Deep Purple - Machine Head

Home of "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star," Machine Head blends proto-metal density with epic arrangements, resulting in a record that's far more grandiose than the sum of its parts. --Jon Wiederhorn Amazon.com

A POWER HOUSE EFFORT! DEEP PURPLE'S BEST!

One of the greatest rock albums ever made 'Machine Head' combines rock, blues with progressive complexity and the result is nothing less than amazing! Blackmore and Co. rip through each song with dexterity and unrelenting drive! 'Smoke On The Water' has one of the most memorable and best guitar solos in the history of Rock N Roll. Stand out cuts like Lazy, Highway Star and Space Truckin' are pure bliss, but the entire album rocks like there's no tomorrow! The version I have of this is an anniversary edition with the original album remastered on one disc and a remixed version on the other disc, plus some quadraphonic mixes of some choice cuts! It's a smokin' release....if you can find it! June 11, 2008

purple's biggest effort

A classic album? Yeah, but again, the songwriting is weak in more areas than any Deep Purple album released before this one.

"Highway Star" is the ultimate speed metal song, as many people are aware by now. "Smoke on the Water" with its amazingly catchy riff is pure genius as well. "Pictures of Home" has the best vocal melody on the album.

"Space Truckin" is NOT very good though, because the vocals are poor. "Lazy" is good, but the live version on Made in Japan destroys it. "Never Before" has an alright guitar riff, but it's just filler anyway. In fact, this is not an album I recommend because Made in Japan drastically improves many of the songs from this album. Just buy Made in Japan instead.
April 30, 2008

Phenomenal!

Many consider this to be Deep Purple's greatest effort.

They're right.

But it isn't because of "Smoke on the Water" that Machine Head is such an amazing album, despite the fact that the general public incessantly refuses to acknowledge that this band wrote any other songs. Rather, the entire album is fantastic, from the droning "Highway Star," to the groovy "Maybe I'm a Leo," all the way through closer "Space Truckin'." There really isn't a weak point on this album. February 2, 2008

A classic, essential album

You like rock music ? You don't have this cd, well, there is an important part of history missing in your collection. A true classic, a must have.
"Highway star, Smoke on the Water, Lazy, Never Before and Space Trucking"
Amazing, all these classic are on the same album. You must own this cd.
Maybe one of the top ten cd on the history of rock music !
PS I also have the DVD audio, the sound is just unbelievable, do yourself a favor, find a good sound system (a surround one of course) and listen to Machine Head in DVD audio, you won't believe it. It is loud, clear and you'll have the impression that it is a recent recording, you then must remember that it a 25 years old recording. Unbelievable. January 1, 2008

A True Metal Classic

Awesome. Inspiring. Classic. Legendary. Metal at its finest. Those are just a few brief descriptions of Machine Head, Deep Purple's 1972 masterpiece. The band's sixth and arguably finest studio album is a seven-track musical roller coaster ride that was a milestone from the start. Everybody knew "Highway Star," "Space Truckin'," and, of course, the worldwide hit "Smoke on the Water," which, to this day, gets tons of radio play. Recorded in the early 1970s, Machine Head was one of those few albums that really made you want to rock out; along with Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album and Paranoid by Black Sabbath, it is considered one of the three 'Holy Trinity' British albums of the time. Standing as one of the founding records of metal itself, no one couldn't like Deep Purple's music. The album contains many fast-paced, awesome metal tunes, such as its opener, "Highway Star," a six-minute jam session in some ways similar to the song "Dazed and Confused" by Led Zeppelin, and the unforgettable radio hit "Smoke on the Water," which tells the epic tale of how a building next to a venue where Frank Zappa & the Mothers were playing burned down to the ground after a fan in the crowd shot it with a flare gun (hence the lyrics). The Rolling Stones' Mobile Studio, where Deep Purple recorded this album, was right next to the building and was nearly demolished; Ian Gillian, the band's vocalist, was infuriated, resulting in him writing the song. Besides "Smoke on the Water," this gem contains six other great songs, like "Pictures of Home," "Never Before," "Lazy," (another awesome hit) and "Space Truckin'," the album's closer, and one of the finest at that. Released almost four decades ago, Deep Purple's finest album still isn't forgotten by critics and fans and is truly a metal classic.
December 7, 2007

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