Customer Reviews

Live at Olympia

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Deep Purple set the standard for "live" rock `n' roll albums when it released Made In Japan in '72. Until then, live albums were considered gimmicks, mere souvenirs for fans of the artists. But Made In Japan paved the way for others as radio stations began playing the live versions instead of the studio versions of the same songs as sales of Made In Japan went through the roof. It proved to record company execs that live albums were viable, marketable forums for rock music.

With 1996's Live at the Olympia, Deep Purple has raised the bar for live recordings yet again. The addition of Steve Morse on guitar has revitalized a great band that was in dire danger of becoming stale and caricatures of what they once were.

This 2-CD set is an unedited account of the band's show at the Olympia in Paris. Gone are the interminable drum and organ solos and bombastic "LOOK AT ME!" guitar workouts. Instead, we have a crisp 17-song set that includes six tunes from the wonderfully eclectic Purpendicular album (Morse's first studio effort with the band) and shows the band to be having the time of its life ... and that is gleefully reflected in the performances.

With Ritchie Blackmore gone, the band was free to pick and chose material from its vast and impressive catalog of songs. Consequently, while we still have the umpteenth versions of "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" here, gems such as the previously unreleased "When A Blind Man Cries" from the Machine Head sessions, and "Fireball" and "No One Came," from the Fireball album make this a must-have for any Purple fan.

"Maybe I'm a Leo," and "Pictures of Home," two of my favorite numbers from Machine Head, get a rare inclusion in a live Deep Purple set here. Consequently, this live outing has a feeling of freshness and excitement, rather than that of an old `70s warhorse trying feebly to milk the very last penny from its glory years.

The band plays with renewed enthusiasm. Even "Smoke on the Water," gets a fresh treatment thanks to Morse's incendiary playing. On this version, the song gets a beautiful piano coda tacked on to the end that is somewhat reminiscent of the ending of Eric Clapton's "Layla."

This CD is truly a live album in that it is an entire show, from beginning to end, including all of Ian Gillan's inane banter between songs. He was dealing with a French audience that didn't understand much English, but his "Your fantastic! Superb! Supreme-o!" after every darn song gets kind of annoying after a while. However, when he's singing, Gillan sounds as good as ever, though age has taken some of his incredible range. (Don't look for "Child In Time," in any of the live sets any time soon though, if you know what I mean.)

Morse is unbelievable. A true guitar virtuoso, he also appears to be totally ego-free. His presence has helped Deep Purple make two of the band's best albums, both, ironically, in the `90s. (Purpendicular and Abandon.) The live versions of the Purpendicular songs on this CD put many of the tunes in a whole new light. For example, "Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover," was, in my opinion, one of the weaker songs from Purpendicular. However, here, the breathtaking 10-minute workout it's given pushes it to classic status. "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming," with its soaring signature guitar riff, sounds absolutely majestic here. However, "Ted the Mechanic," one of the most popular tracks from Purpendicular, is given only perfunctory treatment.

So, let's review: the band sounds refreshed, renewed and enthusiastic and its reflected in the performances; the set thankfully lacks self-indulgent epic and pointless solos; the song selection is clever and daring. Addtionally, the quality of the recording is dead-on. It's crisp and unmuddled. When I turn it up loud and close my eyes, I swear I am right there in the auditorium pumping my fists with all the other ecstatic Parisians. I can practically smell `em!

This is an import CD, not readily available here in the U.S. because people are saving their money to buy the next Dave Matthews Band album. So, buy Live at the Olympia, '96 where and when you can find it. If you are a Deep Purple fan at all, you are going to weep with pleasure at this one!

I had pretty much given up on deep Purple after the House of Blue Light and a very quick listen to Purpendicular but something made me check this album out. The opening track is Fireball and I half expected it to be some tired old rockers trotting out a mediocre version. Whoa Nelly! Was I wrong. This track and every other one is blistering! The band absolutely cooks on this album and its so cool having a complete, uninterrupted live show, in the correct order and surprise, surprise a horn section. After this I went out and bought every DP album I'd missed, saw the band at every opportunity, and was first in line for new releases. They have restored my faith and I promise you they do not disappoint, live or on record now. The only explanation I can give is Steve Morse. We owe him not just for his playing but for breathing new life into a band that was in danger of dying out due to internal conflict. Great sound and mix on this record too. So much tighter and better sounding than Nobody's Perfect. You can tell they were having fun. Get it!

Are you open minded enough to read another opinion? 'Cause "Live in Olympia" is the best live album of Purple, that makes me see "Made of Japan" today, as an old fashioned boring ego trip of Blackmore. I don't have much patient anymore for long guitar solos - if you want to say something - do it shortly! "Made in Japan", like Zeppelin's "Songs remain the same", was the best heavy metal album in the 70's, but does'nt do anymore. Unlike the two, Olympia is a miracle of a great band, that for many years seemed to be dead, but suddenly came alive. Why? In one word - Blackmore. In 3 words - Blackmore and Morse. All other members of the band, as well as the fans, should send flowers to Ritchie, for leaving the band, and congratulate the other members for bringing Steven. Suddenly we can listen to the classics, of "Maybe I'm a leo", "No one came" (my favorite) and others that we could'nt even hope during the Blackmore era. Morse is probably the reason for the good albums that the band released during the late 90's. Anyway, everyone of them sounds as young and fresh like in the golden years of the early 70's, and if you like Deep Purple and want to listen to a great classic of the band - buy it, althogh the price is high.

As a huge Deep Purple fan, I don't know why I didn't buy this one sooner.
This CD is great sound, a great mix of songs, and Steve Morse just blisters that guitar. Get this one, quickly, don't pass it by like I did.
This one should get six stars!

Awesome live show. The sound is clear and loud, and the band are playing great. Nice to see the band still keeping on, and they've really trimmed alot of the excess noodling and extended solos from earlier incarnations to now just rocking and jamming away. The addition of Steve Morse in 1994 really shows how refreshed these aging rockers look and play. There are alot of selections from their new album at the time, Purpendicular, along side a slew of classic rock chestnuts. Steve Morse plays the older material gracefully and is playing has invigorated the rest of the band. 5 stars.

yes Steve Morse/ex Kansas and Dixie dregs had replaced Ritchie blackmore on banjo, joined the old guys like Gillan, Lord, Glover, Paice. they are Deep Purple MK 7 line up who rocked the parisian olympia in 1996. The set is fantastic and loud, many French fans still love them on stage and the band still thundering the fans. a must for Purple fans!

Deep Purple built their reputation on their live shows - and 30 years later they could easily start again if this is any indication. I saw them in 1971 in Sydney and would have loved to be at this concert. They make a habit of blasting out of the blocks and Fireball is just that - a blazing mix of soaring guitar and the start of a tour de force by drummer Ian Paice. Who needs Blackmore the legend (okay he helped make the group) - Morse can give the group what it needs now. The great thing about this is that the stale decades old (it seems) set has been cleared out, renewed and some brilliant new numbers brought in. There's some mixups but this is LIVE ROCK and that's part of the gig. The group is able to give us some REAL ROCK AND BLUES CLASSICS - Maybe I'm A Leo, Pictures Of Home, Perfect Strangers Noone Came, WABMC - these 5 songs to me are classics that should be recognised as such by rock fans. They evoke all the emotions that great music does and shows a band that is so talented it's freakish. There are some other old numbers and some new ones that just confirm that talent and show the world that music is emotional and not just clinincal or one note wonders. The star of this album is Ian Paice. If you couldn't feel the emotion and passion in his work you would almost say it was a drum machine - how can any man play like that. And his combination with Roger Glover gives the band an unshakeable rhythm section that anyone should envy. Jon Lord's organ work shows his classical background - note perfect and his interplay with the others must be telepathic. Steve Morse and Ian Gillan - they complement each other and together manage to bring greatness back to live rock music. If you want head down, one note thrashing - don't buy this. If you want classic live rock (with some classical stuff thrown in), ballads, country, latino, celtic, brass and just about everything all topped off with what is almost perfection of performance - this is the live album for you. One of the all time live classics. Up there with Made In Japan, Hot August Night, Grand Funk Live and the other live rock masterpieces. I just wish their audience was as wide as some of the lesser bands. They deserve better response.

The magical touring year of 1996 for Deep Purple has now been captured on what they dub their "Official Bootleg": Live AT The Olympia '96, or as fanatics call it, LATO '96. It is truly one of their finest live albums ever, right up there with Made In Japan, Scandinavian Nights, and Live In London--and better than such fine efforts as Come Hell or High Water and The Final Mk. III Concerts. LATO '96 finds a band finally having fun again, free to play any songs that all five of them want to play (no offense, Mr. Blackmore, but I could never understand why you were so hell-bent on sticking to the 1972 set list even though there are so many fine gems located elsewhere in your song catalogue). And those "fine gems," tunes like "Maybe I'm A Leo," "When A Blind Man Cries," and "No One Came," finally make their appearance here. So do some of the best tracks from Purpendicular (although, alas no Castle Full of Rascals or Somebody Stole My Guitar). The whole band is playing and singing well. Steve Morse sets everyone on fire with his rapid-fire, modern guitar lines. When I met him recently I complimented him on Purpendicular by saying that with each song I couldn't wait to hear the next, and on Abandon I really liked the raw way they re-did "Bloodsucker." I forgot to bring LATO '96 to the show for him to sign or I would have remembered to tell him that this CD kicks major booty! I even now like the 3 horn players who appear on about four tunes for fun. As Jon Lord told me in alt.music.deep-purple (back when I was known as dpbelle), they were there to spice things up. To Messers Morse and Lord, and the other DP guys, thank you for believing in the power of live music!

Every 2 or 3 years or so an album comes along which blows me away and immediately goes into my 'classics" collection. It had been a long drought. (The last such album was Tea Party's "Splendor Solis" in 1993, which is one of the best rock albums of all time. I was left wondering, "How can these guys be this good?...there's a strong Zeppelin and Doors influence, but the music is more consistent, interesting, and intricate than anything the Doors or Zeppelin has done!")...Well, the drought is over. Recorded during a single show at the Olympia in Paris in 1996, "Live at the Olympia" shines like a diamond in a contemporay sea of mediocre muck. This is Purple in peak form, with a rejuvenated intensity instilled by Steve Morse's guitar playing. (Purple's previous most recent live release "Come Hell or High Water", recorded as Blackmore was on the verge of bowing out, was everything this album isn't:lifeless remakes of the same stale lineup of songs left over from the "Made in Japan" days). Steve Morse's guitar playing adds a fresh new dimension to the Purple sound. The guitar solos on "Pictures of Home", "Cascades", and "When a Blind Man Cries" are breathtaking: Morse paints a musical palette of melodic notes bursting forth into multitudes of electronic orgasms, sending shivers up and down the spine. Jon Lord is outstanding as usual and has a wonderful organ/piano solo at the end of "Smoke on the Water" which leads into a hauntingly beautiful, sad synthesizer intro to "When a Blind Man Cries". Ian Paice pounds the skins as ferociously as anyone in the business, with Roger Glover providing the tight, rock-solid framework. Ian Gillan occasionally forgets the lyrics and sometimes misses the high notes, but that's Ian Gillan. He sounds like he's having a great time, which he deserves after spending 30 years doing this! Other highlights include "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming", with its powerful, repeating, melodic riff, a soaring version of "Highway Star" (with a guitar outro that sounds like a plane taking off), the note-for-note guitar-organ interplay on "Speed King" and the guitar-crowd interplay on "Black Night". An added bonus is that several lesser-known songs are included that have never been recorded live before, such as "Maybe I'm a Leo", "Fireball", "No One Came", and the aforementioned "Pictures of Home", all of which improve upon the originals. Unfortunately, this CD is available as an import only, but even at import prices, it is one of the best musical bargains to come around in a long time.

This CD was released for Australia in 1996 to show them how Deep Purple sounded with Steve Morse because they were planning to tour Australia in 1999. [The CD was released in 1997].

Fireball
Maybe I'm A Leo
Ted The mechanic
Pictures of Home
Black Night
Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover (incl. Guitar Solo)
Sometimes I Feel Like SCreaming
Woman from Tokyo
No One came
The Purpendicular Waltz
Rosa's Cantina
Smoke on the Water
Keyboards Solo
When A Blind Man Cries
Speed King
Perfect Strangers
hey Cisco
Highway Star