Deep Purple: Live at Montreux 2006-They All Came to Down to Montreux (DVD)

Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan has repeatedly told rock writers that his band is not a classic-rock band. Hell, he even seems offended when he has to make such a statement. But at it's core, Deep Purple is, indeed, a classic-rock band – even if Gillan and company did rely on a handful of newer songs during its 2006 set at the Montreux Jazz Festival, commemorating the event's 40th anniversary. Truth be told, that new material ("Wrong Man," "Rapture of the Deep" and a special song written specifically for the occasion called "Too Much Fun") sounds a lot like Purple's older boogie-rock material. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, Deep Purple seems to have found its groove again, with three of the five members who recorded 1972's Machine Head - featuring the song that made Montreux famous, "Smoke on the Water" - augmented by extraordinary guitarist and keyboardist Steve Morse and Don Airey. In fact, much of the reason for Purple's resurgence in recent years can be attributed to Morse, a weathered road warrior who seems youthful compared to the rest of the band's members. On the other hand, Gillan (who dresses young but whose graying locks and straining voice reveal his age) clearly struggles. At times, he appears winded and misses vocal cues, content to let the band take over on long jams for "Space Truckin'" and "Hush." But his harp solo on "Lazy" is still mighty impressive.

Live at Montreux 2006-They All Came to Down to Montreux breaks from typical releases in the Live at Montreux series by including some serious extras in the form of interviews with band members and an hour-long bonus DVD of a gig recorded at London's Hard Rock Café earlier in 2006. That raw show, on a cluttered stage, stands in stark contrast to the clean and classy Montreux set and features in-your-face camerawork, as well as an unexpected airing of "Perfect Strangers." The set adds value to this package but doesn't detract from the main event.

Track Listing
DVD 1-Montreux
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

DVD 2-Hard Rock Cafe
1. Fireball
2. I Got Your Number
3. Strange Kind of Woman
4. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
5. Lazy
6. Rapture of the Deep
7. Wrong Man
8. Perfect Strangers
9. Highway Star
10. Smoke on the Water

Added: August 5th 2007
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Official Deep Purple Web Site
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Language: english

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