10 Best Live Rock Albums
4. Made In Japan - Deep Purple
Deep Purple's improv techniques made them one of the most interesting live acts of the 70's. Though the band were diligent every time they entered the studio, the live shows afforded them the opportunity to be spontaneous and come up with interesting musical passages on the fly. It was only natural that these moments be captured once the band hit the stage in Japan.
From the word go, Made in Japan is one of the rawest displays of hard rock aggression as songs like "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin" absolutely surge with intensity throughout their runtime. Standing at over an hour, the album only contains 7 tracks as the band expands these songs to include episodic musical passages like on "The Mule," where drummer Ian Paice delivers one of the finest drum solos in British hard rock. On the melodic end, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and organist Jon Lord solo around each other in a musical competition that leaves the audience in a frenzy.
The band used to say that they had the joy of going onstage every night not knowing what they would play, but knowing the audience would love it. With Made in Japan, the world got to see that off-the-cuff musical brilliance in full force.