Deep Purple Announce Super Deluxe Edition of Made In Japan

Bruce Henne | 06-20-2025

(hennemusic) On August 15, 1972, Deep Purple took the stage in Japan for the first of three shows that would give rise to one of rock's most celebrated live albums, "Made in Japan." The band has announced a new Super Deluxe Edition of the landmark release, due out August 15 - exactly 53 years after the first performance was recorded.

The band enlisted engineer Martin Birch - who had worked on several of their best-known studio albums - to record the shows to eight-track tape at Festival Hall in Osaka and the Budokan in Tokyo.

Originally intended as a Japan-only release, this double live album became a surprise global phenomenon. Released in the U.K. in December 1972 and in the U.S. the following March, "Made in Japan" went platinum in America and several European countries.

Singer Ian Gillan, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist Roger Glover, and drummer Ian Paice - Deep Purple's famed Mk II lineup - turned studio staples like "Smoke On The Water," "Highway Star," and "Space Truckin'" into explosive live statements.

"We came halfway around the world and found the audience singing every word. It was magical," Glover recalls in the collection's liner notes.

"Made in Japan (Super Deluxe Edition)" features new stereo and Dolby ATMOS mixes of the original by acclaimed producer Steven Wilson, with all three concerts newly remixed by Richard Digby Smith.

"It's all completely as it happened on the night," says Wilson. "The album has a power and sense of abandon that they never quite captured in the studio. Hopefully this new mix makes it feel even more like you're there."

Get more details and stream the Steven Wilson remix of "Highway Star" here.