Deep Purple Live in Concert 72/73 (1996)

Deep Purple in 1972 were reaching the height of their success, with hit singles and albums worldwide. Into this heady atmosphere they delivered one of the most famous rock albums of all time, 'Machine Head'.

1972 saw them premier the new album at concerts in Europe, Japan and America (with no fewer than six tours there that year), delivering the powerful new 'Machine Head' set. It was a concert in the Danish capital of Copenhagen that the first (and only) full film of the famous Mk 2 line-up presented here was made, and is now available on DVD for the first time.

Recorded March 1, 1972, it was originally filmed by Danmark Radio, Denmark's national radio and television station. The actual black and white footage was never screened in full and ended up lying dormant in the company's vaults.

The tour continued through to 1973 when Deep Purple returned to America, selling out more shows and shifting more albums than they had ever done. A camera crew turned up to film the group in New York in May for the 'In Concert' show, and this is also released here for the first time in glorious color (on any format), including the only performance of the line-up doing 'Smoke on The Water’. LINEUP:
Ritchie Blackmore: Guitar
Ian Gillan: Vocals
Roger Glover: Bass
Jon Lord: Keyboards
Ian Paice: Drums

*David Coverdale: Vocals on Bonus Track

Tracklisting:
Copenhagen, March 1972 (black and white) (90 minutes)
1. Highway Star
2. Strange Kind Of Woman
3. Child In Time
4. The Mule
5. Lazy
6. Space Truckin'
7. Fireball
8. Lucille
9. Black Night
New York, May 1973 (color) (27 minutes)
1. Strange Kind Of Woman
2. Smoke On The Water
3. Space Truckin'

Bonus Features:
Archive Collection Preview
1. Burn (bonus live track from Live At California Jam, 1974)
DVD Credits / Links
DVD History

If this is what's out there then yeah, 4 stars

I love Purple, this is the only DVD collection to show the true Mark II version of the band in their full 70's glory. While it's great to see, it's really not essential. The b/w Denmark show is good, and the camera work is alright, and the 73 color portion is a treat, the band in color, and how cool looking is Gillan in this. But man the camera work sucks and the audience is totally lame! If you are a diehard then pick it up, but if you can rent it first go ahead and do that before dropping an extra 10 bucks on this. April 10, 2008

Older but not bad

I was hoping for a more up to date version of Deep Purple when I bought this. The picture quality is lacking, the sound is good. But I wasnt overly impressed with this DVD February 9, 2008

The definitive video recording of Deep Puple, MK2, from the day

If you are a true Deep Purple fan from the late `60s and early `70s, from the era of "In Rock", "Fireball" and "Machine Head", and if are looking for a live concert performance from that era, then you have found it. This is it, and unbelievable and unlikely as it may seem that no other live performances of Deep Purple from that era were recorded and kept, this is apparently the case.

The DVD consists of one complete MK2 concert performed in Copenhagen in '72, plus a portion of a concert performed in New York early the following year, and a small amount of "bonus footage" of the MK3 lineup recorded at California Jam in '94. The Copenhagen recording is the only known complete video recording of a MK2 live performance. That alone is saying a lot. It includes a performance of "Child in Time", although that is certainly not the best performance on the DVD. The New York concert is the only known video recording of the MK2 lineup performing "Smoke on the Water". Unfortunately, it is edited for length, but it is still excellent, and certainly better than nothing at all. The video of the Copenhagen concert is in B&W, and it isn't great technical video by any stretch, but it nevertheless captures the MK2 lineup at their peak, putting on an excellent performance. The New York concert is in color and the technical quality is much better.

Being a true Deep Purple fan from those days, this DVD literally brought tears to my eyes, and a lump to my throat. When I do the math, the number I come up with is thirty-five. Can it really have been that long since the days when I put on the headphones and listened to three of my favorite albums of all time? How could so much time have passed?

One final thought to share ... one of the reviewers here, a fellow named Francois Grenier, slammed this DVD, calling it "one for the garbage can", and used vulgarities within his review. He evidently bought it because he is a fan of Blackmore's later stuff and was interested in seeing some of his earlier stuff. Francois Grenier is no Deep Purple fan, and in all likelihood, has never owned a Deep Purple album, notwithstanding what he claims in his review. There is simply no way that a true Deep Purple fan from those days could not appreciate this DVD ... no way ... no how. It is unfortunate that he saw fit to display his ignorance in such a public manner.
January 21, 2008

Only for die hard MK II fans...

...I know that true Deep Purple fans won't like to hear, but...this DVD proves what many reviews over the years did have to say.
The concert footage on this DVD shows one thing very clearly: that the classic MK II line up was not one band, but a band plus a guitarist. You can say about Ritchie Blackmore what you like, but he was NEVER a team player. And this shows very clearly in all performances contained here. We see Paice, Gillan, Lord and Glover playing aside a guitarist named Blackmore. There is no such thing as one band. The live album "Made in Japan" already suggested this, but here we get the final proof. Actually, as a later born and raised with classic albums such as In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head, I was rather disappointed. Not only did Blackmore's performance not match with the rest of the band's playing over large parts of the show, but also Gillan's screaming (could not rate this as singing even under hard and heavy standards) gave me one or the other shudder. So, if you want to hear my (juvenile) advice, stay to the original albums and not waste your time with this one. It may destroy whatever image you have of this classic rock band. Everything else seems more nostalgy than real criticism. August 23, 2007

Great Music, Bad Camera Work In Spots

The set list is tremendous and seeing the boys from their heyday in 1972 - 1974 is just awesome. The major complaint concerning this DVD concerns the camera work. For the first four or five songs of the Denmark show, the director must have been tripping. When Blackmore launches into a solo, the camera lingers on Gillan, then catches a bit of Glover, then back to Gillan, etc. Later on there is great footage of Blackmore and Lord soloing, and the camera work during Ian Paice's drum solo is superb - as is the solo itself. My God! How does anyone move sticks that fast?

Well worth buying, but be prepared to curse a few times during the opening half-hour as you HEAR Blackmore but don't see him. July 31, 2007

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