Deep Purple
Made in Japan

I find it difficult to fully describe the greatness of this live album, a sonic monster still unmatched today, which has been shining for over forty years. The album is a perfect concentrate of hard rock madness, a distillation of instrumental technique, energy, class, perfection, the pinnacle of an entire career. Recorded in the land of the rising sun, in August of the now distant 1972, it gathers the exceptional performances of the English band in Osaka and Tokyo, memorable concerts that decreed "Made in Japan" as one of the best live albums in the history of rock, competing for the crown with the "Live at Fillmore" by the Allman Brothers and the "The Song Remains the Same" by Zeppelin.

The band's lineup is the classic Mark II, perhaps the best in the group's history, with a splendid and wild Gillan on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Ian Paice on drums, the late Jon Lord with his monstrous organ, and the group's "hippie," mister Roger Glover on bass. The five were coming from the huge success of their latest studio album, "Machine Head," packed with great classics like "Smoke on the Water," "Highway Star," "Lazy," works that have delivered the band to the rock Olympus. During the album's tour, their record company decided to record some dates of their tour in Japan, to create a live album, which according to the band's intentions should have been released only in Japan. According to what Lord said, the group was not enthusiastic about the idea of a live album, but under the insistence of their producers, they accepted and called it "Made in Japan," almost disparagingly, since "produced in Japan" at that time sounded like today's "Made in China" or "Made in Taiwan," synonymous with low-quality product. What a mistake!!. The sound is that of a band at its peak in terms of group feeling, technical skills, and stage presence; the exceptional skills of the five were immortalized in their splendor and it is common opinion that the live recorded tracks took on a new and more powerful fascination compared to those from studio albums, almost completely overshadowing them. The album begins with the epic "Highway Star," an immortal track where Lord's organ intro is followed by Mr. Blackmore's Stratocaster, which ignites the crowd with the initial riff, distorting the guitar almost as if to abuse it, then making way for Ian Gillan's vocal talents, which shine with energy with his sharp voice, thrilling the crowd that goes wild. As usual for the band, great improvisation, with Lord and Blackmore dominating the scene, supported by an exceptional rhythm section of bass and drums. Next, they give their best with another great classic, "Child in Time," which for intensity and energy gives chills. I've been listening to music for many years, I've heard many songs, beautiful voices, fantastic bands, but I must say that this song, in the live version of this work, always gives me chills, exceptional!! Gillan displays all his vocal skills in falsetto, reaching excellent, wild heights that seem to come from a mythological beast, accompanied by a devilish guitar and a fantastic organ, which opens with its initial phrasing in a calm way and then releases all its anger in the song's central part. "Child in Time" is derived from a track a few years earlier by "It's A Beautiful Day," called "Bombay Calling," borrowed and then transformed by the English band.

How can one not remember the immense "Smoke on the Water" with its iconic guitar riff, and the splendid "Strange Kind of Woman," immensely extended by the band, where in the central part Gillan and Blackmore duel, challenging each other, one with falsetto and the other with his guitar, in an improvised back-and-forth that drives the audience delirious. Another track revitalized by the live treatment is the blues of "Lazy," also included in the "Machine Head" album, where the instrumental creativity of the group finds plenty of space, where the harmony between the organ and the Stratocaster is fully felt, exchanging riffs and high-quality flourishes. Gillan has little space in this track with his voice, albeit always powerful and seductive, but takes the opportunity to showcase his skills with the harmonica, giving the piece a fabulous blues warmth!! "Space Truckin'" is dominated by the organ, which starts with a monstrous wail, where Lord lets himself go in all his brilliance, extending the track immensely and introducing the rest of the band in a frantic rhythm, with the iconic guitar riff and Gillan's powerful singing..

In "The Mule," Ian Paice takes the stage; after a band intro, the drummer unleashes a great solo for several minutes, showcasing all his technical skills as if to warn "Hey, it's not just Bonham and Palmer, guys!!," while his bandmates take a moment to rest, leaving the stage to him..

In the remastered version, there is also a second disc containing other epochal pieces like the excellent "Lucille," a hard rock cover of the father of rock 'n roll Little Richard's track, always present in the band's live shows, and the excellent "Black Night," enhanced compared to the "In Rock" version, an album that marked the group's hard turn.

On par if not more than other live works, "Made in Japan" has established the cornerstones of the true live rock album, giving it that "license" of grandeur that makes it the culmination point for every band. From then on, the band will face changes, quarrels, lineup changes, reunions, but the true soul of Purple resides here and will shine forever..