Made in Japan (Deep Purple Album) Live
Made in Japan is a double live album by English rock band Deep Purple, recorded during their first tour of Japan in August 1972. It was originally released in December 1972, with a US release in April 1973, and became a commercial and critical success.
Click below to experience DEEP PURPLE live in JAPAN!
The band were well known for their strong stage act, and had privately recorded several shows, or broadcast them on radio, but were unenthusiastic about recording a live album until their Japanese record company decided it would be good for publicity. They insisted on supervising the live production, including using Martin Birch, who had previously collaborated with the band, as engineer, and were not particularly interested in the album’s release, even after recording. The tour was successful, with strong media interest and a positive response from fans.
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The following is an excellent review of Made in Japan. See more live albums here.
“We begin the first side of the album with a stellar version of “Highway Star” which is done with more power and finesse than the studio version as lead singer Ian Gillan sings and screams his heart out and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore plays like a demon possessed. Next is a stellar version of the epic “Child in Time” which literally destroys its studio counterpart by a longshot. I swear Gillan’s screams on here were unearthly and sounding like Satan had taken possession but what a performance. Keyboard player Jon Lord is incredible here as is Blackmore’s insane guitar work.
The album’s original second side kicked off with the definitive version of Purple’s signature song “Smoke On the Water”. This version blows the studio version out of the water as it has more guts and power than the studio version. Also, Blackmore gets to stretch out here as does Lord at the end of the track. Next is “The Mule” which is drummer Ian Paice’s killer drum solo and proves he is arguably one of the best left handed drummers in all of rock and roll history and one of the greatest drummers ever.”
See Deep Purple perform Highway Star below on Made in Japan.
