Deep Purple
California Jamming

THE REVIEW

On April 6, 1974, Deep Purple participated in the immense California Jam Festival, organized by the television network ABC, at the Ontario Speedway automotive circuit, near San Francisco. Over 300,000 people gathered to witness one of the most monumental rock shows of all time: bands such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Black Sabbath; Eagles; Earth, Wind & Fire, and of course, Deep Purple took the stage.

Backstage, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore showed his typically controversial character, as he didn’t want to give E,L & P the chance to take on the role of headliner.

The Purple concert opened with the burning flames of "Burn", continued with "Might Just Take Your Life" in which Hughes showcased his best high-pitched notes and soul-blues vocals. The third piece performed by the band was "Mistreated", with an incredible rendition by Coverdale that elevated the already great emotional involvement of the audience. The show went on with a British group classic, "Smoke On The Water", not too distorted by this lineup but enough reinterpreted (for example, a third verse that reprises the first but sung in two voices by Coverdale and Hughes), followed by "You Fool No One", which features an introduction composed of the theme of "Lazy", with an ending inclusion of a drum solo by Ian Paice that leads into "The Mule".

The grand finale with fireworks with "Space Truckin'", with its interminable and amazing improvisation, concludes with the guitarist destroying two "big headstock" Fender Stratocasters; a famous episode concerning Blackmore himself is worth noting — he first smashed one of the guitars against a camera that was filming him, then ordered a technician to set fire to a Marshall amplifier behind the band with a gasoline can, whose remains were thrown like trash under the stage by the guitarist himself.

A memorable concert that established the success of the new lineup, demonstrating its ability to reach, if not exceed, the historical one before it.