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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Worth having as a collector but ultimately frustrating, 10 Aug 2004
This DVD features commentary from a group of experts in the field of hard rock. They go through the Purple catalogue album by album critically assessing each one.The major problem was that their points were illustrated by live videos (the old Granada versions of Speed King, Child In Time & Improv, the Danish "Machine Head" concert, the German TV versions of Highway Star + No No No), presumably because they were unable to secure rights to the original album recordings. As these videos didn't necessarily correspond with the songs on the album it made talking about certain things pretty pointless. For example the eulogies about Blackmore's brilliant guitar solo on Highway Star on the Machine Head album were illustrated by his rather weaker solo on the early German TV version. Ditto the crashing intro to Speed King and Blackmore's "Child In Time" solo, neither of which were on the sections of the Granada versions they chose to show. More infuriating still is that there are tantalising glimpses of material not released on DVD (eg the "Pop2" appearance featuring "Wring That Neck" and "Mandrake Root"). Unfortunately these are fleeting and incomplete. Very irritating but it shows at least that these recordings exist in decent quality. Here's hoping that they'll see the light of day soon, since they feature some of Purple's (and especially Blackmore's) finest performances. All this aside this does make interesting watching, some of the reviewers clearly know their subject (though some clearly don't), and it gives a genuine critical review rather than just one long eulogy. But the point of it all is lost somewhere. The criticism is along the lines of "Machine Head is good, Who Do We Think We Are isn't", and the revelation that Smoke On The Water is a "classic riff". Nothing the reviewers' commentary will be new to Purple fans, and indeed some is inaccurate or at least incomplete. If you actually want to see the band in action, buy "Deep Purple Masters From The Vaults" which contains pristine versions of the Granada recordings in full. Also get the "Classic Albums - Machine Head" DVD, which is fabulous and interesting to watch, offering a far more interesting assessment of the 1969-1973 period by the band themselves.
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