Deep Purple – Made in Japan (1972)

 

Magnificent made in Ontario logo by Sarca @ caughtmegaming

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[Album 530/1001]

Back to the Future III
Doc Brown: “No wonder the circuit failed, It says Made in Japan.”
Marty McFly: “What do you mean Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan.”
Doc Brown: “Unbelievable”

 

When the above conversation is applied to Deep Purple’s Made in Japan, Marty & Doc are both partially right.

With regard to Doc, in my case, Made in Japan was ‘cheap’ in that it was inexpensive to procure; I scooped the tape years ago at a garage sale for 25 cents.

From a quality perspective however, his argument collapses, as the songs don’t seem carelessly performed & the band’s full sound doesn’t seem like it would be the thriftiest of productions.

And unlike the circuit from the movie clip, this Made in Japan product did not “fail.”

As for Marty, not having ventured too deep in the Purple catalogue myself, I don’t know if the set list here includes all of the band’s “best stuff.”

That being said, it feels like a running order that can be agreed upon by Deep Purple neophytes & lifers alike.

For me, someone who would likely fall somewhere in between, Made in Japan checks all the right boxes:

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While I imagine that a Deep Purple show in 2017 would include plenty of material from the last 45 years, in 1972, this show feels like a good representation of the group at the time.

It feels like they would have been something to see in person, as not many bands can stretch 7 songs into 75+ minutes!

And while the track list might not feature all of Deep Purple’s eventual ‘best’ material, I can see why people would be as incredulous as Marty McFly, if someone were to suggest that there was a superior live album from the early ‘70s.

Are you kidding me?

All the best stuff (in those days) was on Made in Japan.

Unbelievable.

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Verbalize the Positive

Although garage sales don’t always reveal humanity at its finest, I’m grateful for all the sales in Kingston that have provided such affordable cassette/CD/LP versions of these 1001 albums.

At numerous houses, I’ve asked, how much for this/that tape? And I think they’re so
surprised that someone would be buying a cassette in the 21^st century that they’ve laughed, asked for a quarter, and we’ve both left the transaction feeling fine!