Deep Purple/CA,USA 1987 & more

From the US tour accompanying “House Of Blue Light” in 1987, the Irvine Meadows performance in Los Angeles on May 22nd and 23rd was recorded with a superb level stereo soundboard recording. The official live album “Nobody’s Perfect” released in 1988 contains three songs from this performance: Highway Star, Strange Kind Of Woman, and Perfect Strangers. The same soundboard sound source has been confirmed in several titles in the past, but this board uses the same master as “Locked In A Paper Cage”, which is said to be the best already released. This is the best version with accurate correction of the slightly fast pitch and removal of all the analog noise that was noticeable in Child In Time, etc. As expected of the sound source used officially, the sound is clear, separated, and spread, and every song is an impeccable ironclad line recording. In addition, the performance content is also very excellent, Richie also gives a sharp play on each song, and Gillan also shows off a powerful vocal that does not feel stable and tired. As can be seen by comparing it with the “Nobody’s Perfect” take, the sound source is a sound image that seems to have been dubbed from the master to a cassette tape once, and the official version has elements such as the stability, clarity, and omission of the sound arrangement, but the freshness and texture of the overall sound are impeccable, and you can enjoy the charm of the mixed sound with a realistic analog sound, in contrast to the official version with a neat and stylish sound image. Although the original is the same, the nearly 8-minute Strange Kind Of Woman is pleasantly surprised by the difference in sound image from the “Nobody’s Perfect” take. Roger’s bass is recorded with a thicker sound, and Richie’s play is captured with a more lively and realistic tone, so live sound source lovers will clearly prefer the sound of this board. Pace’s powerful playing in the back of the flashy Richie and Gillan back-and-forth in the second half is also recorded with a more natural sound and excellent tone, so fans will surely get excited when listening to it. (I think there are many fans who don’t like “Nobody’s Perfect”, but I wonder if it’s due to the mastering that was strangely dry and flat in the 80s style (it had to be).) There is a tape change between the songs before The Unwritten Law, and the sound quality changes slightly, but it doesn’t affect the freshness of the sound. The drum sound with the raw sound at the 4-minute mark is powerful. The jam-like play in the intro of Dead Or Alive is also a fun listening point. Richie’s unconventional playing in the middle is the best, and his finger sliding is cool. Of course, it can’t be used officially, but the roughness and speed are refreshing. Although the sound is muddy, Perfect Strangers, which gives the sound a sense of solidity, is exquisite, and it is a completely different sound image from the official version. Hard Lovin’ Woman, which is performed following John’s brass synth test play, has the best organ playing that is intertwined with the fast-paced melody, and you can enjoy the brass, the piano backing in the middle, and John’s pleasant playing. There is a cut at the MC part before Bad Attitude. Bad Attitude also has a great contrast between the solid sound image backing and Gillan’s vocals, and you can enjoy the ideal hard rock world. The contrast between Richie and John’s backing is also wonderful, and the lyrical (really!) and emotional quality of Gillan’s singing is well-produced, making it a great live track. Gillan’s singing voice with the ad-lib of Child In Time is also tasteful and excellent. The high range is also well-produced, and you can see that he was in good form that day. For some reason, Richie’s playing is a little rough in Difficult To Cure. John’s solo has a great power of the clavi keyboard, and you can enjoy the sound unique to line recording. In the heavy Knockin’ At Your Back Door, John’s backing play stands out more than Richie’s. Gillan laughs for some reason at the third verse of the song, “she was samurai”. In the solo part in the second half of the song, Richie plays a solid solo. In Lazy, Richie plays a flashy play in the intro, but the first solo part is quite rough, and even after the song starts, the sound itself is low, and in the harmonica solo in the second half, he plays “strange play” in the back. In Space Truckin’, the contrast between the four who play a sharp play and Richie who plays a noisy sound with a psychedelic rock-like performance is interesting, and in Richie’s short solo at around 4 minutes, you can hear the impactful arm play. John’s solo in the second half of the song, which can be heard in the line recording, is speedy and sharp, and you can enjoy his play as expected. It seems that the tape of the board recording has just ended here, so it is unfortunate that Richie’s solo in the second half is not included. The last three songs are from the German version of “Monsters of Rock” held in Pforzheim on August 30, 1987, and are also recorded with excellent sound quality, which will relieve the dissatisfaction of the LA version’s encore not being collected. Black Night has a wonderful improvisation-filled development, Gillan’s voice is very loud, and Richie is in a good mood all the time, giving a fun response to Gillan’s improvisation. Before Smoke On The Water, La Bamba by Los Lobos, which was a big hit at the time, is also improvised. The last song, Smoke On The Water, also closes this wonderful piece with dignity. The sound quality, content, and everything from every point of view are superb, and this masterpiece live album representing Purple in 1987 is now available with a delightful title. Live at Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, Los Angeles, CA. USA 23rd May 1987 STEREO SBD Disc 1 1. Highway Star 2. Strange Kind Of Woman 3. The Unwritten Law incl. Drums Solo 4. Dead Or Alive 5. Perfect Strangers 6. Hard Lovin’ Woman incl. Under The Gun 7. Bad Attitude 8. Child In Time Disc 2 1. Difficult To Cure 2. Jon Lord Solo 3. Knockin’ At Your Back Door 4. Lazy 5. Space Truckin’ Live at FCP Stadium, Pforzheim, Germany 30th August 1987 6. Black Night 7. La Bamba 8. Smoke On The Water Ian Gillan – Vocal Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar Roger Glover – Bass Jon Lord – Keyboards Ian Paice – Drums STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING