Deep Purple - Made In Japan (CD 1998)

When 'Made In Japan' was originally issued in 1973 it was promoted as 'The best live album ever'... In hindsight that may actually be true... From the opening blasts of 'Highway Star' - through a 12 minute opus 'Child In Time, followed by 'Smoke On The Water and 'Strange Kind Of woman' - You get the picture of just how good this 2 disc set is... The sound recording is amazingly bright, and full with all the instruments and vocals given their place within the mix.. The 2nd disc contains 'The Encores'.. There's a really nice full colour 16 page booklet to go with it... It was the better part of 3 decades since I last heard this album - and yet it feels like yesterday....
I'd recommend this wonderful set to anyone who is either discovering Purple for the first time, or simply doing the same as myself and playing catch up...++++

Forgotten how good this album is, probably one of the very few that convey the raw power of a band at their very best. You can actually hear the hum of pure energy coming from the amps.Every track is a winner although the overlong drum solo (The Mule) is very dated now.
Only thing missing is a live version of Pictures Of Home and that's the one complaint from me.
If you enjoy this try Rainbow's Onstage, UFO's Strangers in the Night or The Scorpions Tokyo Tapes for other great examples of a live album

wow,what an album,first heard it 28 years ago and it still makes me smile,i love it,for me the best purple album ever !!!! soz,its not exactly a review but if you dont like this album then you shouldnt be reading this anyway !!

possibly the best live rock album ever.i used to have this on vinyl and was delighted to see it on cd on e bay.this is an example of 70's rock at it's best and highlights ritchie blackmore's excellent guitar playing and jon lord's electric keyboards

I am not normally given to lavish praise, but as live albums go this one really is a bit special - raw power, volume and energy, and excellent sound quality to boot. It is just about the only example of a live set (by any performer) that in my opinion exceeds anything the band ever produced in the studio. Turn it up loud and you get a real feel of what it must have been like to attend one of those Japan concerts back in 1972.

A welcome return of a much loved album.One of the best recorded live albums ever.As a drummer myself the Mule is without doubt the best rock drum solo i have ever heard.

'Planet Rock', on digital radio, has a lot to answer for. It has triggered so many memories of my early taste in music, that I've spent a small fortune catching up with my 60's and 70's albums in CD format.

They played the album version of 'Smoke on the Water' the other day. Hmm, thought I, I remember that song, but it used to sound a lot better than that. It soon occurred to me that the reason for this was that I was familiar with the track as the live - and far superior - 'Made In Japan' version!

A few days later, and I had a copy of 'Made In Japan' in my hands... And, it's every bit as wonderful as it was some 30+ years ago!

These are musicians of the highest order, at the peak of their abilities, and working tightly and seamlessly together. Everything, from the roaring percussion of Ian Paice to the soaring voice of Gillan, is FAR superior to the track versions they laid down in the studio - there is simply NO comparison.

Even if you only 'quite like' Deep Purple, this should be in your collection.

Oh, this particular CD has been gently remastered, apparently. It is certainly clear and crisp (tho' compared to my earlier copy on cassette, it would be), but is otherwise exactly as I remember it - wonderful.

There are three bonus, encore, tracks on a second CD. Is it worth paying extra for these? Not in my opinion - they are second rate in terms of song quality and performance, and I simply don't listen to them!

Enjoy!