MADE IN JAPAN

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.

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