DEEP PURPLE
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DEEP PURPLE
Concerto for what? Presenting five guys who made great noise together.
Arguably, the Mach II version of Deep Purple ranks with any band that emerged in the early 70s. Homer Simpson’s character may have opined that rock attained perfection in 1974, though by that point this version of Purple was no more, having already made their classic LPs (they would regroup with this lneup in the early 80s).
Made In japan, culled from a series of shows that they did at the Budokan and in Osaka in August of 1972, caught the group at a live peak. Each member brought a very distinct style of playing to the table, with Ritchie Blackmore as the main instigator of long improvisational flights that the others would willingly follow. Hearing Jon Lord and Blackmore try to outdo each other while trading solos is just one of many elements that made this incarnation so thrilling as a live act. Ian Gillan topped it all with a set of the most distinctive and powerful vocal cords in the business.
“Highway Star” would be nothing without Ian Paice bouncing that high hat and Roger Glover locked in perfectly with him.
Three solid studio efforts (In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head) plus a final middling disc (Who Do We Think We Are?) were the product of three years work and all still hold up extremely well.
All apologies to anyone who expected “Slow Walkin’ Walter”.
Deep Purple, without a net.
