Rarely does a double CD release come out that only has seven songs on it. This is a very young Deep Purple Mach II lineup, the photos on the front and back cover show that the band may have still been on the teat they look so childlike. That said they also look ready to rock.

The album is totally owned by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore as he plays his arse off on every song. Jon Lord, on keyboards, does his best not to be overshadowed while Ian Gillan hits notes that must have given him a hernia. The band is rough, raw and loose, but at the same time, very precise in their ability to non-verbally communicate with each other. This is pre-Machine Head so the tracks mix the new lineup with the original, yet all have the sound of the new additions to the band. The seven songs, in order are “Wring That Neck,” “Speed King,” “Into the Fire,” “Paint It Black,” “Mandrake Root,” “Child In Time” and “Black Night.”

The double disc set features two appearances by Deep Purple on the BBC radio shows In Concert, in 1970, and Sounds of the Seventies in 1972.

The legendary John Peel introduces the band as Deep Purple rattle off four tunes for the audience in “Speed King,” “Child in Time,” “Wring That Neck” and “Mandrake Root.” The show took place only a few months after vocalist Ian Gillan and bass player Roger Glover replaced Nick Simper and Rod Evans. The band is in full jam band mode as only “Speed King” comes in under 10 minutes while “Wring That Neck” goes on for over 18 minutes and “Mandrake Root” stretches to over 17 minutes. As compelling as this disc is, it is the groups return to the BBC two years later that is the star of this release.

Deep Purple are interviewed between songs by host Mike Harding. American fans will wonder how such a dry personality ever got on the air but this was England where they were much less concerned with excitement and sensation. While the interviews leave a bit to be desired the music more than makes up for it. Hot on the heals of the classic Machine Head, nearly the entire album is played including amazing live versions of “Highway Star,” “Strange Kind of Woman,” “Maybe I’m A Leo,” “Never Before,” “Lazy,” “Space Truckin’” and “Smoke On The Water.” The set ends with the DP remake of “Lucille.” This is very close to what appeared on the classic live album Made in Japan, one of the best live albums of all time, yet these performances are different enough to be excited about. This is a band at the top of their game, giving it their all to their home Country fans, both in the audience and over the airwaves.

Deep Purple returned to the UK in 1974 with a new bass player and singer in tow. They were anxious to see how their fans reacted to such a change as David Coverdale had huge shoes to fill, as the departed Ian Gillan was a fan favorite. Glenn Hughes was brought in to play bass and replace Roger Glover as well as to hit Gillan’s high notes. The band wasted no time with chart success as they released the now classic Burn.

This is another example of a tremendous amount of jamming. Two CDS contain only seven songs! The band sound great on “Burn,” “Mistreated” and the elongated “You Fool No One.” The live version here of “Mistreated” is a showstopper. Blackmore lets is all hang out and the result is a killer rocking performance of a Deep Purple favorite. Coverdale does a fine job but fails to live up to Gillan on “Smoke On The Water” and “Space Truckin’”. This is a fun disc yet it shows some of the fallacies of this lineup when compared to the classic lineup of Mach II.

Deep Purple was touring Europe to support their new album Stormbringer. The album, now a favorite of the fans, was not a favorite of Ritchie Blackmore. In fact, Blackmore was well into a plan to exit DP and introduce his new band Rainbow. Several others, Glenn Hughes, John Lord and David Coverdale, were also working on solo projects. MK III was at the end of their rope but the proverbial shit had not yet hit the fan. It is a testament to all of Deep Purple that such a good live concert could be performed, and recorded, when so many people were unhappy.

This disc has a total of 11 tunes over two CDs, with two songs being bonus tracks, alternate versions of “Mistreated” and “You Fool No One.” Coverdale and Hughes sound impeccable on the songs that were created during their tenure of the band including “Burn,” “Stormbringer,” “Gypsy” and “Lady Double Dealer.” They still lack Ian Gillan’s skills when attempting to perform “Smoke On The Water” or “Space Truckin’.” At the end of the day, this album is very cool as it is a historic end to Ritchie Blackmore’s era in DP. He plays amazing throughout leaving one to wonder how he could hide his true motives so well and play with such gusto.