Live on the BBC (Hybr) [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

Deep Purple | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 20, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: Audio Fidelity
• ASIN: B0001BS3WK
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,314 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reissue of Disc 2 of "Deep Purple in Concert" (1970-1972), April 28, 2004

By 

eurocrank (Ketchikan, Alaska) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Live on the BBC (Hybr) (Audio CD)

I tried to get a track listing for this disc from various internet merchants, but to no avail. So I ordered the disc and was disappointed to find that the material is not new. It is currently available in another, preferable context: "Deep Purple In Concert" ("two complete 1970 - 1972 recordings"), a 2 CD set released on Spitfire in 2001. "Live on the BBC" is a single CD "produced under license from Spitfire Records" in 2004.

Audio Fidelity seems to have licensed the music on the second disc of "Deep Purple In Concert," had it remastered by Steve Hoffman and Lon Neumann, and added two also-previously-released tracks, 'Hush' and 'River Deep Mountain High' (also remastered from the already remastered--and readily available--early Deep Purple albums on Spitfire).

As "Deep Purple In Concert" was digitally remastered (by Joe Lambert) in 2001, the need for an SACD remaster is less than compelling to me (unlike the Dylan remasters). The additional tracks seem remarkably inappropriate to me because the main material is a live Paris Theatre (London) performance on March 9, 1972, of "Machine Head" material, the "new" album at the time, whereas the additional tracks were performed in the studio by a different, earlier lineup (Deep Purple MK I). Deep Purple released four albums in between, and the additional tracks don't seem to have any particular relevance to the later songs and performances.

The purpose of the original and still available "Deep Purple In Concert" was to present two complete Deep Purple concerts by the same lineup featuring significantly different material. It succeeded, in my opinion. I'm not sure what the purpose of "Live on the BBC" was, but I am sure it doesn't succeed for my purposes. To make matters even more awkward, "Deep Purple In Concert" costs about the same.

Oh yeah, the track listing on "Live on the BBC" is wrong: every track is off by one due to a live-concert-type introduction that is given a track listing (1) of its own. So, 'Highway Star' is actually track 2, not 1, and so on.

The stated track listing to "Live on the BBC" is as follows:

1. Highway Star
2. Strange Kind of Woman
3. Maybe I'm a Leo
4. Never Before
5. Lazy
6. Space Truckin'
7. Smoke on the Water
8. Lucille (Special track for SACD only)
9. Hush
10. River Deep Mountain High

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Deep Purple live recording, February 23, 2004

By 

Geekapoo "the_geekapoo" (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live on the BBC (Hybr) (Audio CD)

Been waiting for this one to come out since the 70s, when I recorded the broadcast off the radio. The performance was made about 2 months prior to Machinehead's release. Easily the best live Deep Purple performance I've heard. The sound is CRISP and the whole band is on fire, tight as heck and groovin throughout. Blackmore in particular is brutal...especially on Highway Star and Space Truckin (both better versions than on Made in Japan). IMHO, this is the definitive Deep Purple recording. A special bonus is the treatment of some songs from Machinehead I'd not heard live before. If you like Deep Purple, buy this one...I can guarentee you that you will not be disapointed...it will be more like OMG!!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! This recording sums up the essence of the band as I will always know them and love them..

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A major dissapointment, April 9, 2004

By 

A. CAMPBELL "Tony" (Montreal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live on the BBC (Hybr) (Audio CD)

I have the DCC version of Made in Japan and this dosent come close for qaulity of sound.Both remastered by Steve Hoffman so what went wrong. I think it has to be the master tapes.Live at the BBC is only for die hard fans like myself who just want to hear the different interpretations of songs done live. Being an SACD I was hopeing for a lot more even from Made in Japan. Unfortunately SACD dosent help. Lets now hope they bring Made in Japan out on SACD. Now thats a master tape well worth the SACD improvement. I give it 65% for sound and 90% for music.