MADE IN JAPAN

Every great live act needs to make a live album in order to make a historic statement for the future generations. This has been somewhat of a hit and miss for most great performers due to a variety of reasons. We didn't have a proper live album from the Ozzy-era Black Sabbath until only recently because of the terrible sound production on most of them that wouldn't justify the official seal of quality. As for Led Zeppelin my guess is that the public expectations really got to them resulting in the notorious over the top album The Song Remains The Same.

Fortunately Deep Purple didn't have any of those problems upon releasing Made In Japan. The band's performance is excellent and features quite a few spontaneous jam moments that don't necessary feel excessive and the sound quality is pretty adequate for the time period. The material picked for the album is everything a newcomer to the band should hear making this release ideal as an introduction to Deep Purple. Judging from many of the other live performances that have been recently available from the classic MKII-era the band kept the songs relatively short with the exception for the 20 minute version of Space Truckin' that takes the grand prize for the most excessive drum solo ever recorded.

Great compositions like Highway Star and Child In Time are greatly improved in the enthusiastic live setting with the solo spots from Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord sounding better than ever. Even the prolonged versions of The Mule and Lazy are far more interesting thanks to their sharp delivery and although I wouldn't call these two performances masterful they to add a new dimension to the Deep Purple sound that was not heard on the studio albums.

If you're into Hard Rock then this one is a must have! A great set list that is matched by equally great execution from a band at the top of their game.

***** star songs: Highway Star (6:42) Child In Time (12:18) Strange Kind Of Woman (9:52)

**** star songs: Smoke On The Water (7:47) The Mule (9:28) Lazy (10:27) Space Truckin' (19:53)

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