Deep Purple – From the Setting Sun (In Wacken) and To the Rising Sun (in Tokyo).jpg)
Ear Music
http://www.ear-music.net/en/news/
Rating: B+
Deep Purple recorded a landmark live album in the 1970s titled Made in Japan. The album showed a live band that was at the top of their game, fusing youthful arrogance, fierce musicianship, inner band competitiveness, all surrounded by powerful rock and roll songwriting. The album became one of the most celebrated live albums of all time.
Now, several decades down the line has Deep Purple back with two more live albums. While they are older, wiser, and the member they fought with is long gone, the band is still a fierce spectacle on stage. With age comes experience, and with experience comes excellence in this case. These two live albums show the band in front of two very different crowds, yet each album is an example of the timelessness of the music of Deep Purple.
The two albums, From The Setting Sun… and …To The Rising Sun will be made available on 2CD+DVD, Blu-ray (Tokyo performance), Blu-ray 3D (Wacken performance) and 3LP Gatefold on September 18, 2015 on earMUSIC are a testament to the staying power of a band formed in the 1960s!
There are no two rock and roll audiences more different than those at Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival and Japan’s Budokan. The German crowd is dressed in leather and studs, drinking record-setting amounts of beer and screaming out for more ear bleeding heavy metal. The other crowd, the Japanese, sit quietly and politely waiting for the show to begin. The band is the same on both stages. The music also is very much the same, the reactions -while different- both convey a respect to Deep Purple… a respect that has been earned over time and is very much appreciated.
Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover wrote the liner notes for each release and explains the differences in the two venues:
“Made In Japan was partially recorded there and we’ve played there many times since. For such a large space, the acoustics are excellent; this special building never ceases to impress. On this particular evening, we came in at the back door, climbed the cool, marble staircase and entered the familiar dressing room. Feeling like we’re the only people in the building, it’s hard to believe there’s even an audience out there. But there is, young and old, sitting patiently or chatting quietly – the embodiment of civility. It’s almost like the respectful hush one might find in a cathedral. But they’re here to rock. And rock they do. They may be quiet while they’re waiting but far from shy during the show. They gave us an unforgettable evening. Thank you, Tokyo.
“Festival crowds are unique because most people are there for the occasion itself rather than for any particular band. For us that is always a welcome challenge and a chance to connect with many who may never have seen us before. But the real stars are all in the audience. Thank you, Wacken.”
Both shows were filmed in Hi-Def and are visually stunning. Both albums feature great performances by the band. The Wacken set list may be more suited for those who want mostly the greatest hits but the Budokan track list is, overall, better for the hardcore fan as the band includes more of the newer tunes.
Deep Purple ‘did it up right’ with these albums. They show they still ‘have it’; the ‘it’ being Ian Gillan nailing the vocals, Glover and Ian Paice pounding out amazingly tight rhythms while Don Airey and Steve Morse battle it out for center stage lead keyboard and guitar soloing. When Steve and Don buckle down and play in unison while the rhythm section goes crazy, it is pure rock and roll heaven... Then along comes Ian Gillan to blast a note through the stratosphere.
While many decades have passed since Deep Purple shocked the world with Made in Japan, they are still in the modern day shocking audiences, live on stage, night after night, as these releases prove... around the entire globe.
Don’t just pick up one of these releases… do yourself a favor and pick up both!
Long live rock! Long live DP!
TRACKLISTING:
...TO THE RISING SUN (IN TOKYO)
CD1
1. Après Vous
2. Into The Fire
3. Hard Lovin‘ Man
4. Strange Kind Of Woman
5. Vincent Price
6. Contact Lost
7. Uncommon Man
8. The Well-Dressed Guitar
9. The Mule
10. Above And Beyond
CD2
1. Lazy
2. Hell To Pay
3. Don Airey’s solo
4. Perfect Strangers
5. Space Truckin‘
6. Smoke On The Water
7. Green Onions / Hush
8. Black Night
FROM THE SETTING SUN... (IN WACKEN)
CD1
1. Highway Star
2. Into The Fire
3. Hard Lovin‘ Man
4. Vincent Price
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Contact Lost
7. The Well-Dressed Guitar
8. Hell To Pay
9. Lazy
CD2
1. Above And Beyond2. No One Came
3. Don Airey’s solo
4. Perfect Strangers
5. Space Truckin‘
6. Smoke On The Water (featuring Uli Jon Roth)
7. Green Onions / Hush
8. Black Night
By Jeb Wright
