Ranking the Live Albums: Deep Purple 

Great episode, Pete! The rare 2 disc version of Nobody's Perfect featuring Dead Or Alive and Bad Attitude is well worth the money. With these two included you get more of a full concert experience and I think that is important when it comes to a band like Deep Purple. (I found my copy by happenstance in a small record store sometime around the millennium.) A special mention should also go to the official box set Live In Europe 1993 which features the full concerts from Birmingham and Stuttgart on 4 CDs - the two shows they compiled the final live album with Ritchie Blackmore Come Hell Or High Water from.

The Live In London recording is my favorite of the MKIII lineup. It has so much energy.

Pete, your top five albums are some of the best live recordings ever put together. Ian Gillan is simply the best. Please if possible could you do a review of Ian's solo albums. They are treasure troves not spoken about to often.

Deep purple perfect strangers live double cd/dvd mk 2 line up,australia 1984. Eagle vision records eagdv026 Absolutely storming one of my faves,band are on fire

Thanks Pete, but I like to add another great live cd, recorded on the battle rages on tour in Europe. Stuttgart Germany october 1993. Just listen to Anya! Blackmore at his best! Four weeks later he called it a day.

Nothing can touch made in japan,Perfect live album of all time in my opinion

Very interesting ...I didn’t realize DP had so many live albums! Before you started your countdown, I could only think of four, one of which you did not mention...Powerhouse, featuring MKII. Most noticeable is the rather reedy, insipid organ (no reflection on Jon), predating the “Fireball” era when he made it sound more aggressive (as can be heard on subsequent LPs). Now I am wondering if Powerhouse is part Live and part Studio...I have not played it for so long but I think Painted Horse is included? Needless to say, Made In Japan is MY favourite!

Great show Pete. I don't have everything you ranked, but then again, apparently you don't have everything I have. Just one tiny remark: Made in Europe was put together from tapes recorded in Graz, Paris and Saarbrücken, not Stuttgart. The bulk of MIE is from Saarbrücken.

MIJ is tied for me as best ever live album with James Brown live at the Apollo. BOTH albums that are still played plenty by me,Highway Star on MIJ is so fine,i STILL get chills when blackmore goes off on one. Tremendous.

The Graz cd kills fucking excellent

Pretty much agree, though I would put Made in Europe above made in Japan. Frustratingly short, as you say - what were they thinking back then, 40 minute live albums?? Japan is spoiled for me by that bloody drum solo...but then I don't think I've ever heard a drum solo longer than ten seconds that I liked.

This Time Around Live In Japan is, I think, the full concert from which Last Concert In Japan was taken. Famously Bolin had compromised his arm & wasn't able to play properly. For me, it's not that much worse then Long Beach a few weeks later.

Do Maiden Pete!

What about BBC Sessions?

Where is Come Hell or High Water?

The great irony is Glenn Hughes' vocals on the Remachined album. His rendition of Highway Star is one for the ages. He was in his 60's at the time. 100% agree about Tommy. He butchered the Burn riff.

Stuttgart concert 1993 is my favorite along with made in Japan. The Anya solo is one of Ritchies best

THE BEST LIVE ALBUM EVER MADE.....EVER...Made in Japan

I so agree with you. Made in Japan still blows me away almost 50 years later! It’s what inspired me to become a drummer!! The bands power and virtuosity is at its apex. Paice Blackmore and Lord are on another level. Zep was a great band as well but I think Purple at this time was unmatched as a live heavy rock band. As with you absolutely my choice of favorite live album.

Blackmore was an advanced player for the 70s about 20 years ahead of his time. Greatest live band second to none. Such a brilliant rock band. My favourite band.

Just got Live In London. Blackmore's tone is huge. He was using the tape machine as an echo / preamp and such beautiful vibrato. Mistreated is insane. Nothing beats Made In Japan but they are all worth hearing since they could never play the same way from one night to the next.

Nothing beats Made in Japan......nothing! From the Morse era Total Abandon is a brilliant live album but I also rate Olympia 96 . They were on fire 🔥

Deep Purple in Concert has THE definitive version of “Speed King”! They kill on this.

Love "live in London" the band was on fire

Made in Japan. Best live Album of all time. Deep Purple the best band of all time hands down. Child in time best song. And best gutariest of all time Blackmore.

Did I miss Come Hell or High Water, or was it not on the list? I'd say it's really good. Fantastic performance of Anya.

Where's 'Live At The Olympia' (among so many other official and Soundboard albums)?

Always loved Wild Dogs and Tommy's different intro to Smoke on the Water. I'd love to see you review Tommy's solo albums like Teaser, Private Eyes, I love them

I love most of Deep Purple's eras but my favorite has always been the Mark 3 era. My favorite albums are Burn and Stormbringer. I have at least 15 Deep Purple live albums and I love all of them. My favorite easily is the Live In Paris 1975 which is from the Stormbringer tour and it was Ritchie Blackmore's last show with Deep Purple with the Mark 3 lineup . The rest of the live albums that I have and love in no specific order. 15.Concerto For Group And Orchestra 14. Made In Europe 13. Made In Japan 12. Copenhagen 1972 11. Graz 1975 10. Long Beach 1971 9. Stockholm 1970 8. Come Hell High Water 7. Long Beach 1976 6. California Jam 74 5. Deep Purple In Concert 4. Nobody's Perfect 3. Live In London 2. Live In Stuttgart 1993 1. Live In Paris 1975 Which is my favorite. I am not a fan of the Steve Morse era at all. To me it is not Deep Purple. I just could never get into anything Deep Purple has done after Ritchie Blackmore left the band.

Totally with you on Copenhagen, Graz, and Paris. And when Coverdale introduces “STORMBRINGER!” on Graz…my goodness! In Concert contains the earliest live version of “SOTW.” Of course, Made In Japan is the standard by which all live albums back in the day were measured. That said, the Copenhagen, Graz, and Paris is just amazing.

I love of them! However, many people might disagree with me, I would love to see an official live album of the Joe Lynn Turner era. Will we see that someday?

I was fortunate enough (old enough) to have this album when it was released, Christmas 1972 and it's been a massive part of my life ever since. Everything I hear I compare to this album and, to-date, nothing's come close. Great overview Pete #legend

There is "Come Hell Of High Water" missing. Underrated album, I think, and better than "Nobody's Perfect". Not the water-throwing video of the same name, but the live CD itself. The band's performance there is superb. My 2nd favourite live album of Mark 2, after "Made In Japan", of course.

Wring that neck on DP in concert is awesome. Blackmore and Lord at their best!

Fantastic list!!! Knowing that you are a big Purple fan I have to tell you that I own 103 different titles including studio, live and compilations. It's one of my beloved collections!

Love hearing someone talk about my favorite band in such detail and with a similar mindset.I have most of those Mk II recordings and a few of the Mk III recordings.I need to get Graz and Paris.I've heard enough live Bolin to deter me from purchasing any,although I really like Come Taste the Band. Had the Copenhagen and Cal Jam on VHS long before they were released on cd.Can't agree more with your assessment of Nobody's Perfect. I almost never listen to it.

Pure magic.Deep Purple are just out of this world.

Great reviews and,yes,Made In Japan is the best live album ever !

For those who would like more from the Mark 1 band, The BBC Top Gear sessions are worth a listen. Good quality though the live recordings were made without an audience present. Most British bands have been recorded by the BBC over the decades and the quality of those live performances have been, on the whole, very good. Forty four years ago I managed to acquire my first Deep Purple bootleg - ‘H.Bomb’. This contains my favourite version of ‘Black Night’. That album is now released as ‘Live In Aachen 1970’. Sound quality is not great and there are only four tracks, ‘Wring That Neck (20:36 min.), Black Night (6:00min.), Paint It Black (11:42min.) and Mandrake Root (33:37min). ‘In The Absence Of Pink: Knebworth 85’ is also well worth getting hold of. It contains a mixture of early Mark II greats and tracks from Perfect Strangers plus ‘Difficult To Cure’ (Beethoven’s Ninth). For completists ‘Live In Japan’ is the expanded ‘Made In Japan’ and features three 1972 concerts (two in Osaka and one in Tokyo).

A mention for the triple CD Concerts for Japan where the Made in Japan tracks came from?.My second lp I got Made in Japan and I still have scratched worn but still really playable after 45 years.

I remember listening to the Concerto for Group and Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and thinking to myself "wait, did Deep Purple actually do this??" in a very confused way. I didn't enjoy it that much and as far as I am concerned, neither did ritchie. Although there are a couple of bands that have played with an orchestra, this combination wasn't working for me

I will say I think Deep Purple is my favorite live band. Only others that get me as hyped for live material is Cream and Rush.

Apart from the big two, you forgot the amazing 1970 Performance of the Mark II line up on: - Deep Purple: In Hell - taped live by the BBC. It had the BEST live performance of Hard Lovin' Man !

Long Beach 71 is surely a must have recent-ish archival release. Arguably the peak playing-wise of Mark 2. It was around as a bootleg for ages and was pencilled in for release for ages. I’d say it was worth the wait. Although I’m eagerly awaiting a 73 show mysteriously being uncovered! Sadly, a little unlikely, now. Also, I’d rate Olympia 96 as the best Morse-era love album.

Made In Europe is Paris Graz and Saarbruken not Stuttgart .. the bulk is from Saarbruken .. listening to the bootlegs and tapes I own plus those further releases you can identify the editions ..

Also Paice hit his stride around 1974-1976. No one ever played better rockdrums than Ian around this time.

Great rankings...many a time upsetting my dear parents playing Child in Time...!

Hard to choose sometimes among the live albums.Honestly half of those albums was unknown to me.

I've got the new vinyl version of Last Concert in Japan remastered and it sounds excellent and powerful

1. Made In Japan 2. In Concert 70-72 3. Made In Europe 4. Last Concert In Japan That's my list, short because those are the only live DP I ever owned (had no idea there are so many!). I have checked out some others on youtube, DP In Hell is excellent! Though it's a compilation. When they're on their game live, nobody can touch 'em..nobody. Most fans rave about Blackmore and that's OK, but for me it's Jon Lord. Man what a musician! It seems like he never improvised live the same way twice. Saw him on YT explaining how "some days you have it and some you don't", but most days he had it. Some standout work of his are the intros to "Lazy" from MIJ and "You Fool No One" (MIE), and who can forget the epic "Space Truckin" (MIJ) either? I know I can't. Anyway, great channel, Pete, and keep the stuff coming...great stuff.

You are exactly right. The Made in Europe album plus its offshoots, Graz and Paris are INCREDIBLE! MKIII are total 🔥. I hardly listen to MKII anymore except for Made In Japan, Fireball and Machine Head. What if the MKII lineup had to play the MKIII lineup’s material? Well, we have some evidence. On the Slaves and Masters tour, good ole Roger Glover butchers Burn. It’s a horrible interpretation, (and I love Roger and hate to say it but it’s true). Ian Gillian. Does anyone actually think he could manage ANY song from Burn? No. No he could not.

What happened to you my friend? you forgot one of the most glorious of all live albums, the great COME HELL OR HIGH WATER. The great battle between Gillan and Blackmore on stage ..... those tensions, those hatreds, those personal pride, those whims to show who was in control of the band ... resulted in one of the best live albums. , which they did in the entire history of the band !! It's a real shame that you haven't talked about this fantastic gem, the last official live album of the great Mark-2 ....... IT'S A DELIGHT !!! I still can't believe Pete ..... how you forgot about this, it's sacrilege !!! Hahaha I still respect you my friend, you are a great human encyclopedia of this kind of musical style that we like and I hope you always keep making these great videos !!! Greetings from Paraguay !! Cheers !!

Btw, you left out Perks and Tits, the April of 1974 show in San Diego, which came a day or two after the California Jam. Many fans like this recording because the band didn’t know they were being recorded, thus they stretched out without the pressure of having to concentrate on recording. I think it’s good, but not as good as some of the other MKIII shows. It’s also not complete. It’s missing the end. But it is an official DPAS release.

From Australia , grew up in the S.F. bay area seen Deep Purple numerous times in the early 70s, Made in Japan is the greatest live album ever , every track is epic , Deep Purple in full flight was something simply amazing, for that hard rock sound they were top of the shelf , Peace from down under.

Dear friend you forget three fantastic live album: live in Stuttgart 93 (the best performance of the band with Blackmore and Gillan after the reformation - Come hell or high water is just a part of this one), live at the Olympia 96 and live Rotterdam Ahoy 2000.

I'd reccomend Live at the Olympia '96 too, it's a really energetic double CD with Morse and it also has the superb combination of Cascades and Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming!

I have an early Live album like the one from Inglewood 68, but in Montreux 1969. Gillan does 'Kentucky Woman' and other early cuts. They do early versions of 'Child in time' and 'Kneel And Pray (Speed King)' . 'Child in Time' from 'Nobodys Perfect' features the best Live performance of 'Child In Time' from the 80s, Gillan hits the highest notes. Mine version of it has bonus tracks 'Bad Attitude' and 'Dear or Alive' from 'House of Blue Light' as well. I think only 'Hard Lovin Woman' is on the original version. Should have included 'The Unwritten Law' and Ian Paice's amazing drumsolo in it as well. I have a factory pressed bootleg from the 1987 tour, which has it in soundboard quality. Amazing song Live.

Pete, what'd you think about overdubs? Zappa said, what does it matter if you overdub a solo from another gig as long its from the same tour ( or something). I say this cause since I got Made in Europe (around 1979) and to this day I think 7'40 to 10,45 in You fool no one, is the most electrifying peice of solo guitar ever played by anyone, ever. My taste wasn't wrong cause its been overdubbed to the Made in Paris version (or viceversa we'll never know) bieng the MIE version clearly a another day and another venue in the tour. Overdubs do loose weight as a live document of Ritchie last show with Mk3 in Paris. By the way I always thought it was in the Paris Olympia acording to the liner notes in MIE.

The 4cds Live in Europe from the 1993 tour is also fantastic. Blackmore is phenomenal. I saw the concert in Copenhagen and a friend of mine, who is a guitarist, had to go outside and take a deep breath. He was that shocked by the sheer quality of Ritchie's playing.

Made in Japan 1998 Remaster is best (Black cover) , real raw, 2014 Remaster seems quicker with added crowd noise etc.

Last COncert in Japan and This Time Around are from the same show... Tommy had just fucked up his arm and a lot of the solos sound crap because of that...

Excellent review, I don't agree on some ranking, but I love listening to you, I share the love for this band But why the Live at Rotterdam Ahoy is not here? The best When a blind man cries on stage, with a great Steve Morse... Give it a shot!

Agree up to a point, no 1 Made in Japan, no 2 Made in Europe, no 3 In Concert , the rest are great but the likes of Paris, Graz, Copenhagen etc are just too similar but of a lesser quality to hold any lengthy interest. It’s great to seek out and discover new live albums but, for me, apart from a couple of tracks there ain’t much new and nearly always end in disappointment, sorry !

Dislike for one reason: #1 is half-acceptable (martin popoff was right in books that rate albums) but originally a drag. Like child, smoke + even strange but rest is nothing like quality of their good stuff. Used to have nobody's cd yet disliked most of it. Fave remains the original concerto, albeit own the dvd which is edited slightly without any group-only numbers. Love how they blend with orchestra despite usually playing separately. Have to check out pre-breakup discs eventually. Still, cool episode pete!

Gratz, Saarbruken (not Stuttgart) Paris April '75. Made in Europe is Saarbruken apart from the guitar blitz in YFNO which is from Paris.

I love the Mark 3 lineup live, but my two biggest gripes are David and Glenn butchering the Mark 2 songs and Glenn’s horrible soul singer shouting and whooping. He’s a white guy from the black country. Not Memphis or Detroit.

I noticed you’re missing the Come Hell or Highwater live album😅 otherwise a great ranking. Didn’t even realize there was that many live album

I’ve said this MANY times - In my opinion Made In Japan is the GREATEST live album EVER made. Not sure if people remember but after Made In Japan TONS of other bands made live albums strictly due to the success of MIJ. I was lucky enough to see the American leg of that tour - and to this day the BEST show I’ve ever seen. I’m a little older then Pete but the fact is - as much as I love ALL Deep Purple - if you didn’t see the band live from the beginning of the Gillan/Glover era - till the end of the Hughes /Coverdale era - ALL from 69-75 then you didn’t get to see this band at their ABSOLUTE peak. Blackmore was insane - NEVER knew what he was gonna do. Paice was at his PRIME - as was Gillan. And of course Lord and Glover too. Then when MKIII came about Hughes and Coverdale were unreal. ALL improv every show. Even when they reunited in 84/85 they never hit that same magic in their live shows - just not enough chaos on stage. STILL great - but just a notch down from the early to mid 70’s shows. And I can do without the Orchestra stuff - waters down power of the music - in MY opinion.

Concert with Orchestra, Made in Japan, Made in Europe and Stuttgart 1993 these are the best live albums from Deep Purple. For me Deep Purple is Ritchie Blackmore i am not interested in albums with Steve Morse

Thank you for your Worst to Best Deep Purple Live.🎤🎸🎵🥁

Cream's Headline performance to that Purple show is available.

I always preferred M i Europe to M i Japan but probably listen to Japan more now. The Live in Graaz/Paris etc shows are phenomal but for me ruined slightly by Glenn screeching.

Hi there Pete, There's certainly a ton of LIVE Purple out there. A truckload from the Morse era & some real archival treasures. Most especially, the Stockholm, Montreux '69., Long Beach '71 & Copenhagen concerts that remind us that MkII was a raw and rugged band before Machine Head. There was lots of life before Smoke On The Water. I agree with you on the Coverdale/Hughes renditions of Gillan songs.For the most part, they absolutely STRANGLED Highway Star,Space Truckin' & Smoke. Much better on the stuff they wrote, of course. That said, the LIVE version of The Gypsy seems listless and lethargic to me. Tommy Bolin's chemical woes to one side, he wasn't familiar with a lot of Purple's music before joining the band,.....he was largely disinterested,I think. Jumping back to the Morse era, I would add Live at The Olympia, 96, an "Official Bootleg" from the Purpendicular tour. Steve is still figuring out his place in Purple, and the band has a lot of fun giving him the space to do it.

Yeah, I like Nobodys Perfect a lot more than you also. But Graz is superb and Live in London is also superb.

1 Made in Japan. Nothing tops it best live LP from any band. 2 Kiss alive 3 Peter Frampton comes alive, my opinion

Blackmore’s facial expression on the cover says all you need to know about Gemini Suite Live.

Blackmore Live Matters.

Ian sounded the best in 1969, especially during the symphony orchestra performance of Child in Time. It's before he started screaming and actually sung all the way up his impressive register back then. 1970 was also killer.

too bad all you old folks were so set in your burnout ways or maybe mark 4 wouldn't have broken up. half of you are still in denial. long beach 76 is a blast.

Top 25 shows you’ve seen?? 👍🤗

Kings of Montraux! Great collection! I have a few but they're amazing Paice's solo in Copenhague is SICK! Greetings Pete!

Pete have you got Live in Japan which was a 3 disc set which covered the 3 Japanese concerts. Blackmore's solo on Strange Kind of Woman from the 3rd night in Tokyo is one of his best ever, also Live in Aachen the sound isn't great but Jon Lord's solo on Mandrake Root has to be up there as one of his best.

The In Concert double album are recorded by the BBC at their studios (if memory serves) and the second disc from 1972 has been re-released, remixed (again, if memory serves) and remastered. They couldn't do the same for the first concert from 1970 because they can't find the original master tapes. But the 1972 gig sounds amazing, you should check that out Pete. I was at the 25th Anniversary of Concerto For Group and Orchestra in 1999 at The Royal Albert Hall, it was wonderful and very moving, and I loved the fact that each member did some songs from their solo work and Ronnie James Dio sang a few tracks. I'm sure I read something about Steve Morse trying to get Satriani, Vai and possibly Eddie Van Halen to perform with them but it proved impossible to match up everyone's schedules.

I love Tommy Bolin!!! "Come Taste Band" so tasty.Love Blackmore era as well of course. Personally can relate to Boiln's greasy funky tone more than any other guitarist from the era.

20 live Purple albums? Hell yes, the crappy ones make the good ones seem even better.

Come Hell Or High Water or Stuttgart 1993. Thsi is MkII at it's peak. For me it's the Made in Japan of the Reunion.

You don't have COME HELL OR HIGH WATER? It was my first Live Album from Purple. Always liked it pretty much.

Made In Japan Live In London California Jam Made In Europe Knebworth 85

I grew up on the 2 ‘Made In’ live albums (what else was there back in the day?). Got really hooked on Come taste the band. Lost all interest in Purple’s later catalogue! All attention went to Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow, Sabbath and Dio. Ronnie took over and ruled for decades!

what about come hell and high water ,Deep purple on the road 4 cd box set,live in Stuttgart

1.Made In Japan (Best rock live album all time) 2.M.I.J. 3.MIJ 4.Live In Stockhom (1970) 5.Made In Europe (1976) 6.Live In London (1974)

Thanks so much for doing the live albums Pete

When you asked about changing the name of this series to Worst to Best, my comment was 'if you change it, how long until you forget and say it wrong?' And sure enough, I see your Live Deep Purple show titled Best to Worst. Hah, if that's the worst thing that happens today, still a pretty good day, LOL.

Two points of critique: 1. David Gilmour was never in Deep Purple 2. Made in Europe was mainly recorded in Saarbrücken, not Stuttgart. (Come Hell or High Water was mainly from Stuttgart, Not a bad album either.

Sorry, I meant " live in Paris" (palace of sports)

"This Time Around - Live in Tokyo" is the full show that "Last Concert in Japan" was taken from.

For Made In Japan, didn't they put out a box set a couple of years ago?

I would rate In Concert as my #1. I had an LP on japanese import called "New Live and Rare. Had a cool version of MK2 doing Hush.

Space Truckin' on Made in Japan could have been a lot shorter and put other songs on

The 71 show at long beach is supporting the faces thats why it is shorter