Live in London

Live in London captures Deep Purple on stage at the Gaumont State Theatre in Kilburn on 22 May 1974. The BBC recorded the show for radio broadcast, and it stayed off vinyl until Harvest put it out on 23 August 1982. It features the Mk 3 line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, who were touring their album Burn at the time.

It sits in the gap between Burn and Stormbringer, both of which came out in 1974, so it shows this line-up at work in the middle of that busy year. There is also a nice bit of mischief on the night: while introducing the band, Jon Lord jokes that he is "Rick Emerson", a mash-up of Rick Wakeman of Yes and Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. For anyone who likes their hard rock raw and live, it is a welcome document of this era.