Customer Reviews

Deep Purple Live in Australia 1999 - Total Abandon

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are a true Deep Purple fan, you have to accept the fact that Richie Blackmore left the band over a decade ago, and that Steve Morse (Axeman Extrodinaire) is here to stay. This DVD is a brilliant document of the Abandon tour, and every member of the band show off their amazing musical abilities. Steve Morse is ON FIRE... Not since Eddie Van Halen have I seen a musician excercise ABSOLUTE COMMAND over his instrument like he does. Blackmore's playing had a very distinct style, yet Steve Morse has the uncanny ability to integrate aspects of RB's playing with his own to form a very interesting hybrid. This Band has been [successful] all over the world for more than three decades for one simple reason: their members are amoung the most talented musicians in Rock & Roll. This DVD (which has excellent production values and sound) is a testament to the greatness of this band. Play it for your friends and make believers of them all.

...not the most famous Mach II lineup but filling in for the missing Ritchie Blackmore is the ever amazing Steve Morse so little if anything is lost and in fact much is gained. The band runs through a very energetic set which is captured in state of the art sound and with top notch visuals. only Deep Purple fanatics..would quibble with the set list. the second part of this DVD is over an hour of Deep Purple ...playing in small clubs, doing live radio etc etc..and it is fascinating and enjoyable..easily IT ALONE would warrant the mere $20 price tag. THIS kind of generous packaging is what DVDs offer and should be about ...if you are a fan ...why haven't you already ordered?

I was excited about obtaining this DVD as I was front row center of the Brisbane Show from this tour. (I can see my big bopping billboard forehead in the Brisbane Clip of "Ted" .... cool.)

This DVD does the event justice. I came away from this show thinking to myself that Ian Gillan was the best vocalist I have ever witnessed live, and he is about 15 years past his prime. Remarkable performance.

The DVD's supplemental features of their tv and radio appearances were a nice touch. The clips of Gillan bopping around Fraser Island give you a glimpse of the real beauty Australia has to offer. Top all of this off with interviews and clips from other shows of the tour, make this a must have for the die hard DP fan.

The picture and sound on this DVD are top notch. Extensive attention and care went into releasing this tour as a complete and comprehensive program.

This is an outstanding DVD. Unlike most purple fans, I had always been just a moderate fan but when my favorite guitarist joined the band I grew to love the older purple stuff. And the new stuff with Steve is outstanding. This band is so tight and they have regained that youthful enthusiasm that resulted in classics like In Rock, Fireball, and Machine Head. The concert is well worth the $25 but the added extras make it a wonderful deal. Even if you are just a moderate Deep Purple fan you should try to see this performance. I am confident you will then buy Purpendicular and Abandon (the two Deep Purple CDs with Morse). I also recommend the Live at the Olympia CD from the Purpendicular tour.

This DVD of Deep Purple in concert in 1999 is superb.The sound and visual production is top quality and the band after a lengthy tour are in supreme form.The set list is outstanding and the versions of Bloodsucker, Pictures Of Home, and Fireball are worth the price of the DVD alone. Musically this is good as it gets and each member of the group are at the top of their game-still!Ian Gillan has the most difficult job and he gives it full noise!Apart from a couple of instances where the old pipes don't quite make it, he is a revelation.The band are super tight and creative with Steve Morse showing why he has been voted best guitarist in the world on numerous occasions.
What is even more amazing is that I saw Deep Purple in Glasgow in June 2003 and they were even better than this.As they say quality items get better with age! Deep Purple are gods- they have no modern equivalent and nobody can touch them musically.
This is essential for any Deep Purple fan.Play it loud- it's like being there.

I defer to no one in my respect for R. Blackmore, and I've been a Purple fan since the HUSH days when my band covered it in 1968. I was curious, though , to see what Morse could do. I have to say, I'm very impressed. Musically, he's at least an equal to any guitarist you can name, and heads above about 99.5% of them.

I must report, however, that Ian Gillan has quite a bit of trouble carrying some of the older Purple songs - his voice just isn't there anymore (at least on this recording). He's really stretching to hit some of the high notes he used to carry off with ease in 1972..but then again, aren't we all. He seems to be much better with the newer stuff, perhaps the new songs are in keys he can sing in, more so than the early Purple stuff. Not musically knowledgeable enough to say for sure. (Us drummers don't know from keys and octaves and such..LOL)

The visual quality of this DVD is outstanding, it's obvious that a lot of care went into its' production. The direction is good, especially for a concert video, with just about the right mix of closeup and wide shots. Sound quality is great, it was mixed pretty well, not too much of any one instrument. Very well done.

The "bonus" material is good - a 75 minute "special" about the band's tour of Australia. A lot of it is interview with I. Gillan, but there is some concert footage of a House Of Blues date and more like that as well.

If you're a diehard Purp fan from the early days, you NEED this CD. If you're between the ages of 17 and 30, you need to buy it to see what A REAL ROCK group can do - and the stupid jerks at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame need to see this video and try to explain why DEEP PURPLE has never even been NOMINATED for membership.

The only negative thing I can say is that the Menu graphics are very confusing - you can't tell which selection is highlighted most of the time. It takes a bit of experimentation to figure out which choice you're making. Other than that, though, this is a top notch DVD of a great band in action, still rocking after all these years...Jon Lord will be 60 this year.

Firstly, I was AT this concert in Melbourne. It was easily the greatest concert I have ever been to. The sound was stunning, the PA loud but never distorting and the mix a dream. Essentially I went to pay homage to 4/5 of the most famous people to fly the Purple flag. Made in Japan was really my first venture into rock music listening so I owed them something. I had purchased the 2 Steve Morse era CD's and was itching to hear this boy go for it live as he had clearly given the others a new lease of life. This is all captured clearly on the DVD recording. From the opening harmonics of Ted the Mechanic we were in for a 2 hour treat, the mix of old and new music easily satisfying most tastes. The musicians have benefited greatly from the advances in instrument and amp design (esp. Roger and his bass equipment) and the duelling between Jon Lord and Steve Morse in Speed King was the stuff of legend. Even Gillan's voice is still great at age 50ish. Jon Lord at 59 is still universally regarded as the greatest rock keyboard player ever pounding the Hammond mercilessly as usual. The documentary at the end is a cute addition for die hard fans giving them some insight into the band members off stage. It is simply the greatest rock band ever still at their peak - no band could ever compete with these guys, it would be pointless to even try. All I can say is , bring on the Royal Albert Hall DVD with the London Symphony Orchestra... can't wait - keep it up guys, you are the greatest.

This is the type of show I'm looking for Deep Purple in their DVD releases. Blackmore's been gone for 6 years and Morse has really given this band the lift it needed. The setlist would have been more in line with their promotion of the new album "Abandon" had they included more tracks from it. The camera shots and the editing of the video was done perfectly. Spectacular shots! The sound is also superb in DTS format. Also included in this package is the previously released of video "A Band Down Under". The downside of this video? Yeah there is one and that is Gillan's deteriorating voice. Anyway, the great video production, the clear sound and the band's performance more than made up for the singer's voice. Enjoy!

Im a huge deep purple fan having seen them twice a number of years ago. I was not sure what to expect from Morse, even though im a fan of his and saw him with the Dixie dregs and solo. I can honestly say I was amazed how good these guys still sound, I mean hell a few of these crusty characters are pushing 60. Now about Steve Morse, ohh man did he rock my house, I could not help cranking it way up ! His solos were so hypnotic, it was really like being their at the show. That boy can play hoooo man. Anyone whos a Deep Purple fan and even if your not, if you just love rock and roll you gotta see this ! All rock fans owe it to themselfs to see this classic show .....

Since the first time I heard HUSH pounding out of an old AM radio I was hooked on this group. Now with the advent of digital technology and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound I can have them perform in my living room at a moments notice. Having seen DEEP PURPLE live over 25 times so far I can easily say this is their finest performance. Video quality is superb and the 5.1 mix makes you feel like you're in the front row. The setlist is a combination that should delight and enthrall any fan, no matter how long they've followed the band. The supplement is well done. Ian Gillan as usual is cracking jokes left and right making his "walkabout" most enjoyable. Too bad though they didn't give the extra live videos the same 5.1 treatment as the main concert. If this is the state of what we can expect our music to look and sound like in the future, then may DEEP PURPLE play until they're 100! Next up is the LIVE WITH THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA DVD. Life is definately good when your a PURPLE fan! If you don't own this DVD, then you don't have a music library.