Deep Purple Album: “In Concert with the London Symphony Orchestra [DVD]”

I've viewed the video tape of the original 1969 performance many times and was impressed beyond belief. However, this new dvd presentation surpasses the original. Filmed with multiple cameras and mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, this DVD is even more impressive than TOTAL ABANDON. The clarity of the video rivals film and the sound just dosen't get any better than what you'll find here. Excellant interview with keyboardist Jon Lord is included. The band/orchestra combos on old PURPLE classics as PICTURES OF HOME, SMOKE ON THE WATER, and especially WRING THAT NECK are wonders to the ears. With over 100 musicians playing on these classics you'll be hearing them again for the first time . Newer PURPLE tunes such as TED THE MECHANIC, SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING, and WATCHING THE SKY are given the same treatment with equal abandon. The concerto itself has been re-written slightly from the original '69 version and is presented here with crystal clear sound. If you don't find your foot tapping or fingers twitching to this disc, then your dead. Personnaly I feel this work has improved with age. Kudos to Jon Lord for bringing it back! Can't wait for the tour to hit Chicago!

In 1969 Deep Purple broke new ground by writing and performing The Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Thirty years later, they did it again, only better. I have owned the LP, CD, bootlegged VHS tape, and the laser disk of the original recording. Now with the CD and DVD, my collection of one of the most amazing classical rock concerts ever made is complete. Now if I can just see them live...

Deep Purple was the first band to truly demonstrate the concept of Symphonic Rock. YES, Tull, and even Metallica are all Johnnie Come Latelys.

How does one improve upon perfection... get this DVD and see for yourself. And to the guy who commented on Steve Morse (the new kid), Morse makes Ritchie Blackmore seem like an old arthritic blues picker... Steve Morse reinvented Deep Purple and it shows.

Deep Purple's two Concerto reenactment shows on 25th & 26th September 1999 were emotional performances captured in crystal clear, though sadly fractured fashion for DVD, video and CD release. Plenty is missing from the 'supporting' performances, but the final track-listing is at least quite similar to that used when the band toured the Concerto show around the world in 2000.

The Albert Hall shows were recorded in their entirety in audio, but not on film. The cameras were only there for the second night, and even then were not at work for a section of the show. So, we're missing Ian Gillan's 'Via Miami' & 'That's Why God's Singing The Blues', and more frustratingly Steve Morse's 'Night Meets Light' & 'Take It From The Top'.

The picture and sound quality on the DVD is, as expected, A1, and together with an excellent orchestral performance the show comes across as a brighter, cleaner and sharper DVD experience than the corresponding 1969 disc.

It kicks off with two acutely emotive tracks from Jon Lord's 'Pictured Within' album, the title track sung by Miller Anderson, and 'Wait A While' by Sam Brown, an incredible performance. Ronnie Dio is as ever the consummate pro, shifting the evening up a gear by following a sublime 'Sitting In A Dream' (a Butterfly Ball track last tackled at the Albert Hall by Ian Gillan in 1975) with a rousing 'Love Is All'. Great fun, though I personally thought the latter lost a lot of punch by having the intro chords doubled up. Next, we're straight into Ian Paice's brass led version of 'Wring That Neck'. It's good mostly just to hear that riff being played again, but it still frustrates me that the rest of Deep Purple didn't join in. So near..

The Concerto itself sounds clean and strong. The sheer variety of themes and ideas still surprises me, especially as to my ears classical music often consists of taking one flimsy idea and riding it relentlessly into the ground. Steve Morse's opening solo is way shorter than Blackmore's extended barrage in 1969, and also thinner sounding, lacking the warm Gibson guitar tone which sat so well on top of the orchestra (whether they liked it or not!)

Deep Purple's own set sounds superb, though apart from the marvelous 'Smoke On The Water' free for all is filmed in a rather patchy fashion. A wide screen edition would do wonders to enhance the atmosphere of the recording, but sadly the DVD is strictly 4:3. It is also relatively old for a DVD release, there are no extras as you would now expect from an expensive production (the scope was surely endless), and I won't go on about the shoddy packaging....

As a souvenir of the evening the Concerto '99 DVD still scores highly, though not as much as the corresponding CD.

Although I am partial to the 1969 dvd version, as it has Ritchie and, warts and all, has the freshness and vitality that this one lacks, this versionn from 1999 is still top-notch and is worth the price of admission alone for the Jon Lord material at the beginning, as well as the Dio material. In fact, this is the best Steve Morse-era dvd, bar none.

vince palamara

I ordered this and it lists as NTSC on the website. The seller shipped the dvd, but it was PAL format, not NTSC. In process of requesting a return and hopefully an exchange for the NTSC version on DVD.

Bummer. Was hoping to watch this this weekend.

Otherwise I have seen footage and it looks awesome.

barcode of PAL version is

5 036369 806996

product code on spine is

EVDVD069