"Sorry... but that review below is way off the mark...
This set is DIFFERENT from "Mark III: The Final Concerts"...
"Mark III: The Final Concerts" was a mid-90s COMPILATION with tracks from TWO DIFFERENT SHOWS (Paris and Graz), with some EDITED tracks, and REPEAT performances...
"Live In Paris" does just what it says on the tin: It's the Paris 1975 show COMPLETE and UNEDITED... plus, it has been REMIXED from the master tapes and THE SOUND QUALITY IS SUPERIOR to "Mark III: The Final Concerts", which was tinny and without depth, as opposed to this new set that sounds full and rich...
The below reviewer may be a collector, but he doesn't know his stuff...
This set is new and BETTER in all respects... Hughes/Coverdale era Purple fans won't be disappointed."
Swan Song
Lambchops | Toronto | 02/15/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is to me, the finest example of Deep Purple live...well, actually its a toss up between this one and Live In London. Ritchie's last show with the band in the 1970's is flawless and so full of energy. He certainly knew the meaning of the expression of "going out with a bang". Great job. My personal fave here is The Gypsy. Hard to beleive that this awesome version remained in the vaults all this time. Forget about Made In Japan...as i never truly understood the fascination with that LP except it contains more recognisable tunes.
The only thing i don't like is about this CD is Glenn Hughes coke induced screams that make Mistreated all but unlistenable."
Excellent Mk 3 show.
Isaac Salapa | Harrisburg | 08/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This show was the last show Deep Purple did with Ritchie Blackmore until the reunion in 1984. Although he'd been somewhat lackadaisical during earlier shows on the Stormbringer tour, Ritchie gave this emotional final show everything he had, and it spurred the rest of the band to deliver a stellar performance. Coverdale and Hughes do the vocals very well; Glenn's shrieking is under control. Ian Paice and Jon Lord leave it all out on stage, so to speak.
There are several good reasons to have this recording. One, it was Ritchie's last show with Purple for 9 years. Two, this renders Made in Europe, Mk 3: The Final Concerts and other such compilations from the last few Mk 3 shows obsolete. There's no splicing or editing. Nada. This is the whole show, including Coverdale's and Hughes' chitchat in between songs. Three, this is the best Mk 3 show I've heard to date and stands up well with Mk 2 live stuff. Burn and Stormbringer blow the studio versions away. The Gypsy really shines live. I wasn't particularly fond of the album version, but here you can really feel the emotion Ritchie puts into it. Mistreated is well done, but I miss the longer, louder guitar intro of the Burn tour and subsequent performances with Rainbow. Then, of course, we have Smoke on the Water. I'm not a fan of the Mk 3 rendition of this song, though. Highway Star proves to be a pleasant surprise. After hearing the two live Mk 4 recordings (Russian Foxbat and Tokyo 1975), I was appalled with the way Highway Star was done. I had my doubts about Coverdale's ability to do it, but he manages to pull it off fairly well here, although the words have changed. Again. Most of the song is Ritchie going nuts and demolishing his guitar, but it's still cool to hear.
End note: Coverdale and Hughes have their little chats with the audience in between songs, but at the beginning of the show, during the intro to Burn, I swear I can hear Coverdale softly singing something like, "Ohhh...if only you didn't smoke cocaine..." I can DEFINITELY make out the word "cocaine." That makes me smirk a little bit inside."
Ritchie!
Isaac Salapa | 02/07/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"wow... i got this album soon after it came out and i cant believe that everyone in the world isnt required to own it... its AMAZING.. MIII's made in japan!... very bluesy... its amazing... ITS WORTH THE PRICE!!!!!!!!!"
THIS is the Made in Japan of Mark III Deep Purple
Andrew DiGelsomina | Creation Croatia | 07/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is hands down the best Mark III performance available.
I realize that there are alot of dissenters on this opinion, and in some specific cases I agree. You Fool No One is best performed on Live in London; and Mistreated is far better on California Jam '74.
But for overall performance, spectacular guitar playing by Blackmore, and fantastic (IN TUNE) harmonizing by Hughes and Coverdale, this is the one to get. I should also mention that phenomenal job that the other members do as well here, Paice has all his party pieces here (Burn, You Fool No One, Highway Star), so he's happy and it shows. Lord cooks all over this set as well (of course, he's the one that least often has a bad night anyway).
But check out Burn, Strombringer, Gypsy, and Lady Double Dealer. No other recording captures these songs as well as this one. Burn is ferocious Heavy Metal, which is really the way the song was intended, as is Stormbringer. Gypsy transforms from what was a negligible track on the album Stormbringer to being (along with that album's title track) the most obvious bridge between Deep Purple and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.
I must reiterate that Stormbringer here is...well, in my opinion, if you haven't heard Stormbringer on Live in Paris, then you haven't really heard it. Period. Coverdale is spectacular here, and Ritchie plays a solo that is among his best ever, studio or live. I was first struck by this particular recording of Stormbringer (one of my favorite tracks) back in 2004, and it still rocks me to the core.
Gypsy here is SO much better than any other version (including Stormbringer), that I don't bother to listen to any other versions. Blackmore makes his case for most emotional lead guitar player in Rock/Metal history. The harmonies are transcendent Mark III, perhaps even their best moment together.
The version of Lady Double Dealer on here rocks the paint off the walls. This sounds like one of the two or three heaviest moments of Deep Purple's career, and that's saying alot. Never have I heard any Mark of Deep Purple sound so ferociously committed to blistering your hide. Blackmore is on fire. Just check out Paice running through this track as well, he's not kidding around in the least.
There's alot of diddling around (what do you expect from a live Deep Purple cd). But the performances of the songs mentioned above are some of the most Deep Purple Fan-affirming in existence.
This IS the Made in Japan of the Mark III era, in my humble opinion. In fact, if pressed I would reccomend the Cal Jam DVD and Live in Paris '75 discs as all you'd need on a desert island for Mark III Deep Purple.
As a musician, I have found this album to be an endless resource of inspiration. I listen to it right after I listen to classics like Beethoven and Wagner. Yes , it's inspiration at THAT level. Believe it.
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1
