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Ladies and gentleman, Raise your glasses in celebration of the 52nd birthday of one of the greatest albums of all time, Deep Purple - Machine Head!
This album is without a doubt my ultimate “changed my life” album! A record that when I dropped the needle on it for the first time at 12 years old, everything shifted, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor! This album was and continues to be a constant inspiration to me. If you are familiar with my monthly podcast “Cover to Covered” you know I just selected this album as my #1 favorite of all time.
Recorded in just 2 weeks in Switzerland in December of 1971 Purple were set to record in a “live” setting at the Montreux Casino. The day before they were set to begin recording in the venue, the place burned to the ground after a concert-goer shot a flare into the ceiling during a Frank Zappa concert. The band then booked themselves into cavernous, off season hotel where they set up a makeshift studio using The Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Studio. Some of you may recognize this information as the basis of the most popular Deep Purple track “Smoke on the Water”. The song tells the 100 percent true story of the hell they went through to make this record!
“Machine Head” is a fairly short album with only 7 tracks but it’s 7 tracks of pure greatness! The album opens with the classic “Highway Star”, a driving anthem of straight up power that showcases everything that is Deep Purple! A fantastic organ solo from Jon Lord, a powerful vocal from Ian Gillan, a unbelievable guitar solo from Ritchie Blackmore and the ultimate rock foundation from who I think is the greatest rhythm section in hard rock, Roger Glover and Ian Paice! Ian Paice as a drummer is such an influence on me that I actually have him tattooed on my arm! Oh yeah!
After “Highway Star” the band then gets funky with “Maybe I’m A Leo” (STILL to this day I can’t figure out how to count the drum beat properly) before slamming into the majestic “Pictures of Home” by way of a classic Ian Paice drum solo intro, “Pictures of Home” is my favorite *deep cut* of the album! The pop rock oriented “Never Before” closes outside 1, an often overlooked but great song!
The real magic of the album is side 2 which is filled with 3 diverse classics! “Smoke on the Water” is of course a classic thanks to its legendary guitar riff but throw the unbelievable story on top and you’ve got one of the best songs of all time in rock! “Lazy” features a throw down guitar schooling from Ritchie Blackmore showcasing why still to this day he is one of the most celebrated guitarists in all of hard rock. The album’s closing track, my personal favorite “Space Truckin” is about as great as it gets. An iconic organ riff that is so heavy it had to have made Black Sabbath blush ! Again the rhythm foundation laid by Glover and Paice is just incredible! Throw in the nonsensical psychedelic lyrics from Ian Gillan about traveling around the galaxy and you’ve got a stone cold gem! In a live setting Purple would take this out into a 20+ improvisation of chaos, I highly recommend the “Made In Japan” version of “Space Truckin” as a prime example of this!
You’ll also see a new track on the release called “When A Blind Man Cries” originally recorded for “Machine Head” but ultimately only to be released as a B-Side to “Never Before” upon release. This laid back yet moving, blues feel (think Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs) of a track in my opinion would have made this already masterpiece even better, I am glad to see it finally included on the album between “Lazy” and “Space Truckin’”
This is one of those albums every person should have in their collection! It is not to be missed! Every time I hear it and trust me I’ve heard it probably 1000 times or more, It still sounds and feels as fresh as the first day I heard it!
To celebrate this momentous birthday, Deep Purple and Rhino Records have teamed up for a new super deluxe box set! Featuring a brand new 2024 Remix by Dweezil Zappa (Yes! Frank’s Son) on both LP (Translucent Purple Swirl Vinyl to be exact) and CD, 2 additional CDs of live concert material (Shows from 1971 and 72 respectively) and a Blu-ray Disc featuring the 2024 remix in Dolby Atmos, the original 1974 Quadrophonic mix and 5.1 surround mixes done for the 2012 reissue. The set also includes a fantastic book with unpublished photographs as well as commentary from the members of Deep Purple. My copy just landed here at the shop and I can’t wait to dig into it in earnest, check out some preview photos below!
You can pick up your copy right here at Rock City!
