I’ve known this album for as long as I can remember. My older brother bought it shortly after it was released. Later, it became one of my first CDs, and I’ve followed its release history with interest, including various expansions, remasters and remixes. What concerts! The ‘core album’ remains the classic, especially in this familiar mix (though the Steven Wilson remix is at least its equal, just not nearly as familiar). The album is regarded as one of the best live albums in rock history. When you listen to it, it immediately becomes clear why: the band is at the peak of its musical prowess, Blackmore and Lord use their rivalry to create incredibly virtuosic solo duels, Ian Gillan achieves things and produces sounds with his voice that hardly any other rock singer could imitate, whilst Glover and Paice provide a confident and powerful rhythmic foundation. The recording quality from Japanese venues in the 1970s was vastly superior to that of European or American stages, and the audience fires up the band with a mixture of Japanese reserve and frenetic ecstasy. The result is pure energy. Hard rock with progressive influences at the very highest level. An eternal classic and perhaps truly the objectively best live album of all time.