Deep Purple
Made in Europe

THE REVIEW

Being masters of a genre like rock means holding the secret spark, that spark capable of making some music great, and others mere cliché.

The DP of "Made in Europe" are now in the gotha of rock, rich and famous, but with a changed line-up: Gillan "steel throat" and Glover have given way to two almost unknown guys, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, but, on the other hand, not at all "clones" of those who left.

This concert, in reality a skillful collage by producer Martin Birch, immediately makes it clear that the newcomers are not just two extras, but they innovate and enrich the group's live sound especially in the vocal part: the "main" voice is the bluesy Coverdale supported, however, by the gifted Hughes, who certainly does not limit himself to backing vocals! And here is the opening with "Burn", fast blues with an obvious neoclassical escape on the pattern of "Highway star", which rightly enters among the best of the Purple, six minutes of power, speed, and taste in which Blackmore and Lord are truly amazing with their solos. Let's all bow, however, before "Mistreated", from the solemn and warm riff, as only Blackmore can do, on which Coverdale's bluesy voice reigns supreme, especially in the "Rock my baby" insert, making it immediately clear that Purple fans may not have to miss Gillan's mannerisms because the sound has acquired a new depth and richness (modernity?).

The third track is "Lay down, stay down", a fast piece with an engaging and direct guitar: very fast blues with an interesting use of echo effect. But it is only the preparation for the best piece of this live, which is the nervous and very fast "You fool no one" where the whole group travels to the limit without any smudging, with the two voices in unison on Paice's monumental drums, not just a simple accompanist but a creator of real "drum riffs" (remember "The mule"?) which in this piece displays a terrifying power and technique: listen to believe. The classic "Stormbringer", predominantly sung by Coverdale, but with excellent contributions from Hughes, is one of the hardest and most epic tracks, with a Ritchie solo that preludes the sounds that he would soon develop with the Rainbow.

Even decades later, the authenticity of the Deep Purple rock icon oozes from the grooves of this record, enveloped by that mysterious energy, unreachable for many craftsmen of today's rock scene, leaving us with the most important feeling for a rock concert: that "something happened" on stage.