Deep Purple -
Total Abandon
(Australia '99)
Performance
Production
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Deep Purple -
Total Abandon
Performance
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You've just got to love these old dinosaur rock bands - especially the ones, like Deep Purple, who can still kick your ass well into their fifties (and almost sixties in Jon Lord's case). I'm certainly not mocking any of these senior citizen bands, because many of them are still dishing out way better music and concerts than most of these young rock-wannabes currently occupying the charts. It is just a little bit frightening to still see Dio or Ozzy up on stage singing about demons and dragons while screaming metal guitar riffs blow your head off. Oh, who am I kidding, they still RULE! Back to Deep Purple. I hadn't listened to anything by these guys since their 1983 Perfect Strangers album, and had pretty much left them for dead. I had heard that Steve Morse was touring with them, and that they had made a couple of albums with him, but I just took it as a bunch of has-beens trying to milk a few final dollars from the teets of their fans. Deep Purple, you have my sincerest apologies, because you old guys kicked my ass. Total Abandon features the original "MKII" Deep Purple lineup, minus Ritchie Blackmore, on a 1999 tour stop in Melbourne, Australia. The MKII lineup is the quintessential 70's Deep Purple lineup and, noting Blackmore's absence, consists of Roger Glover (bass), Ian Paice (drums), Ian Gillan (vocals), and Jon Lord (keyboards). Steve Morse started lending his guitar wizardry to the band in the mid-90's and has been with them ever since. This tour was in support of their new album, Total Abandon, which they wrote and recorded with Morse. The concert opened with the new song "Ted The Mechanic", which I didn't particularly like, but the guitar solo, and organ break midway through the song were very cool. "Strange Kind Of Woman" followed and I was immediately reminded of how awesome Jon Lord's menacing Hammond B3 organ playing is. I was surprised to see them dust off "Pictures Of Home" from the legendary Machine Head album. Steve Morse decided to throw in this five minute guitar solo into the middle of the song that had nothing to do with the original version, but it was pretty damn amazing. Morse has complete mastery over his instrument, and he is able to infuse his own unique style into the classic Deep Purple sound without prejudicing it too much. He breathes new life into the classic songs and plays some of them significantly different than Blackmore ever did - almost like he is their biggest fan, and is so excited to be playing these songs that he can't help from getting carried away at times. Just listen to the barrage of pinch harmonics he unloads all over "Woman From Tokyo". I don't recall Mr. Blackmore ever doing that. Halfway through the show, Morse had an extended solo spot where he gave a virtual guitar clinic to the awed crowd. This led nicely into a brilliant teaser intro to "Smoke On The Water", where he played snippets of various classic riffs from Zeppelin, Cream, The Beatles and others, before finally launching into the famous DUHT DUHT DAHHH, DUHT DUHT DAH DAHHH intro. Yeaahhh, those famous chords that every pimple-faced, teenaged metal-head learns on guitar. Guilty as charged! The highlight of the show had to be the guitar and organ duel between Morse and Lord during "Speed King". They traded these monster licks, back and forth, matching each other note for note, and leaving little doubt about their virtuoso statuses. Although Lord was pushing sixty at this concert, he still played like he was in his prime. The set list was pretty satisfying. They covered most of their essential concert staples such as "Highway Star" and "Lazy", but also mixed in a few new songs from their two latest albums with Morse. These songs held up well against their classics. Ian Gillan's vocals have lost some of their power, but he still sounded great. He still puts many of today's rock screamers to shame. Both he and Morse were full of energy and gave dynamic performances. The overall production of this DVD was excellent. The camera work was very professional with a good mix of close-ups, medium range shots, and distant shots of the whole stage. The picture was bright and clear, and the surround sound mix was nearly flawless. This is one of the few DVD's that has special features that are actually worth watching. They included over 75 minutes worth of live club performances, TV and radio appearances, and some filming they did in Australia during the tour. I saw Deep Purple on tour last year when they were sandwiched between Dio and The Scorpions - go figure. Although Jon Lord was not with them on that tour, they put on another highly energetic and impressive show. Hopefully they have a few more good years left in them. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - February 2004 |
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Running Time: 122 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - November 2002 |