Machine Head - Song By Song

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I'll start the thread but probably won't post my thoughts on track 1 until tomorrow.

I think this is my favourite of these three DP MK II albums we've analysed, it certainly has three of my all time favourite songs by DP, indeed by anyone. I'm suggesting we go with the 25th Anniversary edition and include the bonus track When A Blind Man Cries.

[Zzzptm]

Agreed on WaBMC.

Cranking up Highway Star right now.





Loads of solos on this track, but Gillan totally owns it, vocally. Absolutely gives me goosebumps to play this song, even almost 40 years after discovering it, such is the power in this music. The opener of all openers, bar none. Also works as a closer of monumental proportions. If you want loads more of blathering hyperbole, let me know and I'll lay it on thick.


Now, taking it seriously, it's still hard to come down from high praise. Seamless execution with the whole band, everything on point. Paice and Glover lay down a rhythm that serves as a blueprint for any heavy song that needs to move fast - it's to fast stoner/desert rock what Sweet Leaf is to mid-tempo stoner/doom rock. This is where that strand of musical DNA establishes itself as dominant genes. Even if the soloing in a band can't match Blackmore and Lord, just playing that tight, 8-cylinder rhythm will help a band go far these days.

Gillan belts it out to the balconies, no question at all about that. This is Peak Big Ian. If you're an Ian Gillan fan, chances are it's because of this song and this album.

Jon Lord gives a very threatening, growling, overdrive-laden solo that shows what his classical influences can do when used for more metallic purposes. That 19th Century tone poem stuff? It's right here in his solo that truly captures a supercar going around a tight mountain switchback feeling. Sheer delight.

Blackmore does as good and gives us low gear, middle gear, and top gear in his solo composition. I actually like slowing down when I drive and this part comes up so that I can shift along with Blackmore.

Song even shuts down like a muscle car, rumbling for a little while after the ignition's been cut.

Should be no surprise to anyone that this is definitely a tune that yours truly thinks very highly of.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Highway Star

Stone cold classic. I can't think of a better way to start this album, even Gillan's screams work well here. The lyrics are a little naive, but work well in the context of the song. Good song.

[Zzzptm]

The lyrics are a little naive,

Don't worry, David Coverdale can make 'em worse.

[Zzzptm]

Gonna need to start on Maybe I'm a Leo, hope those that are playing along can do some catch-up. Highway Star really is a great tune, don't miss out on it.

[Charger]

Machine Head is one of those "perfect" albums...in the league with The Mob Rules and Rainbow Rising...with not a single weak song...and that is something.

The album kicks off with one of the best album openers of all time HIGHWAY STAR.

The opening riff already promises something amazing and oh boy...does amazing follow!

Gillan's vocal preformance here is among his finest...he just belts out those vocals with such ferocity that it makes your spine tingle.

And then the solos...first Jon lets it rip with that Hammond...showing that you can seriously rock it out with an organ! One of his finest album solos for sure...and then it's Ritchie...he captivates that "driving on the road faster than you should" feel completely in that solo...

This is the perfect "in car" song, but it is also a damn near perfect song anywhere else as well. The lyrics are again classic Ian and as usual they make you smile and put you instantly on a good mood.

What a way to start an album! Truly firing on all 8 cylinders right off the start line!

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Maybe I'm a Leo

This is not a bad song at all, but it is one of the weaker tracks on the album. A slower, bluesy song, with a nice vocal melody, a simple, but effective, riff. By no means a bad song.

[Zzzptm]

I remember the day I picked up Machine Head, I was a kid in 8th Grade and had just gotten into Deep Purple by way of the Deepest Purple compilation. This was my first full DP album and I was loving all the pictures in the inner sleeve as I listened to Highway Star. I remember feeling cold as I played the album, noting that it was recorded in December and all the photos showing guys in big sweaters, looked like they were freezing as they made it. And yet, it was hot in Texas in the late summer as I played the tracks... such is the power of imagination.

One song that added to that "cold" vibe was Maybe I'm a Leo. I didn't expect it, but then again, a lot was still fresh to me back then. But I was able to get into the tune, with its jaunty little melody and playful lyrics. A solid tune. Best of the album? Not even in the top half. But that's how good the rest of the album is. And with only 7 songs - 8 if I count in When a Blind Man Cries - only 4 can make the top half, and this album has Smoke on the Water, Lazy, Highway Star, Space Truckin', and Pictures of Home on it!

The guitar-organ back and forth is great here and shows a band at the top of its game.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Nuts! I just noticed (as it ended) that one of our TV channels was just showning the Machine Head Classic albums episode! Oh well!


Pictures of Home

I like this song a lot, second best song on side 1! It has a nice galloping pace to the rhythm, a good vocal performance from Gillan, the drum intro is perfect, and the little bass solo works well.

[Zzzptm]

Pictures of Home gave me even more of that "cold" feel and makes Machine Head an album that I love to play when fall deepens into winter. This is my favorite track of the whole album, except for all my other favorite tracks.

Blackmore's solos are amazing and Gillan's vocal line is impeccable, but it's the keyboards plus drums that do it for me. Such amazing tension in the playing, it's yet another solid track from the album.

[Charger]

Maybe I'm A Leo slows things down a bit with a heavy blues vibe. The guitar riff is brilliant and the song flows really well. And some great lyrics by Ian again...I mean come on... Maybe I'm a Leo but I ain't a lion! Perfect.

This is a song that is strong enough to be the best one on most albums...but not on this one...and that shows what kind of a masterpiece we're talking about.


Pictures Of Home kicks off with a great little heavy drum intro. Bit unusual but works brilliantly here. And it sets the tone to the song. Great tune this one. For a long time I didn't quite like it and in fact thought of it as the weakest song on the album but then hearing the live version and BOOM instant love. So another song that came to life in a live setting...Great heavy rocker this one.

And the lyrics are based (like certain other song on this album) on the recording process in Switzerland and they're again great. Among the finest on the album in fact.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Never Before

I quite like this song, one of Ian's best vocals, but (there's always a "but") it's probably the weakest track on the album along side Maybe I'm a Leo. That's just how this album is, no bad songs.

[Zzzptm]

NEVER BEFORE

It's a song that I liked better when I was younger, but still enjoy today. It's got a lovely melody that points towards Woman from Tokyo, where I think elements being explored here come to wonderful fruition.

Thing is, it's an overall happy tune with sad lyrics. "I never felt so sad... before / never, never before" could just as easily change the sad to glad and have it be a sweet uplifting song. It's a good song that could have been better, I think.

[Charger]

Never Before while being a very very good song indeed is the weakest song of the album...but that just shows how incredible the album really is that a song of this caliber can be the weakest!

The riff is good and the sad lyrics are bit different for Ian but he still makes them work brilliantly as well.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Smoke on the Water

Duh, duh, duuuhhh, duh, duh, du-duuhh...

Stone cold classic... even if I'm over-familiar with it. That riff... and more importantly that bass when it kicks in just gives me goosebumps! The vocals are fine, the lyrics silly, but musically this almost as good as it gets!