Welcome to Long Beach 1971, the latest album in earMUSIC’s Deep
Purple reissue series that, over the last two years, has seen the
release of rare live material from the band, including “Stockholm
1970”, “Paris 1975” and “Graz 1975”.
It was recorded at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California,
on July 30, 1971, and was broadcast on radio (KUSE 91.5 FM), a
showcase for a support performance to Rod Stewart and The Faces.
An official release for a concert that has long been considered a
landmark for the band, the set featured tracks (“Speed King” and
“Child In Time”) from their fourth studio album, June 1970’s Deep
Purple “In Rock”. This was a transitional release for the Mk II
version of the band, being their first hard rock affair as well
as their commercial breakthrough as the third leading über-rock
band of the day along with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
Completing the set that day were a considerably extended version
of “Mandrake Root” from their July 1968 debut album “Shades Of
Deep Purple”, and “Strange Kind Of Woman”, the follow-up single
to “Black Night” from February 1971 (and an album track from the
US iteration of July 1971’s “Fireball” LP).
An 11-minute “Speed King” opens proceedings here. It actually
starts off like a climax, with a frenzy of organ and batter of
guitar and drums, before segueing into a fast and furious riff
and some classic caterwauls from Ian Gillan. At three minutes the
track settles into an improvisatory middle section, the Roger
Glover/Ian Paice rhythm section laying down a solid bedrock,
providing the launch-pad for Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore’s
flights of fancy. First the music goes quiet to make way for a
Lord organ solo, and then a Blackmore free-association, the
guitarist making few excuses as he caresses the heavens. Then the
organ and guitar mimic each other; really, it’s more of a duel,
Blackmore vs Lord, equal parts jazzy improv and battle for
virtuosic supremacy. At six minutes the track erupts into a orgy
of guitar, bass and drums, after which Gillan decides to
impersonate the wail of the guitar, almost scat-singing.
Next up is, Gillan explains, a recent track, “Strange Kind Of
Woman”, an “extraordinary” story, as the singer puts it, “about a
prostitute and a friend of ours”, a woman whose “name was Nancy /
her face [was] nothing fancy”. The piledriving central motif is a
classic combination of rhythm and riff, the band hitting a
bluesy, even funky, groove. Gillan, wanting a piece of the
instrumental action, again uses his voice to mimic the teetering,
trebly high notes of an electric guitar.
“Child in Time” is 20 minutes of heavy action from Blackmore. At
the 10-minute mark Lord’s fingers move at dizzying speed and you
can’t imagine anything more slickly proficient; then Blackmore
steps up for feats that frankly boggle the ears. If you’re not
too exhausted by that, there is time for one more, and it’s a
good - not to mention long - one: “Mandrake Root”, a 27-minute
extrapolation of the debut album track and concert standby. The
opening riff is pure Jimi Hendrix circa Foxy Lady. Thereafter,
expect plenty of cunning improvisation, and sections where the
band head off in all sorts of unknown directions and down all
manner of unexpected backwaters. There is a brief interlude where
Blackmore’s guitar does an impression of the rotor blades of a
helicopter landing in a jungle war zone. About 19 minutes in, it
sounds as though the band are threatening to start playing the
intro to “Highway Star”. The whole thing climaxes with some
unearthly squeals and unholy feedback reminiscent of machine
attack courtesy of Mr Blackmore, and some pulverising artillery
fi re from Paice. Gillan thanks everyone for listening, leaving
the audience staggered, and not a little dazed, as they head
towards the exit, into the warm California night, wondering what
the hell just happened. Deep Purple live just happened.