Back in 2014, when DEEP PURPLE‘s “Made In Japan” received a box-set treatment, it seemed like a definitive reissue of the legendary live album which, upon its release in 1972, set a benchmark for onstage recordings. That edition was flawed, though, because, while presenting the tapes from the three nights, the source for the double-LP, didn’t feature the classic selection per se, thus robbing the listeners of original experience. Whether the omission warranted another resurgence of those sets is debatable, yet August 15th is to see a new super deluxe variant of the most loved platter.
Now, the good old seven cuts are back, albeit not in the familiar form, since they appear to have been remixed by – who else! – Steven Wilson, in stereo and surround sound, whereas the three-nights’ versions got refreshed too, by the great Richard Digby Smith, and several rare single edits. Why the encores from those outings weren’t added to the relevant discs – there are five-CD plus Blu-ray and ten-LP versions being prepared – remains a question, as does the absence of a documentary that the previous reissue featured on a DVD. As for the Martin Birch mix, it seems to land on Blu-ray. For those who didn’t buy the 2014 set, a must-have purchase – but why deliver it two weeks prior to the remix of “Rapture Of The Deep”?
Made In Japan:
Super Deluxe Edition
CD 1 – The Original Album (2025 Mix):
1. Highway Star
2. Child In Time]
3. Smoke On The Water
4. The Mule
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin’
CD 2 – Festival Hall, Osaka – August 15th, 1972 (2025 Mix):
1. Highway Star
2. Smoke On The Water
3. Child In Time
4. The Mule
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin’
CD 3 – Festival Hall, Osaka – August 16th, 1972 (2025 Mix):
1. Highway Star
2. Smoke On The Water
3. Child In Time
4. The Mule
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin’
CD 4 – Budokan, Tokyo – August 17th, 1972 (2025 Mix):
1. Highway Star
2. Smoke On The Water
3. Child In Time
4. The Mule
5. Strange Kind Of Woman
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin’
CD 5 – The Encores & Single Edits
1. Black Night (Festival Hall, Osaka – August 15th, 1972)
2. Speed King (Festival Hall, Osaka – August 15th, 1972)
3. Black Night (Festival Hall, Osaka – August 16th, 1972)
4. Lucille (Festival Hall, Osaka – August 16th, 1972)
5. Black Night (Budokan, Tokyo – August 17th, 1972)
6. Speed King (Budokan, Tokyo – August 17th, 1972)
7. Black Night (Budokan, Tokyo – August 17th, 1972)
8. Space Truckin’ (Festival Hall, Osaka – August 16th, 1972)
9. Smoke On The Water (Festival Hall, Osaka – August 15th, 1972)
Blu-ray – Steven Wilson 2025 Mix / Dolby Atmos 5.1:
1-7 – as on CD 1
