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Deep Purple - Machine Head (1972)

Track listing:
  1. Highway Star 6:08
  2. Maybe I'm A Leo 4:52
  3. Pictures Of Home 5:06
  4. Never Before 4:00
  5. Smoke On The Water 5:42
  6. Lazy 7:23
  7. Space Truckin' 4:34
  8. When A Blind Man Cries (B-Side) 3:32
  9. Maybe I'm A Leo (Quadrophonic Mix) 4:58
  10. Lazy (Quadrophonic Mix) 6:54
  11. Highway Star (Roger Glover Remix) 6:29
  12. Maybe I'm A Leo (Roger Glover Remix) 5:30
  13. Pictures Of Home (Roger Glover Remix) 5:24
  14. Never Before (Roger Glover Remix) 4:01
  15. Smoke On The Water (Roger Glover Remix) 6:16
  16. Lazy (Roger Glover Remix) 7:33
  17. Space Truckin' (Roger Glover Remix) 4:54
  18. When A Blind Man Cries (Roger

Notes

Led Zeppelin's fourth album, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, and Deep Purple's Machine Head stand as the Holy Trinity of English hard rock. These recordings provide the blueprint followed by virtually every heavy rock & roll band since the mid-'70s. Though probably the least celebrated of the three, Machine Head contains the mother of all guitar riffs in "Smoke on the Water," a song that needs no further explanation. The album also features the classic "Highway Star," which epitomizes all of Deep Purple's intensity and versatility, while featuring perhaps the greatest soloing duel ever between guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and organist Jon Lord. Also in top form is singer Ian Gillan (simply one of the finest singers of his generation, bar none), who explodes with amazing power and range throughout. Gillan lets the band take over on the largely instrumental "Lazy," which would evolve into an incredible live jam. The plodding shuffle of "Maybe I'm a Leo" shows some signs of age, but "Pictures of Home" and "Never Before" remain vital, displaying Purple at their melodic best. Another tremendous Blackmore riff drives the marvelous "Space Truckin'," a fitting end to one of the essential hard-rock albums of all time.