Customer Reviews
Best Music Performance of All Time - By: Mr. V. Unverricht, 02 Aug 2008 
I grew up with the Deep Purple sound & - although I am only 19 years old - for me there is no band that even comes close to the musical brilliance of the MkII line-up.
Now when one talks about timeless music, you always hear names such as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven - these composed their music, but they were never put to the test of performing it on the spot, the night after travelling half-way around the world. Deep Purple did exactly that - & delivered the best piece of music performance of all time. It would be pointless to explain this to a person whose extent of musical understanding doesn't exceed the likes of Arctic Monkeys or Muse. Madein Japan wants to be listened to, like all great pieces of music. Only then you will see the artistic brilliance & the technical perfection, which makes this album stand out from anything that has been recorded since.
Yes it is the best Live Album you will ever hear in the whole of Human - By: Fiona Jameson, 16 Jul 2008 It's official the Devil does have the best music. Because Deep Purple must have sold their souls to sound this good, you don't believe me? Then just listen to Madein Japan. No five human beings ever sounded like this & remember this is live, no overdubs, no droppingin of solos, no sampling, backing tapes or additional musicians. Just five guys playing the best Hard Rock you will ever hear, live, no retakes it's as it happened.
Plenty of bands have come & gone & plenty have tried to take the title but no one ever will. Not because they are less talented nor because they are not trying, but simply because you cannot surpass perfection.
There are some negative comments about the encores, but they are exactly that, encores, after giving everything they could give the band give just a little more. What is even more remarkable is that Deep Purple often
performed for going on two hours. None of this 45mins & then 'thank you & goodnight', like an awful lot of bands get away with now. They had also just arrivedin Japan, so were jet lagged & Ian Gillan was still
recovering from a sore throat! But all of that just makes the performance on this album all the more incredible.
Oh & lest we forget it contains the best adlib ever: 'Can we have everything louder than everything else!' How fitting for a band that once held the record for being the loudestin the world.
But it is not just shear volume without shade, colour or subtlety, like an awful lot of the bands that followed. Here you have technically proficient, highly talented individuals who learned their craft the hard way & came together to create something far greater than its already significant parts.
This really is as good as it gets, so sit back, enjoy & marvel at what members of the human race are capable ofin occasional, brief & yet exceptionally sublime momentsin time.
Made in Japan, but conceived in the UK for the world to enjoy! - By: David Wright, 14 Jul 2008 Now this is one belter of a record - just how good were these guys? I know they are still performing & I saw them on stage recently, but with due respect to them (and we arein same age group) they will never again record or perform anything that matches 'Madein Japan'. I remember buying both this & 'Machine Head' (the basis for Min J)in 8 track cartridge form (remember those?) & just about destroying them through overplayin a raucous trip from Glasgow to Wembley - & a Scots victory ensured that the car's stereo was pushed to the limits on the way back too! Anyway, get yourself a good quality set of "cans" or if your neighbours are all deaf, just turn it up & enjoy outstanding rock brilliance.
One of my all time favourites - By: Mr. Patrick T. Lopeman, 12 May 2008 The fact that this album is 5 star rated by everyone says it all really. The musicianship is simply astounding & Blackmore's playing is truly inspired. I bought the vinyl lp when it was first releasedin 1972 & wore it out! The remastered cd with the encores is superb - I've got two copies because one livesin the car!
The only track I usually skip is The Mule. It's not bad but it just doesn't quite come up the standard of the other tracks. If dp had played either Fireball or Pictures of Home it would have been the icing on the cake.
If you don't own this album you owe it to yourself to get it- now!
Arguably the best live rock album ever recorded - By: Bob C, 21 Jan 2008 From the first tension-building fade-in of Highway Star to the stunned seconds of audience silence at the end of Space Truckin', Madein Japan is without a doubt Deep Purple's finest hour. Nothing they recorded before or since, separately or solo, comes close to matching the virtuosity, the effortless musicianship, or the totally infectious atmosphere of this record.
Much of the album's unique magic is due to the technical genius of engineer Martin Birch (who was later responsible for the great but not-quite-so-seminal Iron Maiden's Live After Death). Despite being recorded well over 30 years ago, the clarity & separation on the album is truly astonishing. Many live recordings made today sound dull & muddyin comparison.
The seven epic tracks which make up the core of the album all have their own charm, from the historic crunching riffs of Smoke on the Water to the playfulness of Lazy, though perhaps The Mule is a bit of a throwaway filler. Nevertheless, it serves as a vehicle for a terrific Ian Paice drum solo & breaks up the album nicely.
This has been my favourite album now for over 30 years. I must have listened it hundreds of times, yet still find something fresh on every listen, & the solos still make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. If you like Deep Purple but don't own this album, then you really haven't discovered the band. If this is only the Deep Purple album you own, beware, as everything else will be a disappointment by comparison. If you don't own a Deep Purple album & don't think you would like them, buy this anyway & you may well change your mind. And finally, if you're an aspiring guitaristin any genre, your education could not possibly be complete until you own a copy of Madein Japan!
