Deep Purple
Machine Head (EMI 59506)

Duh duh duh, duh duh DUH DUH/Duh duh DUH, duh duh!

The riff that energized 70s rock … the riff that every guitar player must know (if only secretly), or forfeit his right to a distortion pedal.

Yet there is more to Machine Head than just "Smoke on the Water."

The album kicks into VERY high gear with "Highway Star," which combines the brute strength of a bulldozer with the finesse of classical music and the inspired feeling of the blues. A knockout punch, and it's only the first round.

"Maybe I'm A Leo" is the weak link in the Purple armor here, however, it's a perfect complement to the song that precedes it, and tuneful. As soon as you look up from the tail end of "Leo," the next freight train levels you.

"Pictures of Home" is bluesy, ballsy, and honestly displays how happy the five egos that made up Deep Purple were at this moment, playing together as a team.

"Never Before" jumps in, with a groove ready and waiting to be sampled. Textbook Deep Purple, well executed.

Then "Smoke on the Water" rises to its throne. You probably know the story behind the song … "Some stupid with a flare gun" burned down the place in Montreux, Switzerland, and they built a makeshift studio with a mobile unit that belonged to the Rolling Stones. I'll willingly take the abuse of calling "Smoke on the Water" the best heavy metal song of its time. A masterpiece!!!

OK, it's 1972, and any heavy metal band of significance has gotta show you how well they "jam." It was the era of lengthy, yet strangely interesting solos … something that doesn't work anymore, but is fun to go back to and hear it done right. "Lazy" is a loose, free- flowing blues-based jam. The melody under it is catchy and sustains the listener's interest.

After all that, it's time to bring it home … and what better than "Space Truckin'," which revs up the mighty Deep Purple juggernaut one more time, and gratifies the listener with all the weapons in the arsenal. "Come on!"

Machine Head is a hard-rock masterpiece. For this genre, it's everything you want, and more. Ritchie Blackmore truly set the early 70s standard for loud guitar. The legendary Blackmore/Gillan/Glover/Lord/Paice lineup lays the foundation for two decades of ball-rockin' metal to come.

The remastered double set with a disc of remixes and bonus tracks is a gift from the heavy metal heavens (or is it hell?).

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Casey Blick