On April 3, 1975 the Mk III line-up of Purple – guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, frontman David Coverdale, bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, keyboard player Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice – played a concert at the Liebenauer ice rink, located on the outskirts of mountain-cradled Graz, Austria’s second largest city after Vienna.
Enthused by Purple’s arrival in town, the local press dubbed the concert “das Rockereignis des Jahres [the rock event of the year]”. And it was – in more ways than one. Previously unreleased in its entirety, “Graz 1975” – the fourth part of earMUSIC’s successful reissues series – will be released on September 15th, 2014 on earMUSIC.
After Graz, Purple would play just two more shows – in Saarbrücken, Germany and Paris, France – before Blackmore left to form his new band, Rainbow. The remaining Purple members would regroup quickly with American guitarist Tommy Bolin in tow, in place of Blackmore. But that’s another story... In order to preserve Blackmore’s final run of Mk III concerts for posterity, Purple’s managers had brought the Rolling Stones mobile recording studio over to mainland Europe. And what a show it was! Graz 1975 is absolutely electrifying and exhilarating. Indeed, it has long been regarded as the holy grail of concert recordings among Mk III connoisseurs. A performance that has never been available in its entirety until now.
Tracklisting:
1. Burn / 2. Stormbringer / 3. The Gypsy / 4. Lady Double Dealer / 5. Mistreated / 6. Smoke On The Water / 7. You Fool No One / 8. Space Truckin’
After almost 40 years the concert still captivates people. It is the perfect example that for Purple there is no need for extravagant video projections or expensive fire shows to play a unique and fascinating gig. All they need is the music.
