DEEP PURPLE : PERFECT STRANGERS LIVE

DEEP PURPLE : PERFECT STRANGERS LIVE

Highway Star
Nobody's Home
Strange Kind Of Woman
A Gypsy's Kiss
Perfect Strangers
Under The Gun
Knocking At Your Back Door
Lazy
Child In Time
Difficult To Cure
Keyboard Solo
Space Truckin'
Black Night
Speed King
Smoke On The Water

Label : Eagle Vision

Released : October 14, 2013

Venue : Sydney Entertainment Centre, Syndney, Australia

Recording Date : December 12, 1984

Length : 115 minutes

Aspect Ratio : 4:3

Review (Blabbermouth) : Eagle Vision has meticulously issued Deep Purple live videos over recent years covering the variant Mark periods of the band. It's only fitting they unearth the reunion of the MKII-era lineup for "Perfect Strangers Live", a video document showcasing Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice, Roger Glover and the late Jon Lord as they reformed in 1984 and blew through what Glover refers to as "great times for Deep Purple." "Perfect Strangers Live" not only serves as a nice tribute to Jon Lord, it opens and closes the door to a remarkably hopeful and ultimately foiled attempt to recapture old glories in the band. To get to this point in '84 and '85 when this video was captured, the members of what most consider to be the best lineup of Deep Purple needed to mend their fences and push past the differences culminating in the eleven years' division following Ian Gillan and Roger Glover's partings from the group. History shows that this optimistic reunification of the MKII lineup producing two successful studio albums, "Perfect Strangers" and "The House of Blue Light", would be short-lived once Ian Gillan again left the band momentarily and then Ritchie Blackmore after him. What's special about "Perfect Strangers Live" is that Deep Purple fans get the opportunity to revel in the band's upbeat and footloose temperament while it was still hot. The set list of this 1985 concert contained five tracks from the "Perfect Strangers" album including the title track, "Knocking On Your Back Door", "Nobody's Home", "A Gypsy's Kiss" and "Under the Gun". The rest is corralled of MKII-era staples such as "Highway Star", "Smoke On the Water", "Lazy", "Child in Time", "Black Night", "Speed King" and "Space Truckin'". Deep Purple historically has been a band thriving on improvisation, but clearly they made a merry time out of freestyle and goofery in this set while feeling one another out onstage again. Ian Gillan jokes on numerous occasions about singing the songs in other languages but sticks to English the entire time. Ritchie Blackmore noodles through Deep Purple's countless jam moments where you'll find him dipping into Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" movement from the 9th Symphony, "Waltzing Matilda" and excerpts from "Jesus Christ Superstar". He also throws in a quick set of riffs from the MKIII era's "Burn" during "Speed King", being ever the snarky chap. Blackmore's solos range from wired and scorching to downright aloof. When he tears into his solo for "Under the Gun", Blackmore blips all around stage left, then drags his frets across a floor amp to emit a scratchy set of scales. Jon Lord is no less of a clown, spooling off out-of-nowhere slivers of John Williams' "Jaws" theme, Holst's "The Planets" and even "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". His organ soloing is tight most of the time, completely unruly in others. At one point, Lord is so into keeping things on the fun side he rocks his Hammond back and forth from its mount. You can catch Lord asking Blackmore "What was that?" in the middle of latter's cracking through "Speed King" before both players start dicking around in tandem. Ian Gillan sidles up to Ritchie Blackmore and tries to scat his wails to the same pitches of Blackmore's guitar pleats. He also plays along with Jon Lord during "Knocking On Your Back Door" as well as cutting Lord off outright in the middle of "Lazy" with a harmonica solo. Watching the shenanigans from his riser is the always-stellar Ian Paice, who appears to be getting a good laugh while keeping the band glued as best he can. Of course, Paice delivers a mondo-long drum solo (a norm for the Eighties), so no one is immune from extemporization in this set. In some ways, this overt lack of focus and wayward jamming from Deep Purple 1985 pesters the songs more than accents them, but for the viewer, this is a lot of nonsensical amusement worth viewing. As much as Deep Purple jams and extends their classics to the point they induce sporadic boredom, the "Perfect Strangers" cuts are hammered out mostly straight. The raunchy "Knocking On Your Back Door" is played in a slightly different key, but it comes off strong, as do "Nobody's Home" and "Perfect Strangers". The most exhilarating element to "Perfect Strangers Live" is watching Ian Gillan hop aboard the congas after screeching like a banshee through the choruses of "Child in Time", flailing away like the old psych days. Gillan stays positioned frequently at the congas when he's not front and center singing. During "Space Truckin'", Gillan seems to be outright possessed by the congas while Ritchie Blackmore gets lost in the static emissions jerked out by his whammy bar. In the bonus features is a segment called "Tour Documentary", which is really a succession of old news clips from around the world including a Canadian music show and "The Old Grey Whistle Test" from the UK, where Ian Gillan staves off yellow questions about whether or not money was an issue for his coming back to Deep Purple. Roger Glover nets the quotable of the whole video when asked if he considered Deep Purple a heavy metal band: "we're more country and western compared to heavy metal." As Ian Gillan introduces the brisk and punchy "Speed King" in the concert as "one of the slowest songs Deep Purple ever recorded", one can appreciate how much of a rip he and the band were having at this point in their careers. Their set here is grossly undisciplined but in the interest of their short-lived camaraderie, the silliness and the adlibbing deservedly command the spotlight more than the reunion itself.

Review (VintageRock) : In 1984, what was once deemed impossible actually happened: The classic second lineup of Deep Purple reconvened, cut an album and hit the road. It wasn't easy, especially when you consider the tensions between guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and singer Ian Gillan. Somehow, some way, they were able to put their differences aside and record the brilliant Perfect Strangers album. The follow-up, The House Of Blue Light, didn't quite measure up with its predecessor and 1988's Nobody's Perfect, a live album based on their 1987 The House Of Blue Light tour, didn't little to temper a situation already on a downward spiral. It's taken nearly 30 years, but Perfect Strangers Live, a double CD, DVD and Blu-ray Disc release that captures that first reunion tour, is finally here to show the cynics how it was done. Although this isn't exactly the only footage available from the Perfect Strangers tour as claimed (a sweet bootleg from Paris has been making the rounds for years), this 1984 Melbourne, Australia show is every bit as holy and enviable for Purple heads. The classic Mark II configuration of Blackmore, Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice, together for the first time since 1973, show little signs of wear or rust as they dive headfirst into a cozy mix of old and new tracks. They blast off with "Highway Star" and after a steady and straight rip at "Nobody's Home," cut loose on the endearing "Strange Kind Of Woman." The call and response between Gillan and Blackmore isn't as smooth as it is on Made In Japan, but it's hardly a train wreck and the two sworn enemies look as if they're actually getting off on the exchange. As promised, lots of then-new and potent tracks from Perfect Strangers were integrated into the set without much fuss. The album's title track is a showcase of Jon Lord's command of the Hammond, while "Knocking At Your Back Door" is as easy on the ears as the sound of waves crashing on the beach -- with a little more reverb. Then there's "Lazy." This is where Blackmore and Lord show why they were very much the architects and sound bearers of Deep Purple. Of course, drummer Ian Paice gets his turn with a stupendous solo, and as the sole remaining original member, he too embodies an irrefutable element of the band. It's really hard to imagine Purple carrying on if Paice wasn't manning the kit. "Child In Time" finds Gillan a shade more restrained (with effects) simply because he couldn't scream in the 80s like he could in the 70s. At the break, Blackmore goes off on one of the most frenzied attacks on the fretboard you'll ever see. Even Gillan, resigned to pounding his congas in ragged time with Glover's booming bass lines, is impressed. Blackmore and Lord each take solo spots - the guitarist swirling away on fragments of Rainbow's "Difficult To Cure," and Beethoven's 9th Symphony before ceding the spotlight to the keyboardist with an expanded rig that includes synths and a piano for an infusion of classical, jazz and hard rock. You consider the musicianship and you realize what a shame it is these two musicians will never share a stage together again. "Space Truckin'" suitably rocks the house, and then Lord and Blackmore lock and engage in total cacophonic warfare. More, shall we say, marginal tracks like "Black Night" and "Speed King" quickly fill in the gaps before an epic "Smoke On The Water" brings the whole shooting match to a roaring conclusion. Well, not entirely, because if you have the video, you also get a documentary, which is little more than film clips of Purple on the road, for historical significance, but little else. On the whole, Perfect Strangers Live is yet another chapter is the storied Deep Purple saga. It was a unique and successful period in the band's history, and this is validation of why they, along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, are the forefathers of hard rock and heavy metal.