The Album That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen

We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..

Maybe the oddest thing about the hit double LP “Made In Japan” from the band Deep Purple is the fact that they didnt even want to record it and then when it was recorded didn’t really care if it got released.

Many fans had recorded bootleg tapes of the band’s sizzling live shows and the record company decided that the time had come to professionally record the group in its live state.

During the shows at the Festival Hall on Osaka and the Budokan in Tokyo the band just did their show not really caring about the recording going on.

Jon Lord has said that the LP wasn’t supposed to be released outside of Japan…when it was it went platinum in two weeks.

The album came out in England in December of 1972 but the US release was delayed until April of 1973.

The members of the band did become more welcoming of the LP’s success later with drummer Ian Paice calling it ‘the best live rock & roll album ever done” .

The album came to define the band as it included sprawling versions of all their best songs. Highway Star, Child In Time, Lazy, Space Truckin, The Mule and, of course, Smoke On The Water.

The critics dug it…the fans gobbled it up…and even the band finally came to terms with it. That’s called a win-win-win.

Deep Purple

• Ritchie Blackmore – lead guitar
• Ian Gillan – vocals, harmonica (uncredited), percussion (uncredited)
• Roger Glover – bass guitar
• Jon Lord – organ, piano
• Ian Paice – drums