When a band gets huge success with an album, and I’m talking Made In Japan here, some hack at the record company will have the bright idea of trying to replicate it. Made In Japan is probably the greatest live album of all time, and to try and equal that is not realistic. Now of course we have a different front man in David Coverdale which, if we’re honest, was not even the best vocalist in the band as we all know Glenn Hughes’ voice is just phenomenal.
The opening track is Burn and in my opinion it is the best track from this live set, and Blackmore is at his supreme best, in this recording anyway. Mistreated was always a bit of a showstopper with the emphasis being on both guitar and vocals. I’m not sure we’ll ever hear Ritchie play like this again. Lady Double Dealer is a standard Purple rocker, and both Blackmore and Jon Lord have their little showpiece. You’ll Fool No One is all about Jon Lord and boy do we miss that sound. Of course Blackmore gets to riff it up and take over the song completely. The set closes out with Stormbringer and it’s a fairly straight forward take on the best song on that album. So it is a short live album from a once great band, and no it’s not as good as Made In Japan.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
