Deep Purple-Live at Montreux 1996 (1996) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Music |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Outtakes-The Story Of Smoke On The Water Booklet |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1996 | ||
Running Time | 83:50 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (52:47) | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Thierry Amsallem |
Studio
Distributor |
Rajon Vision | Starring |
Ian Gillan Roger Glover Ian Paice Jon Lord Steve Morse |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | Deep Purple |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (1536Kb/s) English Linear PCM 48/24 2.0 (1536Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Following the great range of artists who have produced DVDs of their performances at the famed Montreux Jazz Festival, this disc features a ten year old performance by Deep Purple, who at the time were sporting new guitarist Steve Morse and touring in support of their excellent album Purpendicular. The lineup of musicians here includes:
This concert was recorded on July 9th, 1996 and is a little condensed when compared to shows they played on other parts of this tour. For example, take the list of songs on their Live at the Olympia CD, which was recorded on the same tour. Brilliant songs such as my all-time favourite Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming are abandoned for the shorter festival set, but there are still plenty of classics here to satisfy fans.
Among the many highlights in this performance is a lengthy jam during Speed King. The band are clearly very relaxed, in fact while guitarist Steve Morse and keyboardist Jon Lord are exchanging playful licks, Morse slips out the main riff from Burn and nearly falls over laughing. For those that aren't aware, Burn was penned by an entirely different era of the band, so this is obviously intended to stir his bandmates up a bit. Unfortunately, the cameras don't capture their reactions, which would have been great to see. Another great piece of nostalgia appears when 'funky Claude' graces the stage at the end of the show. This is in fact festival founder Claude Nobs who is referred to in the lyrics of Smoke On The Water.
As far as Purple's live performances go, this is best I've seen from this lineup of musicians. Their association with Montreux is renowned (their seminal Machine Head album was recorded there) and this makes for a great concert. What better place could there be to perform Smoke On The Water?
1. Fireball 2. Ted The Mechanic 3. Pictures Of Home 4. Black Night 5. Cascades: I'm Not Your Lover Now 6. Woman From Tokyo 7. No One Came 8. When A Blind Man Cries | 9. Hey Cisco 10. Speed King 11. Smoke On The Water 12. Bonus Tracks: Sixty Nine 13. Perfect Strangers 14. When A Blind Man Cries 15. Lazy 16. Highway Star |
This video transfer is presented in 1.33:1 full frame and has been sourced from an analogue videotape master.
The image is soft and lacks fine detail, but this is the best you could possibly expect from an analogue source. The usual analogue problems arise, from slight motion trails on the bright stage lighting to bland colour rendering and less than perfect shadow depth.
Thankfully, I didn't notice any compression artefacting, nor did I see any videotape errors in the transfer.
There are no subtitle streams provided.
This disc is dual layered (DVD9 formatted), with the layer transition placed during the feature at 52:47. This falls between the songs When A Blind Man Cries and Hey Cisco and only interrupts audience applause.
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There are three audio options available, the default of which is a very nice 48kHz Linear PCM soundtrack (2.0 stereo). The alternatives are Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) and dts 5.1 (1536Kb/s).
Gillan's vocals are always distinct and never drowned out by the rest of the band. There are the usual hiccoughs that are associated with live performances, but vocally, Gillan is on the mark. I didn't notice any audio sync issues in the slightest.
The use of the surround channels extends to atmospherics and audience applause.
Of the three audio options, the PCM has the loudest output level and the greatest brightness overall. The dts soundtrack is a close second, but also does a superb job.
The subwoofer accentuates the kick drum and bass guitar nicely.
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Overall |
Five songs from Deep Purple's 2000 performance at the Montreux Festival are included. This footage is presented in 1.78:1, but is not 16x9 enhanced. The only audio option is Dolby Digital 5.1, and this is very loud in comparison to the audio of the 1996 performance.
There are a number of differences with this later performance, the first and most recognisable being Gillan's shorter hair. Also, Steve Morse plays this gig with a cast on his left arm, while Jon Lord plays a bizarre Swiss Cheese keyboard!
This is an outtake from the 1996 performance, in which Gillan talks to the crowd about the origin of the song. Why it was cut from the show, who knows!
Three colour pages of photos from the gig and an article by journalist Geoff Barton.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The video transfer is good, considering the source.
The audio transfer is great.
The extras are worthwhile.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Denon DVD-3910, using DVI output |
Display | Sanyo PLV-Z2 WXGA projector, Screen Technics Cinemasnap 96" (16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 720p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Denon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete |
Speakers | Orpheus Aurora lll Mains (bi-wired), Rears, Centre Rear. Orpheus Centaurus .5 Front Centre. Mirage 10 inch sub. |