The period of 1970-71 was obviously a great year for rock as two out of the three albums mentioned so far were made then. This post makes it three out of four as I present the "Machine Head" album by Deep Purple. Again, this is another one I didn't listen to until later in life, probably because I was only nine or ten when this album was released. However, I can say that I have definitely made up for it since and I can include it among the greats of the decade.
Needless to say, the best known track on the album is the famous "Smoke on the Water," a song known by metalheads young and old. Even after 40 years, young guitar apprentices play those famous opening riffs when they first learn to play an electric guitar. The song did for Deep Purple and "Machine Head" what "Stairway to Heaven" did for Led Zepplin on their forth album. But like Led Zepplin IV, "Machine Head" has many other great tracks on it such as "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin" which can stand on their own and make this album great.
Track Listing:
1. Highway Star
2. Maybe I'm a Leo
3. Pictures of Home
4. Never Before
5. Smoke on the Water
6. Lazy
7. Space Tuckin
Deep Purple is:
Ritchie Blackmore- guitar
Ian Gillian- vocals
Roger Glover- bass
Jon Lord- keyboards
Ian Paice- drums
In the eyes and ears of many metalheads and ageing rockers like me, "Machine Head" will go down as Deep Purple's greatest album. When I finally got to see them live in 1985, I thought it was only fitting that the first and last songs of that concert were from this album, which I sing the praises of in "Rock And Roll Children."
Next post: Peter Frampton- Frampton Comes Alive
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