DP Mk4 tour - myths about quality of performances

  • Hi - this is my first post here. I am here because I am a bit of a DP Mk3 & 4 fan, and I am one of the rare breed whose favourite is Mk4.

    I just wanted to see what you guys think about the various Mk4 gigs you have heard recordings of, because it seems to me there are might be a few myths around about the supposed poor quality of DP Mk4 performances.

    I have heard and read so many stories about the variable quality of Mk4 gigs, and tales of poor performances here and there, but the admittedly few live recordings I have heard don't really support this.

    I've heard the official release of the Japan stuff, Miami '76 bootleg, the official Foxbat release of Longbeach '76 and couple of songs from Springfield, and the Liverpool '76 bootleg.

    OK - Tommy is not at his best on the Japanese recordings for well-documented reasons, but all the others sound great. Clearly Miami is the best of the ones I have heard, Longbeach is good too (apart from Coverdale's voice being worn out from a long tour), and I also think the Liverpool gig sounds pretty good and pretty together.

    I was particularly surprised when I heard the Liverpool recording. This particular gig has been built up in rock mythology as being so terrible, and when I heard the recording, it wasn't what I expected at all.

    So do you think that all the stories about really poor performances from Mk4, and Tommy (and maybe Glenn) in particular, are actually true, with the obvious exceptions of Indonesia and Japan for which the reasons for sometimes poor performances are very well known? Or are these myths which have got out of proportion over the years?

    I guess out of curiosity, I would also have to ask - if I wanted to hear a genuine example of the kind of poor Mk4 performances people go on about, which recordings should I check out?

    Cheers!

  • very interesting post ! :thumbup: I'm a big Mk III and IV fan too.. for the Mk IV the problem is (also studio version) that many peope wants to heard Blackmore's Purple sound and spirit.. Tommy Bolin didn't want to be a copy of Ritchie Blackmore.. so he puts his roots and feeling on the songs which being so different..
    Anyways the biggest mistake they made was to play famous Mk II songs like Highway Star, Lazy.. (Smoke is spécial case..) although to play others Mk II songs never played like Pictures or Never before or No no no (so Mk III songs).. I think it would be better than the old Mk II standards..

  • :cool: I think here is the "Deep Purple Phoenix Rising" DVD/CD which just came out a good way to study that period of the band.
    The Video Material fom Japan is absolutly amazing, i was surprised although I'm a fan of mk4.
    This power, spirit, energy is f**g beautiful! :bouncer:

  • I think it is a really good point that they could have tried out some different Mk2 tunes, perhaps they missed an opportunity there.

    I have actually got the new Phoenix Rising DVD and already watched the Getting Tighter documentary. It is very interesting.

    It's really great to see some excellent quality Mk4 footage at last, and the energy does come over much better with the visuals. It is sadly obvious though that Tommy couldn't play to his normal standard at that gig.

    Do you think that there are some myths though about Mk4 - perhaps they were better and more consistent than they are given credit for?

    And if I wanted to hear an example of a poor Mk4 show what should I listen to?

  • In that time the booze and dope were not always good for the quality. When I had the Last Concert in Japan lp signed by Glenn, some years ago: he told me that he was super drunk during that concert. But I still think it's a good show with a lot of soul :thumbup:

    | Burn | Stormbringer | Come Taste The Band

  • very interesting post ! :thumbup: I'm a big Mk III and IV fan too.. for the Mk IV the problem is (also studio version) that many peope wants to heard Blackmore's Purple sound and spirit.. Tommy Bolin didn't want to be a copy of Ritchie Blackmore.. so he puts his roots and feeling on the songs which being so different..

    That's a good point Stormbringer 74. Tommy Bolin had his own style and it really shone through on the CTTB material.

  • Hi - this is my first post here. I am here because I am a bit of a DP Mk3 & 4 fan, and I am one of the rare breed whose favourite is Mk4.

    Well, you're not the only one! :)

    I just wanted to see what you guys think about the various Mk4 gigs you have heard recordings of, because it seems to me there are might be a few myths around about the supposed poor quality of DP Mk4 performances.

    I have heard and read so many stories about the variable quality of Mk4 gigs, and tales of poor performances here and there, but the admittedly few live recordings I have heard don't really support this.

    You're totally right. Tommy wasn't any less consistent than Blackmore, it was just that he was convenient to blame for the demise of the band. "Bolin ruined DP with funk" - not true, they were all listening to funk & R&B at the time, just check out DC:s solo albums or the PAL album for solid proof of that... and check out the recordings of gigs, NYC (brilliant), Miami (great), Sydney (great), Auckland (great), London (just as good as Miami, contrary to the myth - check it out), Liverpool, Melbourne, Philly, etc, all good, and certainly not awful. The only problem is Tommy's solo spot, which never did work (well maybe once or twice). Sure, there were some bad gigs - all of the Japanese gigs are pretty bad (even if the spirits seem high on all of them), as are the Jakarta show (only one in circulation, but it sounds about the same as the Japanese gigs - numb hand, rudimentary playing). But compared to RB Tommy's not very inconsistent at all, which is surprising considering the amount of drugs involved...

    To me, the MkIV period has a really special kind of energy, and I much prefer CTTB to any other DP album (especially over the Gillan albums).

    I've heard the official release of the Japan stuff, Miami '76 bootleg, the official Foxbat release of Longbeach '76 and couple of songs from Springfield, and the Liverpool '76 bootleg.

    OK - Tommy is not at his best on the Japanese recordings for well-documented reasons, but all the others sound great. Clearly Miami is the best of the ones I have heard, Longbeach is good too (apart from Coverdale's voice being worn out from a long tour), and I also think the Liverpool gig sounds pretty good and pretty together.

    It does, except for Tommy's solo spot which sours the mood...

    I was particularly surprised when I heard the Liverpool recording. This particular gig has been built up in rock mythology as being so terrible, and when I heard the recording, it wasn't what I expected at all.

    You're right - especially considering that DP fans have been led to believe that ALL MkIV shows sounded even worse than the Japanese shows, and that Tommy Bolin could hardly play at all...

    So do you think that all the stories about really poor performances from Mk4, and Tommy (and maybe Glenn) in particular, are actually true, with the obvious exceptions of Indonesia and Japan for which the reasons for sometimes poor performances are very well known? Or are these myths which have got out of proportion over the years?

    Yes and yes.

    I guess out of curiosity, I would also have to ask - if I wanted to hear a genuine example of the kind of poor Mk4 performances people go on about, which recordings should I check out?

    I have all the available shows, and I can truly say that the only really bad shows are the Japanese and Indonesian shows. Sure, the playing can be sloppy or underrehearsed at times (in Australia and New Zealand), and uninspired (during some US gigs), and too blunt (UK tour), but NONE of the shows are as bad as the myth has it.

    Also, Glenn's alleged screaming is mostly evident on the Long Beach recording, maybe he was trying to make up for the fact that DC:s voice was in really bad shape at that gig (I believe he had a cold).

    Just my 5 cents...

    Thank you for you post!

    :claphands

  • I heard one of the Wembley shows was better than the other one which all the Press was invited to.
    Leicester? Never read a review ditto Glasgow.
    Liverpool as bad as people alude to?
    All fascinating stuff.
    The non starter 2nd MK4 album:
    when I hear Tommy's 'Shake The Devil' & 'Post Toastee'
    David's 'Say You Love Me' & 'Time On My Side'
    Glenn's 'It's About Time' etc
    Should have been a corker.
    PS: Would like to hear Glenn tackle the Lead Vox on 'Dealer', live & studio.
    As GH aluded to on 'Phoenix Rising' dvd.
    'Live' it would be such a breath of fresh air after 'Mistreated' being in the set for so long.

  • Well I was at the Glasgow show - my first ever gig, and have a copy of the show, and it isn't bad - as always the solo break the flow of the show, and were all too long. But if you listen to the songs - real energy there.

  • very interesting post ! :thumbup: I'm a big Mk III and IV fan too.. for the Mk IV the problem is (also studio version) that many peope wants to heard Blackmore's Purple sound and spirit.. Tommy Bolin didn't want to be a copy of Ritchie Blackmore.. so he puts his roots and feeling on the songs which being so different..
    Anyways the biggest mistake they made was to play famous Mk II songs like Highway Star, Lazy.. (Smoke is spécial case..) although to play others Mk II songs never played like Pictures or Never before or No no no (so Mk III songs).. I think it would be better than the old Mk II standards..

    you are right at that time blackmore was the star and people can not imagine purple without even if come taste is better than stombringer
    most of live boot cd from mark 4 are very good and not so boring than mark 3 (space truckin for ex wich belong to mark2)

    and now with the test of time come taste is see like a very good album ..and where is blackmore now...nowhere lost in is dreams

  • I firmly believe Tommy Bolin has been scapegoated by certain persons; all the worse, as he's not alive to defend himself. The audio from the Mk 4 shows are more than enough to show that he had the guitar chops.

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