Product: Deep Purple with Orchestra: Live at Montreux 2011 [Blu-ray] (2011)
Rating: 3.0
Stagnant setlist and questionable song choices weaken a golden opportunity
Deep Purple has one of the finest catalogs in rock history, with a string of landmark albums stretching back to 1968. Their video history is a little dodgy in comparison. Since 1996 and the entrance of guitar whiz Steve Morse, the band have released numerous concert videos. Usually well shot and well recorded, the videos regularly fall flat on two fronts. First off, despite the string of albums mentioned earlier, the concert videos ALWAYS feature the same core set of songs and rarely spotlight newer material. Look at their DVD's for sale here on Amazon and check out the setlist of each. You'll find they're essentially the same setlist, with maybe three or four different songs added to this DVD or that other one. DP have released four albums (to date) with Steve Morse, yet they all get overlooked so they can regurgitate the same old MkII canon. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this band. I just get tired of that same old setlist. Secondly is vocalist Ian Gillan. Once one of the greatest voices in rock, but in his late 60's a pale shadow of former glories. Hey, we all get old and there's absolutely no shame in that. What I don't like is his repeated attempts to sing like he did at 20. Why is he still singing songs off of In Rock? Those notes are beyond his abilities these days, so why even try? It's difficult to watch and even painful at times. As far as this DVD goes, great video, great audio and nice camera work. After that, it's a roller coaster ride...