The previous "Live At Montreux 1996" CD and DVD are essential items for Deep Purple fans, and I also recommend the new "They All Came Down..." CD and DVD. The interviews are really enlightening, and you walk away with the belief that Deep Purple is, above all other things, a true hard-working rock & roll band. The legacy means something to each of them and they refer to the fans as "members of the band." It's been 11 years since Steve Morse was "the new guy." Back in those days I thought "You can't possibly have Deep Purple without Ritchie Blackmore," and 11 years later, we do have them, and they still deliver the goods. I respect the career accomplishments of Don Airey, but when I compare the 1996 Montreux set to the new one, I miss Jon Lord. True, it was his decision to leave the band after becoming "road weary," and there are no ill words spoken about him in the interviews (unlike the band's take on Blackmore). Lord was a power player...and sometimes a showboat, just like Blackmore. But his sound was big and full and tough and it was a defining element of the band. When I hear Don Airey's somewhat lighter, more subtle touch, it comes as a bit of a disappointment. But the band is happy, they all get along, they're still making music, and they've delivered two solid studio albums since Don joined the band ("Bananas" and "Rapture Of The Deep"). The new set revisits "Pictures Of Home," "When A Blind Man Cries," and "Smoke On The Water," also performed on the 1996 album. There are three tracks from "Rapture."

If you watch the 1996 video, there's a "shot out of a cannon" feel to the band that might have been the simply joy of emancipating themselves from the constant tension with Blackmore in the wake of his walk-off during the "Battle Rages On" tour. Ian Gillan actually expresses gratitude in the interviews to Blackmore for heading south, because he believed that the band most certainly would have broken up at the end of the "Battle" tour if he hadn't.

Jon Lord left on amicable terms, so they have less to prove...simply the fact that they are a true Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame band, and they are carrying on, and they still have what it takes. The 1996 Montreux set was a jaw-dropper. The 2006 set is solid. That was then, this is now. No complaints.

This disc (and the DVD of the same title) show Deep Purple surviving after the loss of two key members, Ritchie Blackmore in 1993, and Jon Lord about five years ago. This CD is really strong, particularly the live take of "Wrong Man." It's not quite the Deep Purple of 1973, but then again, who was/is. The group is still strong - Ian Paice is rock's most underrated drummer, and Don Airey fits in nicely on the keys.
Can't wait to see them in Dallas this month ....

Awesome live show. The sound is clear and loud, and the band are playing great. Nice to see the band still keeping on, and they've really trimmed alot of the excess noodling and extended solos from earlier incarnations to now just rocking and jamming away. 5 stars