Machine Head (album)

Machine Head
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released 25 March 1972 (1972-03-25)
Recorded 6–21 December 1971
Studio
Genre
Length 37:25
Label Purple
Producer Deep Purple
Deep Purple chronology
Fireball
(1971)		 Machine Head
(1972)		 Who Do We Think We Are
(1973)
Alternative cover
25th anniversary CD slipcase
Singles from Machine Head
  1. "Never Before"
    Released: 18 March 1972
  2. "Smoke on the Water"
    Released: May 1973
  3. "Highway Star"
    Released: March 1972

Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the 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 a major influence in the early development of the heavy metal music genre. Commercially, it is Deep Purple's most successful album, topping the charts in several countries following its release. The album reached number 1 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the top 40 for 20 weeks. It reached number 7 in the United States, 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 owned by the Rolling Stones had been booked and hotel reservations made,[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] Nobs relocated the band to a nearby theatre called the Pavilion, where they recorded the basic tracks for a song provisionally named "Title No. 1". Bass player Roger Glover said he woke up one morning saying the title "Smoke on the Water" out loud. Later Gillan, based on the title, wrote the lyrics describing the band's experience in Montreux, recording the Machine Head album.[5] 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.

“
”

Ritchie Blackmore[6]

As a new location the Pavilion proved to be impractical, as nearby 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 empty 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.[7] 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.[8]

A song entitled "When a Blind Man Cries" was recorded during these sessions, but not included on the album. Instead, it was used as 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. Four songs off Machine Head ("Highway Star", "Smoke on the Water", "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'") would be included on the final cut of the original Made in Japan LP.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
BBC Musicfavourable[10]
Robert ChristgauB[11]
Rolling Stonefavourable[12]
Sputnik Music[13]

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.[14]

Rolling Stones Lester Bangs praised the lyrics to "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin" as well as the entire album's music, although he was less complimentary about the lyrics for 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."[12] 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."[11] AllMusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia called Machine Head "one of the essential hard rock albums of all time."[9]

Machine Head contains classical and blues influences. Blackmore confirmed that the chord progression for the solos in "Highway Star" was inspired by the work of 18th-century composer Johann Sebastian Bach.[15] 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.[7]

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 35 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time" in 1989.[16]

In an Observer Music Monthly Greatest British Albums poll, Ozzy Osbourne chose Machine Head as one of his ten favourite British records of all time.[17]

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 DVD-Audio (2001) in a new 5.1 channel mix and SACD (2003) with the European quadraphonic mix, and more recently, also on SACD on 17 August 2011, by Warner Japan in their Warner Premium Sound series (Which has the same 5.1 channel mix as the 2001 DVD-Audio version).[18]

40th anniversary releases

The 40th anniversary edition of Machine Head was released on 8 October 2012 by EMI. A 5-disc set accompanied with fully illustrated 60-page hardback booklet. Contents include: Original album 2012 remaster (CD1), Roger Glover's 1997 mixes (CD2), Original album quad SQ stereo (2012 remaster) (CD3), In Concert '72 from Paris Theatre, London, 9 March 1972 – 2012 mix (CD4), 2012 high resolution remaster & surround mixes (DVD, audio only).

Also as part of the celebrations of the 40th anniversary celebrations Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head was released on 25 September 2012 by Eagle Rock Entertainment.[19]

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

25th anniversary edition

40th anniversary edition

Personnel

Deep Purple

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart performance

Year Chart Position
1972 UK Albums Chart[20] 1
German Albums Chart[21] 1
Austrian Albums Chart 1
Australian Albums Chart 1
Danish Albums Chart[22] 1
Finland Albums Chart 1
French Albums Chart 1
Yugoslav Albums Chart 1
Italian Albums Chart 1
Dutch Albums Chart 2
Norwegian Record Charts 3
Swedish Albums Chart 4
Japanese Albums Chart 6
US Billboard Albums Chart[23] 7
1973 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[24] 1
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1972 "Never Before" UK Top 75 Singles[20] 35
1973 "Smoke on the Water" USA (The Billboard Hot 100[23]) 4
1973 Canada (RPM Top Singles) 2
1977 UK Top 75 Singles[20] 21

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[25] Platinum 60,000*
France (SNEP)[26] 2× Gold 200,000*
France (SNEP)[26]
20 Anniversary edition		 Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[28] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time"[29] 1989 35
Q United Kingdom "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time"[30] 2001 no ranking
Mojo United Kingdom "The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide – Rock"[31] 2001 66
Q United Kingdom "The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever"[32] 2004 no ranking
Kerrang! United Kingdom "100 Best British Rock Albums Ever"[33] 2005 34
Classic Rock United Kingdom "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[34] 2006 26
The Guardian United Kingdom "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die"[35] 2007 no ranking

References

  1. ↑ Various Mojo Magazine (1 November 2007). The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. p. 274. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
  2. ↑ Thompson 2004, pp. 123–126
  3. ↑ Thompson 2004, pp. 125–126
  4. ↑ Thompson 2004, p. 126
  5. ↑ Thompson 2004, p. 127
  6. ↑ "100 Greatest Guitar Solos: 15) "Highway Star" (Ritchie Blackmore)". guitarworld.com. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Classic Albums – Deep Purple – Machine Head" (DVD). Eagle Rock Entertainment. 2002
  8. ↑ Thompson 2004, pp. 126–129
  9. 1 2 Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Review Machine Head". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  10. ↑ Smith, Sid (18 April 2007). "Review of Deep Purple – Machine Head". BBC Online. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  11. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1972). "Deep Purple". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  12. 1 2 Bangs, Lester (25 May 1972). "Album review Machine Head". Rolling Stone. Jann S. Wenner. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  13. ↑ "Deep Purple-Machine Head". Sputnik Music. 8 September 2005.
  14. ↑ Thompson 2004, p. 131
  15. ↑ Campbell & Brody 2008, p. 217
  16. ↑ Oliver, Derek (21 January 1989). "Deep Purple 'Machine Head'". Kerrang!. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
  17. ↑ "Observer Music Monthly – Greatest British Albums – June 2004". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  18. ↑ Warner Premium Sound 17 August 2011 releases (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  19. ↑ "Re-Machined Deep Purple Tribute". Eagle Rock Entertainment. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  20. 1 2 3 "The Official Charts Company – Machine Head (album)". The Official Charts Company. 5 May 2013.
  21. ↑ "Charts-Surfer: Musik Nr.1-Hits". charts-surfer.de.
  22. ↑ "Hits of the World", Billboard 27 May 1972
  23. 1 2 "Machine Head on Billboard". Rovi Corporation / Billboard. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  24. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 February 2012
  25. ↑ "Argentinian album certifications – Deep Purple – Machine Head". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  26. 1 2 "French album certifications – Deep Purple – Machine Head" (in French). InfoDisc. Select DEEP PURPLE and click OK
  27. ↑ "British album certifications – Deep Purple – Machine Head". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Machine Head in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  28. ↑ "American album certifications – Deep Purple – Machine Head". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  29. ↑ "Kerrang – 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time – January 1989". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  30. ↑ "Q – 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time – July 2001". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  31. ↑ "Mojo – The Ultimate CD Buyers Guide – Rock – July 2001". Mojo. Retrieved 10 Winter 2001. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  32. ↑ "Q – The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever – October 2004". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  33. ↑ Rock Albums "Kerrang – 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever – February 2005" Check |url= value (help). Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  34. ↑ "Classic Rock – 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever – April 2006". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  35. ↑ "The Guardian – 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die – November 2007". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.

Bibliography

Preceded by
Fog on the Tyne by Lindisfarne
Tyrannosaurus Rex: A Beginning by T. Rex		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
22 April 1972 – 6 May 1972
13 May 1972 – 20 May 1972 		Succeeded by
Tyrannosaurus Rex: A Beginning by T. Rex
Bolan Boogie by T. Rex
Preceded by
Harvest by Neil Young		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
26 June 1972 (two weeks) 		Succeeded by
Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull
Preceded by
The Dark Side of the Moon
by Pink Floyd		 Canadian RPM number-one album
18–22 August 1973
22 September – 5 October 1973 		Succeeded by
A Passion Play by Jethro Tull
Brothers and Sisters by The Allman Brothers Band
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