881. Deep Purple / From the Setting Sun... In Wacken. 2015. 5/5

As a band gets older and has been together longer, and tours become more prevalent than releases of studio albums - mainly, one assumes, because the audience still wants to hear the same old songs rather than newer material at the concerts they go to - then there has to be something that fills the gap created by less albums. The solution is release live albums of archival concerts (something Deep Purple has been very good at over the past two decades) and live albums of recent gigs. Which is where we are here, with From the Setting Sun... In Wacken.

Recorded at Deep Purple's appearance at the ever increasing popular music festival held at Wacken Open Air in 2013, this double album covers the band's entire set list, one that mixes the old and the new almost seamlessly. And one should never under estimate how difficult it is for a band like Deep Purple, with 19 studio albums over almost 50 years, to find the right mix in the set list to ensure that they satisfy their fan base, young and old. To have the hits, but also to showcase their newer material so that it is not just a forgotten moment. I think they've done an excellent job here on this release.
The newer material from the band all sounds terrific here in the live environment, and really brings to life these songs that may not be as well known by most fans as their classic hits. "Vincent Price" from Now What?! sounds awesome, with Airey's keys combining beautifully with Glover's bass line and Morse's guitar riff. I love the studio version, but the live version really brings this song to life. "Contact Lost" from Bananas is an instrumental focusing on Steve Morse's wonderful guitar playing, and showcases his talent perfectly, as does the following "The Well Dressed Guitar" from special versions of Rapture of the Deep, where guitar and keyboards dominate in a brilliant flurry of musicianship. "Hell to Pay" and "Above and Beyond" from NOW WHAT?! both come across excellently live, and more than hold their own in this brilliant setlist.
Of the older classic material, it was a real pleasure to hear "Into the Fire" and "Hard Lovin' Man" from Deep Purple in Rock starting off the album after the typifying brilliance of "Highway Star" opens the show. Both of those songs are from the great Mark II era, and aren't necessarily the songs you'd expect the band to play, so hearing them again was just terrific. Ditto with "No One Came" from Fireball. It's still great to hear songs from these albums. "Strange Kind of Woman" and "Lazy" are always great staples, especially when the band tends to freeform through "Lazy" in whatever mood they happen to be in. "Perfect Strangers" is always a welcome addition, especially with that Hammond organ at the start. Don Airey does a great job staying true and trusted to Jon Lord's original keys, both here and throughout the album and performance. "Space Truckin'" still sounds great after all these years, and "Smoke on the Water" features a guest appearance by Uli Jon Roth to help add to the most played song of all time. The encore is kicked off by covers of Booker T and the M.G.'s "Green Onions" and then "Hush", which is still a great song after all these years, and completed by "Black Night", that old staple that still has people jumping 40-odd years later.

As always the performance of the band is faultless. They could probably do this in their sleep, but they sound as brilliant as ever. The great mix of songs, and the ability of the band to still play around with the tracks without changing them so much that people won't enjoy them is fantastic. You may have heard similar on other recent live releases, but they still never fail to amaze you with their performance. It may not be an essential purchase, but you certainly won't be disappointed if you do.

Rating:  There's gonna be hell... hell to pay!  5/5