5. Deep Purple - Osaka, Japan 1972
This is one of two locations where the absolutely essential and renowned live album, 'Made in Japan', was recorded. The other was the Budokan arena in Tokyo, but the majority of the tracks are from the Osaka show. The band had earlier that year released 'Machine Head', which was the MKII line up's greatest achievement and, if we are honest, the band's magnum opus. The making of 'Machine Head' wasn't the easiest, hence the story behind the albums centre piece, 'Smoke on the Water', which tells the tale about how the Casino in Montreux where the band were meant to record the album caught fire during a Frank Zappa gig. A member of the crowd shot a flare into the buildings roof and pretty much levelled the building to the ground because of the resulting fiery inferno. The album was released to much critical acclaim and this show was performed by a band at the pinnacle of their powers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39vhEHUOBRU Every member of the band shone bright throughout the set and a listen to the recording makes the passing of Organ player, Jon Lord, last year, all the more poignant. Surely this is the definitive testament to the great man's talent. The rhythm section of Paice and Glover are untouchable, Blackmore's guitar playing is, of course, out-of-this-world and Ian Gillan is jaw-dropping. His voice is flawless and the most talked about song from these shows is the epic, 'Child in Time', where his silver throat and super-human lung capacity help him scale a vast range that most vocalists could only dream of. Gillan also seemed to thoroughly enjoy the politeness that Japaneses gig-goers are known for and he is charming and engaging between songs. To have witnessed the set in Osaka is unimaginable and if listening to the recordings nowadays makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, it would probably move most rock fans to tears if they had been present.