Overview: Few bands are more closely associated with Montreux than Deep Purple and there was simply no other contender when it came to choosing the act to headline the closing night of the 40th Montreux Festival in 2006. The band duly delivered one of their finest live performances, sprinkling songs from their latest album "Rapture of the Deep" through a set chock full of their classic tracks. There was even a brand new song "Too Much Fun" written especially for the occasion and, of course, a show-stopping performance of "Smoke on the Water."

DVD Verdict: I have been a Deep Purple fan for over 25 years and own many records, cds and dvds of them in concert. This particular blu-ray / dvd is one of their best period ... and the picture quality of this new blu-ray format is simply incredible!

Whenever Deep Purple plays at Montreux, it is bound to be a special event, and this show lives up to any expectation anyone could have. The band is tight w/ all their arrengments yet loose enough that they can improvise on some of their most known and popular songs and maintain the essence of what Deep Purple has always been. Steve Morse's guitar playing is immpecable, presice and fluid. Don Airey had some big shoes to fill w/ the departure of Jon Lord, but he shows on this dvd that he is on par w/ any keybord player in the history of rock music (as well as classical and jazz).

Ian Gillan's legendary voice still rocks like it did when he first sang about the Montreux Jazz Festival back in '71. Ian Pace and Roger Glover show us why they still are one of the best drum and bass combos ever. In short, if you are a Deep Purple fan you will like this blu-ray / dvd. After all, can the 40th Anniversay of the Montreux Jass Festival get any better then Deep Purple headlining it?!

And so in conclusion, if you like DP they've got a bunch of great DVD's for sale. They are getting on with age so if that's a problem for you, buy some of their earlier stuff first. Then when you still want that DP fix, get this one too. Add it to your collection, you will play it many times over in the future.

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