A band truly on
J. Massa | Fairbanks, AK USA | 10/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album contains live versions that the now famous Mark II lineup of Deep Purple performed. The performances stem from late 1969 till about early 1971. The first track is the instrumental classic. "Wring that Neck". This features some blistering playing from Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore with the incredible rhythm section of Roger Glover and Ian Paice (the best in my opinion in all of rock annals) pushing the whole thing along. The next track is Child in Time which has become an all time classic. This version is the exact same one that appears on the Deep Purple DVD Masters From the Vaults. Ritchie is actually playing a Gibson and not a Stratocaster. Because this was performed for a television audience, the instrumental break in the middle was kept shorter than usual. The song runs at about 9 minutes in total length. Nevertheless, you can hear some amazing guitar work from Ritchie reaffirming why he is the best rock guitarist ever. Unlike many of the so-called "shredders" who all play the same thing (scales), Ritchie's playing has always been so different and so technically difficult.
Black Night is the next track and some incredible tremolo/vibrato work from Ritchie - a good tight version from the band. The only complaint is that the song fades out, so we don't hear the end of it. Strange Kind of Woman follows. This must be one of the first live versions of this as the arrangement is unlike arrangements that were released later. All the bits are here - the vocal/guitar duet, percussive Hammond organ effects and stunning drum work. A solid performance. Into the Fire is next. The version closely follows the album version with another amazing tremolo,/finger vibrato work from Ritchie. Demon's Eye is the next track. This song appeared on the Fireball album. (The US version of Fireball had Strange Kind of Woman on the album instead of Demon's Eye - so it may not be familiar to fans). I have always loved this song - a good ole fashioned R'n'B number. In the middle section, you hear more of the vocal/guitar duet. This leads one to think that this is where this was developed and when Demon's Eye was dropped from the shows, SKOW replaced it and the vocal/guitar duet was kept. It's a really solid performance.
The album closes with incomplete versions of material that was performed early in the career of Deep Purple Mark II - Wring that Neck and Mandrake Root. When Wring that Neck fades in, we hear some absolutely incredible work from Jon and Ritchie - it is totally flabbergasting. We do hear the rest of the track complete with another excellent keyboard solo from Jon, and Ritchie teasing us with some Bach, Jingle Bells and Greensleeves before totally ripping into things at the end. Mandrake Root used to be the show closer in the early days (to be replaced by Space Truckin'). It was where Purple would explore the "sonic" side of the group. First we hear them having fun taking turns playing some basic C major scales and arpeggios before Ritchie goes into total abuse of his Stratocaster. What has always amazed me is how Paicey keeps up with Ritchie. This is a number where if you are seeing it visually, it is incredible. It may suffer from only an audio listening as one will not appreciate what the band is doing. At any rate, this is an incredible collection showing Deep Purple at their best and why many people (myself included) regard them as the best rock band ever. It is a must have on for true fans."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1