Machine Head (album)
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Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded through December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released in March 1972.
Machine Head is often cited as 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. The album reached #1 in the UK, where it stayed for 20 weeks in the top-40. It also reached #7 in the US, remaining on the Billboard 200 for 118 weeks.
Background
Deep Purple initially planned to record Machine Head in December 1971, at Montreux Casino in Switzerland. A mobile recording studio used by the Rolling Stones had been booked and hotel reservations made, but lead singer Ian Gillan contracted hepatitis. Cancelling a forthcoming tour of America the band placed all their plans on hold, and Gillan was advised by his doctor to spend the next few months recuperating. Nevertheless, enthused by the new project the band travelled to Switzerland to begin recording.[5] The Casino was a large arena built in a complex of casinos, restaurants and other entertainment facilities. The band had performed there in May 1971 and enjoyed both the location and its owner, Claude Nobs. Amongst others, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath had all performed there. The Casino closed for refurbishments each winter, and so the band arrived there on 3 December. One last concert date remained, following which they were to have the location to themselves.[6]
Recording
Frank Zappa's 4 December concert at the Casino was made infamous when a member of the audience fired a flare into the building's roof. Although there were no fatalities, the resultant fire ruined Deep Purple's plans.[7] Nobs relocated the band to a nearby theatre called the Pavilion, where they recorded a riff by Ritchie Blackmore provisionally titled "Title No. 1." Bass player Roger Glover named it "Smoke on the Water", initially as a good name for a drug song, but several days later he and Gillan decided instead to use it to describe the band's experience watching the burning down of Montreux Casino.[8] A photograph of the burning Montreux Casino would ultimately be included in the gatefold of Machine Head's album cover.
We had the Rolling Stones' mobile recording unit sitting outside in the snow, but to get there we had to run cable through two doors in the corridor into a room, through a bathroom and into another room, from which it went across a bed and out the veranda window, then ran along the balcony for about 100 feet and came back in through another bedroom window. It then went through that room's bathroom and into another corridor, then all the way down a marble staircase to the foyer reception area of the hotel, out the front door, across the courtyard and up the steps into the back of the mobile unit. I think that setup led to capturing some spontaneity, because once we got to the truck for a playback, even if we didn’t think it was a perfect take, we’d go, 'Yeah, that’s good enough.' Because we just couldn’t stand going back again.
As a new location the Pavilion proved to be impractical, as local residents flooded the local police station's switchboard to complain about the noise the band made. Although the police were prevented from entering the building by the band's roadies, who held the venue's doors shut, the band were quickly evicted. They searched for other locations in which to record and settled on the Grand Hotel, on the edge of Montreux. With the mobile recording unit parked at the main entrance, they set up at the end of one of the building's corridors, off the main lobby.[10] An assortment of equipment and sound-insulating mattresses meant that to get to the recording van the band were forced to walk through bedrooms and across balconies. This proved so arduous that they stopped listening to playbacks of their recordings, instead performing until they were satisfied with what they had.[11]
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.
Release and reception
Machine Head hit the number one spot on the British charts within seven days of its release, remaining there for two weeks before returning in May for a further week. In the US, the album reached number seven, remaining in the charts for two years.[12]
Rolling Stone's Lester Bangs praised "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin'"'s lyrics, although he was less complementary about the remaining songs: "In between those two Deep Purple classics lies nothing but good, hard-socking music, although some of the lyrics may leave a bit to be desired."[2] Robert Christgau rated the album a B, writing "I approve of their speeding, and Ritchie Blackmore has copped some self-discipline as well as a few suspicious-sounding licks from his buddies in London."[3] Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia called Machine Head "one of the essential hard rock albums of all time."[1]
Machine Head contains classical and blues influences. Blackmore confirmed that the chord progression in "Highway Star" was inspired by the work of 18th-century composer Johann Sebastian Bach.[13] The song was actually composed by Blackmore and Gillan at the start of the Fireball gigs on a bus travelling to Portsmouth Guild Hall, in response to a question from a member of the press as to how the band created their material.[10]
Track listing
All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
Original vinyl release
- Side one
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Smoke on the Water" | 5:40 |
| 6. | "Lazy" | 7:19 |
| 7. | "Space Truckin'" | 4:31 |
2CD 25th anniversary edition
- Disc one
- The 1997 Remixes
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
- Bonus tracks
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "When a Blind Man Cries" (original B-side) | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Maybe I'm a Leo" (Quadrophonic mix) | 5:00 |
| 10. | "Lazy" (Quadrophonic mix) | 6:57 |
Personnel
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Chart performance
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | UK Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1972 | Australian Albums Chart | 1 |
| 1972 | Norwegian Record Charts | 3 |
| 1972 | US Billboard 200 Chart | 7 |
Selected album sales
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RIAA certification[14] (United States)
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BPI certification (United Kingdom)
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References
- Footnotes
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo, Review Machine Head, Allmusic, retrieved 26 August 2009
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Bangs, Lester (25 May 1972), "Album review Machine Head", Rolling Stone, Jann S. Wenner, retrieved 26 August 2009
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1972), Deep Purple, robertchristgau.com, retrieved 9 January 2011
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Smith, Sid (18 April 2007), ...remains their finest hour., bbc.co.uk, retrieved 9 January 2011
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Thompson 2004, pp. 123–126
- ^ Thompson 2004, pp. 125–126
- ^ Thompson 2004, p. 126
- ^ Thompson 2004, p. 127
- ^ 100 Greatest Guitar Solos: 15) "Highway Star" (Ritchie Blackmore), guitarworld.com, 21 October 2008, retrieved 9 January 2011
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ a b Classic Albums - Deep Purple - Machine Head, Eagle Rock Entertainment, 2002
{{citation}}:|format=requires|url=(help) - ^ Thompson 2004, pp. 126–129
- ^ Thompson 2004, p. 131
- ^ Campbell & Brody 2008, p. 217
- ^ RIAA Gold & Platinum database, retrieved 19 February 2009
- ^ BPI certified awards Silver, retrieved 21 February 2009 [dead link]
- ^ BPI certified awards Gold, retrieved 21 February 2009 [dead link]
- Bibliography
- Campbell, Michael; Brody, James (2008), Rock and roll: an introduction (Second ed.), Cengage Learning, ISBN 0534642950
- Thompson, Dave (2004), Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story, EVW Press, ISBN 1550226185
