The 2 new reviews

 Here are the reviews I mentioned in yesterday's blog at the start.

Deep Purple, Album, Live in Long Beach 1976

This is not the same band as it was in Machine Head, 3 members are changed. Yet, that makes this truly interesting to me. It's not a better band, not a worse band, just a different band. Tommy Bolin does an admirable job filling Ritchie Blackmore's shoes and rocking out in his own right with "Getting Tighter," his solo and "Homeward Strut." The fact that the rest of the band plays backup calls to mind Steve Vai in another David Coverdale band years later. Speaking of, David rocks hard on "Stormbringer," "Smoke On The Water," "Highway Star," "Burn" and "Going Down," a special 1976 Springfield bonus that leads into another performance of "Highway Star." Glenn Hughes is also in his typical amazing form, singing strongly on "Getting Tighter," "Smoke on the Water," "Burn" and others that showcase his abilities. Overall, I recommend this especially if you like the Coverdale-Hughes days, and I think Deep Purple fans should check it out so long as they know they aren't getting Mark II.

 

Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes 9-11, DVD

 

The video on my copy slightly seems over-saturated, the colors a little too bright, on episode 9, but I'm not sure if that's just my copy or not. I can say if you like Asuka Langley Soryu (which I'm aware a lot don't), this is probably a great buy, with her and Shinji being forced to coordinate in the 1st episode against an Angel that can split and reunite. The 2nd has her wearing an inflatable suit to fight an Angel in a volcano, while this one's popular as fetish fuel, there's actually substance to it and Tiffany Grant's range of confidence to helplessness in on full display. The 3rd deals with a power outage as the Angel rampages, forcing Asuka, Shinji and Rei to go through Headquarters. Asuka tries to be the leader, but her brashness leads to her being taken down a peg, though she does let Shinji use his strengths. These episodes show Anno's portrayal of the enduring human spirit in overwhelming odds well, with the adorable, brash and often humbled Asuka front and center, just how she wants it.