Track by Track Review
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CD 1 |
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Speed King
This live recording sounds very much like a bootleg audience tape. It suffers from audio issues, but the performance is on fire. The instrumental break on this drops the intensity and allows some space for jamming. This killer track runs nearly 11 minutes long. They rock it out and yet manage stretch out mid-song for that extended jam. |
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Strange Kind Of Woman
This rocker sounds like it comes from the same recording as the first song was. It's another solid rocker that is classic Deep Purple. This eventually works out to a jam featuring some killer guitar work. |
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Into The Fire
A pretty trademark styled Deep Purple jam is on the menu here. At less than two-and-a-half minutes long, this is the shortest track on this first CD. |
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Child In Time
I love this song, and this live recording of it is a little over 17-and-a-half minutes long. It feels like it might be from the same tape, but the quality seems a little better. They put in some pretty killer jamming on the number, taking it in a lot of directions. This piece has always been both psychedelic and progressive rock leaning, but that prog angle really gets accentuated in this recording. |
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Black Night
This riff driven Deep Purple classic gets a strong live performance. It does suffer some due to the recording quality. |
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Lucille
This old time rock and roller gets the Deep Purple treatment here. The organ is a big feature. The recording really gets in the way of this because the quality here seems worse. |
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Wring That Neck
Running more than 18 minutes long, this jam is cool, and the recording quality seems better. This covers so much ground. There are classically based movements. It gets into more of a blues rocking sound at other times. The keyboards are in the driver's seat for parts of this. The guitar takes that position for others. Even the bass gets to solo. |
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CD 2 |
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Hush
This is obviously a different recording, feeling more like something from the soundboard, but it does have some tape issues. The performance of this early classic is absolutely on fire. |
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Fireball
This fierce rocker works pretty well, but the recording gets in the way again. The performance is strong, though. |
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Pictures Of Home
Another vintage Deep Purple classic, the sound on this seems better. It's a real powerhouse performance, too. This is one of my favorites on this set. |
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Black Night
More classic Deep Purple is on the menu here. I love the riffing on this thing, and the whole tune rocks with style. While the recording isn't quite as good as the last track, it's a step up from much of the stuff here. There is a smoking hot guitar work out built into this thing. |
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Woman From Tokyo
I've never been a big fan of this song. I think it tends to be over-rated. This live take is solid, though. The recording quality is on the better end, too. The mellower movement takes on a bit of a prog-rock angle that I think serves it well. |
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Rosa's Cantina
More of a bluesy rocker, this features some exceptional guitar work. The sound quality is much better here. It's an intriguing cut and a strong performance of it. We get some harmonica wailing later in the track, and the number is quite dynamic. It fades out to end abruptly, though. |
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Smoke On The Water
This gets some great guitar work at the beginning of the track. It even includes some nods to some other songs. I dig this version of the song quite a bit. It has some interesting jamming built into it along with a short audience participation section. |
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Speed King
I think I prefer this version of the song. The jam mid-track is positively on fire. The whole tune has a bit more of a driving energy, and the recording quality is much improved. They throw in a little bit of "Silent Night" later in the track. There is also an extended vocal and guitar call-and-response section included here. |
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Perfect Strangers
I'm a big fan of this song, and this live rendition of the rocker works really well. I think this is another highlight. |
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Highway Star
They start this with an almost proggy introduction. The cut drives out from there into the familiar territory. This is a literally screaming hot rendition, and the sound is quite good. This set may have started a little wobbly, but they end it in style. |
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