NOBODY'S PERFECT

In 1984 the band - in their famous MK2 line-up - took form again. But the quarrels between Blackmore and Gillan also came back... After Perfect Strangers ans House of a blue light, the band deceided to leave Polydor, but they had a last album to give them to honour their contract. The easier way was to publish a live album, and that's what they did. So they deceided to record live a the worst moment of their carrer, I think. An electric atmosphere, fragility due to their rebirth, and new songs not as good as the one they recorded in the seventies. The result is an abomination. The hardest is to find in this record six of the seven tracks recorded formerly for made in Japan, so it's difficult to avoid the comparison.

Like 15 years ago, the album opens with Highway Star, except that the introduction let you think that you put your record on 45 RPM instead of 33, due to the way Blackmore play his guitar. You feel how Gillan has pain to sing. And Blackmore begin to have hand tremblings.

Next, Strange kind of woman, with the duel between guitar and voice. unfortunately, Gillan just reach to scream to find the good pitch, nothing to see with what you can hear on Made in Japan. More, he makes the hen to imit Blackmore (a mockery?) before to sing... Jesus Christ superstar (Jesus Christ, yes ...)

The rest of the first CD is songs from the two last studio records, by chance they reach better to play them. Of course Lord give us one more time some useless minutes of demonstration.

Second CD, and the nightmare is coming back. Child in time. We are waiting for Gillan giving his highest note... but it will be Lord that will play it ... a sample to overdub the approximate and pathetic screamings from a Ian Gillan out of breath. Will Blackmore do better during the famous solo? Unfortunately NO. He seems just to play anything as fast as possible, to finish with a larsen and it's enough, even Lord seems to be surprised to play the solo finale with him. The rest of the song is of the same level.

Lazy. Unforgettable due to Lord forgetting to count... and forgetting his own solo at the beginning of the song! Motivated, yes they are... At the moment he has to do it, he lifts of two tons, notice his error and try to save himself. Five minutes of massacre, no more swing.

Space trucking. One more from Made in Japan. Reduced to five minutes, the song is not too badly played. In the same atmosphere of all the album: a big big sound, letting few parts for delicacy.

Nearly the end... Black night, the song we'll hear on each Purple live album after 1984 without a surprise. The public is singing. A good point for the public.

Woman from Tokyo. In fact one minute and a half of the song.

The show ends with the eternal Smoke on the water. Longer than on made in Japan, but no more keyboard solo. Gillan makes the public singing. And the concert finish with the final screamings of Gillan, like he will always do, yeah... yeah... Yyyyyyiiiiiiieeeeeeaaaaaaaaah... as to make us sure that is voice is no more the one he had 15 years ago.

The show is over. But there's a song left... Hush, they had re-recorded in studio. Without to reach the quality of the live version from Concert for group and orchestra (also aviable on Powerhouse), even not the quality of their very first recording, on their first album, 20 years ago.

And what about the name of the album, Nobody's perfect? If I believe in Lord interviews of 1988, the name was found a little bit like "who do we think we are" and he defended the quality of the record. Two years later, he said that it's true, nobody's perfect, even deep purple lol

One star, of course.