Deep Purple – “Phoenix Rising” [DVD Review]

Phoenix Rising contains never before released, fully restored footage of Deep Purple live at the Budokan Arena in Tokyo on December, 15th 1975. The live portion of this DVD is only 30 minutes long, but includes classic hits such as “Burn”, “Love Child”, “Smoke On The Water”, “You Keep On Moving” and “Highway Star”. The lineup for this show is what Deep Purple fans refer to as the MkIV lineup and features David Coverdale at the helm.

Even though there are only five songs on this disc, as a Deep Purple fan I was incredibly stoked to be able to see such an old show with a classic lineup. The quality is surprisingly good and I found it interesting that even though we’re more than 35 years removed from this performance, the songs and the performance itself are relevant and hold up really well.

This DVD package also includes an 80 minute ‘rockumentary’ titled, Gettin’ Tighter which documents the rocky road leading up to the band’s turbulent split in 1976. Through individual interviews the viewer obtains an intimate look at the inner workings of the band; warts and all.

As a huge fan of Deep Purple, especially from this time period, I found Phoenix Rising to be a terrific package. It offers valuable insight into one of the most highly influential hard rock bands of all times.

Track Listing:

01. Burn
02. Love Child
03. Smoke On The Water
04. You Keep On Moving
05. Highway Star

Run Time: 142 minutes
Release Date: June 28, 2011

Check out a clip from the video below