COME HELL OR HIGH WATER

Deep Purple, incredible, what a band! On their 25th anniversary tour the classic 'Mark Two' line-up managed many times to come mighty close to the the powerful and dynamic heavy progrock sound from the "Made in Japan"era, early Seventies: during the 16 tracks from this concert, that has been recorded in the UK in 1993, Deep Purple plays so exciting, energetic and inspired and the light - and lasershow is often very spectacular!

My highlights on this DVD are the opener "Highway star" (explosive interplay and great organ sound, delivered by Jon Lord's digital Hammond XB-2), "Perfect strangers" (wonderful Arabian undertone and again great work from Lord on his organ), "Beethoven" (exciting soli from Blackmore and Lord, the boogie woogie part on the electric piano is on the level of Emerson and Wakeman!), "Anyone's daughter "(very catchy song with a country atmosphere, Paice as 'Mr. Tambourine man' and strong vocals from Gillan), "Child in time" (a mindblowing version including the Hammond floods and Gillan's screaming voice and excellent, heavy guitarsoli from Blackmore, the interplay with the dynamic rhythm-section and organ is very exciting) and "Paint it black" (tasteful organ solo that captures the spirit from this compelling Richards/Jagger song). The crowd participation on this DVD evokes goose bumps in "Black night" and especially "Smoke on the water", Ian Gillan is really touched!

THIS IS PERHAPS THE BEST DEEP PURPLE DVD!

Let me just point out that I'm a huge fan of Deep Purple, and I write this as a review / my opinion of the DVD, and with no need to critize someone's playing. I'm a huge fan and I will stay as one,but even before this DVD, I always had a thing against Ritchie Blackmore. After this, I really see why.

I'd have to say that this is probably the worst music DVD I've ever seen. Blackmore's behaviour on and off stage apparently is not band material, and I think having Steve Morse in the band as a guitarist is much better for the band. I love Ritchie's writing, but both his playing and behaviour are very much repulsive for me.

The "Highway Star" track. Blackmore refused to go on stage, then came in soloing right in the time when Jon was supposed to do his. That's just rude! Not to mention the water hitting incident that happened in the middle of that solo, which is, in my opinion, really something no person in the music bussines or in public should let him / herself do.

As for the sound, I like everything, except the drums, which sound a bit to harsh for my taste, but I really love the way how it sounds in general.

Basically, everything is really good, but the Blackmore incidents and constant soloing is really anoying, which you can tell by the rest of the band. ("Woman From Tokyo" verse)

And some basic singing lines missed by Gillan.

But then again, it's great to have MkII on DVD

I'll give it a bad rating, because this is one very popular Deep Purple DVD, and I think it's a disgrace because of Blackmore.

I'd recommend it to hardcore collectors only.

The battle rages on

Recorded during Deep Purple's 25th Anniversary tour in 1993, this DVD was only released some seven years after the CD with the same title. The reformed mark 2 classic line up were on a world tour when their performances were captured in the United Kingdom.

The then current album "The battle rages on" is therefore given more space than it perhaps deserves, but there is plenty of the classic Deep Purple here too. Indeed, this collection overlaps significantly with the "Nobody's perfect" set from about six years previously.

While the main focus of the DVD is the live performances, there are frequent rockumentary style interviews with the band members between the songs. These cover a wide range of topics, not least of which is the enigmatic Ritchie Blackmore. While Blackmore is conspicuous by his absence from these sections, the rest of the band pull no punches when revealing his unpredictable moods. Blackmore, who would once again walk out on the band prior to the Japanese leg of the tour, is described as simultaneously causing "anger and sadness", and as generally being uncooperative and difficult. The other four members come across as highly articulate, with plenty of interesting stories about their touring experiences, favourite albums, etc. Significantly, at the end of the gig, Blackmore gives a brief wave to the audience and walks off while the others are left to acknowledge the rapturous ovation.

In retrospect, Ritchie was clearly ready for a change. He was no longer enjoying performing with Deep Purple for reasons which went beyond personality issues. The imminent birth of Blackmore's Night indicated in no uncertain terms that Ritchie wanted to turn his back on his rock pedigree and explore other avenues. It is just a pity he behaved the way he did.

In terms of the performances, Blackmore seems always aloof, and in his own world. His guitar work is wonderful of course, but from time to time he misses his cue as, it has to be said, does Ian Gillan. Right from the start, when he chooses to delay his entrance until the exact point where his first guitar solo on "Highway star" is due, the tension is palpable. During that song, Ritchie indulges in a famous water throwing incident, apparently unhappy with the proximity of one of the cameramen filming the gig.

The classic Deep Purple songs such as "Highway star", "Child in time", "Space truckin'", "Smoke on the water", etc. are all present, joined by the neo- classics "Knocking at your back door" and "Perfect strangers". These two songs are every bit as good as the "Made in Japan" favourites. Indeed, the only week points really are the aforementioned "Battle rages on" songs, which are received politely by the audience. Of these, only "Anya" shows any potential to remain in the band's set list, although Gillan's assertions of it being a sort of follow on to "Child in time" are best described as optimistic.

There's also a very effective lighter section where "Anyone's daughter" from the "Fireball" album is given a fine dusting down. Ian Paice moves to front stage for the rendition, Gillan introducing him as "Elton John".

For those who have never seen the Mark 2 line of Deep Purple, universally acknowledged as the band at their peak, this is an excellent way of doing so. Despite all their issues, mainly relating to Ritchie, the performances here are warm and highly professional. A superb DVD.

From time to time I have gone back to revisit this performance by MK II. On both; CD as well as the DVD releases. I've owned them since their release, but due to the emphasis being predominantly on Blackmore throwing water on the cameramen, I have missed the high level of the performance the band puts on. It is true by the bands' own admission that they had to work "extra hard". Perhaps that is the reason why this performance is somewhat different from the handful of others out there. All of the members have picked up their level a little extra. As far as Richie goes, he is being himself. His standards, as we all know, are quite high, so it does not hurt the show. It might even add to it a little. Having seen most of these songs performed n'teen times in the past over the years, from numerous live performances official and not. It is rather interesting to experience how an experienced band of guys can make it happen, and hardly miss a beat, giving the audience their value. Note: the DVD has a few more tracks on it than the CD release. The set list is impressive, "Anyone's Daughter" is a special treat from Fireball, and the sound quality is outstanding. Yes, Blackmore is in some what of a foul mood at the start, but having said that, it effects ONLY the first few minutes of Highway Star. If anything, it is exciting to see the slightly different (organ heavy) version of this track. Now I wish the CD reflected the rest of the tracks found on the DVD, I actually miss them.

I have mixed emotions about this concert. I bought this recording on videotape around 1995, when I was just getting to know Deep Purple. A year later they released a new album, without Ritchie Blackmore, and gave their first concert in my hometown of Kiev. There are different opinions about this period of creativity, but for me this concert will always remain one of the epochal events, at least because it was one of the first performances of the band that I saw.

But if I try to evaluate this concert objectively, then there will be no serious criticism from me. This performance captured Deep Purple at another sharp turn in their turbulent history. Ritchie Blackmore left the band in the middle of this tour, again his feud with Ian Gillan (I think everyone knows this story). But this did not affect the quality of the music. Yes, previous commentators have mentioned the twisted version of Highway Star with a slightly crumpled solo by Ritchie Blackmore, and we can recall the still not properly sung Women from Tokyo and Lazy (with a wonderful drum solo by Ian Paice as compensation). But we can say a few good words about the luxuriously played Perfect Strangers with a pompous organ introduction, or about the incredible Beethoven's Ninth, well known from Rainbow's live performances. How Jon Lord plays here, weaving together different themes - psychedelia, jazz, classical, electronica and even rock and roll! This composition seems to have been written for him.

It seems that some songs sound even better here than on the studio albums. This is the already mentioned Perfect Strangers, and also - Knocking at Your Back Door and Black Night, one of the first Deep Purple songs with Ian Gillan on vocals. They especially clearly feel the unique concert energy, when all the musicians merge into a single whole and sound like a single organism, understanding each other at a glance, competing with each other, and all for the sake of one thing - music. I would also like to highlight the beautifully played semi-acoustic version of Anyone`s Daughter and the magnificent Child Time, where Ian Gillan's voice soars into the sky like a spiral, and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar explodes like a firework of riffs and chords. Also memorable is the very energetic performance of Enya, one of the most unusual Deep Purple songs from their latest album at that time. It found room for beautiful keyboard and guitar improvisation. But the no less energetic The Battle Rages On is played almost the same way as the studio version.

What else could be interesting about this particular concert? Obviously, this was the last performance of the classic golden line-up of Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore will soon leave forever. It is also here that one of the last performances of Child in Time will be heard, which Ian Gillan could no longer sing with the full force of his vocal cords. A new stage will soon begin, and it is this concert that closes the previous page of Deep Purple history.