Label: Edel/ear-music 2013
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
Popcorn, check. Cola, check. Remote, check. Play, check. Hey... there's no colour? Goddamntv... crapdvdplayer. I'll teach them to mess with the legend... what? huh? According to the box video is in black and white. Surely a mistake? I don't feel like watching 133 minutes of the dogs-only version of live in Copenhagen 1972. Crapdanishtv. Why the black and white in 1972? 1942, sure. But if they could put a man on the moon, etc. Whatever. The first nine tracks are simply not in colour and recorded on March 1, 1972, when DP took to the stage at the KB Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The place burned down to the ground in 2011 but that's another story and not connected to 'Smoke On The Water'. In fact, DP did not play the song in Denmark as they prefered to perform several other songs from the by then soon to be released 'Machine Head' album.
The Danes and especially the sound engineer (the drunk geezer on the soundboard) did not react well as he decided to ignore Glover completely during the opening numbers. Gillan is however at the top of his game, wailing through the marvelous "Child In Time". Paice goes bezerk during 'The Mule', and Blackmore's on fire during 'Space Truckin'. In fact, I believe they had to rebuild his Strat at the beginning of the first encore (Fireball). This gig has previously been released on VHS in the eighties and I believe there's also the Japan only DVD from the mid-00? Video and audio is restored and digitally remastered in 2013 though and makes for overall goody entertainment. Just pretend that you're a grumpy Bulldog while watching (some of you are howlers anyhow) and simply try to look past the ancient equipment at Danish TV.
The bonus tracks (Strange Kind Of Woman, Smoke On The Water, Space Truckin') are in colour as they were recorded 29th May, 1973, at Hofstra University, New York. The two G-Men (Gillan, Glover) would leave the band shortly afterwards and the singer does not exactly look pleased during some of these numbers. Perhaps nothing new to the die-hard fan, but the 2013 remastering should provide for better sound quality than previous issues. Neat.
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