Machine Head (album)

Untitled

Machine Head is the sixth Deep Purple studio album. It was recorded at the Grand Hotel Montreux, Switzerland in December 1971 with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, and released in March 1972.

The album is often cited as being very 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. In 2001 Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.

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 Super Audio CD (2003) and DVD-Audio (2001).

Original Recording

The conditions in which the original recordings were made are quite outstanding. Hiring the Rolling Stones Mobile One equipment and studios, the band recorded the entirety of the tracks in a Montreaux hotel facilities, with no overdubs. The "Smoke On The Water" lyrics' citation "Frank Zappa and the Mothers" indicates Zappa's show at a casino that was burned down a few days earlier from the start of scheduled start of "Machine Head"s recording sessions.

Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Original release on vinyl

1. "Highway Star" – 6:05
2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" – 4:51
3. "Pictures of Home" – 5:03
4. "Never Before" – 3:56
5. "Smoke on the Water" – 5:40
6. "Lazy" – 7:19
7. "Space Truckin'" – 4:31

25th anniversary reissue on CD

Disc one: The 1997 Remixes

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

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

25th anniversary bonus tracks

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

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1972	The UK Album Chart	1
1972	Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart	1

Personnel

• Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
• Ian Gillan – vocals, harmonica
• Roger Glover – bass
• Jon Lord – piano, organ, keyboards
• Ian Paice – drums

Additional personnel

• Martin Birch – engineering
• Jeremy (Bear) Gee – assistant
• Nick Watterton – technician
• Ian Hansford, Rob Cooksey, Colin Hart – equipment
• Martin Birch and Deep Purple – mixing
• Shephard Sherbell – photography
• Roger Glover, John Coletta – cover design
• Peter Denenberg, Roger Glover – remixing
• Peter Mew – remastering

External links

• Overview of Machine Head