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Machine Head

 
Album Review: Machine Head
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Machine Head

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  • Artist: Deep Purple
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1972
  • Total Time: 37:25
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Led Zeppelin's fourth album, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, and Deep Purple's Machine Head have stood the test of time as the Holy Trinity of English hard rock and heavy metal, serving as the fundamental blueprints followed by virtually every heavy rock & roll band since the early '70s. And, though it is probably the least celebrated of the three, Machine Head contains the "mother of all guitar riffs" -- and one of the first learned by every beginning guitarist -- in "Smoke on the Water." Inspired by real-life events in Montreux, Switzerland, where Deep Purple were recording the album when the Grand Hotel was burned to the ground during a Frank Zappa concert, neither the song, nor its timeless riff, should need any further description. However, Machine Head was anything but a one-trick pony, introducing the bona fide classic opener "Highway Star," which epitomized all of Deep Purple's intensity and versatility while featuring perhaps the greatest soloing duel ever between guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and organist Jon Lord. Also in top form was singer Ian Gillan, who crooned and exploded with amazing power and range throughout to establish himself once and for all as one of the finest voices of his generation, bar none. Yes, the plodding shuffle of "Maybe I'm a Leo" shows some signs of age, but punchy singles "Pictures of Home" and "Never Before" remain as vital as ever, displaying Purple at their melodic best. And finally, the spectacular "Space Truckin'" drove Machine Head home with yet another tremendous Blackmore riff, providing a fitting conclusion to one of the essential hard rock albums of all time. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Highway Star (Lyrics) Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (6:05)
Maybe I'm a Leo (Lyrics) Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (4:51)
Pictures of Home (Lyrics) Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (5:03)
Never Before Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (3:56)
Smoke on the Water (Lyrics) Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (5:40)
Lazy (Lyrics) Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (7:19)
Space Truckin' (Lyrics) Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice Deep Purple (4:31)

Credits

Deep Purple (Producer), Deep Purple (Main Performer), Deep Purple (Mixing), Ian Gillan (?), Ritchie Blackmore (Guitar), Roger Glover (Synthesizer), Roger Glover (Bass), Roger Glover (Liner Notes), Roger Glover (Remixing), Roger Glover (Cover Design), Jon Lord (Keyboards), Martin Birch (Engineer), Martin Birch (Mixing), Greg Calbi (Mastering), Joe DeGiorgi (Remix Assistant), Peter Denenberg (Remixing), Peter Mew (Remixing), Peter Mew (Remastering), Ian Paice (Drums), Simon Robinson (Producer), Simon Robinson (Liner Notes), Simon Robinson (Artwork), Didi Zill (Photography), Shepard Sherbell (Photography), John Coletta (Cover Design)
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Wikipedia: Machine Head (album)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
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Machine Head
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released March, 1972
Recorded 6 December - 21 December 1971
Montreux, Switzerland
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 37:47
Label EMI
Producer Deep Purple
Professional reviews
Deep Purple chronology
Fireball
(1971)		 Machine Head
(1972)		 Who Do We Think We Are
(1973)
Alternate cover
25th anniversary CD slipcase

Machine Head is the sixth Deep Purple studio album. It was recorded at the Grand Hotel Montreux, Switzerland in December 1971 with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, and released in March 1972.

The album is often cited as being very influential in the development of the heavy metal music genre. It is Deep Purple's most successful recording, topping the charts in several countries following its release. In 2001, Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.

Machine Head is the subject of one of the Classic Albums series of documentaries about the making of famous albums. Machine Head was released on the multichannel formats Super Audio CD (2003) and DVD-Audio (2001).

Contents

Original Recording

Hiring the Rolling Stones Mobile One equipment and studios, the band recorded the entirety of the tracks in a Montreux hotel facility, with no overdubs. The "Smoke on the Water" lyrics' citation "Frank Zappa and the Mothers" refers to Zappa's show at a nearby casino. The casino burned down a few days before the start of scheduled Machine Head recording sessions.

A song entitled "When a Blind Man Cries" was recorded during these sessions, but not included on the album. Instead, it was used as a the B-side on the "Never Before" single. The song appears as a bonus track on the album's 25th anniversary edition.

The supporting tour for Machine Head included a trip to Japan that would later become the double-live Made in Japan album.

Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Original release on vinyl

Side one

  1. "Highway Star" – 6:05
  2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" – 4:51
  3. "Pictures of Home" – 5:03
  4. "Never Before" – 3:56

Side two

  1. "Smoke on the Water" – 5:40
  2. "Lazy" – 7:19
  3. "Space Truckin'" – 4:31

25th anniversary reissue (2CD)

Disc one: The 1997 Remixes

  1. "Highway Star" – 6:39
  2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" – 5:25
  3. "Pictures of Home" – 5:21
  4. "Never Before" – 3:59
  5. "Smoke on the Water" – 6:18
  6. "Lazy" – 7:33
  7. "Space Truckin'" – 4:52
  8. "When a Blind Man Cries" – 3:33

Disc two: The Remasters

  1. "Highway Star" – 6:08
  2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" – 4:52
  3. "Pictures of Home" – 5:08
  4. "Never Before" – 4:00
  5. "Smoke on the Water" – 5:42
  6. "Lazy" – 7:24
  7. "Space Truckin'" – 4:35

25th anniversary bonus tracks

  1. "When a Blind Man Cries" (original B-side) – 3:32
  2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" (Quadrophonic mix) – 5:00
  3. "Lazy" (Quadrophonic mix) – 6:57

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1972 UK Albums Chart 1
1972 Australian Albums Chart 1
1972 Norwegian Record Charts 3

Personnel

Additional personnel

  • Martin Birch – engineering
  • Jeremy (Bear) Gee – assistant
  • Nick Watterton – technician
  • Ian Hansford, Rob Cooksey, Colin Hart – equipment
  • Martin Birch and Deep Purple – mixing
  • Shephard Sherbell – photography
  • Roger Glover, John Coletta – cover design
  • Peter Denenberg, Roger Glover – remixing
  • Peter Mew – remastering

Sales accomplishments

RIAA certification[3] (United States)

Date Designation Total Sales
November 6, 1972 Gold 500,000
October 13, 1986 Platinum 1,000,000
October 13, 1986 Double Platinum 2,000,000

BPI certification (United Kingdom)

Date Designation Total Sales
1 January 1974 Silver[4] 60,000
1 January 1974 Gold[5] 100,000

References

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Review Machine Head". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fifexqr5ldke~T1. Retrieved 26 August 2009. 
  2. ^ Bangs, Lester (25 May 1972). "Album review Machine Head". Rolling Stone. Jann S. Wenner. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/deeppurple/albums/album/238402/review/6068232/machine_head. Retrieved 2009-08-26. 
  3. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=deep%20purple&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved February 19, 2009. 
  4. ^ "BPI certified awards Silver". http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=22332. Retrieved February 21, 2009. 
  5. ^ "BPI certified awards Gold". http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=22333. Retrieved February 21, 2009. 

External links

Preceded by
Fog on the Tyne by Lindisfarne		 UK number one album
22 April 1972 – 20 May 1972		 Succeeded by
Bolan Boogie by T.Rex
Preceded by
Harvest by Neil Young		 Australian number-one album
26 June – 9 July 1972		 Succeeded by
Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull
v • d • e
Deep Purple
Ian Gillan · Steve Morse · Roger Glover · Don Airey · Ian Paice
Ritchie Blackmore · Jon Lord · David Coverdale · Glenn Hughes · Rod Evans · Nick Simper · Tommy Bolin · Joe Lynn Turner · Joe Satriani
Studio albums
Shades of Deep Purple (1968) · The Book of Taliesyn (1968) · Deep Purple (1969) · Deep Purple in Rock (1970) · Fireball (1971) · Machine Head (1972) · Who Do We Think We Are (1973) · Burn (1974) · Stormbringer (1974) · Come Taste the Band (1975) · Perfect Strangers (1984) · The House of Blue Light (1987) · Slaves and Masters (1990) · The Battle Rages On (1993) · Purpendicular (1996) · Abandon (1998) · Bananas (2003) · Rapture of the Deep (2005)
Live albums
Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969) · Made in Japan (1972) · Made in Europe · Last Concert in Japan · Deep Purple in Concert · Live in London · Scandinavian Nights · Nobody's Perfect (1988) · Knebworth '85 · Live in Japan · Come Hell or High Water (1994) · King Biscuit Flower Hour · California Jamming · Mk III: The Final Concerts · Live at the Olympia '96 (1997) · Gemini Suite Live · Total Abandon: Australia '99 (1999) · Deep Purple: Extended Versions · Live at the Royal Albert Hall · Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy · This Time Around: Live in Tokyo · The Soundboard Series · Live in Paris 1975 · Inglewood - Live in California · Space Vol 1 & 2 · Perks and Tit / Live in San Diego 1974 · Live in Stockholm · Live in Europe 1993 · Live at Montreux 1996 · Live in Montreux 69 · Live in Denmark 1972 · Live At Montreux 2006 (2007)
Compilation
albums
Videos and DVDs
Tours
Related bands
Related articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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