DEEP PURPLE : LIVE IN ROME 2013

 

Disc One (54:07)

  1. Fireball
  2. Into The Fire
  3. Hard Lovin' Man
  4. Vincent Price
  5. Strange Kind Of Woman
  6. Contact Lost
  7. Guitar Solo
  8. All The Time In The World
  9. The Well-Dressed Guitar
  10. The Mule
  11. Bodyline
  12. Lazy

Disc Two (54:22)

  1. Above And Beyond
  2. No One Came
  3. Key Solo
  4. Perfect Strangers
  5. Space Truckin'
  6. Smoke On The Water
  7. Hush
  8. Bass Solo
  9. Black Night

Label : Ear Music

Venue : Ippodromo Delle Capannelle, Rome, Italy

Recording Date : July 22, 2013

Release Date : December 6, 2019

Review (Madness To Creation) : Deep Purple's new release Live in Rome 2013 transports listeners back to a dynamic, emotional and immersive performance from the masters of classic rock. This album features the recording of the Now What?! Tour of 2013, when Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Steve Morse and Don Airey celebrated their first album after the passing of former bandmate and good friend Jon Lord. Deep Purple's classic sound remains as powerful as ever. The variety of progressive synths, keys and soaring guitar solos brings a theatrical element to the rock side to their sound. The signature organ sound, not only characteristic of Deep Purple but also of the 70s, really brings their tracks to life. Their chosen set list for the 2013 performance included a fantastic variety of their discography. A mixture of more traditional classic rock tracks with those of a more progressive nature creates a fantastic variety that comes through wonderfully on the album. Vincent Price, in particular, delves into darker themes and sees the instrumentation create a compelling atmosphere. Live extras further enhance the effect of their music. Instrumental solos bring an extra dimension to the tracks and really deliver the feel of the live performance through this album. The keys interludes are of course to be expected. Deep Purple held the keys, synths and organ sounds as a prominent aspect of their music, and rightly so. The solo keys in Lazy bring a range of jazz and funk aspects into the music. It has a strong 'good time' feel. The subtle accompaniment of the percussion and gradually introduction of the lead guitar sees a great build up effect in the middle section of the track. The harmonica also takes centre stage in Lazy. The versatility in their song writing remains dynamic in the band's ability to incorporate such a range of instruments into their sound whilst retaining the central focus of classic rock. The energetic drum solo featuring in The Mule brings the percussion into the spotlight. Drum solos do seem to be rather lacking in many of today's bands live shows. Perhaps the good old drum solo is due for a comeback. Each member and instrument have their own time to shine, both in the form of solo sections and combine as the full band performance. Ian Gillan's vocals soar over the instrumentation, remaining powerful throughout the performance. As with the instruments, the vocals are well balanced. They contribute to Deep Purple's sound without over-shadowing the instruments. This album really encompasses the emotion and energy of the 2013 show. The support from the audience that comes through emphasises the atmosphere. It is a great celebration of classic rock. earMUSIC and Deep Purple have worked on a Limited-Edition Series, made of very rare live recordings from the band's archive. This series concentrates on the last three decades of concerts around the world, and, after starting with an explosive show in Newcastle, Australia, finally enters its second round with "Live In Rome 2013".

Review (Knac) : That Deep Purple have always been a band that is best enjoyed live has been documented by countless live releases over the last five decades. In fact, Made in Japan is widely regarded as the mother of all live albums. Especially in recent years, Deep Purple Mark VIII, i.e. Ian Gillan, Steve Morse, Don Airey, Roger Glover and Ian Paice, have released several live albums. Particularly the 2013 to 2015 Now What?! World Tour was well documented by the twin release From The Setting Sun. .To The Rising Sun (the former live in Wacken, the latter live in Tokyo) as well as the Now What ?! Live Tapes, a double live album that contained recordings of individual songs performed during different shows all over the place and that was exclusively released on vinyl. And now EarMusic and Deep Purple have released Live in Rome 2013, the second installment of a series of releases of "very rare" (says the infosheet) live recordings from the last three decades. The present incarnation of Deep Purple is not only the longest-serving but, and I know this opinion is not very popular with Mark II puritans, also the finest in terms of music and live performances. Far from being a nostalgia act, Deep Purple have maintained and refined their creativity, energy and credibility and that despite increasing age - singer Ian Gillan was almost 68 years old when Purple played Rome on July 22, 2013. The set list on Live In Rome 2013 is, little surprise, very similar to those on From The Setting Sun. and .To The Rising Sun. "Mars" from Gustav Holst's The Planets serves as a spectacular intro before Purple kick off their show with the high-octane "Fireball", followed by the classic "Into The Fire" from Deep Purple In Rock (1970). Here as well as on the other classic songs, Ian Gillan leaves little doubt that he's still up for it and on "Hard Loving Man" Don Airey's Hammond screams like a beast. The eery tongue-in-cheek rocker "Vincent Price" from the 2013 studio album Now What?! is next, then "Strange Kind of Woman" before Ian Gillan introduces "the incredible Steve Morse", who then takes over playing "Contact Lost" from the 2003 release Bananas. And so it continues. The albums contains Mark II classics as well as material from recent albums, and the 22 tracks on Live In Rome 2013 leave no doubt that Deep Purple played a great concert in the Eternal City that night. As I said before, the outstanding live qualities of Deep Purple on their 2013 to 2015 Now What?! tour are well documented, so quite why yet another live album from that tour has been released is a legit question to ask. On the one hand it would be an unforgivable sin of omission if the Now What?! era weren't included in EarMusic 's series of Deep Purple live recordings. On the other hand, if one were nasty, one could easily accuse the record company of making some extra bucks with yet another live album. Deep Purple fans would disagree to the latter proposition and, listening to the superb performance on Live In Rome, I am actually thankful for this release and maybe it is the abundance of Deep Purple Mark VIII live albums that make the world a worthwhile place to live. And yet, there is nothing really new on it, nothing the die-hard Deep Purple fan hasn't heard before but this is probably irrelevant when it comes down to collectors' items and a collectors' item Live In Rome 2013 is without a doubt. Still, I can't find an answer to the question whether the world really needs this and thus I dare to deduct 1 point and let others find an answer for themselves.