[bigred]CD[/bigred]



Few bands are more closely associated with Montreux than Deep Purple and there was simply no other contender when it came to choosing the act to headline the closing night of the 40th Montreux Festival in 2006. The band duly delivered one of their finest live performances, sprinkling songs from their latest album "Rapture Of The Deep" through a set chock full of their classic tracks including, of course, a show-stopping performance of "Smoke On The Water".

1. Pictures Of Home
2. Things I Never Said
3. Strange Kind Of Woman
4. Rapture Of The Deep
5. Wrong Man
6. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
7. When A Blind Man Cries
8. Lazy
9. Keyboard Solo
10. Space Truckin'
11. Highway Star
12. Smoke On The Water

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q66HHS/?tag=imwan-20

_________________


[bigred]Two-DVD Set[/bigred]



Disc One - Live At Montreux 2006:
1) Pictures Of Home 2) Things I Never Said 3) Strange Kind of Woman 4) Rapture Of The Deep 5) Wrong Man 6) The Well - Dressed Guitar 7) Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye 8) When A Blind Man Cries 9) Lazy 10) Keyboard Solo 11) Space Truckin' 12) Highway Star 13) Smoke On The Water 14) Hush 15) Too Much Fun 16) Black Night

Disc Two - London Hard Rock:
1) Fireball 2) I Got Your Number 3) Strange Kind Of Woman 4) Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye 5) Rapture Of The Deep 6) Wrong Man 7) Lazy 8) Perfect Strangers 9) Highway Star 10) Smoke On The Water <<[/i]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q66H0A/?tag=imwan-20

The American CD above features only a selection of songs from the concert. You might want to wait for the Japanese release on July 26th, which will be a 2-CD set with all the songs:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PWQOQ2/?tag=imwan-20

I wish they'd release something from the brief period Joe Satriani was in the band.

I never know what to do with these dual CD and DVD releases. Do I buy the DVD for the greater experience, but end up only watching it a few times, or do I buy the CD and live without the visuals but play it more often?

i wish they would just release one good version instead of 2 half assed ones

joe satriani in deep purple, thatd be something to see!

Anthony, I saw Satriani in the DP line-up. It was great, but I kept thinking Blackmore should have been there for authenticity's sake.

I battled with that one myself over the years until i recently came to the conclusion that I hardly ever watch any of the DVD's. So I pretty much stopped buying them and I just purchase the CD's as I listen to them way more often.

Anthony, I saw Satriani in the DP line-up. It was great, but I kept thinking Blackmore should have been there for authenticity's sake.



Where did you see them? I thought they only played Europe and Japan in 1994 with Satch. That would've been awesome. I saw Satch last year in Philly and he is still remarkable.
DP with Steve Morse kick incredible amounts of ass though-Morse is one of the best players ever, and somehow has maintained his sound and made it fit into DP's music.
I'll be seeing DP Aug.4 in AC-they truly rock.
Also, I agree about the DVDs-I just don't watch them enough, so the CDs are where it's at.

Invisible Pedestrian, I saw DP with Satriani at a festival when they toured Europe in '94. I didn't even own any Deep Purple, but I knew that concert was important. Satriani, or Satch as you call him, was truly amazing.

I caught DP with Steve Morse a few years back on a triple bill with the original Foghat, (before anyone died) and Ronnie James Dio. They were very tight and Steve can mirror Blackmore and do it his way seperatly or in tandum.

Just go and listen to his Major Impacts 1 & 2 CD's. On those he plays original songs written and played in the style of a certain influence of his eg (Rush, Allman Bro, Led Zep, Deep Purple, etc...) and on those he sounds just like the artist, but with his own unique twist). He can play with anyone and do it well. Almost no one can do that.

Just go and listen to his Major Impacts 1 & 2 CD's. On those he plays original songs written and played in the style of a certain influence of his eg (Rush, Allman Bro, Led Zep, Deep Purple, etc...) and on those he sounds just like the artist, but with his own unique twist). He can play with anyone and do it well. Almost no one can do that.

Yeah, it's crazy how good he is. His style is a combo of jazz fusion, blue grass and metal-it's insane! I had the pleasure of spending a long night with he and the Dixie Dregs in Philly in 1992 as my old guitar teacher was the opening act. He got us back stage, and since the Dregs were playing 2 gigs that night (how I don't know), we got to hang out with them for a couple of hours. Steve is so nice it's ridiculous and he's very humble.
It was cool talking to him about his time in Kansas and he told me that the song "T.O. Witcher" was dedicated to a friend of his who I think had passed on. My friend had just built his first guitar and Steve played it and said he liked the action on it and I think my friend almost cried!
It was a great night and I'm still so thrilled that he's in Deep Purple and it's been 13 years now-damn!

Bumping this thread with news of a Deep Purple US tour this month and next, details from the NME:

Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheater (July 12)
Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues (13)
Pompano Beach, FL Pompano Beach Amphitheater (14)
Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckerd Hall (15)
South Bend, IN Morris Performing Arts Center (18)
Cadott, WI Rock Fest (19)
Farwell, MI Mountain Rock Music Festival (21)
Chicago, IL House of Blues (22, 23)
Saint Louis, MO The Pageant (24)
London, ON Rock The Park (26)
Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theater (27)
Montreal, QC Bell Centre (28)
Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion (31)
Wallingford, CT Chevrolet Theater (August 2)
Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues (4)
New York, NY Radio City Music Hall (7)
Bethlehem, PA Musikfest (9)

I've got a ticket (Row 5!) for the third show on that list, Pompano Beach! It's a great smallish outside venue (as long as it doesn't rain--no covering).

I've not seen them since Don Airey replaced Jon Lord. Airey's great, though, so I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

Neal

The Montreux video is being reissued in Blu-ray format on Tuesday ...

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
Presented in 1080i with the VC-1 codec, 'Deep Purple: Live at Montreux 2006' handles its on-screen imagery without any major technical problems. The palette is vibrant and blacks are deep, injecting the picture with a convincing level of depth. However, this is another high-def concert recording that sees its featured band bathed in highly-contrasted colors that continually cloak the sharp details of the stage. When the lights come up, the image is crisp and impressive with natural fleshtones, but these moments are brief and infrequent.

There aren't any major compression issues or clouds of source noise, but hints of artifacting still appear in the shadowy corners of the platform and in the bright stage lights. I was happy to see that there wasn't any distracting bleeding or pixilation (as I found in Eagle Vision's presentation of 'Yes: Live at Montreux 2003'), but this transfer just doesn't have the polish or substance of better live performances available on high-def disc.

The Audio: Rating the Sound
'Deep Purple: Live at Montreux 2006' features three audio tracks -- DTS-HD 5.1 surround (1.5 Mbps), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 surround (1.5 Mbps), and an Uncompressed PCM stereo track. All of the audio tracks represent the source material decently enough, and I couldn't pick a clear favorite. The PCM track has the best sound quality, but the DTS and Dolby mixes immersed me more effectively in the soundfield of the live performance. Ultimately, I really would've liked to see an uncompressed surround track -- instead, fans are forced to choose between high fidelity or feeling like they're more a part of the concert.

The PCM track has respectable dynamics that handle the crunching guitar strums with ease. The drum beats sound a bit thin, but the bass guitar helps to make up for the lackluster low end presence. The Dolby and DTS tracks are akin to a solid audio CD, but are technically more problematic, essentially distributing the sound to each of the channels at different volume levels. The result is a lazy track that tricks the listener into believing they're getting surround sound when the rear speakers are simply rehashing the same audio as the boisterous front channels.

In short, while each of the tracks are certainly acceptable, none deliver the kind of exceptional audio you hope for in high-def concert releases of this sort.

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff
Both of the special features found on the standard DVD edition of of 'Deep Purple: Live at Montreux 2006' have been ported over to this HD DVD release, and combined they comprise a nice package for a live concert disc of this sort.

The most impressive extra is a full recording of a second Deep Purple performance at a British Hard Rock Cafe in 2005 (59 minutes). The show is arguably more rewarding than the main Montreux concert, with the band sounding more precise and on key as they barrel through spirited renditions of "Fireball," "I Got Your Number," "Strange Kind of Woman," "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," "Lazy," "Rapture of the Deep," "Wrong Man," "Perfect Strangers," "Highway Star," and "Smoke on the Water." Granted, the audio quality leaves a lot to be desired (the setting is small and the acoustics are ugly), but it was proficient enough to keep me listening.

Next up is a collection of "Interviews" (24 minutes) in which the current band members discuss a variety of topics, including the song "Smoke on the Water," the change-over from keyboardist John Lord to Airey, their personal history with Montreux, and their fans. The best bits involve Gillian and their candid/feisty comments on Blackmore's exit from the band.

(Note that all of the extras listed above are presented in 480i/p only.)

---

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012EI8FM/?tag=imwan-20