California Jam 1974 [live]

Although the California Jam has gone down in history as one of the all-time great Deep Purple performances, it is as a visual treat, rather than an audio experience, that it is best remembered. Filmed for ABC television's In Concert program, and long circulating on video on the Deep Purple underground, the show -- staged at California's Ontario Speedway in April 1974 -- was an exercise in intensity that reached its peak during the closing "Space Trucking", first when Ritchie Blackmore attacked and demolished a persistent camera, then when his roadie ignited several trays of gasoline, and came close to blowing up the entire stage. The festival headliners, Emerson Lake & Palmer are said to have threatened legal action following the event, simply because it was so hard for them to follow Purple's performance.

There is no way the audio soundtrack alone can convey the power and excitement of such moments. What it does supply is a clean recording of the Mark III lineup at its most powerful, ripping through a set that hits all the right highlights and confirms Deep Purple's right to be acclaimed among the greatest live acts of their (or any other) generation.

True, some of the more protracted numbers, "Space Trucking" among them, do go on a little too long. But the indulgence is more than compensated for by the visceral thrill of hearing Blackmore and Lord, in particular, unleashed -- and, besides, vast swathes of the classic Made In Japan weren't exactly designed with attention-deficits in mind, either. Which is not to say that California Jam is in any way comparable with that earlier masterpiece. But, if any one album can claim to push the Mark III band toward that particular pedestal, this is it.