As it says on the album sleeve: ‘This album was written and recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, between December 6 and 21, 1971.’ But the necessity to deliver the goods launched Purple on to a creative high. Machine Head was conceived at a lightning pace. Ian Gillan’s shrill, tape-looped howls herald some of his all-time great lyrics: ‘Nobody gonna take my car / I’m gonna race it to the ground / Nobody gonna beat my car / It’s gonna break the speed of sound / O-o-o-h it’s a killing machine / It’s got everything…’ Ritchie Blackmore doesn’t just play his guitar, he slashes at it, and the galloping, chundering beat just grows and grows. Highway Star sets a blistering, breathtaking, homicidal pace. What’s more, does Machine Head have just about the greatest opening track on any rock album, ever? There’s a strong case to be made for it. Machine Head, recorded by Deep Purple Mk II in 1971, contains the ‘mother of all guitar riffs’ in Smoke On The Water, inspired by real-life events in Montreux, Switzerland, where Deep Purple were recording the album when the Montreux Casino was burned to the ground during a Frank Zappa concert.īut look beyond Smoke… and you’ll discover Machine Head is the most consummate and well-rounded album recorded by any Purple line-up. After all, its signature guitar riff is perhaps the most recognised in rock history. As well as being Deep Purple’s best-known song it’s also become a bit of a bugbear. These days, perhaps, Machine Head’s stature has become somewhat tainted by the overbearing familiarity of Smoke On The Water.
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