Deep Purple - Made In Japan

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Rhino
Catalog Number: R2 75623
Format: CD
Total Time: 98:22:00

Hearing a great rock band in their prime is truly a special experience, and Deep Purple's Made In Japan captures that moment in their storied career. This is what many consider the band's classic lineup, with the top notch vocals of Ian Gillan, the tight and heavy rhythm section of Roger Glover and Ian Paice, and the dueling lead work of Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and Jon Lord on Hammond Organ. The six minutes and forty three seconds that make up the opening track "Highway Star" display the power that Purple had onstage. Why this band is often forgotten when mentioning the greats could only be due to the many lineup changes the band endured, making it hard to follow who exactly was in the band.

Gillan shows off his pipes with the a stellar performance in "Child In Time." The slow brooding song with the Hammond organ bubbling underneath builds as Gillan's sighs turn to screams with the band cranking it up behind him, and believe me, no one can scream like the master. One would think that "Smoke On The Water" should go on the list of "songs I never need to hear again," but there is a freshness to this version. The band stretches out the songs into extended jams, and duels between Blackmore, Lord, and even Gillan gets into the mix on the incredibly fun "Strange Kind Of Woman" where he and Blackmore try to copy each other. The only place where this recording fails is the overly drawn-out drum solo in "The Mule." The few sections that feature the entire band on this track are much more enjoyable.

The bluesy "Lazy" may be the real treasure in this set. Blackmore shows why his name should be mentioned along with Clapton, Beck, and Page, as he turns in a marvelous performance. Lord is no slouch either, dueling with Blackmore at every opportunity, and Gillan even breaks out the harmonica. Disc 2 features the Encores, covering "Black Night," a raucous "Speed King" and "Lucille." A great testament to a band at the top of its game, Made In Japan is a great live record.

Review of the remastered version

Tracklisting:
Disc One: Highway Star (6:42) / Child In Time (12:18) / Smoke On The Water (7:37) / The Mule (9:28) / Strange Kind of Woman (9:52) / Lazy (10:27) / Space Truckin' (19:53)

Disc Two: Black Night (6:17) / Speed King (7:25) / Lucille (8:03)

Musicians:
Ritchie Blackmore - guitar
Jon Lord - keyboards
Ian Gillan - vocals, percussion
Ian Paice - drums
Roger Glover - bass

Discography:
Shades Of Deep Purple (1968)
Book Of Taliesyn (1969)
Deep Purple (1969)
Concerto For Group And Orchestra With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (live) (1969/2002)
Deep Purple In Rock (1970)
Fireball (1971)
Machine Head (1972)
Purple Passages (1972)
Made In Japan (live) (1972/1998/2001)
The Best Of Deep Purple (1972)
Who Do We Think We Are (1973/2000)
Burn (1974/2004)
Stormbringer (1974)
Come Taste The Band (1975)
24 Carat Purple (1970-1973) (1975)
Made In Europe (live) (1976)
Last Concert In Japan (1977)
Powerhouse (1978)
The Singles A's & B's (1978)
The Mark II Purple Singles (1979)
Deepest Purple (1980)
In Concert 1970 - 1972 (live) (1980)
Live On The BBC (1980/2004)
Deep Purple Live In London (live '74) (1982)
Perfect Strangers (1984)
The Anthology (1985)
The House Of Blue Light (1987)
The Best Of Deep Purple (1987)
Nobody's Perfect (live) (1988)
Scandinavian Nights (live) (1988)
Slaves And Masters (1990)
The Anthology (1991)
In The Absence Of Pink (Knebworth '85) (live) (1991)
Purple Rainbows (1991)
Knocking At Your Back Door (1992)
The Battle Rages On (1993)
Progression (1993)
The Deep Purple Family Album (1993)
Live In Japan (3cd) (1993)
Gemini Suite Live (1993)
Come Hell Or High Water (live) (1994)
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple In Concert (1995)
Child In Time (1995)
Purpendicular (1996)
California Jammin' (1996)
Live At The Olympia (1996)
The Final Concerts (1996)
Abandon (1998)
Total Abandon: Australia '99 (1999)
In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra (2000)
Live At The Royal Albert Hall (2000)
This Time Around: Live In Tokyo '75 (2001)
New Live & Rare: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000 (2001)
In Concert: 1970-1972 (2001)
In Profile (2001)
Singles Box Set (2002)
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Edition (2002)
Listen Learn Read On (2002)
The Essential (2003)
Gold (2003)
California Jam 1974 (2003)
Bananas (2003)
The Best Of Deep Purple: Live In Europe (2003)
Space Vol 1 & 2 (2004)
Perks And Tit (2004)
The Platinum Collection (2005)
Who Do We Think We Are (24kt Gold reissue) (2005)
Rapture Of The Deep (2005)
Live In Europe 1993 (2006)
Live At Montreux (2006)
Phoenix Rising (2011)
BBC Sessions 1968-1970 (2011)
Live At Montreux 2011 (2011)
Paris 1975 (2012)
Copenhagen 1972 (2013)
Now What?! (2013)
Perfect Strangers Live (2013)
Stockholm 1970 (2014)
Graz 1975 (2014)
Long Beach 1971 (2015)
From The Setting Sun... (In Wacken) (2015)
...To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) (2015)
Long Beach 1976 (2016)
Infinite (2017)
The Infinite Live Recordings (2017)

California Jam - Live In California 74 (VHS/DVD/BR) (1981/2005/2016)
Rises Over Japan/Phoenix Rising (VHS/DVD) (1985/2011)
The Video Singles (VHS?) (1987)
Scandinavian Nights - Live In Denmark 1972/Live In Concert 72/73 (VHS/DVD) (1988/2005)
Doing Their Thing - Masters From The Vaults (rec 1970) (VHS/DVD) (1990/2003)
Heavy Metal Pioneers (VHS?) (1991)
Come Hell Or High Water (VHS/DVD) (1994/2001)
Bombay Calling (VHS?) (1995)
Total Abandon: Live In Australia (DVD?) (1999)
Concerto For Group And Orchestra (rec 1969) (VHS/DVD) (1999/2003)
In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra (DVD) (2000)
Classic Albums: Deep Purple - The Making Of Machine Head (DVD) (2001)
New Live & Rare: The Video Collection 1984-2000 (DVD) (2001)
Perihelion (DVD) (2002)
Live Encounters (DVD) (2004)
Live At Montreux 1995 (DVD) (2006)
They All Came Down To Montreux (DVD) (2007)
Around The World Live (DVD) (2008)
History, hits & highlights '68–'76 (DVD) (2009)
Live At Montreux 2011 (with Orchestra) (DVD) (2011)
Perfect Strangers Live (DVD) (2013)
Live In Verona (with Orchestra) (DVD) (2014)
Celebrating Jon Lord At The Royal Albert Hall (with Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Glenn Hughes, Paul Weller, Rick Wakeman & Many Others) (DVD) (2014)
From The Setting Sun... (In Wacken) (DVD) (2015)
...To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) (DVD) (2015)
Live at the NEC (DVD) (2016)
From Here To Infinite - The Movie (BR) (2017)

Genre: Rock

Origin UK

Added: October 19th 2003
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Artist website: www.deeppurple.com
Hits: 2649
Language: english