Deep Purple
Destroyed The Arena Budokan

It has often happened that during times of deep crises, artistic peaks were reached that had never been touched before. A bit, for example, like what happened with Romano-Byzantine art before the fall of the Roman Empire, or the birth of the artistic-literary movement of "Decadentismo," exploiting the inner turmoil of the artist figure.
So it happens with music, where musicians, having reached a critical point in their careers, produce the album of salvation. For Deep Purple, however, it is another story: they lived in success, buoyed by the triumphs of "Machine Head" and "Made In Japan." However, there were the well-known problems within the group, the unhealable wounds between Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Gillan. The positions were as radical as those of the MSI and the PCI in Italy during the protest years (with due limits to the comparison). Had it been up to the two, they would have parted ways long before, but contractual obligations required them to finish the tours they embarked on. And precisely on stage, on one hand, all external problems were shelved, but on the other, there was no shortage of constant jabs at one another. In short, things were not going well at all.

Meanwhile, there was a tour to carry on before starting a new chapter. Official live recordings of Mk 2 after "Made In Japan" were not released, but fortunately, there are tons of bootlegs (thank goodness they were never criminalized!) that complete Deep Purple's infinite discography. Recordings that make us understand how these five Rock artists could play magnificently even though they weren't speaking to each other.
Then there was Japan, which had become the second home for the British group and it's precisely there that "Destroyed The Arena Budokan" was recorded on June 25, 1973. The setlist is damn short, including only six songs, and to be honest, they are the historic songs that Deep Purple included in every concert: "Highway Star", "Smoke On The Water", "Strange Kind Of Woman", "Child In Time", "Lazy", and "Space Truckin'", all extended to excess.
And so the average listener might rightfully ask me: "Francè, we've listened to ‘Made In Japan,’ what else can we expect?". Good question, but I have the answer: Deep Purple are never trivial, never repetitive, every concert is different from another, you can never get bored. Indeed, if you are a Deep Purple fan, you always want more, you always want to hear new versions, you are never satisfied.

And then there are always those pleasant little differences that give an idea of the band's artistic evolution. Starting with "Highway Star": a noise apotheosis precedes Ian Paice's drums, faster than ever. Jon Lord in his solo is more gothic and imposing than ever. From the start, you also notice the first Blackmore-Gillan disputes, with the singer trying to imitate the solo of the "Man in Black" who, in response, plays it faster and higher in tones. We start well.
Blackmore in the last dates with Deep Purple always seemed listless, but in every way, he tried to draw attention to himself and unexpectedly inserts a guitar intro both before "Smoke On The Water" and "Strange Kind Of Woman". Blackmore reconstructs and reshapes his guitar style even more amplifying old components towards an even more sumptuous, epic, melodically refined style, but also a bit cleaner, with an increasingly marked incorporation of Middle Eastern solutions (as in the conclusion of the solo in "Smoke On The Water"). In "Strange Kind Of Woman", however, the battle to the last note (blood even!) between guitar and voice takes place, sparing no low blows!
Things get serious again with "Child In Time", the group's best song for lyrics, a splendid song: ballad and hard rock at the same time: a sweet, melancholic and evocative start that erupts into a raging Blackmore solo, an electric fury that then subsides and in the "calm after the storm" this piece ends as it began.

But do not think that Deep Purple is only Blackmore and Gillan! Now the spotlight is on the other three members of the group. Jon Lord introduces "Lazy" as only he knows how: Lord's Hammond sketches unique notes and melodies with callbacks to "Fanfare of The Common Man" and blues passages. This version is even faster, a wild blues 'n' roll, followed by being overwhelmed by the murderous fury of "Ian Paice on the drums".
The time to catch a breath, absolute silence, and a relentless hi-hat percussion starts to make way, "Maestro" Lord plays the famous notes of the opening of Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra". The perfect prelude for the megalithic riff of "Space Truckin'", in an extremely long version lasting over twenty-five (25!) minutes, alternating with Gillan's screams and Blackmore's gentle touch, with Glover's bass solo that picks up the main chorus of the song and then space again for Jon Lord for his solo, aided by the award-winning rhythm section Paice-Glover. The Maestro does everything and the impossible, showing us how the figure of the keyboardist can be damn Rock and imposing, essentially epic, capable of varying classic (indispensable) references with more psychedelic and noise phrases. A cavalcade that leaves the listener stunned.

Two minutes or so of a hypnotic Blackmore to rest, and it is the final triumph, the "Storm". The end of the performance is adrenaline-pumping, the musical trance possesses the five musicians, their execution knows no obstacles, it's like a runaway train without brakes. Then the crash, and finally (or unfortunately), the concert ends.
Damn what a concert! That's why I listen and will never get tired of listening to Deep Purple, because they are immortal.