MADE IN JAPAN

This is one of those albums that have had a big importance on Rock, but this time I'm talking about the live classic "Made In Japan". Three dates in Japan were recorded on that time (with the classic lineup: Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan and Glover), initially for a japanese only release, but the huge commercial potential of such an album lead to a worldwide release. So, in December of 1972, this was available everywhere. Sadly, maybe this was Deep Purple's last great album. There's no doubt this album became a blueprint for other artists about how a live Rock record should be produced. Today I picked up my bass and started playing some of the songs here and one more time, I enjoyed this a lot. Three words describe this perfectly: RAW, JAMMING and ROCKER !!

This immensely important album starts with the classic "Highway Star", that discharges a ton of adrenalin, rocking a lot. The fantastic solos are a bit changed and improvised, as with most of the songs here.

The version of "Child In Time", another classic that sounds similar to the studio, but shows that Gillan can really do all that screamings live, for thouse who were doubting about that. The solos here are very different, but the way they're improvised makes them to have 'orgasmic' moments.

Obviously, here has to be the classic "Smoke On The Water", with the most recognisable riff on Earth, which surprisingly is played a bit different during the intro. A real unique moment !! I must say this version is better than in the studio.

"The Mule" features a fantastic and dynamic solo by Paice, that has become a classic. Incredible !!

"Strange Kind Of Woman" lasts more that 9 minutes, this time with a lot of jamming, with some pauses and the unique touch of the interplay between Gillan and Blackmore, both go veeeery high here !! Another powerful and rocker version.

"Lazy" has some rare effects in the intro followed by the very recognisable first notes of the riff, when the crowd starts to get crazy (and me too). I would prefer of this song to be longer, with more jamming, but is a very good version, not as good as in the studio.

"Space Truckin' " really lasts 5 minutes but then there's a nice improvisational and experimental moment by Jon Lord, who shines here and keeps jamming up to 19 minutes !!

My remastered version also contains dirty and LOUD versions of "Black Night", "Speed King". When I hear the solos here I think, "What were whese guys thinking about ?" ... they improvised totally in the soloing time giving this songs a very raw feeling and they sound totally LOUD and POWERFUL, as the other 'bonus' (?) track, the Rock n' Roll classic "Lucille" to close this masterpiece.

Overall, the characteristic sound, the jamming, the power and the immense importance of this album makes it be a masterpiece of live albums and essential for every Rock fan. If you want a big example of how a live record should be, you'll have to buy this !! Enough said.

Rating: 4,7/5