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Rating: 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.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Burn (06:21)
The sky is red, I don't understand,
Past midnight I still see the land.
People are sayin' the woman is damned,
She makes you burn with a wave of her hand.
The city's a blaze, the town's on fire.
The woman's flames are reaching higher.
We were fools, we called her liar.
All I hear is "Burn!"
I didn't believe she was devil sprung.
She said, "Curse you all, you'll never learn!
When I leave there's no return."
The people laughed till she said, "Burn!"
Warning came, no one cared.
Earth was shakin', we stood and stared.
When it came no one was spared.
Still I hear "Burn!"
You know we had no time,
We could not even try.
You know we had no time.
You know we had no time,
We could not even try.
You know we had no time.
The sky is red, I don't understand,
Past midnight I still see the land.
People are sayin' the woman is damned,
She makes you burn with a wave of her hand.
Warning came, no one cared.
Earth was shakin, we stood and stared.
When it came no one was spared.
Still I hear "Burn!"
02 Might Just Take Your Life (04:41)
I got more than I asked for,
There ain't nothin' I need.
I took all till I had more,
I'm always takin' the lead.
Old man shakin' dice down on the street,
Try'n to make a livin' somehow
But I'm really sure about gettin' things sorted out
And I'm gettin' ready right now.
You can't hold me,
I have told you.
Might just take your life,
Might just take your life.
I've been called by many names
And all of them are bad.
I can take it all the same,
It's all I've ever had.
I've got somethin' that you can't get
But one thing you can see:
Gettin' there ain't easy
But it sure was hard for me.
You can't hold me,
I have told you.
Might just take your life,
Might just take your life.
Every time I take a look
There's someone close behind.
They never used to make a pass,
The things that crossed their minds.
Now they tell me that it's all right
And they want to be my friend.
They're ridin' on my back.
When is it goin' to end?
You can't hold me,
I have told you.
Might just take your life,
Might just take your life,
Might just take your life.
Got more than I asked for,
Got more than I need.
Got more than I asked for,
Got more than I need.
Got more than I asked for,
Got more than I need.
03 Mistreated (10:14)
I've been mistreated, I've been abused.
I've been struck downhearted, baby, I've been confused
'Cause I know, yes, I know I've been mistreated.
Since my baby left me I've been losing my mind, you know I have.
I've been lonely, I've been cold.
I've been looking for a woman to have and hold
'Cause I know, yes, I know I've been mistreated.
Since my baby left me I've been losing, I've been losing,
I've been losing my mind, baby baby babe.
I've been mistreated, I've been abused.
I've been looking for a woman, yeh, I've been confused
'Cause I know, yes, I know I've been mistreated, ooh o-o-oh.
Since my baby left me I've been losing, losing,
I've been losing my mind, baby baby babe.
Oh oh oh, oh woman, oh woman, oh woman.
I've been losing my mind.
04 Smoke on the Water (08:26)
We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place in town
When some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Dragging kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
We ended up at the grand hotel
It was empty, cold and bare
And with the rolling truck stones thing just outside
We made our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We made a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water
A fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
06 Space Truckin' (25:14)
Well we had a lot of luck on Venus
We always had a ball on Mars
Meeting all the groovy people
We've rocked the Milky Way so far
We danced around with Borealis
We're space truckin' 'round the the stars
Come on let's go Space Truckin'
Come on
Space Truckin'
Remember when we did the moonshot
And Pony Trekker led the way
We'd move to the Canaveral moonstop
And every 'naut would dance and sway
We got music in our solar system
We're space truckin' round the stars
Come on let's go Space Truckin'
The fireball that we rode was moving
But now we've got a new machine
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah the freaks said
Man those cats can really swing
They got music in their solar system
They've rocked around the Milky Way
They've danced around the Borealis
They're Space Truckin' everyday
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Space truckin'
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Space truckin'
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Space truckin'
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Space truckin'
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