Here it is, finally after all these years someone took the inicative to properly released one of the greatest live Deep Purple sets! Two complete shows from their 25th anniversay tour, and it was as if the classic line up of Gillan, Glover, Blackmore,Lord, and Paice had never been apart...The sound is crisp and clear, and they never miss a beat! The Stuttgart show is the real gem here with Blackmore on fire! the entire band is right on for this show from the opening of 'Highway Star' to the closing of 'Smoke on the Water'the band is tight, never miss a beat! the solo's in Anya stand out as one of Ritchie's greatest performances. The band run through a number of classics, a few from the 84 reunion, as well as the then latest release, 'The Battle Rages On'. The second show from the NEC in Birmingham, picks up where the Stuttart show finishes...another great show. If there is a gripe about this show is, this is the show with the infamous water tossing incident, where Ritchie didn't show up on stage till just about his solo in 'Highway Star'...Jon Lord does an outstanding job on the keyboards keeping the enthusiasm while Ritchie is 'missing in action'. Once he appears, the band is tight and sound great. It is a pleasure to hear 'Anyone's Daughter' live, as this was never done live in their heydays in the 70's. If there is one gripe about the setlist its that 'Strange Kind of Woman' is missing from both shows, and the booklet explains why....No matter how much internal fighting there was offstage, it is pure magic onstage! This set is a must for Deep Purple fans, and even the casual Purple fan. BUY this set, you WON'T be disappointed!!!!!

I'll admit it; I'm narrow-minded. I am a HUGE Deep Purple fan, and have collected music and video from Mk. 1 to Mk......what version are we on now? I lost track....anyway, to me, Deep Purple is the Mk. 2 version...to me, Deep Purple isn't the same without Ritchie Blackmore & Ian Gillan.

That being said, and being a huge Rainbow/Blackmore's night fan as well, I was royally pissed when I listened to the NEC show first. Both of the Ian's, Jon & Roger were kicking butt, but Ritchie must have been asleep....he played what he had to to keep the show going, but nothing more. It was a below-average Deep Purple show. Sound is great, songs are great, but don't expect anything from Ritchie you haven't heard before better.

Then I put on the Stuttgart show.

I am contemplating replacing my entire stereo system because 130 watts per channel isn't enough to do justice to the Stuttgart show. It's the complete opposite of the NEC show....everyone is in absolute top form, and Ritchie & Jon absolutely SHRED. There are moments where Blackmore just goes off into space, and the band follows as usual...and then comes back roaring and tearing, but so intensely that you think you're listening to them in 1972, not 1993. Actually, I'd say even MORE than the old days, particularly on "Anya". The Stuttgart show is an excellent swan song for the Blackmore era Purple. And the liner notes are great, too. This is NOT a redone version of "Come Hell Or High Water"....THAT CD is a brutally chopped up version of this disc. The guitar passage before "Smoke" is way longer, and I'm not gonna get into the rest.....if you are a Purple /Rainbow/Blackmore fan, this is a MUST-HAVE set. Forget the NEC show....Put the Stuttgart show on and make the volume so loud your ears bleed!

This CD does not show anything different from 'Come Hell and High Water` - the only difference is Ritchie Blackmore's participation which is better. On Come Hell... we feel his lack of enthusiasm and here on 'Live in Europe` he is still on the mood for playing with Deep Purple.

The songs are great and it is a must have for any hard core fan.

For fans who marveled at a motivated Ritchie Blackmore tearing the roof off an arena with brilliant guitar solos, but also witnessed a moodiness which found him playing with his back facing the audience or behind the stage curtain, this multi-CD set has it all.

Recorded during the ill-fated 1993 reunion tour, with the classic lineup - Ian Gillan (v), Blackmore, Jon Lord (key), Roger Glover (b), Ian Paice (d) - two discs capture the band in full musical flight in Stuttgart, Germany, but running on fumes on the two discs from Birmingham, England.

Try as his bandmates attempted in Birmingham, Blackmore demonstrates little desire throughout the entire set. This friction ultimately found Blackmore abandoning the tour in November and Joe Satriani filling for the Japanese dates in December & the 1994 European Summer tour.

What makes Live in Europe so fascinating is what makes it so frustrating; a legendary group playing before appreciative audiences, but having to overcome ridiculous drama caused by a malcontent. This is not a sanitized version of a tour, but the reality from the road.

I thought that was a box set, but in truly are jewlcases separated with both shows. No problems ! The sound is great. Although the booklet is poor, no have pictures, just one in every album. But it's a collector item !. Thank you.