Deep Purple: Perihelion - Live in Concert [DVD]

The year is 2001, its been 5 years since Guitar Maestro Steve Morse joinedthe Purpls and they gave us the magnificent Purpendicular album. A bitolder, a bit greyer, but the spirit is still there. The classics are allthere, Highway Star, Woman from Tokyo and the irrepressable Smoke on theWater. But alongside that they give stunning performances from the "Mk.Morse" era as well delving heavily into the Fireball album. Mary Long,from Who Do We Think We Are, also makes an appearance! All in all, thismakes for an incredibly varied setlist, something for everyone! Highlightsfor me are the extended Speed King (solos and duels galore!) and possiblethe most electric version of Highway Star since Made In Japan!
Theextras are a nice addition, the band as warm, inviting and opinionated asever! and Gillan's voice has stood the test of time, i rate this dvd 5stars for that alone, he's the best in the business!

For all Deep Purple fans this is a must. Compare the band on stage to the earlier DVD Come Hell or High Water and you will se the difference between a band in turmoil(Come Hell or High Water)and a band that are just having a good time making the best music in the world. Having watched this line up several times live I have waited for this DVD and boy was it worth the wait. The highlights for me are the superb guitar playing skills of Steve Morse, who has quite simply bought the band back from the brink of destruction. The exquisite When a Blind Man Cries and the sublime Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming showcase the man in all his glory and the magnificent keyboards of the immortal Jon Lord,( sorry Don, but Purple will proberly never be the same again).His playing on Lazy and Fools are the stuff of a genius at work. Gillans vocals are again top notch as is Roger Glover's bass & Ian Paice's drumming. There are for me no lowlights on this, but if I was to gripe Child In Time would have topped it. The interveiws give us a good insight to the band, but the one thing that hits you between the eyes is quite simply the band all get on with each other and it shows in the music. Here's to the next show.

"There's no second chance to make a first impression" they say; my first impression - what a poor package!
A quick look at the back front and back covers (before taking the shrink-wrap off) reveals that it doesn't even have the concert details on it - where and when? - dunno! I suppose it'll all be on the lavish booklet inside....
Open the box and we find - yes, a stapled together, multipage booklet with all the... just a minute, it's an advert from the DVD company. Yes OK, so I can buy storage racks and other DVDs by obscure people I've never heard of, but where's the information about THIS DVD? Nowhere!
As a commercial DVD packaging exercise - this sucks, BIG TIME.

So, my expectations for playing the DVD were suitably low.

OK, into the player - main menu - select DTS soundtrack - press Play....

FANTASTIC!

All is (nearly) forgiven - the show rocks! Excellent sound quality (either DTS or Dolby Digital) and great pictures, although the editing leaves a bit to be desired - no close-ups when you need them in the solos. Oh well, this makes up for the cover; I can see they've spent the money on the content and... wait, where's the Steve Morse "Riff-Raff" intro to Smoke On The Water gone? To the cutting room floor! Oh dear! Never mind, in the backstage "extra feature" you can see Steve and Roger practicing it before they go onstage. D'oh!
The band's performance, however, is as fantastic as you would expect. Ian G in fine form, Jon Lord sparkling, Steve blows that other chap (him with the green tights and pixie hat) away completely, and Roger and Ian P - just fantastic!

So overall 10/10 for sound and picture quality, 10/10 for performance, 7/10 for show content, 3/10 for the DVD package.

Would I recommend it to my friends - Oh yes!