Description
In 1974, the third incarnation of Deep Purple began their nationwide invasion, aiming for the legendary California Jam. Now, a live album has been created that allows you to experience the precious early stages of the tour, just one month before the legendary festival. A top-of-the-line updated version with the latest transfer technology is set to be released! This album permanently preserves the “Pittsburgh performance on March 6, 1974,” a legendary audience recording. While the simultaneously released “Burn in Brussels 1973” covers the European leg immediately after the birth of the third incarnation, this album takes place about three months later. It is a live album that allows you to experience the scene of the nationwide tour when the third incarnation finally entered America. First, let’s explore the position of this show within the overall picture of the third incarnation. 1973: September: Phase III begins → November: “Burn in Brussels” completed; December 9-17: Europe #1 (5 shows) ← *BURN IN BRUSSELS 1973 1974: January 20-26: Europe #2 (5 shows); March 3-April 9: North America #1 (26 shows) ← ★HERE★; April 18-June 27: UK (24 shows) ← *Official LIVE IN LONDON and others; August 24-30: North America #2 (4 shows) ← *HARTFORD 1974 and others; September: “The Storm’s Messenger” completed; September 18-28: Europe #3 (9 shows) ← *MUNICH 1974; November 13-December 17: North America #3 (19 shows) ← *LONG BEACH ARENA 1974 and others January 25, 1975: “SUNBURY ’75” (March 14: “The Conqueror of the Silver Peaks” completed) March 16 – April 7: Europe #4 (12 shows) ← *Official MADE IN EUROPE etc. (Ritchie Blackmore leaves the band) The first US tour of the third phase, aiming for a legendary festival. This is the journey of the third phase of DEEP PURPLE. “Europe #1” and “Europe #2” were mini-legs to warm up, and the real start was “North America #1”. Let’s focus on the dates in more detail. Details of “North America #1” – March 3-5 (3 shows) *March 6: Pittsburgh show ← ★This work★ – March 8 – April 4 (19 shows) *April 6: “CALIFORNIA JAM 1974” etc. – April 7: Tempe show *April 9: “LIVE IN SAN DIEGO 1974 (official)”…and so on. This Pittsburgh performance is the fourth show of “North America #1”. The US tour, originally scheduled to begin in February, was postponed to March due to John Lord’s appendicitis, but this is a valuable record from the very beginning of the tour. The climax of “North America #1” was California Jam on April 6th. The legendary performance, which took place in front of a massive crowd of 250,000 to 300,000 people, reigns as the greatest symbol of the band’s third phase. This recording takes place just one month before that legendary performance. It is a valuable record that captures the moment the band started moving towards California Jam. This is the latest transfer + GRAF ZEPPELIN’s newest and highest-quality edition. Recordings that testify to such a valuable tour have been known among traders for some time, but this is the newest and highest-quality edition. The previous masters suffered from muffled sound, pitch inaccuracies and noise due to the passage of generations, making them “known only to a select few”. Although important to completers, they were not at a level that could be widely enjoyed. However, recently, renowned collector Lucifer Burns released a new 2026 transfer, digitized from analog cassettes. This album is a polished version of that new master by GRAF ZEPPELIN. The new master released online also showed dramatic noise improvement, but it still had noticeable sound distortion and pitch instability due to the aging of the source material, and could not be called “easy to listen to.” GRAF ZEPPELIN then meticulously mastered this original sound. Phase correction, bandwidth EQ, pitch correction, sound distortion correction, etc., were all carried out with obsessive precision while remaining true to the basics. Of course, it is within the realm of vintage recordings, but the balance is superb, and the vocals and drums are clear, bringing out the best qualities of the recording itself to the fullest, and the completeness as a musical album has improved dramatically. A full show from the development period, including the earliest version of Going Down, is depicted with this sound, showing the third phase of the band’s growth about three months after its inception. On the simultaneously released “BURN IN BRUSSELS 1973,” the two new members were still feeling their way around, but on this album, the atmosphere is much more polished, and the new songs clearly showcase the differences in the personalities of David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. It’s clear that they’re rapidly improving their skills in preparation for the California Jam about a month later. And the biggest highlight of this album is the 1974 version of “Going Down.” It could also be heard on the highly acclaimed album “HAMMERSMITH ODEON 1974 SOUNDBOARD,” but the 1974 version of “Going Down” has a different arrangement. The drum rhythm in the intro creates a mood that makes you anticipate “Highway Star,” but unlike the 1975 version, it’s not connected as a medley, and the mood changes around the two-minute mark, delivering a groovy performance. Moreover, this is the oldest recorded audio of “Going Down.” The California Jam is not only a legend in rock history, but it is also said to have significantly changed the ensemble of the third incarnation of Deep Purple. After all, just a few months earlier, Glenn had only known mid-level bands, and Coverdale was a boutique clerk. It’s no wonder that these two gained confidence after experiencing the thrill of hundreds of thousands of people. What is captured on this album is Deep Purple before they experienced that major turning point. It is a full show in which they were deepening their skills as performers and burning with the desire to prove their own abilities. This is a legendary audience recording of the Pittsburgh concert on March 6, 1974. It is a precious record from the first US tour of the third incarnation, just one month before the California Jam, and is a top-notch, updated version with the latest transfer polished by “GRAF ZEPPELIN”. This cultural heritage album allows you to enjoy the earliest recording of “Going Down” with a different arrangement than in later years, and the passionate performance before the California Jam. Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 6th March 1974 Disc 1 (37:26) 01. Introduction 02. Burn 03. Might Just Take Your Life 04. Lay Down, Stay Down 05. Mistreated 06. Member Introductions 07. Smoke On The Water Disc 2 (57:16) 01. MC 02. Keyboad Solo 03. You Fool No One 04. Guitar Solo 05. Blues 06. You Fool No One (repise) 07. Drum Solo 08. The Mule 09. Space Truckin’ 10. Going Down
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