Rating: Summary: Great show and cool extras Review: All the Deep Purple classics are here, by the original band, including Ritchie Blackmore who quit after this stint and was not present for the Japanese leg of the tour. Ritchie plays great as always granted, but you can tell he's got other things on his mind besides the audience and the show at hand. He looks like he'd rather be sitting at home with his feet up in front of the fire.The extras are pretty cool too. Including interviews with the entire band on how they have to put up with Ritchie, and finally why they just don't want him around anymore because he just doesn't care.
Rating: Summary: The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times Review: Anytime Deep Purple does something, one has to ask, "O.K. which lineup is it this time?". Well "this time" it is the classic MK II lineup of Gillian, Lord, Glover, Paice and Blackmore. This will always be the real Deep Purple and any other lineup is second rate. After watching 2 hours of music, it is again clear that this lineup will always be the most powerful and its most unstable. Tempers and attitudes are hot and so is the music. Ritchie is well, Ritchie and after he decides to show up, he proves why he is who he is and Deep Purple is always the better for it. Ritchie's playing is fierce and percussive. As good as Steve Morse is, he will never have the one thing that makes Ritchie burn, HIS EGO! As the interviews state, Ritchie is a nightmare to work with and is disruptive in everyway. But, it translates on stage to nothing less than a nuclear war as he and the rest of the band prove that they still have the goods and we the listener benefit greatly! The set list is impressive and the sound quality is outstanding. Gillian and Lord are wonderful and Ian Paice is well, the best. Age has tamed them a little as will happen but they were so good to start with that even a slowed down Purple is better than most. So the struggle plays out before our eyes, the Band vs. Blackmore. Back and forth, hook and jab! It is clearly the worst of times for the band but it turns out to be the best of times for us! Enjoy this classic concert and remember the power and the attitude because they never regained it after this! I very much enjoy the Morse stuff, but it can't touch Deep Purple with Ritchie Balckmore.
Rating: Summary: The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times Review: Anytime Deep Purple does something, one has to ask, "O.K. which lineup is it this time?". Well "this time" it is the classic MK II lineup of Gillian, Lord, Glover, Paice and Blackmore. This will always be the real Deep Purple and any other lineup is second rate. After watching 2 hours of music, it is again clear that this lineup will always be the most powerful and its most unstable. Tempers and attitudes are hot and so is the music. Ritchie is well, Ritchie and after he decides to show up, he proves why he is who he is and Deep Purple is always the better for it. Ritchie's playing is fierce and percussive. As good as Steve Morse is, he will never have the one thing that makes Ritchie burn, HIS EGO! As the interviews state, Ritchie is a nightmare to work with and is disruptive in everyway. But, it translates on stage to nothing less than a nuclear war as he and the rest of the band prove that they still have the goods and we the listener benefit greatly! The set list is impressive and the sound quality is outstanding. Gillian and Lord are wonderful and Ian Paice is well, the best. Age has tamed them a little as will happen but they were so good to start with that even a slowed down Purple is better than most. So the struggle plays out before our eyes, the Band vs. Blackmore. Back and forth, hook and jab! It is clearly the worst of times for the band but it turns out to be the best of times for us! Enjoy this classic concert and remember the power and the attitude because they never regained it after this! I very much enjoy the Morse stuff, but it can't touch Deep Purple with Ritchie Balckmore.
Rating: Summary: Give me a break Review: Apparently Mr bcsimmons has never heard the expression "it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt".
Rating: Summary: Enjoy this effort Review: Don't worry about Blackmore "pouting" or be bothered that he enters the stage two minutes into the opening song. Just enjoy this fine effort by the band at a low point in their creative career. The band still kicks major...and Blackmore is in fine form, his playing is not at all sloppy. I don't know where some reviewers get that. Blackmore is Blackmore and some people think he plays sloppy (some people say Jimmy Page plays sloppy, or Hendrix did)but seeing and hearing him is incredible. The fact that he pitches a small fit on stage and soon left the band makes this release all the more special. Buy this with the confidence that if you like DP you'll enjoy this. Sound and picture are very good, and interviews are a nice extra.
Rating: Summary: Outstanding... Review: Fans of Jon Lord will treasure this DVD. He steals the show with his considerable keyboard talents and his enthusiasm. This chap obviously loves his job. The performance level is fabulous, as is the sound quality of this disk. Ian Paice han't lost his chops, and pulls of an impressive drum solo. Blackmore is crisp and intense in his playing...he makes every note count. There is no doubt in my mind that he is one of the greatest (underrated) guitar players around. Unfortunately, his sullen demeanour is apparent from the opening tune (Highway Star). Not only does he choose to delay his entrance (till part way through the song), he throws a temper tantrum right off the bat. Unfortunate. The rest of the band members do not soft peddle their feelings towards Blackmore, expressed in insightful comments between the tunes. The weak link here is the obvious toll that time has taken on Ian Gillan's voice. One of the most distinctive and powerful voices in Rock music has lost much of that power and range. There are moments where his pitch is off as well. However, the band is tight...their musicianship and improvisation is better than I have ever heard (I am a long time Purple fan), and the selection of tunes is great. The sound and picture quality are excellent. A "must buy" for Purple fans.
Rating: Summary: blackmore dissapoints Review: From all the good reviews I was expecting a killer show like days of old.Highway Star is my favorite DP song but Blackmore ruins it by not showing uo for the first part of the song. He is rather indifferent the entire show and only seems to care when he has a solo! When the others are in an extended jam hes nowhere to be found on the long camera shots.To bad they could not have captured a show like Made In Japan. Now thats Purple intensity. The four remaining members of Purple are/were better off without Mister Pilgrim
Rating: Summary: very good concert DVD Review: Good sound quality, best Deep Purpule songs and hits, worth the investment !
Rating: Summary: I would have been disappointed if I expected more Review: I come to this DVD as a long-time Purple fan who never had the opportunity to see the band live. I was and am very familiar with the various 1970s live albums and I can say that no matter what people say, Purple with Blackmore in the 1980s and after NEVER equaled Purple in the 70s. Listen (really listen!) to Blackmore's solos for example. In they 70s had a very definite beginning, middle and end, in which the melody (where did the melody go?) told the story of the song. Listen again to "Child in Time" from Made in Japan. It takes you through a range of textures and emotions, the tension mounts, the playing gets more and more furious, until Blackmore signals the end of the solo and, finally, FINALLY, you can exhale. Starting with the first Rainbow live record all the way through this DVD, all we hear are cascades of notes, starting nowhere, taking us nowhere, ad ending nowhere. Perhaps to the guitar afficionados there is some brilliant playing here, but to the music fan there's nothing but disappointment. Buy the DVD if YOU want to see DP and taste what it was like. But never use it to introduce your friends to Purple. They'll ask what the fuss is all about.
Rating: Summary: The Real Deep Purple Review: I confess, I got this DVD with great reservation and prejudice. I was/am a big DP fan....but from their original glory days. As some rock groups grow old, change members, their name may remain, but the music will be different, and it is seldom comes near to their fame-making days. Not so this group and this DVD. A very pleasent surprise. This is THE real Deep Purple (MK II). I was glued to the screen from the first to the last minute and the music "took me away", just like in their glory days. That is my overall opinion. Some details: Blackmore, incredible technique, but one can tell that his heart is not in it. Gillan, real DP fans may not agree with me, but his singing matured (his voice is not as flexible as used to be, but the overall effect is better). Glover is Glover. He even looks the same. Paice, still a fantastic drummer, his highly spirited play greatly helps the overall atmosphere. Lord, while misses some of his old incredible improvisational style, still a very unique sounding musician. Highly recommended album.
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