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“Copenhagen 1972” – a review

0208369ERE-Deep-Purple_Live-in-Copenhagen_3D“Copenhagen 1972” is the second release of the earMUSIC “The official Deep Purple (overseas) live series”.

While “Paris 1975” features Deep Purple MKIII in their final days, “Copenhangen 1972” captures the legendard Deep Purple MKII at the peak of their career. Same as the Paris show, Copenhangen isn’t a new release.

The recording is basically the soundtrack to the “Live in Concert 1972/73” video (better known as “Scandinavian Nights (Live in Denmark 1972)” in Europe) and reintroduces three MKII bonus tracks of the video which were left out on the Sonic Zoom CD release. In addition to these tracks (recorded on May 29, 1973 in New York at Hofstra University, Hempstead, Long Island) a track called “1971 Australian Interview” has been included as additional bonus.

The main show, recorded at the KB Hallen in Copenhagen, Denmark dates to March 01, 1972 and shows Deep Purple right before the release of the “Machine Head” studio album, Ian Gillan introducing the opening number “Highway Star” as “What we got is a new song. It’s one of the next album we got coming up. …”. While a couple of Machine Head songs made the first of their now everlasting appearances, the show also included a rare live version of “Fireball” which had been replaced in the setlist by “Smoke On The Water” about a week later.

Originally recorded as a TV feature, the recording – although remastered – still shows some weaknesses soundwise, especially when compared to more prominent recordings like “Made In Japan”: during the first tracks, guitar and organ are low in the mix while while drums and vocals dominate the scene, but this gets better during the following numbers. Contrary to the sound the band performance shows no compromises.

The bonus tracks, sound better than the Copenhagen show but sadly offer just a small part of Deep Purple 1973. The interview is ok for a one time listen, offering standard topics like the audiences being “really fantastic”.

The discs are packaged into a slim digipak with one disc sitting right above the other which means disc juggling and some unavoidable scratches are going to happen every now and then.



21 Comments to ““Copenhagen 1972” – a review”:

  1. 1
    Felix Gauloises says:

    does somebody know what the next release will be? and maybe a release date?

  2. 2
    Patrick Michels says:

    I know they’re going to release a 1985 show from Australia which George Harrison played on this year. It’s never been officially released.

  3. 3
    Felix Gauloises says:

    wow, that sounds awesome! cd or dvd? setlist would be really interesting, i really miss the 80-90s, only knebworth, and come hell, and nobody home

  4. 4
    MacGregor says:

    Patrick @ 2 – great, I was at that gig in December 1984 in Sydney. Unless there was another concert in ’85, that Harrsion was a guest on as well? Where did you hear that info? Cheers.

  5. 5
    al says:

    @ 4 Mc Gregor how was Gillan’s voice in that concert ? do you know whether was filmed ?

  6. 6
    Russ says:

    I don’t think there has been any confirmation that the ’84 show is the George Harrison show. There were 3 concerts filmed in Sydney. He was only at one of them.

  7. 7
    Indio Nahuel says:

    purple lives……RULES…

  8. 8
    nupsi59 says:

    The best concert from the 90s with the MIB is “Live in Stuttgart” from 1993.

  9. 9
    MacGregor says:

    al @ 5 – Gillan’s vocal was strong, he was in fine voice. We were lucky here in Oz & NZ, as Purple commenced their reunion world tour here, so everyone was fresh & very keen & dare I say it, getting along fine! Russ @ 6 – I don’t recall if there were cameras there or not, it is a long time ago! I went to the first 2 gigs, one of those with Harrison jamming on Lucille with them. I wanted to go to the 3rd gig, but the other Purple heads with me had had enough after 2, so I opted out of the 3rd as well! Good times indeed! Cheers.

  10. 10
    blackbol says:

    I think they don’t gonna release an Australian 1984 show.

    These are the titles (I think in order of release) : 1. Live In Paris 1975 2.Live In Copenhagen 1972 3.Live In Aachen 1970 4.Live In Stockholm 1970 5.Live In Tokyo 1975 6.Live At Long Beach Arena 1976 7.Live In Montreux 1969 8.Days May Come And Days May Go 9.Live In California 1974 10.Live In Denmark 1972

  11. 11
    Aussie Paul says:

    I was at the sydney gig in 1984 as well,Gillan sounded and looked great!
    Still the best gig have ever been to,all of 16yrs old!!
    Couldn’t believe it when George Harrison walked out of the shadows,after being introduced by big Ian as “Arnold from liverpool!”
    They launched into Lucille,with george playing alongside Ritchie.
    Great memories!!
    Cheers to all,
    Aussie Paul.

  12. 12
    purpledaniel says:

    I wish the Australian 1984 release is true…we have little live material from the reunion years with Richie. Knebworth 85, Nobody´s Perfect 87 live compilation and Birmingham and Stuttgart 93.

  13. 13
    MacGregor says:

    While I am vague with my memory as to the possibility of any of the Sydney concerts being filmed, back in those days the filming of rock concerts wasn’t a big thing. I think we were just moving from Beta to VHS then & the compact disc wasn’t available either. Man it sounds like such a long time ago, & in some ways it is! I wouldn’t hold my breathe in anticipation for any ‘live’ filmed gigs from ‘way’ back then!
    But you never can tell, someone may have had the latest iPhone & filmed it! Hang on, they definitely didn’t exist back then. Which was a good thing, regarding not one person was holding one up in front of your face all night or worse, chatting & texting all the time! Cheers.

  14. 14
    Justino piperno says:

    This is a robbery!
    They’re reissuing the third time SONIC ZOOM series, only this time not so named.
    With the hook to change the artwork and bonus tracks (already published as well) they are selling the same thing over and over again.
    Robinson released the series twice: the first in the late ’90s (really a luxury for the purple fan) and the second, more modest and economical (and other artwork) in the mid 2000s. But this was justified because that first and mythical edition was almost out of stock and the prices paid were astronomical. But this …
    And this is the fourth edition of Live in Copenhagen in 20 years!
    when let rest our pockets?
    I suspect it never …

  15. 15
    Russ says:

    Regarding an ’84 show…..don’t forget this posting on facebook back in December.

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=519781411375737&set=a.199513813402500.45821.192121640808384&type=1

  16. 16
    Hornoxe says:

    They _did_ film Sydney and used it in snipptes for their epic postapocalyptic video to “Knocking at your Backdoor” *cough*. And if you look on youtube, there are many different video bootlegs from Sydney, most from constant but strange angles, so these seem to be leaked single-camera tapes. Big cameras can be seen at times, too.
    Also, one song (Black Night, said to be from 14 Dec 1984) was put together and can be seen on “New, Live & Rare 84 – 2000” video. Some other reunion-tour clips are on there, too, but they will never give out Paris 1985, as Gillan had a bad cold and no voice at all… try to catch the new july 2012 bootleg of the (digital!) re-broadcast after Jon’s death…

  17. 17
    Paal Hanson says:

    Well this is for me THE essential live recording! Why? Because I was there on that night, seeing Ian Gillan shout at the bouncers who tried to wrestle people away from center stage, I was there to be blown away by the set and the improvisation, I was there smoking and drinking and rocking with my late great buddy Søren. So this particular recording is such a special reminder of the power and beauty of our youth and the bands extreme freshness in those short three years. I was 12 years at the time, wide eyed and happy, so where my buddy Søren who passed five years ago, and what a show it was, it makes me smile to this day, and I send my thought to Søren and Jon while listening! I love this recording 🙂

    PS: This last recording has somehow been better restored sound wise than the previous releases of the show as far as I can hear, so I will shell out…….

  18. 18
    Dani77 says:

    Blackbol (10)
    Live in Copenhagen 72 = Live in Denmark 72!
    Maybe not???

  19. 19
    MacGregor says:

    The December 14 gig was the one that Harrison jammed with Purple, from my distant memory. I have watched a few youtube clips over the years including that jam on Lucille, but the quality of any filming remains the issue I suspect, as to what decent live footage may ever be available to be officially released. Cheers.

  20. 20
    Icepic says:

    The picture on the bottom in the middle shows the upcoming releases:

    http://www.deeppurple.tv/en/channels/deep-purple/dp-overseas-live-series

  21. 21
    Gordon says:

    I didn’t get to the Copenhagen concert but was in port on the BP Tanker British Unity. We went to the Revolution Club, which was supposed to be the hip place at that time. We were sitting enjoying the evening, listening to the local band, when suddenly in came DP – all of them. Our second mate was a DP fanatic and he almost fell off his seat when he saw them. Ended up Blackmore, Glover and Plaice jammed with the local band for around 30 minutes. I wish I had a recording of that!

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