Metallica's Lars Ulrich has recorded a video saluting the timeless majesty of Deep Purple's Made In Japan album, a record he describes as "the best hard rock live album ever".
Recorded over three nights on the English band's first Japanese tour - two shows at Osaka's Festival Hall (August 15 and 16, 1972) and one night at Tokyo's famous Budokan venue (August 17, 1972) - Made in Japan was originally released in the UK on December 22, 1972, and on March 3, 1973 in the US.
On August 15, the 53rd anniversary of their first Osaka concert, Deep Purple released a 50th anniversary edition of the classic album, remixed by Stephen Wilson. And Lars Ulrich reckons it's well worth your time, as he explains in a video uploaded yesterday (August 19) to Deep Purple's official YouTube channel.
"Hey, everyone, Lars here," the drummer says by way of an introduction. "I just wanna take a brief second and say... 53 years ago, this very weekend, Deep Purple were in Japan for the very first time, and those three concerts were recorded - two nights in Osaka, one night in Tokyo were recorded - and eventually became the Made In Japan album, in my humble opinion, hands down the best hard rock live album ever.
"I have heard it just about 18,000 times, and every time I hear it, it just gets better and better and better, and it's so crazy cool. It's so lively, it's so energetic and just, Duuuurrrghhh! You know what I mean? You know what I mean?
"Now, there is a reissue, remaster, all that 're' stuff, version of the album that includes — let me get this right — all three nights of the three concerts," he continues. "So not just one version of each of the songs, but three different versions of each of the songs. And it's coming out right now and it's got, obviously, everything else, depending on what package you get. It's got the kitchen sink, and more of the kitchen sink, and a bigger kitchen sink and all that stuff in it.
"But just going back to the music, the crazy thing about hearing this, and like I said, I've heard it a lot, is that when you hear the three nights of the three different concerts, the versions of the songs, they're all fucking so crazy cool, but they're different from each other. So, like, one night Child In Time is this long, and the other night Child In Time is that long and the third night Child In Time is that long, because the solo is a different length, [Ritchie] Blackmore is in a different mood, Ian Paice is playing against him in this kind of way, and it sets up these vibes. And then Ian Gillan goes over here, and then Roger Glover's holding this down, and Jon Lord goes here on the keyboards and over there, and it's all sso crazy fucking cool."
The drummer finishes up his tribute by saying, "So maybe this is the longest video honouring and saluting this great piece of work. I promise you I'll shut the fuck up now. But Made In Japan, people, Made In Japan, Made In Motherfucking Japan is coming out again as a reissue and all that good stuff. Check it out. Just check it out. Maybe you've already heard it 9,000 times. Maybe you've never heard it. Wherever you fall, just check it the fuck out, 'cause in terms of live hard rock and roll, this is as good as it gets. Thank you for listening to this babble. Lars saying over and out."
Watch the video below:
Reviewing the new edition of the album, which he awards 10/10, Classic Rock's Neil Jeffries writes, "Incredibly, [Stephen] Wilson has revealed subtleties hidden for more than 50 years. And with the source sets from all three nights newly remixed by Richard Digby Smith, this is Made In Japan not only expanded, but also supercharged. No edits, no overdubs, just the real deal."
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