Created | Updated Apr 21, 2010
Legendary hard rockers Deep Purple have an enduring reputation as one of the most rounded bands currently playing. Equally capable of penning catchy singles (Smoke on the Water, Black Night) or epic album tracks (Child in Time), they also have a well-deserved reputation for their live shows, which frequently feature on-stage jams stretching 3-minute album tracks such as Wring That Neck or Space Truckin' to over half an hour.
It is fitting, therefore, that there have been numerous attempts over the years to capture the feel of their live shows on vinyl (or, these days, polycarbonate and silicon). Initially, this simply involved the release of live albums such as the classic Made in Japan, culled from a series of shows at around the same time.
However, after the band split up, demand for new material meant that Purple's various record labels turned to assorted means of recycling older material - compilations, anniversary editions and, of course, live albums. The Deep Purple Appreciation Society - the band's fan club - has made a point of issuing 'archive' concerts and expanded editions of previous live albums via specialist labels such as Purple Records, Sonic Zoom and Deeper Than Blue. These have frequently been under different names to the original releases.
Combined with the reformation of the band some eight years later, there are now a prodigious number of Purple live albums available, even without taking into consideration unofficial 'bootleg' releases. The official Deep Purple Discography is almost more of a problem than a help, spending over 100 pages listing every variant of every release and even then nearly thirty years out of date.
Among all this, it can be hard for the dedicated collector to know whether an album they've just spotted for sale is a recording they already have. It can be even harder to work out whether a given lineup of the band features in a collection. The purpose of this Entry is to put the official live releases into a comprehensible order, chronologically by date of recording.
Deep Purple Mark I
The band's early years are poorly represented among live releases. Although they toured to support each of their three releases, no official live recordings were made. Their set seems to have been heavily based around cover versions and instrumentals featuring lengthy improvides solos from each of the band members, including of course their breakthrough version of Hush.
A single live album, Live at Inglewood1, has since been released based on a bootlegged show.
Deep Purple Mark II
The 'classic' lineup, not surprisingly, has the greatest number of live releases. Technically the two orchestral albums, Concerto for Group and Orchestra and The Gemini Suite, fall into this category; both are available in Anniversary editions with extra live tracks by the band.
The Mark II lineup toured prior to the release of their first album, In Rock, using a set-list similar to the Mark I lineup. This is captured on Live at Montreux 692 (aka Kneel & Pray), which also features very early version of Child in Time and Speed King3. The first disc of In Concert4 is also taken from this time.
With the release of In Rock, Purple hit the big time. Live in Aachen5 (aka Space Vol 1 & 2) is a poor-quality recording that seems to still feature the pre-In Rock set list, with just four lengthy songs. Live in Stockholm6, recorded just two months later, arguably shows the band at their best. (An edited-down and reordered version of the same recording has previously been released as Scandinavian Nights, aka Live and Rare.) By this time, the set list has expanded to include more original numbers, and the lengthy instrumentals are now confined to Space Truckin' or Lazy. This would remain the basic format of Purple live shows until the band's split.
The subsequent Fireball tour is documented on Live in Denmark7 (confusingly also known as Scandinavian Nights, Live in Denmark 1972 or Live in Concert 72/73, this DVD-only release features performances from Copenhagen and New York May 1973 as well as a track by the Mark III lineup from the California Jam - see below. The soundtrack is available on CD.), and further live material from this time features on the second disc of In Concert8, again recorded at the BBC.
However, it was the Machine Head tour that produced Purple's most famous (and first) live album - Made in Japan9. The original release took the highlights of three back-to-back performances in Tokyo and Osaka, and this has become recognised as one of the great live albums of all time. The complete concerts are now available; the bulk were released on the 3-CD Live in Japan, though to fully reconstruct each night you would also need the 2-CD remastered Anniversary edition of Made in Japan and the Listen, Learn, Read On boxed set (which at 6 CDs is an expensive way of completing your collection).
Deep Purple Mark III
The two albums released by the Mark III lineup each had world tours to support them. Deep Purple played a number of US dates, of which two different recordings have been released; California Jamming10 (aka Just Might Take Your Life, aka Live At The Ontario Speedway 1974) and San Diego 7411 (also known under the somewhat unlikely title of Perks & Tit). If buying California Jamming, ensure you get the 2003 re-issue which includes the complete set; earlier versions omit Lay Down, Stay Down. San Diego 74 is said to be the better of the two concerts, recorded just days apart, but sadly the original master recordings are incomplete and two tracks (totalling around 30 mins) are missing.
A UK concert was recorded for release as a live album, but in the event was only issued nearly a decade later as Live in London12. Again, ensure you have the reissue with an extra track, the 30 minute set-closer Space Truckin', which completes the concert.
At the time, the band recorded four further shows at the end of their Europen tour, in Graz, Paris and Saarbrucken. Unfortunately, these have never been systematically released, so completionists will need to buy all the available releases and even then will not have the full four dates. The first of those dates, 3rd April in Graz, has had particularly little exposure, providing just one track for Mk III: The Final Concerts.
The original album was Live In Europe13, compiled from three of the four shows on the continent, but based on the Saarbrucken show. The album was heavily doctored in the studio and is unloved by many fans. Mk III: The Final Concerts (aka Archive Alive) contains further material from the same shows (this time based on the Paris show and with some material from the two Graz shows) and Live in Paris 75, as the name implies, features the full Paris concert and is probably the one to go for if buying only one of the three linked albums. It is unclear how much of the second Graz and Saarbrucken shows have been released.
These turned out to be the last shows Ritchie Blackmore played with the band before 'going solo' with Rainbow.
Deep Purple Mark IV
Although not concert releases, the two volumes of recorded rehearsals and jamming sessions - Days May Come And Days May Go and 1420 Beachwood Drive - are sometimes counted as live albums.
The final live release 'first time round' was Last Concert in Japan14, which spectacularly cemented the Mk IV lineup's reputation as a musical disaster. This was an edited version of the show; the entire set was later released with better sound quality as This Time Around: Live in Tokyo15.
Partial musical rehabilitation for this lineup was also found with the release of Live at Long Beach 197616 (aka On The Wings Of A Russian Foxbat, aka King Biscuit Flower Hour). This concert was also issued in cut-down form as Extended Versions; it is unclear who would buy a reduced-length version of a Deep Purple album.
Deep Purple Mark II Reformed
When the band reformed in 1984, it wasn't long before they felt the need to put out more live material. From here on, the thirty minute epic jams were dropped from the set to allow more songs to be included.
Their only UK show on their reunion tour was headlining Knebworth, duly issued (minus a couple of tracks where the BBC recording equipment had technical trouble) as In The Absence Of Pink: Knebworth 8517, featuring material from their comeback album. The tour supporting their next album has also been recorded and released as Nobody's Perfect18, though this is comprised of recordings from several dates, something Purple fans seem to frown upon these days.
The first three volumes of the semi-official Deep Purple Collectors Edition The Bootleg Series 1984-200019 each consist of a complete set by this incarnation of the band.
Deep Purple Mark V
One of the biggest frustrations to collectors is the complete absence of any official live material featuring Joe Lynn Turner on vocals. Derided by many fans at the time as too reminiscent of Rainbow, the band seem to be deliberately avoiding releasing such material. If you wish to hear what they sounded like, you will need to resort to the bootleg market.
Deep Purple Mark II Reformed Again
Once regular singer Ian Gillan was back in the fold, Purple embarked on a 25th Anniversary tour. Two dates were recorded and released in their entirety as a boxed set, Live in Europe 199320 and DVD, Come Hell Or High Water, before being re-released individually a few years later as Live in Stuttgart 1993 and Live at the NEC 1993. The latter title caused some controversy when Gillan slated it as one of the band's worst and advised fans not to buy it, causing the record label to delete it. For those who wish to ignore his advice, there is no musical difference between buying the boxed set or obtaining the two concerts separately.
The fourth volume of the Bootleg Series box21 is also taken from this tour.
Deep Purple Mark VI
Joe Satriani's brief stint in the band is another disappointingly unreleased era. This is likely due to the same contractual difficulties as prevented him from writing studio material with them, since he did perform a full tour.
Deep Purple Mark VII
Once Steve Morse was installed as new guitarist, Purple launched 'secret' tours of Mexico and the USA - the latter providing the penultimate Bootleg Series22 set. They also toured Africa and Asia prior to the release of Purpendicular.
The supporting tour for this latest album was recorded at two locations for Live at the Olympia 9623 and Live at Montreux 199624 (also available as a DVD of the same name). A little-known European album called Live Encounters25 also came out of this tour, though release was very limited and many mistakenly believe this to be an unoffical bootleg.
Purple's tour to support their next studio album, Abandon, resulted in the Total Abandon: Australia '9926 CD and DVD. They then took a hiatus to resurrect their Concerto, firstly as a one-off Live at the Royal Albert Hall27 (aka Live With the LSO).
They then toured again, mixing their 'usual' set with 'rarities' performances centring on the Concerto. The 'usual' version features on Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy28 and the final volume of the Bootleg Series29.
Their subsequent World Tour was recorded in exceptional detail even by Purple's standards, with a 12-CD Soundboard Series30 boxed set featuring six full back-to-back concerts (the last two being the 'concerto version'; the second, third and fourth dates feature identical track listings and the first differs only by the inclusion of a single extra track).
Deep Purple Mark VIII
With the retirement of Jon Lord, the band toured again to support their Bananas album and introduce new keyboardist Don Airey. No recordings of this have been released, but their subsequent (and latest) tour has produced a third in their increasing regular series of live albums from Montreux, They All Came Down To Montreux31 (aka Live at Montreux 2009 and available as a 2-DVD set with a considerable amount of extra material).
As a final note, a live compilation Space Truckin' Around the World 68-76 is planned for release in 2010. This will contain no previously unreleased material.
