Malaysia: KLIA, 18th March 2001
My exposure to Deep Purple I confess is embarrassingly recent (at the rip old age of forty, this may seem absurd, but true!). After living in Asia (Thailand/Malaysia/Singapore) for the past five years I have been exposed to pub singers flogging to death the 'air guitar classics' of the 70's. Needless to say therefore, "Highway Star", "Smoke On The Water" & '"Woman From Tokyo" are by now pretty familiar to me.
So, as a conclusion to a day spent at the Malaysian leg of the 2001 F1 Championship, I thought it wise to check out these veteran rockers!
How impressed was I? Thoroughly impressed!
These guys are the definitive master of their craft/generation, and the reason for their longevity is profoundly obvious once experienced live. Tight, blues laced chunks of rock came pounding across the arena with the energy that has obviously been the main stay of Deep Purple live.
Ian Gillan strutted around relaxed, confident and obviously on top of things, including those trademark high notes his. Ian Paice and Roger Glover kept it pounding non-stop, which set a frantic pace (no pun indented!) for most of a blistering two hour set. Being a Jazz fan (hence my limited exposure to Deep Purple as mentioned above) I always get a major buzz from a Hammond organ being given a good work-out. Jon Lord therefore managed to raise the hairs on the back of my neck with his dexterity in the keyboard department. Finally, Steve Morse, does what he does! And you Purple fans do not need reminding of those mightily impressive virtues.
Even if you're not aware of Deep Purple's track record, but you can appreciate genuine talent amongst the pre-package shite that's generally available today, check'm out!
They've still got still the minerals, I can vouch for that!
[ reviews | the highway star ]