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Live And Blue
(Out Of The Mists Of Time)
Tracks:
The first set of timings is taken from the inside of the CD
cover, while the second is clocked by my CD player (note the big differences).
Click on the highlighted titles for more detailed info at The
Highway Star, the official home of Deep Purple on the web.
This CD was released in 1996 in South Africa by PT (Phase Two) Music with catalogue number RTFCD 100. Buy this CD from Phase 2 CDs.
Sleeve Notes:
During their thirty year history, DP have seen many personnel changes,
but over the years each line up has added their own classic albums and live
performances to the DP legend. This CD captures Mark 2 in Stockholm, Mark 3
in Europe and Mark 4 in California. The latter performance was long
regarded as 'The Holy Grail' to DP collectors as it was the only great
performance captured on tape with Tommy Bolin in the guitarist's chair. As
a bonus, the rare studio track 'When a Blind man cries' has been added to
this CD capturing Purple at their most blue.
Review:
I wrote a review for this CD which appeared on the
Deep Purple Digest Mailing List on 10th September 1998.
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Deep Purple - Live And Blue (Out Of The Mists Of Time)
A review by Brian Currin, September 1998
This CD is a compilation of live tracks (and one studio release) released in
1996 in South Africa only. There are a number of mistakes in track timings,
cover art and general info, but don't let this distract you from a great
listening experience. This CD is compiled from 3 Connoisseur Collection live
CDs, plus the studio outtake (and b-side) "When A Blind Man Cries".
All the live tracks are taken from:
Scandinavian Nights (recorded in 1970),
Mk 3: The Final Concerts (recorded in 1975) and
Live In California (1976, also known as On The Wings Of A Russian Foxbat)
According to the album cover, Glenn Hughes and Tommy Bolin are both
left-handed guitarists (wait till Jimi hears about this!). This is the same
photo as on Foxbat, just reversed and with a different logo style. The title
on the cover is Live And Blue, but on the spine it says Out Of The Mists Of
Time (and on the actual disc the title is The Deep Purple Connection!).
OK, let's talk about the music which is why I wrote this review in the first
place and why I listen to this CD so often. I bought this CD after already
having all the other albums mentioned above, but I really liked the idea of
a live compilation.
The CD opens with Black Night, which was the encore from Stockholm on the
12th of November 1970. A wonderful version especially considering this song
wasn't even a year old at the time. Great guitar/vocal interplay near the end.
This is followed by Speed King from the same show. This track "speeds" along
and includes Ian Gillan telling us what a Speed King is. (Some-one who can
sing at 100 miles an hour!)
Next up is Smoke On The Water from the Long Beach Arena, 27th February
1976. Whose says Tommy can't play SOTW? (not me, anymore!). A superb version
until Glenn Hughes starts his warbling, barely-recognisable version of
Georgia On My Mind. Why did he bother?
Highway Star is the the encore from the Long Beach show. A thundering track
that includes a snippet from Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away. Listed on CD cover
as Goin' Down/Highway Star, but Goin' Down has gone!
Burn, the fast-paced show-opener from Graz in Austria on the 4th April 1975
with an excellent organ solo from Jon Lord.
The last Deep Purple performance with Ritchie until 1984 included this
majestic version of Mistreated from Paris on the 7th April 1975. This
powerful blues song still gives me cold shivers when I hear it and you would
never guess that this was Ritchie's last show. The snippet from BB King's
Rock Me Baby is handled well by David Coverdale.
Last live track is a long (17 minute) version of Child In Time from
Stockholm in 1970. Meanders in places, but overall a great version.
The last track on the CD is the Machine Head outtake When A Blind Man Cries,
originally only available as a b-side in 1972. In South Africa, however, this
track became a big radio hit and was (and still is) extremely popular, hence
it's inclusion here, I guess. South African DP fans were thrilled that this
track was included on their 1995 Masters Of Rock tour (A double bill with
Uriah Heep). This song was also played "unplugged" in the studios of SA
radio station 5FM by The Deep Purple Trio (Jon, Steve and Roger) as part of
the same tour.
Well, there you have it, a great collection of live tracks and one of my
favourite DP compilation albums.
Sometimes I program my CD player in this order for a better flow:
Speed King
Child In Time
Burn
Mistreated
Smoke On The Water
Highway Star
Black Night
When A Blind Man Cries (or leave off, since it isn't a live track)
My overall rating is a very big 9 (including any live version of 'Strange Kind Of Woman' would
have got it a 10!)
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Any comments to Brian
Currin
The SA Deep Purple Website
The Deep Purple Web Index
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