Deep Purple - To The Rising Sun

Deep Purple’s ...To The Rising Sun (In Tokyo) is a crisp, highly polished live album capturing the band at the legendary Nippon Budokan in April 2014. 

It excels through its stellar sound mixing and features a mix of classic hits and modern tracks, contrasted against a deeply reverent, respectful Japanese audience.

By 2014, guitarist Steve Morse had been in the band for almost 20 years. The live iteration of Deep Purple is incredibly tight and professional, moving between classic hard rock and more progressive, jazz-leaning instrumentals.

• The Classics: Staples like "Smoke on the Water" and "Lazy" are played with a playful, virtuosic ease, with Don Airey gracefully navigating the keyboardist role previously held by the late Jon Lord.
• The New: Cuts from the 2013 album NOW What?! (such as "Above and Beyond" as a tribute to Lord) show that the band wasn't just relying on their vintage catalog. 

One of the album's greatest strengths is the pristine audio production. Unlike many stadium and festival recordings where the instruments blend together into noise, ...To The Rising Sun features an incredibly clear, balanced mix. Every instrumental solo, bass groove, and drum beat is highly separated and easy to pick out.

Japanese crowds are known for being much quieter and more disciplined between songs compared to Western audiences. This gives the live album a unique, almost orchestral or concert-hall dynamic. You can feel the audience’s total focus, followed by waves of roaring applause after climaxes like "Child In Time".