Corrían los 70’S, los Purple arrasaban y les tocaba gira por Japón. Allí les propusieron grabar un directo. Ellos no estaban muy convencidos de como iban a funcionar en un país, por entonces, tan exótico. Un poco a regañadientes grabaron los directos de los conciertos y se volvieron a casa con un cierto regusto raro. No pensaban que aquello fuese a funcionar, no porque los conciertos (con un público entregadísimo) no estuviesen a la altura. Más bien era la sensación de que aquello no saldría bien. Salir de gira y grabar directos no les cuadro. De regreso en los States cuando escucharon el disco, no lo podían creer, era genial y es de hecho uno de los mejores discos en directo de la historia.
It was the 70s, Deep Purple was dominating, and they had a tour scheduled for Japan. There, they were offered to record a live album. They weren't entirely convinced about how well they would fare in a country that was, at the time, so exotic to them. Somewhat reluctantly, they recorded the live performances and returned home with a certain odd feeling. They didn't believe that it would work out, not because the concerts (with an enthusiastic audience) weren't up to par. Rather, it was a sense that things wouldn't go well. Touring and recording live albums weren't in their comfort zone. When they listened to the album back in the United States, they couldn't believe it – it was fantastic and, in fact, one of the greatest live albums in history.
