Deep Purple: Made In Japan (Live) - 1972
Sure, by 1972 Deep Purple were becoming a virtual caricature of themselves, the very quintessence of a long-haired heavy rock band. The living spirit of 1972 in many ways. Singer Ian Gillan shrieked in that high-pitched way that hundreds of heavy metal singers would soon do, Ritchie Blackmore made his axe talk, man, Jon Lord freaked out on the organ, backed by the solid and steadfast power duo of Roger Glover on bass and the underrated Ian Paice on drums. Whatever these guys were, one thing is for damn sure - they could play.
On this now iconic live album, they took the already gargantuan sound from their heavy albums In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head and, guess what? They made them even longer, rocking out for even up to twenty minutes while the enraptured Japanese audience donned their rising sun headbands and went into heavy metal battle. They lapped up everything Purple San could throw at their ears.
Yes, nearly twenty minutes of Space Truckin' is probably too long and of course there is the obligatory drum solo to get through, but one listen to Black Night, the legendary Smoke On The Water, Strange Kind Of Woman, Speed King, Lucille or the magnificent opener Highway Star and surely the hardest anti-heavy sceptic can be won over. Hell, all the tracks are good. Look, my instincts are/were for punk, soul, Motown and glam but even I find this pretty much irresistible. It makes you want to grow your hair, wear some bulge-tight flared jeans, down a few beers and enjoy the pliant pleasures of a groupie in your hotel room.
If you can't do that then simply stick it on and play it loud!
