Rating: Summary: Update - Get 'DP Machine Head Live 1972.' !!Great Show!! Review: I had to add this to my previous review. I recently bought the Brazilian import DVD 'Deep Purple Machine Head Live 1972'. This is an actual DVD, licensed in Brazil (not a boot DVD-R). It is a professional recording, shot in Copenhagen shortly before Machine Head was released (probably for a television broadcast). Although the sound and (black & white) video quality are good to fair, the performance is EXCELLENT! It's the classic lineup at their peak. The one omission is that they don't play Smoke On The Water. At the time they probably didn't realize it would be a hit.I wish a major studio would work some techno-magic on the original video source and re-release this. Anyway...all in all it's in pretty good shape considering it's 30+ years old. Track list: Highway Star, Strange Kind Of Woman, Child In Time, The Mule, Lazy, Space Truckin', Fireball, (Little Richard's) Lucille, Black Night. For fans of early Deep Purple this is the one to have. Original review: Great to see the classic lineup. Ian Gillan had trouble with the ultra high notes but still did an adequate job. Everyone else was great, including the stone-faced Blackmore. My only real complaint is that I wish they'd have left the interviews in the special features section of the DVD instead of interspersing them throughout the concert.
Rating: Summary: Update - Get 'DP Machine Head Live 1972.' !!Great Show!! Review: I had to add this to my previous review... I recently bought the Brazilian import DVD 'Deep Purple Machine Head Live 1972'. This is an actual DVD, licensed in Brazil (not a boot DVD-R). Do not get it confused with the 'Deep Purple - Machine Head (2002)' audio DVD which is a 5.1 remix and includes band member interviews. Deep Purple Machine Head Live 1972 is a professional recording of a live concert, shot in Copenhagen (probably for a television broadcast) shortly before Machine Head was released. Although the sound and (black & white) video quality are good to fair, the performance is EXCELLENT! It's the classic lineup at their peak. The one omission is that they don't play Smoke On The Water. At the time they probably didn't realize it would be a hit. I only wish that a major studio would work some techno-magic on the original video and re-release this outstanding historical concert. Anyway...all in all the sound and video are in pretty good shape, considering it appears to be from a 30+ year old video tape source. Track list: Highway Star, Strange Kind Of Woman, Child In Time, The Mule, Lazy, Space Truckin', Fireball, (Little Richard's) Lucille, and Black Night. For fans of early Deep Purple this is THE one to have! Now back to my original 'Come Hell Or High Water' review.....Great to see the classic lineup. Ian Gillan had trouble with the ultra high notes but still did an adequate job. Everyone else was great, including the stone-faced Blackmore. My only real complaint is that I wish they'd have left the interviews in the special features section of the DVD instead of interspersing them throughout the concert.
Rating: Summary: A performance that has everything Review: I have been following Deep Purple since 1977 when I was 9 years old, and this particular piece of art has been one of the most exciting I have ever seen. There are other concerts that show you the vituoso capabilities of every band member, the explosive personalities, the stage domain, and so on. But in one single performance, which is this one, we can see all that together. If somebody asks me for a single purple video choice to keep, this "Come hell or high water", will be the one.
Rating: Summary: Blackmore's a pantywaist Review: I kept hoping that one of the band members would just deck Ritchie right there on stage. I'm sure the audience would have been willing to wait for him to come around. Of course, being the punk that he is, they probably would have had to have security stand next to him for the remainder of the concert and force him to play. Having said that, I recognize that Ritchie is in league with the greatest guitar players in the history of recorded music. I gave this DVD a 4 because I love Deep Purple's music and it was great watching them play, but Ritchie's attitude really upset me. If the first song (Highway Star) was the only song on the disk, I would have immediately used the disc for skeet shooting. The fact that Ritchie didn't even let John do his solo part infuriated me so much that I almost couldn't watch the rest of the DVD, but I got over it and then enjoyed the remainder of the concert. As for Ian's voice, I'm always amazed when singers can still hit the high notes while pushing the limits of mid-life. If you are a real DP fan then please buy this DVD. By the way, don't even think about buying any of the Blackmore's Night CD's unless you want to fall into a deep coma.
Rating: Summary: More Than Just Alive Review: I never got the chance to see them back in high school. I got to hear about them from my friends who did. For me this falls into the better late than never category, and it is a real treat. Roger Glover talks how Ritchie Blackmore was telling him that the whole show was nothing more than nostalgia. In a sense that may be true, but only because the band wasn't recording for a number of years. To me, their sound is still relevant, and I hope they still find the time to crank out new material even without Mr. Blackmore's egotistical presence. The boys pull out a whole wish list of stuff not just from the album "Machine Head". Ian Gillan might not always be able to hit the real high notes, but I'm just glad he's there. You want to hear the good stuff? Buy this!
Rating: Summary: Blackmores Swan Song Review: I would have to say if not for Blackmore's stoic and selfish attitude I would give this DVD five plus stars. The audio and video are great.Having seen many legendary rock groups over the years at Winterland in San Francisco I consider concerts to not only be about the music but a event as well.You could see the other members of the band giving their all, with Ritchie holding back. I love Ritchie Blackmores playing and his music but in this show his heart is not in his playing. I still recommend buying this DVD,s but you would think in Blackmore's last days with Deep Purple he would of wanted to go out like a ball of fire instead of a puff of smoke.
Rating: Summary: More Than Nostalgia Review: I've been a fan of DP since Shades of DP & Rod Evans sang with the band. I agree with Jon Lord...Deep Purple IN ROCK was the best LP they did, for the same reasons he gives. I got to see them once in Minneapolis in the early 70's. One could see Ian gave that band a real boost with his vocal range & his writing, and Ritchie was absolutly fabulous. You could see he was so care free, he played with such style, grace & a flamboyance, the likes I've never seen again.I only wish we could have captured that on film. That to me was DP at their very best. It disturbed me why the band would have included the water throwing incident in the CD. I felt bad for everyone. So yes Ritchie is an odd one but he'll always be the guitarist for Deep Purple & while Steve is very good...sorry he's not Ritchie. Nostalgic? You bet. I'm as old as they are. So I don't expect them to sound the way they did then, but I look back with a fondness & I remember the very best of Deep Purple.
Rating: Summary: See Ritchie pout!! Review: If you ever wanted to see the inner-workings of a hard rock band, the DVD of Deep Purple's "Come Hell or High Water" is a great place to start. For anyone who's followed this band since their 70s hayday, this should be pretty fasinating viewing. The song selection is solid, and the sound and picture are what you would expect from a DVD. Ironically (and somewhat unfortunately), the most captivating aspect - for me anyway - is watching the interaction (or lack of it) between Ritchie Blackmore and his other Purple bandmates. Filmed on the 1993 tour, this is the DP line-up most fans consider to be the strongest of its many incarnations. It is evident from the start however, that Mr. Blackmore would rather be doing something else. As the concert begins with Highway Star, Blackmore is nowhere to be seen - at least on camera. About 2/3 of the way into the song, he appears with great fanfare (and a somewhat derisive bow from Ian Gillian), plays a short solo, hits a few bum notes and goes into a petulant frenzy - shoving crew members and throwing water on one of the cameras. And this is only a few minutes into the show! Off camera interviews with Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Roger Glover give the impression that Ritchie's little tantrums have more than worn out their welcome. Lord talks honestly about having to take up Blackmore's slack, and Glover sums it up nicely when he states he felt both furious and sad for Blackmore. All in all, this is really a decent concert video, with Lord, Paice and Glover more than making up for Blackmore's choice to just go through the motions. Gillian is in good form, hitting most of the notes he reached so easily 20 years earlier. At 120 minutes, any Purple fan will be pleased with the generosity of songs chosen. The tracks are split fairly evenly between 70s favorites and stronger cuts from the line-up's early 90s reunion. I still prefer this to the recent "Albert Hall/Concerto" DVD, but at least Steve Morse comes to play every night, and saves his tantrums for off camera. It's pretty obvious from watching this why Blackmore left soon after it was filmed. It's also pretty obvious that DP is better off without him.
Rating: Summary: See Ritchie pout!! Review: If you ever wanted to see the inner-workings of a hard rock band, the DVD of Deep Purple's "Come Hell or High Water" is a great place to start. For anyone who's followed this band since their 70s hayday, this should be pretty fasinating viewing. The song selection is solid, and the sound and picture are what you would expect from a DVD. Ironically (and somewhat unfortunately), the most captivating aspect - for me anyway - is watching the interaction (or lack of it) between Ritchie Blackmore and his other Purple bandmates. Filmed on the 1993 tour, this is the DP line-up most fans consider to be the strongest of its many incarnations. It is evident from the start however, that Mr. Blackmore would rather be doing something else. As the concert begins with Highway Star, Blackmore is nowhere to be seen - at least on camera. About 2/3 of the way into the song, he appears with great fanfare (and a somewhat derisive bow from Ian Gillian), plays a short solo, hits a few bum notes and goes into a petulant frenzy - shoving crew members and throwing water on one of the cameras. And this is only a few minutes into the show! Off camera interviews with Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Roger Glover give the impression that Ritchie's little tantrums have more than worn out their welcome. Lord talks honestly about having to take up Blackmore's slack, and Glover sums it up nicely when he states he felt both furious and sad for Blackmore. All in all, this is really a decent concert video, with Lord, Paice and Glover more than making up for Blackmore's choice to just go through the motions. Gillian is in good form, hitting most of the notes he reached so easily 20 years earlier. At 120 minutes, any Purple fan will be pleased with the generosity of songs chosen. The tracks are split fairly evenly between 70s favorites and stronger cuts from the line-up's early 90s reunion. I still prefer this to the recent "Albert Hall/Concerto" DVD, but at least Steve Morse comes to play every night, and saves his tantrums for off camera. It's pretty obvious from watching this why Blackmore left soon after it was filmed. It's also pretty obvious that DP is better off without him.
Rating: Summary: Great to have Deep Purple Mark 2 On DVD. Review: It is just terrific to get Deep Purple Mark 2 on DVD, I Love All incarnations of Deep Purple but Mark 2 id my favorite. This DVD looks and sounds wonderful. Blackmore rules! and so do Gillian, Lord, Pace and Glover.
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