Machine Head: 25th Anniversary Edition

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Deep Purple were on the eve of breaking wide open when they made Machine Head, a record that launched a heap of hard-rock hits, not to mention the bulk of the live album Made in Japan. No fewer than three classics were unveiled here: "Highway Star", "Space Truckin'" and their biggest hit ever, "Smoke on the Water". Ritchie Blackmore's crunchy guitar was becoming the group's trademark and the throb that opens "Smoke on the Water" went miles in cementing his position in the pantheon of 1970s guitar deities. But the story here is the second disc, which is composed of remixes by Roger Glover that introduce long-dormant, more-energised variations on the originals and revive separate solos. --Andrew Bartlett

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Customer reviews

review by: TRUE METAL date: 2008-06-07 rating:
A Classic Hard Rock Album
This is my only Deep Purple album and I absolutley love it's such a good album each song is brilliant from start to finish. This is obviously most famouse for the famous rock riff Smoke On The Water how can you not like that song. The best songs are Highway Star, Picture Of Home, Smoke On The Water & Space Truckin'. Deffinetly a Rock album to buy and deffinetlty should be considerd a classic. DEEP PURPLE ROCK!!!!!!

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review by: ANationalAcrobat date: 2008-04-08 rating:
I Love Her, I Need Her
Long before the days when Ritchie Blackmore resided in a castle somewhere in Germany playing lute and calculating new and devious ways to annoy his fan base as well as spoon his wife, he was actually responsible in part for some of the finest rock music ever. From `In Rock' through to the end of Mk III era Deep Purple were a sensational rock band with all the vitriol, fevered egos, bad tempers and seriously good songs you could ever ask for. `Machine Head' is a total no brainer for rock fans everywhere simply because it's all fantastic.

Deep Purple simply were the finest musicians around in the early 70s (well in rock music...and does anything else really matter?). The bands stable line up for this whole period revolves around three of the biggest muso's ever namely; Ian Paice, Jon Lord and of course everyone's favourite Quaker Ritchie `I hate Gillan' Blackmore. These guys could simply out play anyone around at the time. In a era of straight ahead "mummy daddy mummy daddy" double bass playing Ian Paice is a breath of fresh air even today, a technically astounding drummer with a tone to die for and yet still he never overplays. Jon Lord actually made the organ a force to be reckoned with in the hard rock world, seriously listen to the ballsy intro riff on `Space Truckin'' and not only is he `eavy he's `umble too Jon can play the most intricate and bizarre stuff on his organ; classically trained but with a rock attitude. Ritchie Blackmore actually is Satan; he's a guitar genius and a true wizard with the fastest rock licks going in the early 70s. Jimmy Page thought he woz all "master of the occult" and whatnot but he may of bought all of Crowley's used tissues and such but Blackmore was truly evil...no man has brought such incredible joy to his fans and at the same time been an absolute prick. Roger Glover, although one of the bands more modest members (i.e. somewhere between the comparative fire and ice of Blackmore and Gillan...so erm luke warm water) was a fantastic bassist who has some truly memorable moments on this album, including a bass solo that doesn't actually piss me off. Ian Gillan is frankly the most fun you'll ever have with rock vocals, everything is delivered with a "I've just given you crabs" grin and a such gusto. His range is phenomenal, no one screams like Gillan, not even Halford has a better howl than are favourite Ritchie winder upper did in the early 70s.

So I like DP, you like DP, your sister likes DP and your mum prefers DT, but what about the songs? Well, the original `Machine Head' album has seven tracks but the band actually wrote eight classics for the album...so erm I can't really complain. `Highway Star' is one of those songs you simply must write your car off too, do it drunk too! Honestly, the police will understand just tell them that you were listening to `Highway Star'. It's one of the all time great rock tracks and if I'm in "where does this relate to metal?" retard mode I could say it's a huge evolutionary step forward in speed metal. And those lyrics? A work of literary genius! Is it a car? Is it a girl? Either way you know Ian would. The guitar and organ solos are a something to behold, silly and most enjoyable, oh Ritchie marry me! Other stand outs in this album of standouts include `Pictures of Home' which is notable for an absolutely mental drum intro, silly 4th guitar harmonies and Gillan wailing about being stuck on a Swiss mountain...and why not, farmer's daughters won't really fit this. `Smoke on the Water' ah yes, now remember kids if you go into a guitar shop, turn the distortion on full and play this on the bottom E string the shop owners are legally obliged to give you a free guitar...Wow! Anyway, overplayed it is but still a great song I mean its got to be just for being that memorable and its like Deep Purple and Switzerland's national anthem (`Cherry Orchids' or `Cherry Pie' by Celtic Frost just missed out). `Lazy' is a bluesy jam and just so wonderful, I've had those guitar licks stuck in my head for years. A fine ode to inertia and a all time Purple classic. `Space Truckin' is a riff monster, the beginning distorted organ sound is sonic bliss and the guitar takes a backseat for the most part but when it comes back its simply a joy to behold. Paice's drums groove on this one and he's got a great solo. The lyrics? `C'mon, c'mon lets go space truckin' Oscar Wilde (Zakk's nerdy older brother) would of spent years trying to top that. Blackmore hates funk, but this is really funky hard rock (funk needn't be overpowering and crap like say the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) so once again the man in black is full of contradictions. Ritchie you enigma! Why can't you be mine!

Even the albums more lowly tracks are still masterful, `Never Before' is the most poppy and all the better for it. `When A Blind Man Cries' is a wonderful bluesy piece of melancholy (but wasn't it a bit cruel to get Jeff Healey to play this? Hey, why don't we get Stephen Hawking to play `When a Cripple Fails at the Decathlon'? ).
`Machine Head' is a completely solid piece of work, I've listened to this hundreds of time and its energy, class and consistency are always impressive. So as such I'll give this a perfect rating, because it deserves it.

So if you like me are madly in love with the hallowed grooves of `Machine Head' feel free to do any of the following;
Ask Ritchie Blackmore how to play `Smoke on the Water' *don't ask Steve Morse he can't actually play it, but he tries, bless him*
Ask Ian Gillan the story behind `Smoke on the Water' he hasn't told anyone in a while, no one asks him that question.
Shout "oh my god Elton John!" at Ian Paice.
Tell David Coverdale `Smoke...' is your favourite of his songs
Ask Glenn Hughes how Tommy Bolin is these days.
Shout `Freebird' at any Deep Purple or Blackmore's Night concert.

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review by: patricklinden5 date: 2008-03-30 rating:
Magic!!
I am agree with the Reviews on here this is my favorite Deep Purple c/d...All the classics for under £6.00 how cheap is that?...

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review by: date: 2008-02-22 rating:
A classic revisited
What is the point of writing a review of an album which already has a place in the elite of all time great hard rock albums?

Well, it's simply this. I've just come back to this album for the third time. Back in the seventies it was the first proper LP I owned, playing both of my vinyl copies to death. In the nineties I bought it on CD. Then, yesterday, wandering around London I played it on my iPod, and was once more struck by the sheer quality.

So thoughts about it. Well Deep Purple are often classified as heavy metal, but this album is just stunningly melodic when compared to what is described as metal today. Also, it seemed to me that Machine Head has more in common with what Pink Floyd were doing around this time than what, say, Sabbath were doing.

Also, the way the Mk2 line up complement each other is just fabulous. Of coure there is the juxtaposition non-pareil of Gillan's voice and Blackmore's guitar, but the rhythm section of Glover and Paice give the whole album a fantastic momentum. Lord's keyboards are almost unique in hard rock.

So down to the tracks themselves. My favourites from my younger days, Highway Star, Pictures of Home and Space Truckin retain their sheer power and are as exciting as ever. Highway Star opening a show must be one of the all time great live moments. But now I find the gentler, blues-ier tracks, Maybe I'm a Leo and Lazy to be the real stand outs. Lazy is probably the best track, even though it feels dangerously like Spinal Tap's experimental jazz period and I guess its not too original to say that Jon Lord must be the prototype for Derek Smalls.

And then we come to THAT TRACK, and THAT RIFF. Not having listened to it for a while I was struck by, (riff aside) what a perfectly crafted rock song Smoke on the Water is. The gradually layering in of guitar, drums, base, and keyboards at the start, the central guitar solo, and of course the unique lyrics.

So it sounds a bit trite to say highly, recommended but if you have a taste for rock music, and don't have this in your collection, what the flaming heck are you waiting for, order it now. Maybe Led Zep VI is ahead of Machine Head in the list of all time great hard rock albums, but I can't think of anything else that is.


review by: davethorn13 date: 2007-11-15 rating:
The Ferrari of rock
Deep Purple have made several great albums, so there's no absolute consensus on which is their best, but 'Machine Head' gets my vote ahead of 'Made In Japan' and 'In Rock.' The sleek, fast-paced 'Highway Star' and 'Pictures of Home' reveal the band's major qualities. They can do heavy, as on the famous 'Smoke On The Water,' but its the rich quality of musicianship that counts here, allied to their flamboyance. Even the lyrics generally avoid cliches. 'Never Before' wasn't really instant enough to be a hit, but swaggers with class nevertheless. 'Space Truckin'' is the surprise for me, featuring a rawer, basic style, with Ian Gillan barking out the chorus. 'When A Blind Man Cries' is the album's most soulful track, a beautiful way to end the album. Packed with great songs and quality performances, even the album's lesser known tracks are superb. The second disc is interesting enough, but the original album on its own would have been enough. An all-time classic.

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