Deep Purple: Come Hell or High Water

Having been a Deep Purple fan longer ago than I care to confess, I was eager to fire up BMG's new Deep Purple: Come Hell or High Water DVD. Captured in the UK during their 25th anniversary tour in November 1993, the oft reconfigured band hit the stage in their historical best line-up, comprised of Ian Gillan (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitars), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums) and Roger Glover (bass). Instrumentally, Deep Purple has never sounded better; the effortlessly virtuoso Blackmore traded blazing riffs with Lord, with Paice (who now looks like a hirsute Elton John) and Glover solidly anchoring the effort. Unfortunately, the minute lead singer Ian Gillan launched into the lead-off "Highway Star" it became crystal clear that Gillan's voice wasn't; while his characteristic timbre is the same, Gillan's voice has neither the range nor sustain it once had, and instead of transposing the tunes down he strained histrionically, giving the concert a pathetic air only underlined by Blackmore's on-stage tantrums. (Blackmore, who at one point lobs a water bottle at the cameraman, left the band after the European leg of this tour.) Although the song list includes such DP favorites as "Space Truckin'," "Woman from Tokyo," and "Smoke on the Water," this is, sadly, not much of a show, and certainly not one that is recommended. (S. C. Sickles)