just a fantastic display of musicianship. “Mandrake
Root” is a great hard rocking song. It starts out nice and heavy and gets very
interesting when the keyboards take over. Not to be overshadowed by keyboards,
the guitar takes over around the eight minute mark for one quality solo. It is
the longest song at over twenty-seven minutes in length and it does drag a bit
after the halfway point, but things do pick up for the last third of the song
with some feedback that gets in the way.
The
other two lives albums are not only both double albums …To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) and From The Setting Sun… (In Wacken), but they also share many of the
same songs, so I would like to go over the songs that appear only once first. To The Rising Sun opens with the tone
setting “Après Vous.” The crowd is into
it and there is a lively atmosphere that is infectious. “Uncommon Man” starts
off slow and mellow, and rising nice and steadily before ending with a sweet
instrumental part. The drums get things rolling on “The Mule” before completely
taking over with a blistering solo that steals the show. It does not end there
because the keyboards and guitar join in to make for one memorable song. On From The Setting Sun, “Highway Star” is
a great hard rock song, with the right attitude and spirit, that is enhanced by
the uncompromising and unrelenting music. “No One Came” is another song that is
nothing short of fantastic. It comes out confident and full of momentum and it
never loses it the whole way through.
Most of
the songs on …To The Rising Sun (In
Tokyo) and From The Setting Sun… (In
Wacken) are the same with little variation besides small differences in
length, but that is about it. I like this because it shows how consistent they
are in their live performances. “Hard Lovin’ Man” is a banging rock song on
both albums that is hard not to move to, with a rhythm that practically calls
out to be head banged to. The shorter versions of “Strange Kind of Woman” both
dazzle again. In a tribute to the late actor, “Vincent Price” is very enjoyable
with an appropriately haunting atmosphere and an eerie sound that is perfect
for a horror movie.
When it
comes down to it, all three albums are high quality productions. If you are a
die-hard collector or fan, then I would not hesitate to recommend all three. If
you are not, then I would go with Long Beach
1971 and one of the others. Overall, I find it hard to pick a favorite between
…To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) and From The Setting Sun… (In Wacken). There
are only a few songs that do not appear on both albums, so not much is being
left out. You cannot really go wrong with either album, if you have to choose
between the two. All in all, I would say that these three live albums do a
fantastic job of making the listener want to be there.
4.5/5 Stars
Key
Tracks: Strange Kind of Woman, The Mule, Highway Star, Vincent Price, The
Well-Dressed Guitar, Smoke on the Water, Black Night
Tracks:
Long Beach 1971
1. Speed King
2. Strange Kind of Woman
3. Child in Time
4. Mandrake Root
From The Setting Sun… (In Wacken)
Disc 1
1. Highway Star
2. Into The Fire
3. Hard Lovin’ Man
4. Vincent Price
5. Strange Kind of Woman
6. Contact Lost
7. The Well-Dressed Guitar
8. Hell to Pay
9. Lazy
Disc 2
1. Above and Beyond
2. No One Came
3. Don Airey’s Solo
4. Perfect Strangers
5. Space Truckin’
6. Smoke on the Water
7. Green Onions / Hush
8. Black Night
…To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo)
Disc 1
1. Après Vous
2. Into the Fire
3. Hard Lovin’ Man
4. Strange Kind of Woman
5. Vincent Price
6. Contact Lost
7. Uncommon Man
8. The Well-Dressed Guitar
9. The Mule
10. Above and Beyond
11. Lazy
Disc 2
1. Hell to Pay
2. Don Airey’s Solo
3. Perfect Strangers
4. Space Truckin’
5. Smoke on the Water
6. Green Onions / Hush
7. Black Night
Tracks:
Long Beach 1971
1. Speed King
2. Strange Kind of Woman
3. Child in Time
4. Mandrake Root
From The Setting Sun… (In Wacken)
Disc 1
1. Highway Star
2. Into The Fire
3. Hard Lovin’ Man
4. Vincent Price
5. Strange Kind of Woman
6. Contact Lost
7. The Well-Dressed Guitar
8. Hell to Pay
9. Lazy
Disc 2
1. Above and Beyond
2. No One Came
3. Don Airey’s Solo
4. Perfect Strangers
5. Space Truckin’
6. Smoke on the Water
7. Green Onions / Hush
8. Black Night
…To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo)
Disc 1
1. Après Vous
2. Into the Fire
3. Hard Lovin’ Man
4. Strange Kind of Woman
5. Vincent Price
6. Contact Lost
7. Uncommon Man
8. The Well-Dressed Guitar
9. The Mule
10. Above and Beyond
11. Lazy
Disc 2
1. Hell to Pay
2. Don Airey’s Solo
3. Perfect Strangers
4. Space Truckin’
5. Smoke on the Water
6. Green Onions / Hush
7. Black Night
Brian McKinnon - Write A Music Review Sr. Staff
November 24, 201
Review
Provided By Write A Music Review
