Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Highway Star
2. Child In Time
3. Smoke On The Water
4. Mule
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin'

Disc 2:

1. Black Night
2. Speed King
3. Lucille

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2675 in Music
• Released on: 1998-01-19
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Double CD, Extra tracks, Original recording remastered

CD Description
Recorded on the Japanese tour of 1972, Deep Purple created the most effortless of great live albums. Labouring under the Machine Head tour and with inter-band relationships that saw both Gillan and Glover feuding with the sometimes difficult Blackmore and quitting the band early the following year,the record, for its part, does not suffer from the personnel inconsistencies, the band playing what would become, in retrospect, a greatest hits set. The consistency of the material - 'Child In Time', 'Strange Kind Of Woman', 'Space Truckin'' - was, and still is, astounding, matched only by the arch standards of Purple's live performance.

Customer Reviews

Everything Louder Than Everything else
When this was originally released I was only ten, and when a copy appeared in my house, shortly after I was hooked.
And has it stood the test of time? You bet.
This is the definitive live album. No overdubs, just blistering performances all round. Ian Gillan later complained that his own performance was poor but to these ears this is as good as it gets.
Highway Star is a killer set opener featuring brilliant soloing from both Lord and Blackmore. Child In Time follows on, mesmerising, from the subtle keyboard introduction through Gillan's screams and a frantic Madame Butterfly influenced Blackmore guitar fest, right back full circle to the start. Gillan screams even louder second time around leaving the listener exhausted as the track explodes and dies at the end.
Just when you thought the music couldn't get any more involving up pops, probably, the best version of Smoke On The Water captured on album. The band is so tight everything seems perfect. Into the Mule with a typically superb drum solo from Ian Paice. Listening to the Mule lulls the listener in to a relaxed state before the band hit the stratosphere with superb interplay and sonics. Strange Kinda Woman just bounces along and the interplay between vocal and guitar just make you grin, mainly for the sheer tongue-in-cheek attitude. A few screams from Gillan and onwards we go into Lazy, a stunning piece of R'n'B (the real stuff). Lord kicks off with some organ torturing, a bit of jazz and off with the lick. The band is in full flow by now with superb soloing and tightness unsurpassed. Space Truckin' is the set closer complete with more ethereal soling from Lord and Blackmore, incorporating sections from Fools and Mandrake Root. The encores added to this anniversary remaster don't disappoint either. Frenetic versions of Black Night and Speed King just confirm that this was a band at the peak of their powers. A reworking of Lucille finishes it all off and the band are clearly knackered from delivering such a fast paced show. This is still the best live album some 29 years on and I still play it now. There is a triple CD collection with most of the performances from the associated Japanese tour, in some ways to a fanatic that's even better. But this is the original release revamped and timeless. A must.

"You're only about 4' 6" !!
Live albums were not in rerum natura, as they say. DP took their first tour in Japan seriously, and brought the Rolling Stones mobile with them to record it. No stranger to live recordings (or being bootlegged!) the Mk II line-up was taped on all 3 dates at Osaka and Tokyo. The result was a staggering success, and captured the band's stage show at it's electrifying best. Blistering harmony & unison interplay between Blackmore and Lord, a rhythm section containing the world's best rock drummer in Ian Paice and the hugely underrated Roger Glover on bass was capped off by a storming performance of Ian Gillan's silver throated vocal. Having just recorded "Machine Head" the bulk of the set comes from that LP - but "Child in Time" (from In Rock) is an astonishing testament to how good DP were at the time. The best live rock band on the planet, by some considerable margin. I'm sure there will be a few who will argue that Led Zeppelin had that accolade, but some of their live performances were long-winded and unrehearsed. DP's instrumentals were well crafted, and had some huge cues. If you listen to any of their live stuff in any depth you'll see what I mean. The opener, Highway Star, introduces you to the band and is followed by Child in Time. Nuff said. Smoke on the Water is considered to be the band's most memorable riff by the public (check out any music shop on a Saturday afternoon!) and The Mule is a Paice solo spot. Strange kind of Woman is the standout track for me - Blackmore and Gillan (so often at odds with each other)united on stage with the question and answer phrasing and posturing. Lazy is Jon Lord's tour de force. The LP is finished off with a rousing 20 minutes of "Space Truckin' - a bit of everything in this, really, and a very powerful set closer. I listened to this as a 13 year-old when it was released, and my opinion has not diminished over 30 years. Best Live Album - Ever. Bar none. The later releases contain some of the encores "Lucille" "Back Night" and "Speed King" but the core 7 tracks tell you who this band are.

Incredible Live performance !!! A must buy !!
My knowledge of Rock, especially seventies rock is limited, but I was blown away by this album. The quality of music played in a live concert was astounding. The high point of the Album for me was the encore performance on Black Night, the hypnotic bass line and incredible keyboard and guitar play have to be experienced.
Buy this Album and play it full blast while stuck in those traffic jams, you wont care about being late !!!