IN CONCERT WITH THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Dignified

Recorded in 1999 in London's Royal Albert Hall (the home of the classical music "BBC Proms"), the centre piece of this performance, and indeed the main reason for the presence of an orchestra, is a rendition of Jon Lord's "concerto for group and orchestra". The timing of the concert reflected the 30th anniversary of its composition. Before we get to that however, the first part of the concert consists of a delightfully slow build up.

With only Lord and the orchestra on stage, we open with a truly emotional performance of "Pictured within" featuring Miller Anderson on vocal. This is followed by a delicate vocal performance by the wonderful Sam Brown for the ballad "Wait awhile".

Even when Roger Glover and Ronnie James Dio take the stage very much in the way classical performers do, the mood remains reflective, as "Sitting in a dream" builds the sound slowly but perceptibly. The first time any semblance of a rock beat appears is on "Love is all", the undoubted highlight of "The butterfly ball", where by this time all but Ian Gillan have made it on stage. Bizarrely, Ian Paice then leaves the stage in order to be introduced, returning with his jazz band for an interpretation of "Wring that neck".

This of course is all by way of a build up to the rendition of the "Concerto". It's fair to say that but for one determined young Dutch composer, this would never have taken place. The original score for the piece had long since been lost, but this devoted individual painstakingly recreated it, virtually note by note.

It important at this stage to state the obvious. The "Concerto" is primarily a piece of classical music. There are lengthy orchestra only sections which are a million miles from "Deep Purple in rock" or "Fireball". The band do of course pay a part in the performance, indeed they are on stage for much of the time, but the score is very much centred on classical themes. Ian Gillan appears for the first time on the DVD after some 50+ minutes to deliver the vocal section of the piece. The opus as a whole is rather dull and convoluted. While it ticks all the right boxes in terms of a well structured concerto, the actual music is unexciting.

The later part of the performance consist of a more rock selection. The orchestra play second fiddle on more recent numbers such as "Ted the mechanic" and "Watching the sky". Steve Morse's riff and Ian Gillan's fine vocal performance on the superb "Sometimes I feel like screaming" distinguishes this recent song as a future classic DP song.

Inevitably we close with an orchestrated "Smoke on the water", with everyone, including there audience, trying to show that they do, honestly, know how to rock out.

It is more than a little ironic that the "Concerto" section is in fact the weakest part of this memorable gig. Even with that in mind this is an excellent DVD, recording a band enjoying some level of self indulgence, but all the while ensuring that they do not over indulge to the detriment of the overall product.

The bonus CD with the re-issued package simply contains audio recordings of some of the tracks on the DVD.

I already wrote about the CD version. If you want to watch a DVD of a band with an orchestra, this is the best one. The first songs don't have the classic DP's style, but they are a great introduction to a concert with a orchestra: many special guests and songs for an elegant evening.

The Concerto is a masterpiece of rock, not dude. The orchestra has its place: it isn't hidden behind the band. It's the same for the band. An amazing work. Besides we can enjoy the sound which is better than the sound in the 1969 version.

The following songs are stronger and the orchestra arrangement also is awesome. For me, the best tracks are 'Wring That Neck', 'Sometimes I feel like screaming' and the entire concerto.

DP's musicians had a great performance (that's common...). Buy this DVD. The CD version is a masterpiece. This DVD is an excellent addition to any prog music collection. 4 stars

This is a great DVD with an all-star line-up. I truly came to appreciate Steve Morse's place in the band after seeing and hearing this DVD. What a talented guitarist. Ronnie James Dio does a great job here with his rendition of Roger Glover's "Butterfly Ball". This DVD has recently been re-issued at a budget price. As good as the original "Concerto", but I have to say the highlight is when Ian Paice does his drum solo in "Wring That Neck". Great chops! Ian Paice is the Gene Krupa of rock & roll, man.

As far as live concert, I think this performance is better enjoyed through the CD audio version, especially on pop part (Sam Brown) that I find it quite boring and I am not that patient enough to wait real Deep Purple on stage (especially in Pictures of Home) and also the orchestra parts. The performance of Steve Morse Band is also very attractive - well, Steve Morse is one of my favorite rock guitar players. Picture and sound quality are excellent.

Yeah, it's pretty clear right from the beginning of the sleeve where Jon Lord wrote that it's basically about his dream to bring alive the score he made thirty years ago when he with Deep Purple experimented "Concerto for Group and Orchestra". As the story goes, he said that it was triggered by someone named as Marco de Goeij, a young Dutch composer, who came to see him in Rotterdam before a Deep Purple concert and told him that, as the score of the concerto was lost (how come, Jon?). Marco offered to recreate the lost score by listening the recording and watching the video - over and over again. Of course, with the help of Mr Lord on parts that Marco could not grab it. So, the result was the concerto (again) of Marco's astonishing act of dedication.

To make it more appealing to modern crowd, the band made a concert at The Royal Albert Hall on 25th and 26th September 1999 with some additional celebrities like Ronnie James Dio, Sam Brown and also Steve Morse Band. As I go through Disc One which basically comprising the guest appearances, I can say that this is an excellent performance. It starts beautifully with a mellow "Pictured within" (8:38) where Jon Lord plays pivotal role in piano. It's then followed by Sam Brown to sing "Wait a while" (6:44), written by Jon Lord and Sam Brown. The excellent parts really when Ronnie James Dio takes the vocal job for a melodic and nice "Sitting in a dream" (4:01) followed by "Love is all" (4:40) which has good orchestration. The song that I do not like especially with the way Gillan's singing is "Via Miami" (4:52) - am not interested at all to enjoy this track.

"That's why God is singing the blues" (4:03) main attraction is when Steve Morse plays the acoustic guitar solo - it's really good! But not Ian Gillan's singing - may I am getting bored already with his singing style. "Take it off the top" (4:43) is performed excellently by Steve Morse band where the bass guitar playing by Dave LaRue is really good, combined by drum work played by Van Romaine. It's an energetic performance and very enjoyable.

I have to pay more attention to the last two tracks of Disc One. "Wring that neck" (4:38) appears brilliant with full orchestra added. In its original composition, this track has already been a true symphonic progressive rock music. This time the arrangements is much richer and it does make this Disc One really worth listening because this track offers great energy, complexity and drive. For those of you who love early prog, you must enjoy this track. This is one of Deep Purple's excellent tracks.

"Pictures of home" (9:26) is another favorite of mine where with this version the music starts with an orchestra followed dynamically by a drumwork of Ian Paice that sounds really great to start this wonderfully crafted composition. The inclusion of orchestra plus brass section have made the textures are better than any other version. Steve Morse performs his guitar solo flawlessly and stunningly. He is one of talented guitarists that I know. This concluding track of Disc One represents the best performance of Deep Purple in this live CD.

On Disc Two, I enjoy the first three tracks which basically three movements of "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" even though I'm probably not good in giving reasonable comparison between this "modern" version with those that was performed 30 years ago. So, I just enjoy these three movements and let the stream of orchestra music flow naturally into my mind. Of course, I like the dynamics of these orchestra as there are many breaks in some segments - typical in any classical composition.

The rock band continues to appear with track 4 "Ted The Mechanic" which has good riffs through guitar followed with great musical groove. It's a good track, performed excellently by the band. "Watching The Sky" is also a good rocker delivered excellently by the band. The band concludes the show with their legendary song "Smoke On The Water".

Overall, this is an excellent to any prog music collection. I have always admired Jon Lord's passion on orchestral arrangement as I can see clearly through his solo albums. Even though Deep Purple musical direction opted to move into solid hard rock music through the release of "In Rock", Jon Lord's love to classical music has never stopped. I recommend this live album for those who can appreciate the marriage between classical and rock music. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Gillan, Glover, Lord, Morse, Paice are the essential Deep Purple lineup and it was a pleasure to see them doing this ambitious concert with finesse and flair, absolutely cementing their reputation as the ultimate metal progenitors. However therewas not enough rock and it concentrated on an orchestral piece that goes on forever.

The DVD features highlights such as the classic songs, Wring That Neck, Pictures Of Home and Smoke On The Water. These were the highlights for me but I became rather bored and disinterested with the lengthy Concerto For Group And Orchestra - Movements I to III. It was interesting at first taste but soon became rather tiresome. So I was a little disapointed in this DVD.

It may be a matter of what you want from this band, I prefer the hard, raucous sound of Machine Head, Made In Japan or In Rock. Dont get me wrong. the orchestra plays beautifully, and its all very technically proficient as far as the movements are concerned, but not Deep Purple the way I remember them. I like my Deep Purple served up with classic killer riffs, magnificent vocals and virtuoso drumming. So this DVD may be great to watch once as a curio piece perhaps, but on second and third viewing its a real yawnfest.