The lost Japanese performances from the MKIV lineup of Deep Purple have been found and released. This is the Ritchie Blackmore-less era where the guitar chores were taken over by a young guitar slinger named Tommy Bolin. Gone also were Roger Glover and Ian Gillan, the former replaced by Trapeze vocalist and bass player Glenn Hughes and the latter by young, rock star in the making, David Coverdale. Holdovers from the classic lineup up were keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice.

The performances, filmed on the world tour for Come Taste the Band are interesting. Bolin, a very talented guitar player, suffered a hand injury that took his playing down a notch that night and the band had since adopted a funky style of music that even Jon Lord admitted was not Deep Purple. Still, this era of the band is very interesting as it sees the band imploding with drug addiction and mismanagement. The inmates, namely Hughes and Bolin, were running the asylum. The rest of the band was forced to sit by and watch as drugs and a new musical direction destroyed the once mighty Purple.

The documentary on MKIV is the best part of this DVD as it goes behind the music, and inside the private spaces that have long been off limits to fans. Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord talk candidly about the band, the death of one of the roadies on the tour (both Lord and Hughes are convinced it was a murder) and the out of control, drugged out behavior displayed by both Bolin and Hughes.

The documentary is a must-see as it contains some very rare and unseen footage of this era of the band as well as the classic MKIII lineup. The stories of what happened when the curtain was down will curl your hair and keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.