DEEP PURPLE – LAST CONCERT IN JAPAN LP –  Nr MINT A1/B2

Deep Purple – Last Concert In Japan
(Purple Records   1978   8E07260900)
Matrix No’s: A1/B2

Sleeve in Excellent condition
– some wear to edges & some ringwear

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
 

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. The band is considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years. Originally formed as a progressive rock band, the band shifted to a heavier sound in 1970. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the “unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies”. They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as “the globe’s loudest band” for a 1972 concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre, and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Deep Purple have had several line-up changes and an eight-year hiatus (1976–1984). The 1968–1976 line-ups are commonly labelled Mark I, II, III and IV. Their second and most commercially successful line-up consisted of Ian Gillan (vocals), Jon Lord (keyboards, backing vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Paice (drums), and Ritchie Blackmore (guitar). This line-up was active from 1969 to 1973, and was revived from 1984 to 1989, and again from 1992 to 1993. The band achieved more modest success in the intervening periods between 1968 and 1969 with the line-up including Rod Evans (lead vocals) and Nick Simper (bass, backing vocals), between 1974 and 1976 (Tommy Bolin replacing Blackmore in 1975) with the line-up including David Coverdale (lead vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass, vocals), and between 1989 and 1992 with the line-up including Joe Lynn Turner (vocals). The band’s line-up (currently including Ian Gillan, and guitarist Steve Morse from 1994) has been much more stable in recent years, although keyboardist Jon Lord’s retirement from the band in 2002 (being succeeded by Don Airey) left Ian Paice as the only original Deep Purple member still in the band.

Deep Purple were ranked number 22 on VH1’s Greatest Artists of Hard Rock programme and a poll on British radio station Planet Rock ranked them 5th among the “most influential bands ever”. The band received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards. Deep Purple (specifically Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan, Glover, Evans, Coverdale and Hughes) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

Last Concert in Japan is an album by Deep Purple released in March 1977 in Japan (and in 1978 in Europe). It was dedicated to Tommy Bolin. It records the last Japanese concert of the Mark IV-lineup with Tommy Bolin. This album was recorded on 15 December 1975 at the Tokyo Budokan and achieved a gold certification in Japan

This performance set an attendance record for the Budokan Hall, about 14,000 attended. Parts of the concert were also shot on 16mm film and were included in the video Rises Over Japan, released in Japan only in 1985.

The recording was substantially edited to fit a single vinyl release. The whole concert was remastered and restored for This Time Around: Live in Tokyo released in 2001. Aside from including a large portion of the set left out at the time of the original release, the 2001 re-release was also meant to fully restore the sound quality of the show, which was compromised when a hurriedly mastered audio track meant for a potential video release was used to speed up the record’s release.

The original packaging of this release incorrectly stated that the album included a live version of “Woman from Tokyo”, when in fact all that was included was a short jam of its main riff performed during Jon Lord’s organ solo. Purple fans were disgusted by the move, which was attributed to record company foul play in order to boost sales.

Track listing

Side One

1. “Burn” (Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) – 7:05
2. “Love Child” (Tommy Bolin, Coverdale) – 4:46
3. “You Keep on Moving” (Coverdale, Glenn Hughes) – 6:16
4. “Wild Dogs” (Bolin, John Tesar) – 6:06

Side Two

5. “Lady Luck” (Coverdale, Jeff Cook) – 3:11
6. “Smoke on the Water” (Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Lord, Paice) – 6:24
7. “Soldier of Fortune” (Blackmore, Coverdale) – 2:22
8. “Woman from Tokyo” [Jon Lord Solo] (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 4:01
9. “Highway Star” (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 6:50

Personnel

Deep Purple

• Jon Lord – keyboards, Hammond organ, backing vocals
• Ian Paice – drums, percussion
• David Coverdale – lead vocals
• Glenn Hughes – bass, vocals
• Tommy Bolin – guitar, vocals

Additional Personnel

• Produced by Deep Purple and Martin Birch
• Engineered by Martin Birch
• Assistant engineer: Shigeo Matsumoto