Last Updated on 27 January 2026 by Massimo M.
When we thinking about a live rock album it is easy to think of Deep Purple’s Made in Japan.
Made in Japan, released on double vinyl, an authentic milestone in rock history, reproduces, without any post-production retouching, the real Deep Purple sound at the time of the band’s most classic formation, the so-called Mark II with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.
It is one of the most famous works of the English band and also one of their biggest commercial successes.
It contains some famous versions of pieces that have become rock classics such as Smoke on the Water and Strange Kind of Woman recorded on August 16 and 17, 1972 during concerts held in Osaka and Tokyo.
Originally this vinyl was intended only for the Japanese market but later the album was also released in the UK, in December 1972, and, despite many predictions, reached position 16 in the sales charts.
The publication of the album in the States, on the other hand, was postponed until April 1973 because the record company, Warner Bros., having clearly seen the success that Deep Purple were achieving, first wanted to publish the studio album Who Do We Think We Are
In the meantime however the label released [amazon_textlink asin=’B00JYZ4WGU’ text=’Smoke on the water’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mybestrevie-21′ marketplace=’IT’ link_id=’e7c01636-0db0-11e7-8395 -d9f87c9ea74a’] as a single which reached number four on the Billboard chart
The Japanese version of the vinyl did not have the classic gatefold format but that of the single LP with a selection inside 
photos from the Tokyo concert, song lyrics and handwritten messages by every single member of the band.
In addition, the first pressing also contained a negative with photos of the concert that the owner of the disc could print himself. This latest version is very rare.
A series of celebrative reissues on both CD and vinyl were released in 2014. As for the reissue on vinyl, it is a “block” of nine LPs, VINYL super deluxe box set, weighing 180 grams with the remastering of the two Japanese concerts including all encores. The cost is appropriate to the specific weight of the work 🙂
Track list of the original record 1972 – Purple Records label, Catalogue TPSP 351
Side A
Highway Star – 6:42
Child in Time – 12:18
Side B
Smoke on the Water – 7:37
The Mule (drum solo) – 9:28
Side C
Strange Kind of Woman – 9:52
Lazy – 10:27
Side D
Space Truckin’ – 19:53
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