Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers Live DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

While every band seems to reunite these days, the 1984 reunion of Deep Purple's famed Mk II lineup was a major event in the music world. Rock and roll still dominated the charts and, after 11 years apart, fans welcomed the "Smoke On The Water" lineup of the band with open arms. During their time apart, Deep Purple briefly continued on with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes handling vocals, singer Ian Gillan had a solo career along with a stint in Black Sabbath and Ritchie Blackmore had great success with Rainbow. Still, Mk II's chemistry was undeniable and, after 11 years and some soul searching, the band managed to heal old wounds to release a new album and tour behind it.

The album, Perfect Strangers, was a blockbuster for the band, going platinum and spawning two legitimate Purple classics in "Perfect Strangers" and "Knocking At Your Back Door." Still, live concerts are where the band built its reputation and the Perfect Strangers tour was no exception. Sadly, very little footage of the band's reunion has ever been made available, until now. The tour began in Australia and the band had the cameras rolling, resulting in the DVD Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers Live.

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Deep Purple - NOW What?! CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

For NOW What?!, their first studio album since 2005, the legendary Deep Purple decided to enlist the services of an equally legendary producer. Bob Ezrin, who helmed classic albums by groups such as Kiss, Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper, is working with Deep Purple for the first time. The results are a strong album that mixes familiar Purple elements with modern production touches.

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Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi - WhoCares CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In 2011, Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan reunited with his old Black Sabbath band mate, Tony Iommi, to record a charity single to benefit a music school in Armenia that was destroyed in the 1988 earthquake that devastated the region. The pair recruited a number of A-list musicians for the lead track, “Out Of My Mind,” including Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain on drums, Jason Newsted on bass and the late Jon Lord on keyboards. That track, along with its B-side, “Holy Water,” is included in the two-CD compilation album, WhoCares, the profits of which will further aid the charity.

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WhoCares - Out Of My Mind/Holy Water CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In 1983, after the departure of Ronnie James Dio, Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan joined forces with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward to record Born Again, the first — and only — Black Sabbath album to feature Gillan's vocals. Despite its short-lived status, that Sabbath lineup has a cult following among fans. Fast forward to the end of the 1980s when tragedy struck the Spitak region of Armenia in the form of an earthquake. Gillan, along with Deep Purple band mate, Ritchie Blackmore and an all-star cast including Tony Iommi, David Gilmour, Bruce Dickinson, Brian May and Roger Taylor recorded an updated version of "Smoke On The Water" as part of the Rock Aid Armenia album to raise money for the region. Now, some 20 years later, Gillan, Iommi and a new all-star band have recorded a single to help the charity.

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Deep Purple - History, Hits & Highlights '68-'76 DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Few bands have managed to have as much success with as many lineups as Deep Purple. From the frilly shirts and swinging ‘60s vibe of the MK I lineup to the proto-metal MK II version to the more soulful MK III and IV lineups, Deep Purple has always been an exciting and interesting band, especially live. The band’s essential first period from 1968-1976 is covered on the two-DVD set, Deep Purple – History, Hits & Highlights ’68-’76.

Disc one opens with a short documentary of the band, showing highlights from 1968-1976 before going into a rare promo video of MK I’s cover of the Beatles “Help!” A performance of “Hush” from Playboy After Dark follows along with some studio footage of “Mandrake Root.” While the video quality is excellent, the PAD footage is oddly edited, with part of it on disc two and the disc one footage beginning at the end of a Jon Lord interview that is started on disc two. A minor quibble in an excellent set, but a strange oversight nonetheless.

Not surprisingly, the legendary MK II version with Ian Gillan on vocals and Roger Glover on bass gets the most coverage on the set with more than 20 songs. Highlights include killer performances of “Demon’s Eye,” “No No No,” and a version of “Highway Star” with different lyrics. The band’s signature song, “Smoke on the Water,” is, of course, included, though it seems a better version could have been chosen. While Gillan sounds fine, Ritchie Blackmore starts the song out of tune and appears disinterested. This wasn’t long before Gillan left the band, so tension on Blackmore’s part was likely. Disc two includes some rare rehearsal footage of “No No No” from the Beat Club that shows off Purple’s live prowess. These clips are mistakenly labeled as being from Rockpalast on the DVD sleeve.

When Gillan and Glover left, they were replaced by then-unknown David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass. This lineup represented a bluesier, more soulful version of Deep Purple and they recorded two albums before Blackmore tired of their direction and quit his own band. “Burn” from the Leeds Polytech Student project in 1974 and “Mistreated” from the California Jam (the entire show of which is available on DVD) document this period of the band. For whatever reason, the same performance of “Burn” is repeated on disc two.

After Blackmore, came Tommy Bolin, who recorded one album with the band before their split in 1976. Bolin was hooked on heroin and later overdosed and his live shows were erratic at best. Still, “Love Child” and “You Keep on Moving” make an appearance here.

The DVD includes a fine book that reads like a scrapbook, with photos and newspaper clippings from all lineups of the band. Disc one fails to mention where any of the performances are from which, along with some of the other sloppy editing, keeps this from being a perfect Deep Purple collection. However the positives greatly outweigh the negatives, the footage is in great condition and the two DVDs contain nearly five hours of prime-era Deep Purple, making this a must-own for any fan of the band.