Made In Japan (2LP)

NEW STEREO AND ATMOS MIXES BY STEVEN WILSON, PLUS NEWLY REMIXED VERSIONS OF ALL THREE JAPAN CONCERTS 

On August 15, 1972, Deep Purple took the stage in Japan for the first of three shows that would give rise to one of rock’s most celebrated live albums, MADE IN JAPAN. 

MADE IN JAPAN (SUPER DELUXE EDITION) features new stereo and Dolby ATMOS mixes of the original by acclaimed producer Steven Wilson, all three concerts newly remixed by Richard Digby Smith, and several rare single edits.

Singer Ian Gillan, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist Roger Glover, and drummer Ian Paice—Deep Purple’s famed Mk II lineup—turned studio staples like “Smoke On The Water,” “Highway Star,” and “Space Truckin’” into explosive live statements. “We came halfway around the world and found the audience singing every word. It was magical,” Glover recalls in the collection’s liner notes.

The band enlisted engineer Martin Birch — who had worked on several of their best-known studio albums — to record the shows to eight-track tape at Festival Hall in Osaka and the Budokan in Tokyo. The performances on MADE IN JAPAN (SUPER DELUXE EDITION) capture Deep Purple at full throttle, powering through songs from their then-new album Machine Head, along with fan favorites like “Child In Time,” “Strange Kind Of Woman,” and “Speed King.” The collection also includes rare single edits, like the German version of “Black Night” and the Mexican edit of “Space Truckin’.”

The live album garnered widespread critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone declaring it “Purple’s definitive metal monster, a spark-filled execution of the typical Purple style.” This recognition led to its impressive ranking at No. 6 on their “Readers’ Poll: The 10 Best Live Albums of All Time.” AllMusic also praised the album, stating that “Deep Purple pushed its music into the kind of deliberate excess that made heavy metal what it became.” Additionally, the album achieved commercial success, landing at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Wilson harnesses the raw energy of the original tapes in his new stereo and Atmos mixes. “It’s all completely as it happened on the night,” he says. “The album has a power and sense of abandon that they never quite captured in the studio. Hopefully this new mix makes it feel even more like you’re there.”