Powerhouse (Studio/Live compilation, 1969-1972)

Rating: 8

Reviews: 1

Comments: Some great out-takes from the studio, including "Painted Horse" and "Cry Free" and four live tracks. 3 are from the opening set the band did prior to the Concerto For Group and Orchestra and the other live track is "Black Night", from the Made in Japan concerts. Not the best of the best, but has great stuff to listen to and appreciate both on an artistic and historical level. (Dean Webb)

Concerto for Group and Orchestra (Live concert, 1969)

Rating: 6.14

Reviews: 7

Comments: 10: What a masterpiece!!! (Ilija Gospodinov)

Fair warning as this Deep Purple recording is not for everyone. An experiment with mixed results as the band competes with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (and loses). (Brigette Sporn)

Many groups made this kind of albums at the time. Purple themselves admit that it was just a gimmick. There are nice bits every now and then, but I'm seldom in the mood to listen the whole album through. (Heikki Heino)

This album has always been a quirky little fave of mine, even though at times it sounds more like Jethro Tull than Deep Purple (not a bad thing in and of itself, mind you... just different). In Rock or Machine Head it ain't. This is more of the kind of thing one would do as a solo project than as an effort a band would want to get into full-time, especially if that band is Deep Purple. (Dean Webb)

I quite liked this when it originally came out, mostly because I've never heard anything like this before, and was impressed by the fact they dared to do this. I remember I liked the third movement best, but I really forgot all about it until recently, when the new version came out. But more of that later. RATING: 5 (Per Lundblad)

Well, Purple showed real guts to even try this project, considering the facts of the late 60s. And of course the musical geniusness of Mr Lord is evident and overwhelming. But apart from that, I suppose that for most of the fans -including myself- this album just completes their collection, and they don't listen to it so often. Rating: 7 (Spiros Papageorgiou)

In Rock (Studio recording, 1970)

Rating: 9.33

Reviews: 9

Comments: To put it simply, In Rock lives up to it's name. IT ROCKS !!!! 10/10 (Paul Sommer)

The first Hard Rock album ever. Sheer energy. (Jesper Almen)

The best DP has ever done, a path of light for everyone trying to play heavy rock in the last near three decades. Pure energy, great creativity, this kinda thing comes only once in a lifetime! (Ilija Gospodinov)

The first real Deep Purple album. One of those albums everybody seems to know - if not the music then the cover. (Heikki Heino)

The first DP album that came to my attention and the first I bought. I can truly say that it changed my musical life. First track, Speed King, remains to this day one of the most inventive rock songs ever, and it set standars for the genre thats still valid today. (Per Lundblad)

The first album of the classic Purple line-up has defined what we call hard rock. Containing, in my opinion, the best rock song of all times (Child in time) and great rockers like Speed King and Bloodsucker this album has no weak points. Each song is nowadays considered a classic and so is the album. Rating: 10 (Spiros Papageorgiou)

Scandinavian Nights (Live recording, 1970)

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Live and Rare (Live recording, 1970)

Rating: 8.67

Reviews: 3

Comments: They hadn't written "Smoke", "Highway Star", "Space Truckin" or "Lazy" yet, but this show from Stockholm 1970 just sparkles with energy, virtuosity and as Big Ian puts it " rock'n roll back to front, inside out". At times even more energetic than Made in Japan, but not as good tunes. (Jesper Almen)

(Live and Rare) This recording is definitely live, but not so rare (it is a repackaged version of Scandinavian Nights). It is Deep Purple MKII in its most loose and abandoned state. These are not songs that are performed, but free flowing jazzy interplays. (Brigette Sporn)

A great chance to hear a Purple set from the early 1970s. (Heikki Heino)

In Concert (Live recording, 1970, 1972)

Rating: 8.80

Reviews: 5

Comments: Overall, one of the primo MkII, hell any Mk live releases, if you don't have this, you don't know what you're missing. I'd give the 1970-1972 set a solid 10. (Jim Collins)

Great shows from MK 2 in '70 and '72. Better versions of most songs on "Made in Japan" and Scandinavian Nights" though..Great "Lucille". (Jesper Almen)

By far and Away, my favorite live collection of Deep Purple, period. One set from '70, and one set from '72. Both from BBC, These rock... The cd's have an extra track or two, these performances are great, the band was on fire. This one gets a 10. (Johnathan Dee)

Good sound quality, great performances, especially "Lucille" is fabulous. (Heikki Heino)

Fireball (Studio recording, 1971)

Rating: 9.504

Reviews: 14

Comments: Rating:10 (yes that's ten). This album is tied with the ultra-successful Machine Head as the finest work Deep Purple has done. Sometime not given its just due, since the next album would be Machine Head, easily the band's best-selling product, Fireball is an excellent piece of work. The band plays excellently and takes a lot of chances, expanding the scope of what it can do and how it is thought of. A generic safe, color-by-numbers release this is not. This album is the band's most experimental of the Mark 2 lineup. (Rob Richardson)

Dangerous, adventurous, great all over, not one bad tune. (Jesper Almen)

Any record with songs like Anyone's Daughter, The Mule and Strange Kind of Woman deserves a 10 score. (Marcelo Soares)

I gave this a 9 because it is an excellent album, but the flow of the mix just doesn't allow it to stand up as well as Machine Head or Made in Japan. (Dean Webb)

One of my big favourites. As I see it, it is one big experiment, having all these different ideas and making them sound good all together on one album, excellent!!! The mark is 9 because it's not as compact compared to "In rock" & "Machine head" (Ilija Gospodinov)

I give Fireball a 10 and for so many good reasons. Fireball is fire in its purest form, straight forward headbanging metal. The whole band show their talents exceptionally well. Blackmore and Lord just shred on the guitar and organ. Paicey had to of torn a few drum heads on this one. Gillan's vocals were the best on this album. Fireball made him one of the best metal vocalists on the planet. Glover's bass lines and creativity is second to none on Fireball. I also have the 25th anniversary edition which I love even more. The outakes are great and Demon's Eye is included, which I really like the song. (Carl Tripodi)

It's a fantastic album! I wasn't prepared for the experiments the group were doing then, but I enjoy it so much more today. (Per Lundblad)

A fantastic follow-up to In Rock. Starting with a furious title track which blows the listener away and continuing with incredible compositions like The Mule and Fools, this is perhaps the most sophisticated DP album ever. The only bad side is, that -besides Fireball- it doesn't include any other classic tracks that could be performed live. Rating: 9 (Spiros Papageorgiou)

Machine Head (Studio recording, 1972)

Rating: 9.61

Reviews: 9

Comments: This is the definitive Deep Purple album. It has been my personal favorite album of all time since I first heard it. If it has any flaws, they are the most perfect flaws ever recorded. (Dean Webb)

Best songs on any DP album. Boring production though. (Jesper Almen)

Compact, strong, creative, inovative, giving enough space for live jams, with great openers and great encores on it, the album was the great reson for the big success of the tour afterwards. (Ilija Gospodinov)

This is it. My all time favourite DP album. It's perfect. The group matured a lot, and the feel of this record it's unchanged today. (Per Lundblad)

My favorite DP album. It is more like a 'Best Of' album, since it contains so many classic songs. I never get bored listening to this one, it seems so fresh and full of vitality, even after almost 20 years! Probably one of the best albums evere recorded in Rock history. Rating: 10 (Spiros Papageorgiou)

Made in Japan (Live recording, 1972)

Rating: 9.71

Reviews: 7

Comments: The definitive live album from DP. Moves from pure energy to breathtaking displays of sonic power. The absolute highlight is the stunning finale to "Space Truckin'", which still leaves me breathless after numerous listenings. (Dean Webb)

...I feel that this album really puts down in 1 1/2 hours what Purple is/was all about. Truly a classic! (Jesper Almen)

This album is considered a classic, but I think they sound tired. The only time so far that I like original cd better than the remastered one. (Heikki Heino)

DP set the standards of how hard rock could expand, given the frames of playing in a studio with Machine Head, and with this record they did it again – but this time live! As far as I’m concerned, rock groups have been trying to beat this live record ever since, but failed. (Per Lundblad)

Like many people before me have stated, this is the best live recording of all time. Nobody has been able to repeat the atmosphere and the energy of those shows. The thing that makes this album so special is the perfect mix between impovisation and tight-rehearsed songs, the fantastic talents of five perfect musicians combined live on stage. This album is the best proof why DP Mk II was and is still considered the best live act in Rock history. Rating: 10 (what else?) (Spiros Papageorgiou)

Live in Japan (Live recording, 1972)

Rating: 9.50

Reviews: 2

Comments: The greatest band, their best songs, at the ultimate time and place in their career. These recordings are the womb from which Made In Japan was born. Three concerts in one collection with a potpourri of sounds. (Brigette Sporn)

The atmosphere is captured better than on Made In Japan. Otherwise it's basically Made In Japan x3. (Heikki Heino)

Who Do We Think We Are! (Studio recording, 1972)

Rating: 7.92

Reviews: 9

Comments: The end of Mark 2, but what an excellent finish! (Ilija Gospodinov)

Mainly great songs, a few crappy. (Jesper Almen)

After three great studio albums DP ran out of ideas. "Woman From Tokyo" is great, other tracks are mere fillers when compared to earlier Mk 2 tracks. (Heikki Heino)

I think that Woman From Tokyo is one of DP’s best songs, but the rest of the album isn’t on par with this magnificent opener. (Per Lundblad)

Though the problems between the members of the group are obvious on some tracks (Smooth Dancer is the perfect example of course), the magic is still there. Woman from Tokyo is one of the best songs they ever wrote and the rest of the album is very solid also. Rat bat blue is very fun, so is Smooth Dancer and Super Trooper. A much underestimated album in my opinion and a perfect conclusion to DP's 'Golden Era'. Rating: 9 (Spiros Papageorgiou)

The "On Stage" Series

Rating: 4

Reviews: 1

Comments: The Black Night and Highway Star cd:s are the same as "In the absence of Pink" (Mk.2 Reunion concert at Knebworth). The Child in Time cd is 4 songs from "Scandinavian Nights". Go for the originals. They have more and better pictures and text. (Jesper Almen)