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Way before Metallica or KISS recorded with an orchestra or symphony, and even before Frank Zappa made his attempts and ELP took an orchestra on a huge tour that almost bankrupted the band, Jon Lord, keyboardist for Deep Purple, was blazing the trail to marry the classical and rock music genres. By 1969, Lord had shown Dr. Malcolm Arnold his “fledgling score.” Before long, it was being given what would be it’s only performance for 30 years. Not because it was bad, but because it had been lost! Talk about a nightmare!

But thanks to love of DP’s music and a lot of persistence and patience, a young Dutch composer by the name of Marco de Goeij had listened to the recording and watched the video of the concert over and over… and over some more until he painstakingly pieced together each part of the score by ear and by watching the motions and fingering of the musicians. He presented this to Lord before a show in Rotterdam.

Lord then went in and put finishing touches from what he remembered. He then hooked up with conductor Paul Mann and for several weeks and working together long-distance, managed to recreate the score “Concerto For Group And Orchestra,” a series of three movements that fill the middle of Deep Purple In Concert With The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mann. The main difference between this new CD & DVD from the 1970 album featuring the band with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Arnold) is that there is room for more thanks to today’s technology. And in this case, more is better.

The show begins with Lord on piano and the orchestra performing “Pictured Within” as guest vocalist Miller Anderson sings. This is followed by Lord and the orchestra performing “Wait A While” with some amazing vocals by Sam Brown. Those names might not ring a bell with rock audiences, but the next one will.

The band then enters the stage. They consist of Roger Glover, Ian Paice & Steve Morse playing alongside Lord, who has jumped from piano to his Hammond, Then on walks one of the icons of rock’n’roll, Ronnie James Dio. He performs “Sitting In A Dream” and “Love Is All,” doing a marvelous job on both and looking as if he truly appreciated the honor of being onstage with the legendary band. Granted, this show was performed in 1999 and Steve Morse hadn’t been with them long as he replaced Joe Satriani, who was temporarily replacing Ritchie Blackmore who had left to form Blackmore’s Night. But anyone who has seen Morse on his own, with the Dixie Dregs, Kansas or Deep Purple knows that the guy can play about any song and any style of music thrown in front of him.

Next up is the brass group known as The Kick Horns along with violinist Graham Preskett, who also played on the previous track. They jam with the band and orchestra on “Wring That Neck” before the concert moves into the three movements of the concerto.

After the lengthy and masterful combination of the two styles of music, DP vocalist Ian Gillan finally makes an appearance to belt out “Ted The Mechanic” and “Watching The Sky.” Then the band slows thing back down a bit as they all perform one of my favorites, “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming.” The backup singers have been doing their part through the whole show, but this song really brings them out as they back Gillan and the orchestra.

“Pictures of Home” follows as the melancholy sound of a clarinet begins the piece and the orchestra slowly comes in while the band takes a break for a couple of minutes. They then rejoin with a monstrous sound to finish the rocking tune.

As a finalé, the song that most fans and non-fans alike will recognize, “Smoke On The Water.” Not only does Dio come back out to sing alongside Gillan, but Morse’s solo band members, Dave LaRue and Van Romaine, The Kick Horns, Preskett and other guest musicians jump in on the act. With the orchestra it helps to give this overplayed song a fresh feel. Don’t get me wrong, I love the song and it was a very important part of the band’s history and bio, but there are so many songs, such as these performed in this concert that are never heard on radio.

The concert was recorded over a period of two nights, but the editing is seamless and the show runs about two hours. There are no subtitles or audio choices. It’s in PCM Stereo, full screen and being a British band, they speak English. Kidding aside, the footage is rich and the audio sounds great.

There is a discography that shows the album title and the release dates of each title, but that’s it for any extras. A video interview would’ve been nice, but alas, we are relegated to reading a page within the six page booklet supplied with the DVD.

Great show and a must for any fan of Deep Purple, Steve Morse or Dio.

I proudly state that the 1969 vinyl album has been in my personal collection for over 20 years alongside many other original DP vinyl.

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