Why Deep Purple's "Made In Japan" is One of the Best Live Albums of All Time
Declaring an album to be "the best" of (insert any listicle type name, here) is one of the most highly subjective things one can do. Hence why I very rarely do it. However, sometimes the big, bold and grandiose statement needs to be said, if only to get a handful of new ears into a specific set of songs. This week marks a milestone year in the history of what I consider to be one of the greatest live albums ever committed to tape. If you you have never been rocked to the very core of your musical being by Deep Purple's Made In Japan, you truly have no idea what you are missing.
Recorded during three concerts in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan on August 15th through the 17th of 1972, Made In Japan is ranked as the 13th greatest live album of all time by the NME, ahead of live sets from artists including Queen, Iron Maiden, Kraftwerk, The Band's The Last Waltz and even the soundtrack to the film, Woodstock. Rolling Stone however, doesn't even acknowledge it on its '07 edition of the same list.
This is not meant as a call out to this outlet or that outlet about rank or lack of inclusion, because at the end of the day, lists (or the entendre-esque term listicles) are really about two things: To spark discussion amongst the audience and, in web-form, as a potent form of click-bait. Critically speaking however, Made In Japan is in fact one of the most important examples of live rock music recordings, ever. But, I do not want you to just take my word for it, especially those of you who have not heard it.
That said, I am asking you to do something a bit bold and unique as a part of an experiment. If you don't own Deep Purple Made In Japan, I want you to get a copy before this Friday BUT, and here is the important part, I don't want you to listen to it until Friday night, when I will be doing a live-tweet discussion and review of it. Ideally, we will sit down together as a group, and experience the music on this album (many of you for the very first time) together.
Made in Japan is available both physically and digitally, and best of all, Amazon MP3 has it for only five bucks (as of the time of this article publishing). You can also get the disc version from Amazon and you might just be able to get it in time for this live listening session.
Now, before you think this is some cheap sales gimmick, I want you to know I am in no way a part of the Amazon Associates program, so I am not making anything off this. I actually had to look up the name for the purposes of this paragraph. Look, if I could buy each and every one of you a copy of this to listen to, I would. That is how strongly my opinion is of this particular live album. That said, I can only encourage you to pick up/download a copy, or pull your existing copy from the shelf, and join me this Friday night/Saturday morning (exact time to be announced) to listen and hear for yourself if this is one of the greatest live albums of all time.
Here is a preview for those on the fence about participating. Please note, this is a rare example of a popular song which receives heavy Classic Rock radio airplay in both its original version as well as this stunning live rendition from Made in Japan.
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