Oldest of 3 different cd boot releases and funny
enough still considered the better,
notes below 7daylink,.Rating A-
The show starts off with Speed King, clocking in at over 10 minutes the song starts of fast and furious but soon settles down into the improvisation middle section with the Glover Paice rhythm section laying down a solid and at times little funky groove that Lord and Blackmore can solo over, Gillan gets into the usual mimic section of voice and guitar and as usual throws in snippets of Who Do You Love. Ian introduces the next song as being about a prostitute, almost cutting edge language for broadcast radio in those days and the band play a great Strange Kind Of Woman, a favorite from the Fireball record. Blackmore plays a great solo, full of intensity and wrings everything he can get out of his guitar and then turns on a dime to the slower interlude that brings the guitar and vocal interlude with Gillan.
At the songs conclusion there is a station identification KUSE 91.5 FM that does not interfere with any music but does go over a little of Gillans between song chatter. Child in Time is its typical heavy self, clocking in at just over 19 minutes and is dominated by Blackmore who is the driving force of this concert. The song settles down for a long ride, Glover and Paice lay an almost boogie foundation for Lord first and then Blackmore to let loose on, Lords solo starts off slow but soon opens into an electric church sort of thing. Ian Paice is following him, his drum patterns accent the keyboards and Glover is playing an interesting rhythm pattern also, all of which can be clearly enjoyed in this recording. The pace quickens with Blackmore’s return to the stage and they instantly fall into battle, Lord does not try and compete for long as Blackmore is too intense.
The second disc starts of with Wring That Neck, there is no tuning prior to the track and the sound for this track is a notch up from the rest of the show, the timbre is even different. The instruments are far more well balanced and one would question its legitimacy and question why is this one track so much better ? I love Wring That Neck, it has a wonderful jazz fusion feel to it that clearly shows the musicians early influences and is a great vehicle for improvisation. Roger Glover even gets into a solo about 6 minutes in, and although short is great to hear. There is a cut in the tape at the 10:29 mark with and unknown amount of music lost and Blackmore gets into a little Jingle Bells at the songs conclusion. The sound returns to the quality of the first disc and starts with Gillan introducing Mandrake Root.
Jon Lord takes the first solo, his playing is aggressive and diverse but the whole time Blackmore is back there keeping time with Glover and Paice, chugging away waiting to strike. When I listen to these early shows I get how passionate fans where about Blackmore and why there reject Tommy Bolin. On stage Blackmore was the driving force and simply took over the performance with his unique style of subtlety coupled with sheer devastation.
There is some great improvisation during the piece featuring Blackmore and Glover as the latter follows him through a brief journey and about 19 minutes in the band plays a section that’s sounds like it will become the beginning of Highway Star. The song ends with Ritchie playing some unearthly sounding notes couple with feedback and the song as a whole is very effective, Gillan thanks the audience for listening at the songs conclusion and I can only conclude that this is a great concert.- Collectors Review
The Horror!!
