NEW RELEASE
DEEP PURPLE – Perfect Strangers Live (2013 Eagle Vision 2LP/2CD/1DVD deluxe edition)
Perfect Strangers Live, a new 2013 release of a 1984 recording in Sydney, proves many things but one of them is this: The proverbial “vaults” must be an endless place where this band is concerned. Year after year newly released archival recordings hit the shelves, all worthy of your hard-earned music budget dollars. Perfect Strangers Live is available in multiple formats, but I chose to go with the deluxe 180 gram vinyl set, complete with 2 CD and single DVD versions included. I bought this via the Deep Purple Appreciation Society, who I especially appreciated this time. I ordered the set and it got lost in the mail. After contacting Ann directly she posted another one right off to me which arrived safely to my delight.
It’s a beautiful beast of a package. The heavy vinyl gives the set real heft, but it’s also a triple gatefold sleeve as well. If you loved the reunion era of Deep Purple Mk II then some version of this set will be an obvious must for you. You can buy it separately as a 2 CD set, a DVD, a 3 disc set, or go hogwild like I did with the vinyl deluxe set. Hell if you’re really nuts for the band there’s a 3 LP, 2 CD Japanese version with extra goodies. As to the version I own, the only disappointment comes in the way the CDs and DVD are housed in the set. I hate spending a lot of money on a package that will absolutely scratch your CDs. No matter how careful you are, something will get scratched and that’s a bummer. So I ripped the CDs and put them away for good.
The music contained within is 100% worth your money and probably the best documentation of this era of Deep Purple. There are other collections out there, most notably the 1985 recording In the Absence of Pink (Knebworth). There was also the Highway Stars bootleg contained within the Bootleg Series box set. This one tops the rest sonically. The recording and mix are excellent. You could easily mistake it sonically for a modern recording. Everything is audible, including Gillan’s oft-buried congas.
Speaking of Gillan, the man was in absolutely stunning shape. I don’t know why the band used backing tapes (quite obviously) during the screams on “Child In Time”. Gillan’s live screams didn’t need the boost. Somehow he keeps it going all the way to the 12 minute closer “Smoke on the Water”. Gillan had just finished his stint with Black Sabbath, but he sounds infinitely better here than on any live recording I’ve heard with Black Sabbath.
It’s hard to pick a single MVP on Perfect Strangers Live, such is the dynamic of Deep Purple when firing on all five cylinders. Certainly Ritchie Blackmore is a delight, projecting intensity and playfulness at every turn. During “Strange Kind of Woman”, Blackmore treats the Australians to “Waltzing Matilda”. On “Under the Gun”, he’s mesmerizing as he tortures his Fender. Ritchie’s solo that closes a 15 minute “Space Truckin'” is among the most electrifying moments you will hear. Jon Lord is as wonderful as ever on that same song, and of course “Child In Time”. Not to go without mention are Glover and Paice. Ian Paice is the little engine that would not quit; Roger Glover the anchor.
Also important to mention are the “new” songs. Deep Purple played more than half of their new LP including both singles: “Knockin’ On Your Back Door”, “Perfect Strangers”, “Nobody’s Home”, “Under the Gun” and “A Gypsy’s Kiss” (preceded by a bluesy Blackmore jam). Purple rarely played so much off Perfect Strangers at one time, and some of these versions are just scorching! “Nobody’s Home”, possibly “Under the Gun” too, are superior to the album versions…even when Gillan forgets the words. (That’s kind of my favourite part.)
As for the DVD, it too looks and sounds amazing. I don’t know what else is out there video-wise from this period but I haven’t seen anything better than this. You know Blackmore and cameras, he’s often got his side to the camera, or he turns away just as they turn to him. That’s the man in black, that’s the enigma. It’s a great DVD, although Lord and Paice are often buried behind their instruments. Lord goes from keyboard to keyboard, extracting different sounds.
The cherry on top is a 20+ minute tour documentary. It’s a rare look at a time when Deep Purple was more or less getting along as well as they ever would!
I haven’t played the vinyl. I haven’t decided if I will. Let me know if you care enough for me to review the vinyl, and I’ll consider it as a possibility. I’ll be honest, after struggling to get the records back in the sleeve after taking the photos for this review, I’m not eager to take them out again.
4.5/5 stars
More PURPLE at mikeladano.com:
DEEP PURPLE – “Above and Beyond” (CD and 7″ singles, Edel)
DEEP PURPLE – ”All the Time in the World” (2013 Edel single)
DEEP PURPLE – The Battle Rages On… (1993 BMG)
DEEP PURPLE – Collector’s Edition: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000 (12 CD set)
DEEP PURPLE – Come Taste the Band (35th Anniversary edition)
DEEP PURPLE – Deep Purple (1969 EMI, 2000 reissue)
DEEP PURPLE – Inglewood (2002 Purple Records/Sonic Zoom)
DEEP PURPLE – Listen, Learn, Read On (6 CD box set, 2002)
DEEP PURPLE – Machine Head (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition + vinyl + In Concert ’72 vinyl)
DEEP PURPLE – NOW What?! (2013 edel)
DEEP PURPLE – Perks and Tit (2003 Purple Records/Sonic Zoom)
DEEP PURPLE – Power House (1977 Warner Bros, Japanese import)
DEEP PURPLE – Rapture of the Deep (2 CD special edition)
DEEP PURPLE – Shades 1968-1998 (4 CD Rhino 1999 box set)
DEEP PURPLE – Stormbringer (35th Anniversary Edition)
mikeladano.com 
I got the 2CD/DVD version and is great. Anyone that’s into Purple should definitely get this.
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ABSOLUTELY — this is a must for all fans.
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This package looks beautiful. I was going to buy one of the formats before a friend copied the DVD for me, so for now that will suffice. I agree with everything you wrote about their performances. They were still at the peak of their powers, individually & collectively. I had read some early reviews questioning the video quality, but I think it looks & sounds great. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the vinyl pressing. Does it sound different in any way from the CDs or DVD?
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Thanks Rich. I’ll let you know about vinyl. It’s easy for me to sit at the computer or in the bedroom and listen to a double live album. Taking over the “good” turntable on my big system in the living room is a little more rare.
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Oh man, That. Is. BEAUTIFUL.
You want my vote, leave the vinyls unplayed. You’ve got the CDs ripped, maybe the collector in you can stand to leave them untouched. Then again, why own it if you don’t use it. So, it’s up to you. But i say you don’t need to play them.
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Unless you’re thinking of re-selling it at some point, I recommend you go ahead & play the vinyl. How often do we get to enjoy that feeling of putting a brand new, never-played slab of vinyl from one of our favorite artists on our turntables? Last year I got Rush’s “Clockwork Angels” 2-LP set a couple of months after I got the CD, and I think I preferred it on vinyl (although perhaps that had to do with being a captive audience in front of my stereo).
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No I don’t plan on re-selling in the foreseeable future. I do love the sound of vinyl…I haven’t played any “loud” vinyl lately. I’ve done a lot of acoustic vinyl but I haven’t played anything like this in ages.
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I don’t “need” to play them. And I’ll never forget buying my 180 gram Appetite For Destruction vinyl for $30 and scratching it on first play.
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That’s a damn fine package! Gotta love ‘Knockin at your back door’ – it absolutely blew my socks off when I first heard it on the Friday Rock Show, reckon I could still air guitar/air keyboard and air sing my way through it.
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This is awesome stuff Mike…..really cool review also along with comments from everyone
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Thanks man!
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For me Mike the first 7 tracks are plain gold esp with how much I love Perfect Strangers!!
I bought this the day it came out via the iTunes way….no,frills …hahaha..so I have been waiting for u to roll out this review….worth the wait man…..plus your packaging looks awesome,
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It really is awesome packaging if a bit heavy and fragile. Good thing I don’t play CDs in the car anymore! I rip it to a flash drive and away I go. I have not road tested this one yet. Ideally before a review I like to test an album at home and in the car!
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I really love my Absence of Pink bootleg, but this review makes me want to get this new package. How does it compare to the live set they released after House of Blue Light?
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Nobody’s Perfect? This blows it away. You don’t get any of the later songs like Hard Loving Woman from House of Blue Light but I think it’s so much better than there’s little comparison.
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Dude, I absolutely love Deep Purple. I have seen this DVD at my local Best Buy and have almost gotten it but I am weary of video quality. If it’s a poor video quality I won’t be likely to watch it much despite how well the sound is. 1984 is not exactly known for it’s high quality video productions. Most things were shot on video tape thus you had light streaks when the camera panned and often fuzzy shots before the focus could properly adjust. But, it’s still Deep Purple and I am glad I came across your review. I think I will go buy it now based on your recommendation. In 1984 I jumped for joy when the album ‘Perfect Strangers’ came out and loved every song on it. Following ‘House of Blue Light’, the excellent live album ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ came along in 1987 and it has been in my heavy rotation for 30 years. I thought the 1999 remasters of those two albums were superb. It’s hard to go wrong with Deep Purple Mk II.
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Thanks again for the awesome comment! I reviewed the original Perfect Strangers yesterday, check it out if you have a minute or five!
I think Nobody’s Perfect is better than Ian Gillan credits it. In his book he really trashes the album. But that 2 CD remaster you mention restore the full track listing to CD for the first time. The cassette had a bonus track, and the LP had two of its own exclusive bonus tracks. The original 1 CD was very bare bones. I had already painstakingly collected the cassette and LP versions to get all the songs, but now I have them all in one handy CD set.
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