The companion DVD to the Deep Purple Live at Montreux CD is another must have set from Eagle Rock, who have been busy releasing Purple DVD's from the vaults the last few months. This one, filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1996 on the Purpendicular tour, is a barnstorming set of Deep Purple classics old and new, with then new guitarist Steve Morse displaying his talents within the Purple cannon for the first time to the Montreux audience (although his Dixie Dregs had played the festival many times before, so they were very familiar with him). Tunes like "Fireball", "Pictures of Home", "Woman From Tokyo", and of course "Smoke on the Water" are given red hot treatment, but it's the songs "Black Night", "No One Came", "Speed King", and "When a Blind Man Cries" that are a real treat, as these were not always played live during the Blackmore era on a consistent basis. Of the Purpendicular numbers, the metallic "Ted the Mechanic", the raging "Hey Cisco", and the simply blistering "Cascades" are tackled here, the later a rampaging hard rock piece complete with extended guitar cadenza from Morse and an eventual guitar/Hammond organ duel between he and Jon Lord. Seeing the two players really enjoying the intricate interplay between each other at various points in this set is a pleasure to watch.
As a bonus, the DVD contains five songs from the bands 2000 return to the festival, including a scorching "Perfect Strangers" and "Highway Star", not to mention the bluesy "Lazy". The only real Purple classic that is missing from this set is "Space Truckin' ", but with so much other strong material here you really don't miss it. The band throughout just seems to be having a blast, especially singer Ian Gillan, finally rid of his arch nemesis Ritchie Blackmore, and seemingly invigorated with Morse by his side. Gillan's trademark screams and bellows are in fine form here, and while he's not 25 anymore, he still has more left in those lungs than many singers much younger than he is.
As with the other Eagle Rock Live at Montreux collections, this one is nicely packaged with a fun little "tour" booklet insert containing great photos and an essay from Geoff Barton from Classic Rock. Great stuff all around from one of hard rock's longest running and classiest bands.
Track Listing
1) Fireball
2) Ted the Mechanic
3) Pictures of Home
4) Black Night
5) Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover Now
6) Woman From Tokyo
7) No One Came
8) When a Blind Man Cries
9) Hey Cisco
10) Speed King
11) Smoke on the Water
12) Sixty-Nine -bonus 2000
13) Perfect Strangers - bonus 2000
14) When a Blind Man Cries- bonus 2000
15) Lazy- bonus 2000
16) Highway Star-bonus 2000
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