CAN HEADBANGERS GO MELLOW? THE DEEP PURPLE DAWN DEPT.

Deep Purple
Phoenix Rising
Eagle Rock Vision DVD
www.eaglerockent.com
By George W. Harris

You want “long hair music”? The 1975 version of Deep Purple was the epitome, and possibly the apotheosis, of heavy metal, guitar slinging blues rock. This dvd features the band at a 1975 concert in Japan with the team of Tommy Bolin/g, David Coverdale/v, Glenn Hughes/b, Jon Lord/key, and Ian Paice/dr giving raucous and energetic takes of tunes like “Burn,” “Highway Star” and of course, the anthematic “Smoke On The Water.” Besides the music, the best thing about having a dvd like this is that you can control the volume, as this band in concert set Guinness World Book records for volume.

An insightful 80 minute documentary is the highlight of this dvd, with interviews with Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord being conducted before the original 1976 split up. The disc includes some nice footage of members Roger Glover and the black dressed Ritchie Blackmore as well. Some of it, like from their infamous gig in Indonesia, is quite intriguing, as are the revealing talks by David Coverdale and Tommy Bolin. The section on Hughes describing his battle with cocaine addiction, as well as the sad tale of Tommy Bolin’s demise deliver prophetic warnings about the dark side of stardom. A fascinating look at the Deep Purple dusk.