MADE IN JAPAN

This is the first time I EVER gave a lie album 5 stars...but this is definitly a must do!!! Probably the best live album ever?...mmm well, its certainly among the top 10. All songs are better than on their original forms, and I really mean ALL...but most definitly Highway star!!! Oh man, this is Purple at its best!!! I mean both keyboard and guitar solos are among the best Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore have ever done ( actually the guitar solo is regarded as one of heavys best!), Ian Gillans voice is less higher but more powerfull than in the album and althought Ian Piece and Roger Glove play pretty much the same as in the original form...its better!

Well, if you like music ( you dont have to love, just with liking its enought) you MUST get this one!...one word...SUPERB!!!

Well , if there is one live album that was the blueprint for all live albums to come , we are down to it! Legend has struck! And this is really the archetypal album to show that a band can be different in the studio and on stage. This vinyl of mine became almost transparent as it was so worn out from having played it so often. However , I must say nowadays I look at it now a bit embarassingly! Although still an excellent album, I will never deny the influence it had on me (and almost every teens in the 70's) , but clearly as a mature 40+ man, I can see that the album is a little self-indulgent. These lenghty jams/improvs are fighting with Allman Brother's Band for top place in complacency! I can understand where the critics from Punk fans came. But nevermind the critics this album is fun , and that is what counts!

All of the tracks are real classics and can really tell you what powers this band had especially when Lord and Blackmore improvise, sometimes forraying into Classical themes. Only The Mule is less interesting containing the obligatory drum solo, but even then Paicey manages to get you interested.

This album now comes as two Cd set with a second disc containing the encores: Speed King Balck Night and a superb and kick-arse rendition of Little Richard's Lucille. Simply devastating !

I used to enjoy this live double LP as a teenager, but there are not anymore much progressive elements present in DEEP PURPLE's music when they recorded this. "Child In Time" is performed here very well, as well as "The Mule" and "Lazy". The album highlight is the extended "Space Truckin'" which occupied my turntable heavily during my teenage years.

I'm going to start this review with a very politically uncorrect (for this site) remark: forget about Dream Theater and their ilk - THIS is the blueprint for all prog metal! An unadulterated masterpiece, loud, proud and technically amazing, "Made in Japan" - after over 30 years - is still the mother of all live albums. When it was recorded, Deep Purple were at their height of their musical form, stunning audiences into submission at every live performance. However, in their case it was no mere, dumb bludgeoning in the style of many later heavy metal bands, which thought sheer volume was the only answer. Each of the members of DP was a master of his instrument (even the underrated, but always reliable bassist Roger Glover), and Ian Gillan was the voice that launched a thousand screamers (and still one hell of a vocalist at the age of 60). Last but not least... they had the songwriting skills to back up their musical proficiency - something in which many modern-day bands are sadly lacking.

The seven tracks included on "Made in Japan" are now part of rock's classic heritage. However, they are no simple renditions of the studio tracks, but rather an excuse for the band to flex their collective muscles and showcase their individual talents. Ritchie Blackmore plays like a demon, wringing all kind of weird noises and sublime sounds from his Fender Stratocaster. Jon Lord, the Hammond god, is his perfect foil, sometimes providing a solid background for Blackmore's improvisations, sometimes pulling out all the stops and showing that he was more than a match for the Emersons and Wakemans of this world. Ian Paice's drumming is metronomical in its precision, and his spot on "The Mule" is a good example of a drum solo that avoids being boring. Glover pounds his bass stoically in the background: no Chris Squire- style "lead bassist", but a perfect partner for the impeccable Paice. Then we have Ian Gillan, handsome and wild, competing with Blackmore's guitar for the highest note on "Strange Kind of Woman", screaming his heart out on the legendary, dramatic "Child in Time".

All of the tracks are extended, dilated, chock-full of improvisation and creativity. The closing "Space Truckin'" clocks in at almost 20 minutes, a lengthy jam session including pieces of other tracks, underpinned by Jon Lord's trademark buzzsaw Hammond. It may not be prog in the strictest sense, but the influences are clearly there. Without any possible doubt, an essential listen for any lover of great rock music.

"Put out that washing machine!" was my father's favorite yell when he used to enter my room while I was listening to hardrock like this legendary live album by Deep Purple. He couldn't understand that I was delighted about biting guitars, screaming vocals and furious Hammond organ runs. This week I played the remastered version (including a bonus CD with Black Night, Speed King and Lucille) and I was stunned how incredible timeless this music sounds: the high-adrenaline start with Highway Star (exciting Hammond organ), the compelling Child In Time (from the fragile Hammond organ intro to the legendary climax with Gillan's bone-chilling vocals), the great bass riff intro in Smoke On The Water, the entertaining drum solo in The Mule, the unique vocals-guitar duel in Strange Kind Of Woman, the exciting guitar work in Lazy and the sensational synthesizer play in Space Truckin', it's such a powerful, dynamic, crafty, thrilling and pivotal 'heavy progressive rock music', I am looking forward to see them for the first time in my life (I am from 1960) during the Dutch Arrow Classic Rock Festival this summer!

IMO, in the sixties and in the seventies Rock bands worked harder. They were expected to release at least one studio album per year, and a live album was almost "an obligation". The seventies in particular was the time when great live albums were released, and they were almost always recorded and released when most of the bands were at their peak, musically speaking (with a few exceptions). This album was released in December 1972, after their "Machine Head" album. Unfortunately, by then there were "personality clashes" between the members of the band, particularly between Blackmore and Gillan, who wanted to leave the band before recording their next studio album, but was persuaded to not do it. Unfortunately, he and Glover left the band in mid 1973, and Deep Purple was never the same without them. But fortunately, this is a very good live album which demonstrates the very good "chemistry", at least at the musical level, which this band had in the early seventies.

These live albums from the seventies also showed some excesses, very characteristic of Rock music in general in those years. The excess in this album is demonstrated by some songs which had a very long duration played in concert, IMO, but despite these excesses, almost all the songs shine, particularly "Highway Star" (more energetic than the studio version), "Smoke on the Water", "Child in Time" (with Gillan shining in his vocals), "The Mule" (great drums solo) and "Strange Kind of Woman" (one of their best songs, IMO).It was also another "obligation" to include dums solos in live albums then!

In conclusion: one of the best Rock music live albums of all time. I only wish that many of the new Rock bands of this 21st century could make very good music and to play with more feeling like the "old Rock bands fom the past century". I think that this is the reason why many young people in the present look for older albums recorded by old bands. Bands like Coldplay are good, but they lack something in their music, like playing with more energy and feeling like the old bands did, IMO.

During the seventies I wore out my vinyl album of MIJ and had to buy it again! Then I had to buy the CD and then the remastered version of the CD.

According to Bruse Dickinson of Iron Maiden, this is the best rock album of all time. I would have to agree. There are no overdubs or doctoring, what you hear is what it was like!

The album kicks off with "Highway Star" and from the word go, this is a fantastic live opener. The tone of Blackmore´s guitar is perfect!

What can possibly be said about "Child in Time" Gillan delivers the performance of a lifetime, actually going up and screaming in octaves! And this is a live performance! The man has perfect pitch. Blackmore´s guitar solo is known to be one of his best on this track.

"Smoke on the water" was rated as the number one riff of the century. I actually prefer this live version to the studio one just for the amazing guitar solo.

"The Mule" gives Ian Paice the spotlight. He delivers one of the best loved drum solos on his small Ludwig kit. This solo is also rated very high in the drum world and has become a benchmark for great rock drum solos.

The interplay of vocals and guitar on "Strange Kind of Woman" where Gillan imitates Blackmores guitar is just incredible, making it sometimes quite difficult to know if you are indeed hearing a guitar or Gillan´s voice!

"Lazy" is a great rhythm and blues number which features yet another great solo by Ritchie. There isn´t a weak number on this album!

On "Space Truckin" Jon Lord unleashes a barrage of space sounding keyboards, supported by Glover´s driving bass and Paice´s drums.

This is the ultimate Deep Purple album and most probably the ultimate hard rock album ever! If I could, I would give it six stars!

Yes, this album was one of rock albums that colored my childhood. When this live album was released, I kept playing the cassette everyday especially "Strange Kind of Woman" because I like the improvisation part when Ritchie Blackmore's guitar screams in adjacent to Ian Gillan's. It's so powerful, so captivating and so memorable. In fact, when I got the CD version, I always repeat this track whenever I play this CD. Oh so long that I have never played this CD anymore - because I have a bunch of great prog CDs in recent years. Sometimes I got lazy to spin the classic CD like this because to me it brings me to "Living In The Past" nuances. We need to move forward in life, don't we? But it's OK to spin this CD for this review as this album can be considered as masterpiece of classic rock live album.

"Highway Star" (6:42) is well suited as album opener. It demonstrates how powerful Ian Gillan's vocal combined with stunning guitar and pulsating organ work of Jon Lord. (Hmm . how come we have not considered Jon Lord's albums which most of them are prog at this site?). "Child In Time" (12:18) and "Smoke On The Water" (7:47) are classic tracks which were performed excellently by the band. Another favorite of mine is the concluding track "Space Truckin'" (19:53) which was performed much longer than the original version. What I don't favor is "Lazy" as it has too long organ effects and it never got landed smoothly at my ears.

It's an excellent hard rock live album which has now become a legendary one.

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

One of those rare exceptional Live albums to come out of the 70's. Remember Traffic's - On The Road, Genesis - Second's Out, Yes - Yessongs, Tangerine Dream's - Ricochet, Jethro Tull's - Bursting Out??? To name but a few....this is another one of the same vintage quality and indelible stamp that left it's mark on those live releases in the 70's. The entire album is a classic from the opener HighWay Star to the epic sign off to almost 20 minutes of Space Truckin'. My personal favourite on this live set is ' Strange Kind Of Woman'. There are not enough superlatives to describe what this very definite Prog Metal offers. If you do not have this in your collection I strongly recommend you seek therapy to find out the reason as to why not! 5 stars, no contest.

Made in Japan is THE archetypal metal live album. Though the band is not heavy metal, this album is a blueprint for metal live documents. The band is in top form on the Machine Head tour as they jam through Purple standards with style. Each member shines on tracks: Paice on The Mule and Space Truckin; Blackmore on every track; Lord on Highway Star and Child in Time; Glover on Smoke and Space Truckin; and Gillan on Child in Time and Strange Kind of Woman.

Some of the jams are a bit long, but they're still superb. Gillan's and Blackmore's duel in Strange Kind of Woman, Paice's extended break on The Mule, and Lord's duel with Blackmore on Highway Star are all incredible. The reissue contains the encore performances of Speed King, Black Night, and Lucille, all of which are rocking.

This album stands with The Who's Live at Leeds and the Allman Brother's At Fillmore East as a defining live document that no one should be without. The insanely technical improvs give this prog credentials, and they also helped to lay foundations for prog metal.

This is the best live record ever. Until I find a better one. Some came pretty close, but non overtook DEEP PURPLE's "Made In Japan".

There is a extended version of this record - a CD reissue with additional tracks. I don't know anything about that version, so I will stick in my review with the old, "common" edition.

This is a lengthy record; it contains two vinyls - a welcome feature compared to, let's say, Genesis "Live" or Jean-Luc Pony "Live" - they are excellent live records, but way too short, abruptly ended. This one is more than 75 minutes in it's full glory. And there is no weak track or filler.

The weakest track, in my opinion, is "Smoke On The Water": a hard rock riff milestone. The song is so overplayed that I can't stand it anymore, but to do justice I must say this version is excellent, sincere and performed beautifully."Strange Kind Of Woman" sounds fresh, and Ian screams above 15000 Hz again, cleverly accompanied with Ritchie's guitar solos.

"The Mule" is another drum solo nine minutes long. I am not big fan of drum solos, and most of them are just plain boring, unless you're the drummer's girlfriend-wannabe. However, Paice is doing his job like a possessed maniac, and this solo is really able to keep your attention during all of its length. The intro and the ending are proggier than the majority of the band's catalogue.

Everything else - are the highlights: "Lazy" being perfect bluesy blend of Hammond organ and guitar (with most astonishing Hammond intro that Lord ever did - how?!?), "Child In Time" immortal song, this time in equally magnificent version, again with Gillan singing on top of his voice.

And last but not the least, the side-long "Space Truckin'". The prolonged part (the one that's not present on a studio version) is actually an excerpt from "Mandrake Root" tune, and it is the best combination of organ-psychedelia and hard rock ever, hands down. It's bass-driven, with furious protracted Hammond soloing, Blackmore's guitar mannerism and most notably Lord's experimentation with ring modulator effect. It sounds spacey, indeed.

Having that said, I can only conclude that this live document deserves no less than five stars.

The mother of all live albums ! (on par with "Live" from Uriah Heep, "Slade Alive!", "Rock'n'Roll Animal" from Lou Reed, "Genesis Live" and "YesSongs" IMO). I saw the Purple performed this tour in Brussels (March 20, 1973 - I was forteen) in a packed Forest National and it is quite a souvenir. At that time, I was listening to MIJ again and again. I had even taped it so that I could go out and walk carrying my cassette recorder to be able to listen to MIJ away from home (kind a precursory version for a walkman). I knew already by heart the seven songs of this incredible live effort.

"Highway Star" was their classic opener in those days (they will re-use it later on again as such). If I would be critical and honest, I would say that two songs are better in their studio versions "Child" and "Space". Two are on par "Highway" and "The Mule". What is incredible here is the way the band copes together. The extreme complicity between Gillan and Blackmore at the time is enormous on stage (only to be equalled / surpassed with the Page / Plant one). The way Ian responds to Ritchie in "Strange Kind of Woman" is superb and will be a Purple standard. This version is superior to the studio one. "Smoke on the Water" is another song that surpasses the studio work. It will make this average song (it had never been one of my fave on "Machine Head") an anthem for millions of fans and for more than three decades to come (it is still played during their live sets in 2006). This version of "The Mule" is gorgeous. It has little to do with the original and brings Ian Paice on the front end. He supplies a fantastic drum solo which definitely belongs to the era. It is said that during some live renditions of "Fireball" (the track) he was the fastest drummer in the world. He should also be considered as one of the top ten drummer of all time.

Each member of the band (except Roger) will produce an extensive solo part while the others will take a break. this might sound boring, but it was the trademark of live concert in those times.

I never understood why "Space Truckin" should be extended to almost 20 minutes but anyway it fits within the ensemble and closes the first release of Made In Japan. On the 25th anniversary edition, in 1998 some bonus tracks will be added. Each of them is an encore : "Lucille" from the Osaka concert on August 16th, "Black Night" and "Speed King" from the Tokyo concert on August 17th (the latter was previously unreleased).

To cash in, their record company released a triple album called "Live In Japan" which represents almost the entire three mythical Japanese concerts. I say almost because to get it truely completed, the fan will need to get the fabulous six CD set "Listen, Learn, Read On (not yet mentioned on this site) to get the sole lacking track of those great moments : The Osaka encore "Black Night" from August 16th. This makes it quite expensive to get the whole stuff, doesn't it ? Made In Japan will reach Nr. 6 in the US and 16 in the UK charts.

Although the sound is not always great and that the Purple will release a double live album called "In Concert - BBC" in 1980 but recorded in March 1972 for its "Machine Head" part which is IMO better than MIJ I will rate this album five stars.

To be complete since I have read here and there some erroneous information about the tracklist, I will outline where and when each track has been recorded : Highway Star : Osaka (August 16th, 1972) Child In Time : Osaka (August 16th, 1972) Smoke On The Water : Osaka (August 15th, 1972) The Mule : Tokyo (August 17th, 1972) Strange Kind Of Woman : Osaka (August 16th, 1972) Lazy : Tokyo (August 17th, 1972) Space Truckin' : Osaka (August 16th, 1972)

Keep on (hard) rocking.

4.5 stars. This record proves that DEEP PURPLE were one of the most talented bands to ever get up on a stage and play. And the album title was tongue and cheek because back then it was understood if it was made in Japan the quality was poor. The opposite of course is true today.

The opener "Highway Star" is one of the best driving songs ever ! And check out the freaking guitar solos from Blackmore ! "Child In Time" is quite atmospheric to open with reserved vocals as organ and drums create the mood.Things intensify greatly and build and Ian's vocal melody is spellbinding. The organ solo and drums are fantastic. Blackmore's turn ! And there are no words for that solo that seems to go on forever. "Smoke On The Water" features perhaps the most famous riff in rock history ! Enough said. How many live albums can boast of 3 songs like these to lead off with ?

"The Mule" has a pretty amazing drum solo from Mr.Paice. "Strange Kind Of Woman" is a catchy song with some more great guitar solos and some cool vocal and guitar interplay. Ian seems to be able to do whatever he wants with his vocals as he screams at will, and can hold a note for an incredibly long time. "Lazy" is where Jon Lord shines ! The song is experimental sounding in the beginning with even a melody from "Louie Louie", you can tell Mr.Lord is having a lot of fun. "Space Truckin'" features some more great vocals from Ian, and some excellent organ play, while the drumming holds it all together.

This is almost a perfect live record if there is such a thing. I confess a fondness to the way Ritchie Blackmore plays and I love his work on RAINBOW's "Rising". The guy has a beautiful style.This is one of the greatest live records ever recorded.

Long before there was metal (much less prog metal) there was Deep Purple. Back in the early 70s there were millions of rock music fans (myself included) who had a "need for speed" but weren't getting it on a consistent basis from the heavy hitters of the day like Led Zeppelin (who would slip in a ballad or laid back tune on every album). We didn't always want our headbanging to be interrupted and that's why we cherished both "In Rock" and "Machine Head" studio albums. What DP delivered was high-torque rock and roll, one song after another, without any pretense of being sensitive or soft and sometimes that was the only music that would satisfy the tiger in our tanks.

I must confess that I haven't listened to this record (yes, it's a vinyl copy) in decades but I got a bit nostalgic and grabbed it off the shelf recently. Before I even pulled the LPs from the sleeve the photo on the cover got my attention. I saw them in concert in the early 70s and that picture brought back vivid memories. Arena rock shows were still in their infant stage for the most part and a no-frills approach was all you expected and what you got. No props, no fancy lights, and no lasers. There's not even a drum riser! One lonely vocal monitor in the frame, no bank of effects for the guitarist, and a battered organ with its insides exposed. It was totally up to the band to create all the fireworks and that's what these guys did. Starting with the supercharged organ and guitar leads on "Highway Star" you can tell that they weren't trying to just recreate their studio version. This was LIVE, baby! And nobody was shredding any better than Ritchie Blackmore on his Stratocaster in that era. "Child in Time" showcases Ian Gillian's incredible vocal range despite the primitive conditions. Other than a little reverb there's nothing to aid him and he shines brilliantly, hitting every high note spot on. "Smoke on the Water" wasn't yet the worldwide hit that it would eventually become but I think they knew they had a winner with the tune and they play it straight until the end when Jon Lord (organ) and Blackmore trade a few licks to add some drama. "The Mule" is just a vehicle for Ian Paice's drum solo and it adequately showcases his considerable skills. "Strange Kind of Woman" is a rockin' shuffle that features Blackmore's most controlled solo on the album and a call/answer segment at the end between him and Gillian that ends with a spine-tingling scream you have to hear to believe. "Lazy" has a lot of wild organ feedback and grandstanding from Lord before they storm into the blazing tempo of the song. "Space Truckin'" is over 20 minutes of a typical concert- ender of that epoch in that it's basically time for the band to showboat and take things over the top. Even Roger Glover on bass gets a moment of his own. These guys knew they were at the apex of their game and that no other band on the planet could keep up with them on stage so they gave their rabid audience exactly what they came for. It's a feedback crazy, noise-indulgent and take-no-prisoners exhausting ride to the finish.

There's an ambient "room" sound to these recordings that you don't get on modern concert albums that adds additional authenticity, as well. No overdubs or studio do- overs to correct incidental goofs that occurred in the heat of battle here, just a snapshot in rock and roll history that captured the way things were in 1972. Nothing particularly "prog" to be found, just a lot of tear-your-head-off rock and roll. Drink it in.

5.1 stars!

Raf couldn't have said it any better. This is the definitive start to all that is progressive metal. Everything is here in this record! The amazing riffs, the tight rhythms the intense musicianship. One of the best live outings of any band of all time, this album ranks way up there in my books.

"Highway Star", as I learned, from family and friends, was the classic Deep Purple concert opener, and I think I actually prefer the studio version to this for some odd reason. Soon after, they kick into "Child In Time" and then the good times start to roll. "Child" absolutely blows its studio counterpart out of the water here! The trend of outdoing the studio carries into "Smoke On The Water" with Ritchie Blackmore's incredible solo that never seems to end but yet it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. "The Mule" is by far the best performance on this album, because without that intense Ian Paice drum solo this outing would have been nothing. Paice is living proof that you don't need a drum kit bigger than some small countries to produce great solos.

"Strange Kind Of Woman" is an intense song, and half of the time you are trying to figure out if you are listening to Ian Gillan screaming or Ritchie slashing away at his guitar. That kind of potent combination makes for an awesome stage show and an even better song. "Lazy" is another favorite because of the incredible organ effects presented by Jon Lord. Honestly, you couldn't have found 5 finer musicians at the time to put on this show. The 20 minute epic jam session that is "Space Truckin" takes the show away in a blaze of encore glory.

The true live album! There was nothing like this before it, and there was and most likely won't be anything like it to follow. Every single musician knew their spot and it payed off handsomely with a solo for each. Yes, even lonely Roger Glover got that bass solo in there. Like I said before, there was not a finer tuned line-up than this in the history of rock n' roll and their most likely won't be for another 100 years.

This was an album that defined my youth. I wanted to be Ian Gillan and sing like he did on Child In Time. I wanted to be Ritchie Blackmore and play the riff from Smoke on the Water. Sadly, I had no talent and I soon gave up Deep Purple as their next few albums did nothing for me.

I then put this album away for over 30 years and got it out last week to review. And does it still do it for me? Emphatically not. The playing is full of energy but far too loose and imprecise for my more mature and demanding tastes. I don't like The Mule or Lazy at all and Space Trucking drags on far too long. Strange Kind of Woman is a great song and the first 3 tracks are timeless classics, but the thrall it once held me in has gone. Greatest live album? God no - Rush, Camel, BJH, Renaissance, Gentle Giant and Yes (to name a few) have all done far better live cuts than this. That's not to say it's bad; it just isn't in the top league. There are some fine organ solos, some great guitar playing and Gillan's voice is powerful and usually tuneful. It just isn't cutting edge.

You should listen to it, you may like it enough to buy.

You better bow your head

Often cited as one of the greatest live albums ever released, "Made in Japan" is indeed a worthy record of a band at its peak. Recorded in 1972, mainly in Osaka but with a couple of songs from the Tokyo gig the same week, the album fits in the Deep Purple time line just after "Machine head". It is no surprise then that four of the seven tracks on that album are featured, including a 20 minute version of "Space truckin'". The rest of the set list is made up of the sublime "Child in time" from "In rock", "Strange kind of woman" (A non album single) and the "The mule" from "Fireball".

The double LP sold for about the same price as a single album at the time, making it an attractive proposition for those looking to investigate the music of this rapidly ascending band.

It is perhaps astonishing now to think that the prime motive behind the album was the record company's wish to fight back against the bootleggers, the band initially being reticent about the idea. In one of a number of parallels with Uriah Heep's subsequent "Live '73" several gigs were recorded, but fate dictated that for technical reasons by and large only one of the recordings was considered entirely fit for purpose, the Budokan tapes being overlooked altogether.

The overriding plus from this album is the incredible sound quality. The band assert that no overdubs have ever been done to the original recordings, the remastered version simply using modern technology to further enhance the original tapes.

Most of the renditions here are faithful to the studio originals, whilst featuring variations in the solos and of course an obligatory drum solo (on "The mule"). "Strange kind of woman" becomes a 10 minute affair, due in part to call and response section between Blackmore and Gillan, and the band allow themselves to indulge in a jam on "Space truckin'".

In all, a fine live album indeed, which has over time become the yardstick by which other such releases are judged.

The remastered CD puts the four sides of the original LP on a single disc. A second disc of CD single length is added containing 3 songs played as encores during the tour. These include the single "Black night" plus "Speed king" from "In rock". Both these performances are Tokyo recordings, while the third encore, a cover of the Little Richard (with Albert Collins) song "Lucille", was only performed in Osaka. The sleeve of the remastered CD is different to the original European release, the front picture of the band being surrounded by a black (it couldn't be more black!) edging.

The 70's were great years for live albums. Mainly because bands could feel less inhibited about stretching out without getting accused of self indulgence. For me there's little point in a live album if it's just a straight interpretation of the studio version unless of course it can be improved on. On Made in Japan, Deep Purple managed to do both making it one of the greatest live albums ever. On these Japanese dates the band was on fire playing the definitive version of every track here.

What we get here is most of the classics, most of which still feature in the live set to this day. There's very few set opener's the equal of Highway Star, the way it builds up before exploding into the first verse of this fast heavy Rock song. The solos from Lord and Blackmore are fantastic too, in fact Blackmore in particular excels on just about every song here justifying his reputation he had gained at the time of being one of the best Rock guitarists ever.

Highway Star is pretty hard to beat but the band try hard with superb versions in particular of Child in Time (Gillan hitting those high notes perfectly), Strange Kind of Woman and of course not forgetting Smoke on the Water. Familiarity has somewhat dimmed the power of this song but there's no getting away from what a classic it is.

Lots of people find Drum solo's boring but being a Drummer myself it's always a pleasure to hear a virtuoso at work. Ian Paice never disappoints and is on great form on The Mule.

I can't end this review without mentioning Space Truckin. What was a four and a half minute studio album track has turned into a twenty minute jam. I love the dynamics of this track, the way it fades away to an almost total silence before bursting back to life with an explosion. Awesome Stuff!

So there you have it, a 5 star rating for a strong contender for greatest live album ever. Even Purple couldn't beat it on their numerous live releases since.

The classic live rock album and one of the most popular ever. It is not something I would still enjoy today, but live versions of "Child in Time", "Lazy", "Strange Kind of Woman" and "Smoke on the Water" are definitely superior to their studio versions. Very good sound and production provides nice almost "easy" listening, despite certain over-solo moments.

PERSONAL RATING: 3,5/5

P.A. RATING: 3/5

One of the greatest live albums ever. If you're wondering where prog metal's roots lay, this may be one of the starting points, and maybe the most important of them. For it showed that heavy music and prog rock were not incompatible at all. Even the most radical proghead at the time (and boy, did I know some!) could not deny those guys were absolute masters of their instruments and at least two cases (Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord), truly genius. They not only play their classics in great versions, but they proved they could jam, improvise and create like few others during live shows.

Of course those displays of explicid virtuosism would soon become common place (even if many of artists did not have the talent nor the technique to pull that off). But at the time it caused quite a stir, since in the minds of many heavy music was something done by below average musicians, who would try to hide their lack of musical skills under a wall of noise. Deep Purple changed all that. Yes, they were LOUD. heavy and noisy, but they were also outstanding musicians, with great creativity and had vast musical background, able to play classical and jazz. Their chemistry was something quite unique and Deep Purple MKII was more than the sum of its parts.

There was also a great singer in that, under the moniker of Ian Gillan. Wow, the man had a great voice to match the incredible instrumentation around him. He was one of the first to show he could not only scream but also sing very well (Robert Plant never got even close to him live). And they were on their peak at the time. Even the obligatory drum solo is interesting and not just a self indulgent exercise like many (even if I do not see that as a highlight here).

Made In Japan is made only of classic stuff. It was very well recorded for the time and the new CD version has 3 extra tracks (I guess it was the encore part): Black Night, Speed King and a powerhouse version of Lucille. All the new additions are on par with the original tracks. Heavy music and prog were together. Things would never be the same again. Simply essential.

I should describe a little difference and passage first in the form of the sale of the record in each country for writing this review. Fact whose title of this album put on the market in Japan where I live as passage from which this album is put on the market is first "Live In Japan". This album is an album of live recorded in Japan in 1972. And, the fact put on the market as "Made In Japan" in foreign countries. And, "Live In Japan" of three classes is put on the market as a complete album also in foreign countries. Various situations are included in this passage.

First of all, some conditions existed with parties concerned in Japan between bands for details from which this album was put on the market.

This album must be a sale only of Japan first. If the state of the recording was bad, the band presented the policy of not putting it on the market in the album. And, the band must own all the authorities.

The tape that records live of this secondarily must be done and the band must do the work of the take-home mix.

And, parties concerned of the band must be thirdly related to the recording of live.

At that time, live that the band had done meeting these requirements that the band had presented in Japan in 1972 was put on the market as "Live In Japan" in Japan. At that time, Deep Purple is related to the recording of live of three days in Japan. It was put on the market back as a complete album. The machine parts used to record were all the machine parts made in Japan. And, the place where the recording was done is Osaka festival hall and Nihon-Budokan of Tokyo. Overseas a variety of band will do live with Nihon-Budokan centering on Deep Purple's having done live unusually in this place to overseas musician's doing live at that time in especially 1972 with Nihon-Budokan.

Material in the tune is the following descriptions. Highway Star-8/16 Osaka Child In Time-8/16 Osaka Smoke On The Water-8/15 Osaka The Mule-8/17 Tokyo Strange Kind Of Woman-8/16 Osaka Lazy-8/17 Tokyo Space Truckin'-8/16 Osaka

It is said that the tune failed a little at that time in live of this. As for the failing take etc. , only the take that may be deleted was collected and collected. It is said that the member of the band did live to atmosphere and making the hall while groping. Live..tape..confirm..band..member..tape..quality..height..surprise..say.And, the content of this album will be worth the evaluation and be put on the market as "Made In Japan" also in foreign countries.

Live in Japan to which this member who had to be able to say the second stage went might be correct and be one of the masterpieces of Deep Purple. Perfect performance of "Highway Star". And, a beautiful melody of famous "Child In Time" and power to explode. Solo of Ian Paice in "The Mule" might have become a legend with a perfect flow. And, the flood of Rock of "Space Truckin'" lasting for "Lazy" and 20 minutes and the sound. Or, elements of a few Improvisation. This performance will already have been a legend momentarily at the time of having been done live.

There are few interesting live rock albums. There are even fewer that I would rate above 3 stars but this is an exception and probably everybody's favourite live album.

Deep Purple are high and mighty here, sole rulers of the expanding hard rock universe that they created. This live set collects some of their strongest tracks and the inspired performance shakes and pushes them to their boundaries. Some of the soloing and improvisations might seem indulgent and tedious to some but I think Deep Purple managed to maintain a good balance. The ultimate example would be Space Trucking, extended from a good 4 minutes to a full 20 minute length and I wouldn't want to miss a second of it. Make sure not to miss the surging Black Night that was included on the remastered edition. Classic. 4.5 stars

I'm pretty sure that Made In Japan was the first live album that I've ever heard, which might explain why I since then had very high expectations on any other live releases out there!

Every great live act needs to make a live album in order to make a historic statement for the future generations. This has been somewhat of a hit and miss for most great performers due to a variety of reasons. We didn't have a proper live album from the Ozzy-era Black Sabbath until only recently because of the terrible sound production on most of them that wouldn't justify the official seal of quality. As for Led Zeppelin my guess is that the public expectations really got to them resulting in the notorious over the top album The Song Remains The Same.

Fortunately Deep Purple didn't have any of those problems upon releasing Made In Japan. The band's performance is excellent and features quite a few spontaneous jam moments that don't necessary feel excessive and the sound quality is pretty adequate for the time period. The material picked for the album is everything a newcomer to the band should hear making this release ideal as an introduction to Deep Purple. Judging from many of the other live performances that have been recently available from the classic MKII-era the band kept the songs relatively short with the exception for the 20 minute version of Space Truckin' that takes the grand prize for the most excessive drum solo ever recorded.

Great compositions like Highway Star and Child In Time are greatly improved in the enthusiastic live setting with the solo spots from Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord sounding better than ever. Even the prolonged versions of The Mule and Lazy are far more interesting thanks to their sharp delivery and although I wouldn't call these two performances masterful they to add a new dimension to the Deep Purple sound that was not heard on the studio albums.

If you're into Hard Rock then this one is a must have! A great set list that is matched by equally great execution from a band at the top of their game.

***** star songs: Highway Star (6:42) Child In Time (12:18) Strange Kind Of Woman (9:52)

**** star songs: Smoke On The Water (7:47) The Mule (9:28) Lazy (10:27) Space Truckin' (19:53)

At one time, Deep Purple was the epitome of hard rock. Everyone knew their classics, like Highway Star and of course Smoke On The Water. This album captured their live performance at the height of their success. It also captures the end of an era for this band, since very soon, singer Ian Gillan left the band, and although they still had some success afterwards, they were never quite the same.

On this album, taken from shows recorded in three days in Osaka and Tokyo, you get to hear why Deep Purple was so popular. The songs are all extended jams, the shortest being Highway Star at close to seven minutes. And except for a now mundane drum solo, everything here is axactly what you would want to hear on a hard rock live album, great solos, high energy, and some of your favorite songs.

And it gave DJs time to go to the bathroom.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why In Rock isn't my favorite Purple album. To say that Made in Japan shows DP as a great live band is to say nothing; to say that Made in Japan shows the band as one of the greatest ass-kicking machines rock'n'roll ever beheld would come close. This is the near ideal meeting point of balls-out energy and of technical perfection, where any inhibitions found in the studio versions of tracks are discarded and replaced with a primal need to do songs faster and heavier than one could probably imagine, and where solos and jams seemingly last forever but kick so much ass that they can win over any casual listener.

I'm really at a loss to describe how incredible most of these songs are. Ok, so I'm peeved that "The Mule" turns into a nine-minute excuse for Paice to have a drum solo (I'm sorry, but I just don't jive that well with endless drum solos). And I guess "Lazy" could stand some trimming - it's better than the studio version, since the organ intro (while slightly overlong) is eerie as hell in places (but also amusing, like in that place where those distorted organ chords blast out the riff to "Louie Louie"), and the jams that come out of the "main" part of the song give a nice dose of upbeat boogie, but ten minutes was certainly a bit much for such a piece.

But the rest, oh man. I only have the 1-CD, seven-track version, even though there's apparently a 2-CD version that has the encores of the shows from which this CD was taken, but suffice it to say that the other five tracks justify the rating. As much as I enjoy the studio "Highway Star," there's no question which rendition I'd take with me to my island. Oh man, it's so fast, and so energetic, and so tight, and Ian's screaming is so perfect, and Lord's organ sounds like he staked his own life force to how cool he could make his solo, and Ritchie is divebombing and soloing like a madman and playing with his whammy bar like *insert self-abuse metaphor here* ... I'm simply in awe. Man, if ever there was a justification for the whole metal genre, this might well be it.

Next is "Child in Time," where the solos seemingly go on for an eternity but never come within a solar system's reach of tedious, where every iota of the majestic tension of the original is preserved, and where Ian replicates the ridiculously high, ridiculously in-tune wails of the original so dead-on perfectly that I'm surprised the engineers didn't have to clean up a giant thudding sound from all the Japanese jaws hitting the ground at once. "Smoke on the Water" actually has Ritchie screwing up the initial riff, only to cover his tracks with perfect aplomb and make it almost seem intentional, after which the band basically rips down the house. And then, after the tedium of "The Mule," we get 9:50 of "A Strange Kind of Woman." How do you take a perfect blues-rock pop single and make it work at a length of ten minutes, you may ask? Well, the answer is let the rhythm section enter a tight mid-tempo groove, let Ritchie intermittently play lines over it, and let IAN IMITATE THEM PERFECTLY, NO MATTER HOW NON-TRIVIAL THEY ARE. Kinda like those imitations of Jimmy Page that Robert Plant would try in early Zep albums, except instead of just sorta matching the sound and largely just contributing an "eerie" mood, actually doing a dead-on imitation.

And then there's the closing "Space Truckin'," which actually gives "Highway Star" a run for its money as best of an amazing lot. Ok, we have the "main" portion of the song, done faster and more intensely than before, kicking more ass, etc. But does it end with Ian's "yeah yeah yeah" screams and a bit of repetition of the main riff? Not on your life! There's 15 minutes of jamming left, and it friggin' RULES. Paice and Glover enter into a mindblowingly intense rhythmic groove that seems like it could last forever without petering out (and I mean it - give me Ian Paice's pounding here over anything in John Bonham's whole career), Lord proceeds to coax every decent noise (and maybe some non-decent ones, depending on your perspective) possible out of his organ (before quoting the "Mandrake Root" jam), Ritchie does all sorts of whacky things, the band shuts down, the band starts up again and pounds its way to the finish ... yup, that's one hell of a jam right there.

In short, if you care about rock'n'roll or heavy metal at all, you need this. If you've ever wondered why heavy metal shows in general became so ridiculously wanky in so many ways, it is because this album showed that it was possible for heavy metal to wank this much and still kick so much ass that it doesn't matter.

For years I thought that review "Made In Japan" on any rock music related site has no sense at all - everyone knows every single note of this album. But with time I saw more and more "music fans", participated in hot discussion about "level of innovation and progressiveness in new Gazpacho release", who even didn't heard about this Deep Purple album. So it looks the time is come.

This double LP live album contains 7 excellent Deep Purple songs from their top period, played with big inspiration. Same songs almost all sound great on studio releases as well, but there in concert they got new life. Musicianship is of the highest level, but three obvious stars of this concert are Gillan's vocals,Lord's keyboard passages and Blackmore's guitar solos.

Songs versions are much longer,than on studio recordings,and that jamming and soloing added very much to the album's attraction. Being one top-level hard rock band of early 70-s, Deep Purple shows there their more progressive side, especially on keyboards arrangements.

For sure, it's really difficult to speak about this album as prog rock example. But this concert recording for decades will become etalon for future heavy metal and even metal prog bands coming on scene. I believe that till now " Made In Japan" is best ever released live hard rock album. Everyone with interest to heavy/prog rock should start from here.

For real fans I could recommend Japanese 3 CD re-release with added material from few more concerts during same band's Japan tour , I could compare this edition with Miles Davis' Bitches Brew Sessions set.

Deep Purple - Made in Japan (1972)

Hard rock wasn't just a genre, it was a promise. A promise to create that moment of ultimate energy; with rhythm, distortion and shrieking vocals. That moment that touches your evolutionary beast. This is actually one of the few albums that really rocks, and Deep Purple made one other rockin' album called 'In Rock'. Roughness is exploited to the maximum and there is no cheese to be found, not even a single second.

Deep Purple '72 had it all. The songs, the musicians and the energy to do these amazing live shows. Guitarist Richie Blackmore with his stylish sound can play subtle, rhythmic and heavy solo's, the organ's sound heavenly distorted, the drums are heavy and the vocals are amazing. Just amazing. Ian Gillan shrieks, screams and sings melodic at the same time. The band just has this amazing sound and the recording of this double live album is also very good.

The good thing about Deep Purple is the willingness to recreate their own compositions and add/change things. There are many extra solo's, new plots and reinterpretations. Furthermore, Deep Purple used some spacey sounds in intro's of some songs and heavily on the twenty minute Jam/song Space Truckin'.

Favorites of mine are the opening track, Highway Star (an historic document to describe the meaning of 'hard rock'), Lazy (amazing version) and Space Truckin' with it's free, almost progressive improvisations. The atmosphere on the whole concert is very good, so every song is worthwhile. The long drum-solo of 'The Mule' is my only complaint.

Conclusion. Though strictly not progressive, Deep Purple clearly shows the potential of adventerious rock improvisations and uses some nice spacey sounds along the way. This is a top band at it's finest hour, but it's also an acquired taste; the band tends to freak a lot. Well, can't give less then four stars for this amazing live album. Definitely one of the best and I would have wished some (modern) progressive rock bands would inspire themselves by listening to this guide 'how to play an interesting rock concert'. The progressive movement has a lot of low-energy live albums that aren't that interesting at all. Anyway, four stars and recommended to every-one who likes rock and related genres.

Deep Purple's History Making Live Masterpiece.

Deep Purple's "Made in Japan" is one of the all time greatest immortal live albums in rock history. It features the band at their brilliant best and promoting their masterpiece albums "In Rock" and "Machine Head", both milestones in themselves. The lineup is the infamous Deep Purple lineup that has become rock legend; featuring on vocals the air raid sirens of high octave metal hero Ian Gillan, the pounding drums of Ian Paice, the guitar wizardry of Ritchie Blackmore, the keyboard magician Jon Lord and the wonderful Roger Glover, bass guitarist extraordinaire. The live performance features the best of the band to this point and these lengthy versions are even better than the studio renditions. The album hits the mark with a rocking start with the hard driving 'Highway Star', the kid sister of 'Speed King'. The dynamic interplay of guitar and organ is wonderful and draws the listener in as it builds into the first verse. "Nobody Gonna Take My Car, I'm Gonna Race It To The Ground, Nobody Gonna Beat My Car, It's Gonna Break The Speed Of Sound" The lyrics embody the essence of the revhead and live Gillan is able to use his power vocals to full effect. But it's all about the riffs for this band and Blackmore delivers everytime; the true metal progenitor of lead guitar finesse, becoming a guitar hero with this album.

'Child In Time' is next running or a whopping 12 minutes. The song is a masterpiece, but live it surpasses even the album version. Gillan explodes on vocals reaching ear splitting notes after a gentle start. The song builds into a paroxysm of thunderous guitar riffs and Lord's keyboards are incredible. It builds into heavier sections with massive keyboard sweeps and fret melting lead guitar. An amazing wall of sound is generated with the rhythm machine of Paice and Glover. Eventually it settles into a serene passage until the finale where all members of the band blaze away and lift off into the stratosphere with crunching chord changes and a freak out of shattering noise as Gillan moans the pangs of child birth; perhaps it represents the birth of heavy metal, and the band deliver.

'Smoke On The Water' follows, beginning with a terrific variation of the opening classic riff. It is the most recognizable riff in rock history that every guitarist knows. The actual thematic content is fascinating about how a "stupid with a flare gun" burned down the recording studio of Frank Zappa and the Mothers in Montreux. Now the event is immortalised forever in song. This will perhaps remain the all time greatest Deep Purple song especially due to the 7 note chord riff. The live version is sensational with a scorching lead break and Lord's shimmering keyboard attack.

'The Mule' follows next with a lengthy instrumental break, and the song runs out to 9 ½ minutes in length. Ian Paice drums up a storm on his Ludwig kit soloing for quite some time. His precision drumming and atmospheric arrangement has become a benchmark for drummers worldwide.

'Strange Kind Of Woman' is also lengthy at 10 minutes and is great to hear as it was one of the biggest singles or the group not available on studio vinyl during this time. It was a chance for the band to kick back and groove along to a pleasing riff. The section where Gillan imitates Blackmore's guitar is often quoted as a master stroke and was influential to many bands to follow. It sounds as though Blackmore was trying to trick Gillan but they trade off perfectly and it is amusing and part of the experience of the live set, reminiscent of Plant and Page of Led Zeppelin.

'Lazy' is a 10 ½ minute opus with tons of keyboard soloing and Blackmore insane on bluesy guitar. It is a terrific lengthy jamming track about a dude so lazy he just stays in bed. Lord is awe inspiring on the organ solo and it really showcases his skill.

'Space Truckin'' follows and clocks in at a mammoth 20 minutes. It is another of the quintessential DP tracks. The power riffs and grinding organ absolutely slam to the wall. The lengthy version originally took up an entire side of the double vinyl album. It features huge spacey solos with Jon Lord's Hammond and his experimental ring modulator sounds. He unleashes a furious tirade of powerful organ stabs as Glover maintains a consistent bassline with Paice backing on drums. The session lasts for almost 15 minutes and is technical and progressive while maintaining strong rock rhythms. The Hammond solo is based on 'Mandrake Root' from the early DP albums.

"Made In Japan" is a classic masterpiece that is one of the most famous live albums in history. Every track is killer and the band are at the peak of their powers. It is a testament of the greatness of Deep Purple in the early years of proto-metal and the progressive nuances throughout, with intricate time sig changes and lengthy jamming solos, make it the ultimate live album of 1972.

Deep Purple's Made In Japan captures the Mark II lineup of the band on the Machine Head tour, and draws its songs mainly from that album - which is fine by me since I think that was the best that lineup had to offer. It's a decent one-stop "best of" for the In Rock-Fireball-Machine Head period - particularly with the addition of the encores in recent expanded editions - and fans of the group will delight in some of the extended soloing on offer, though if you're not bowled over by their studio albums from the period I don't think these live renditions are going to change your mind very much.

"Made In Japan" is hailed by some as the live album to end all live albums. And I'd say it's pretty darn close to that. Featuring 6 live renditions of studio classics, plus "The Mule", "Made In Japan" documents the raucous spectacle and sheer bombast of Deep Purple's Mk II line-up. The music is heavy, energetic, noisy, well-performed and headbanging-galore.

Standout tracks are "Child In Time", with a particularly well-done solo by Ritchie Blackmore, "Strange Kind Of Woman", with its guitar and vocal call-and-response duel and "Smoke On The Water", which is much, much better than its studio counterpart. My only complaints are the length of the drum solo in "The Mule", which will appease all hardcore drum aficionados but goes on a bit long for my tastes, and Jon Lord's rendition of the opening organ solo from "Lazy", which he absolutely butchers, turning the moody, atmospheric studio version into what sounds like an epileptic R2-D2.

Those two little qualms aside, the only thing preventing "Made In Japan" from getting a 5 star rating is the fact that all of the songs (save for "The Mule"), and more, can be found on "In Concert", performed just as well if not better. Still an excellent addition to any rock, metal or prog collection - 4 stars.

Many people have come to the conclusion that this is probably the best live album ever recorded. Its hard for me to ever say that any album is the best of any category as things often change for me according to the mood of the day, but I can go so far as to say that it is definitely one of the best live albums ever put together.

This double album captures Deep Purple at the height of creativity and popularity. Sure, most of their music is blues- based rock, but it is the way the band was able to perform and create around that foundation that made them one of the best in that style. The members are considered the classic Deep Purple line-up, or Mark II as many refer to them, with the amazing Ian Gillan on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keys, Roger Glover on bass and Ian Paice on drums, all of which are well represented on this album. Everyone of them have dozens of opportunities to shine, and they do just that.

The other thing that makes this album so great is because it is DP doing what they did best, mixing tight song structures and looser improvised passages in everyone of the 7 extended tracks on the album. The album kicks off with the adrenaline-inducing rocker "Highway Star" and follows with the manic "Child in Time", the latter of which contains some longer instrumental and vocal sections than the original. The famous "Smoke on the Water" gets a live version that almost everyone is familiar with, and for many, is their favorite version of the song. Then, a long version of "The Mule" with a long drum solo follows this. For me, this track is the least engaging since drum solos never seem to transfer well to recorded music. The best way to experience a drum solo is to watch it live, so it always seems to weaken an album that retains a live drum solo when you can't actually see what goes into the solo.

"Strange Kind of Woman" follows in yet another extended version with more instrumental interplay, which is what DP is the best at. Then we get "Lazy", the one with the long, awesome instrumental introduction, which is even longer here and also probably the most varied version from the studio version on "Machine Head". I love both versions and it is great to hear such a varied version of this track that stays somewhat true to the original yet does it in a new and exciting way. Finally, the last track is the real show piece here, and that is a 20 minute version of "Space Truckin". When I first saw this album many years ago, I was leery of owning it because I had assumed that this was going track was going to feature a never-ending drum solo, because of how the original track was structured. It just always sounded like a set up for a live drum solo showpiece. But when I finally heard this, I realized that I was so wrong. The band moves through the familiar sound of the song, but then switches to this long, improvised (almost) set of space jams, psychedelic wanderings and crazy instrumental effects that proves that this is where their true love and strengths reside. If the rest of the album was mediocre, this track alone would be worth the price, but since the entire album is great, this only caps everything off with more greatness.

This was the peak of the band's career, coming off the major sales and exposure received worldwide from their masterpiece "Machine Head" and then to follow up with an excellent tour playing music they were always meant to play. Without the time limits of the usual album formats and label pressure to keep things abbreviated, the band was able to show what they were best at, the reason why they were such a great band in the first place by expanding their songs and displaying their talents better than they had ever been able to. DP had gotten better and better as they released each album and their growth is quite evident in the first several albums of their discography, even with line- up changes. The band was slowly adjusted until it reached the pinnacle of this time in their career. Unfortunately, after this album and the pressure of touring and recording, fissures started appearing in the band line-up. This would be quite evident in the next album "Who Do We Thing We Are?", which feels rushed, forced and much less inspired, let alone the fact that egos were really getting in their way. They were starting to feel like a group of individuals and less like an entire group working together. At least this amazing live recording is there to show us a snapshot of the band at it's best. It might not be up high in progressive rock elements, but it does touch on them, especially in the suite of styles and improvisation that make up the last track, but it is an essential live recording that should work as a standard as to what live recordings should sound and be like.