Machine Head (album)

By 1971, Deep Purple had been touring continually for two years and their earlier studio albums, such as Deep Purple in Rock (1970) and Fireball (1971) were recorded in between live shows.[1] The band felt that studio work didn't compare to the sound of their live performances, so they wanted to try and record in a stage environment. Drummer Ian Paice had recorded his kit in the corridor for some Fireball sessions because it sounded better, and he also wanted to find an alternative recording environment away from a typical sound-proofed studio.[2] Deep Purple were advised to record outside the United Kingdom, as they would not have to pay as much income tax.[3]

The group toured the UK from September to October 1971, and previewed some new material that was ultimately released on Machine Head.[1] They then began a tour of the United States, which ended up being cancelled after two gigs due to singer Ian Gillan contracting hepatitis. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore started to think about possible solo work for the future, and Deep Purple as a whole looked forward to a dedicated block of time to record, getting away from the pressures of touring.[4][5]

Deep Purple initially planned to record Machine Head at Montreux Casino in Switzerland during December 1971. They had booked the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and made hotel reservations.[6] The Casino was a large arena, containing several entertainment facilities. The band had performed there in May 1971, and befriended Claude Nobs, founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival.[4] Among others, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Black Sabbath had all performed at Montreux Casino. It closed for refurbishments each winter, allowing it to be used as a recording venue, so Deep Purple arrived there on 3 December 1971. After a final concert, they would have the location to themselves.[7] In return, the band tentatively proposed to perform a show at the Casino, which would have allowed them to release a double album, half live and half studio.[4]

The last gig at Montreux Casino was a matinee performance by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. At the time, the group included singers Flo & Eddie, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood and drummer Aynsley Dunbar.[9] During the show, a member of the audience fired a flare into the building's roof.[10] The audience were largely unaware of the incident at first because the roof was covered by a false bamboo ceiling, through about an hour into the set, people started seeing sparks emerging. The group stopped playing; according to bassist Roger Glover, Zappa said that "no-one should panic, but ..... FIRE!" After this, management ordered a controlled evacuation of the audience. There were no fatalities, but a group were briefly trapped in the Casino's basement before being rescued by Nobs. Shortly after everyone had been safely evacuated, the building went up in flames. Thick black smoke drifted away, which rested on the shore of Lake Geneva.[11]

Nobs relocated Deep Purple to the Pavilion, a nearby theatre, where they recorded the basic tracks for a song provisionally named "Title No. 1". Glover recalled waking up one morning saying the title "Smoke on the Water" out loud. From this, Gillan wrote the lyrics which describe the experience in Montreux.[12] A photograph of the burning Montreux Casino was included in the album's gatefold cover.[13]

The Pavilion proved to be impractical as a new location, as nearby residents flooded the local police station's switchboard to complain about the noise. Although the police were prevented from entering by roadies holding the doors shut, the band were quickly evicted afterwards.[15] They searched for other recording locations and settled with the empty Grand Hotel, on the edge of Montreux. With the mobile unit parked at the main entrance, Deep Purple set up at the end of one of the corridors off the main lobby.[16] An assortment of equipment and sound-insulating mattresses were installed, which meant the band had to walk through bedrooms and across balconies to get to the recording van. This proved so arduous that Deep Purple stopped listening to playbacks of their recordings, instead performing until they were satisfied.[17] A closed-circuit television system was set up so the band could communicate with engineer Martin Birch and allow staff in the studio control room to see them.[18]

Claude Nobs managed the recording trip, and is referred to as "Funky Claude" in "Smoke on the Water"

"Highway Star" was written by Deep Purple while they were on a coach travelling to their opening UK tour date in Portsmouth on 13 September 1971. The band's management had arranged for them to travel to the gig with a group of music journalists, who could interview the band at their leisure. One of the journalists asked Blackmore how he wrote songs, upon which he said, "like this", picked up the guitar and played the song's opening riff. Gillan improvised a set of lyrics around: "We're on the road, we're a rock'n'roll band". Deep Purple completed the arrangement during rehearsals and it was added to the show on the evening of the gig.[4] Blackmore based his guitar solo around a figure that he learned from Johnny Burnette, and liked its resemblance to Bach's progressions.[19]

"Maybe I'm A Leo" went under the working title of "One Just Before Midnight", which appears in a picture of a recording sheet on the album sleeve.[20] The finished title and lyrics refer to Gillan's birth sign.[19] Glover wrote the song's main riff after listening to John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?", and he enjoyed the riff not starting on the first beat of the bar.[21] The song was played live at a BBC In Concert performance.[20] It became a live favourite years later, after Joe Satriani temporarily joined the band in 1993.[22]

"Pictures of Home" describes the sights and images of the local area around Montreux, far away from home. The track was initially recorded with a drum introduction, which was left off the original recording; however, it was added for the 25th anniversary reissue.[19] The track was also played live after Satriani joined Deep Purple.[22] "Never Before" was considered by the band to be the most commercial track on the album, and was released as a single.[23] The song was played live once at the BBC In Concert show.[20]

Ian Gillan, touring the US in January 1972 in support of Machine Head

"Smoke on the Water" documents the experiences gone through for the recording of Machine Head, including the Casino fire and evacuation, and the sessions at the Grand Hotel. The title of the track referred to the smoke from the fire hanging over the shore of Lake Geneva.[23] The backing track for "Smoke on the Water" was the only usable material that came from the Pavilion recordings, before police shut the sessions down. Blackmore contributed the opening guitar riff, and later said it was popular due to being simple and based around four notes, comparing it in that regard to the opening musical phrasing of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.[17][24] Although the track is one of the most famous by Deep Purple, and of rock music in general, the band didn't think the song had much commercial potential, and it was one of the last of the tracks from Machine Head to be played live.[23] The song was subsequently a major chart hit in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[25][26] In addition to Deep Purple, Gillan has performed the song live as part of his solo career, and during his brief time with Black Sabbath in 1983.[27][28]

"Lazy" was first played live during the 1971 UK tour, and retained throughout the following year.[20] It was first performed towards the end of the live shows, replacing the instrumental workout "Wring That Neck", and was later moved mid-set in early 1972.[29][30] Glover said the song was roughly based on an Oscar Brown song, "Sleepy" (1960), while Blackmore stated it was inspired by Eric Clapton's "Stepping Out" (1966). The song was designed to be a vehicle for various instrumental showcases, including an unaccompanied organ introduction and Gillan's harmonica. Blackmore recorded the guitar solos in sections on two different days, with them then being joined together.[24]

"Space Truckin'" was written as a pastiche of 1950s rock 'n' roll lyrics, but using a science fiction theme. Deep Purple sat around thinking of nonsense phrases such as "music in our solar system" that would fit this theme.[24] Paice played a short drum solo on the track.[31] It was first played live in January 1972 immediately after recording, and led into the instrumental section of the earlier live showcase "Mandrake Root" (1968) as the closing number.[20] The song remained the last number in the set after Gillan and Glover left the band in 1973, including a memorable performance at the California Jam the following year, where Blackmore set fire to his amplifiers and destroyed a TV camera with his guitar.[32] The song was regularly played as a wakeup call by the crew onboard the Space Shuttle program flight STS-107 in 2003.[33] A ballad entitled "When a Blind Man Cries" was recorded during the Machine Head sessions, but was ultimately not included on the album. Instead, it was used as the B-side on the "Never Before" single. The song appears as a bonus track on the 25th anniversary edition of Machine Head.[23]

The album was released in the UK on 25 March 1972.[34]

In support of Machine Head, Deep Purple began touring in support of the album in January 1972. A US tour for March and April of that year was postponed after Blackmore fell ill. The first shows in the UK for the album were at the Rainbow Theatre in June 1972.[20] Two months later, the band toured Japan for the first time, recordings of which become the double live album Made in Japan (1972). Four songs from Machine Head ("Highway Star", "Smoke on the Water", "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'") were included in the album.[35]

The cover art of Machine Head was created by stamping the title into a polished metal sheet, which was held up to act as a mirror that Deep Purple stood in front of. The camera then took a picture of the reflection; a small trace of the photographer Shepard Sherbell can be made out on the finished picture (just below the "Head" text)[20][36] The album's inner sleeve was mostly designed by Glover and manager Tony Edwards, and features a selection of mug shots that were previously used for record company contact sheets. It included a picture of Nobs, to whom Machine Head was dedicated. The initial pressings also had a hand printed lyric sheet.[20]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[37]
BBC Music	favourable[38]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[39]
MusicHound	[40]
Record Collector	[41]
Rolling Stone	favourable[42]
The Daily Vault	A[43]

Machine Head hit the number one spot on the UK Albums Chart within seven days of its release, remaining there for two weeks before returning in May 1972 for a further week. In the US, after its initial release in 1972, the album reached number 34; the album then peaked at number 7 in 1973 when "Smoke on the Water" became a hit, and Machine Head remained on the Billboard charts for over two years.[44] The first single released from the album, "Never Before", reached only number 35 in the UK and did not chart in the US. Prompted by heavy radio play of "Smoke on the Water" as an album cut, Warner Brothers eventually released it as a single in May 1973. The song would become a massive hit in North America, reaching number two on the Canadian RPM chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100.[26]

Machine Head was met with positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone's Lester Bangs praised the lyrics to "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin'" as well as the entire album's music, although he was less complimentary about the lyrics of the remaining songs: "In between those two Deep Purple classics lies nothing but good, hard-socking music, although some of the lyrics may leave a bit to be desired." Concluding his review, Bangs admitted: "I do know that this very banality is half the fun of rock 'n' roll. And I am confident that I will love the next five Deep Purple albums madly so long as they sound exactly like these last three."[42] Robert Christgau wrote of the album: "I approve of their speeding, and Ritchie Blackmore has copped some self-discipline as well as a few suspicious-sounding licks from his buddies in London."[45] AllMusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia called Machine Head "one of the essential hard rock albums of all time."[37]

Machine Head contains classical and blues influences. Blackmore confirmed that the chord progression for the solos in "Highway Star" was inspired by the work of 18th-century composer Johann Sebastian Bach.[46] The song had been composed by Blackmore and Gillan at the start of the Fireball gigs while on a bus travelling to Portsmouth Guild Hall, in response to a question from a member of the press as to how the band created their material.[47] Blackmore noted that Machine Head was recorded in about three weeks, remarking that "everything was natural and it all worked." He further stated, "I didn't like Fireball very much because we were just working too much. But we had about a month off before Machine Head, which allowed me to get my head together and write some stuff."[48]

The 40th anniversary edition of Machine Head was released on 8 October 2012 by EMI; the edition is a five-disc set, accompanied by a fully illustrated 60-page hardback booklet. Its contents include: Original album 2012 remaster (CD1), Roger Glover's 1997 mixes (CD2), Original album quad SQ stereo (2012 remaster) (CD3), In Concert '72 from Paris Theatre, London, 9 March 1972 – 2012 mix (CD4), 2012 high resolution remaster & surround mixes (DVD, audio only).[52] For also celebrating the 40th anniversary, a tribute album Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head was released in September 2012, through Eagle Rock Entertainment.[53]

Deep Purple

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

Production

• Martin Birch – engineering, mixing with Deep Purple
• Jeremy "Bear" Gee – assistant engineer
• Nick Watterton – Rolling Stones Mobile Studio operator
• Ian Hansford, Rob Cooksey, Colin Hart – equipment technicians
• Shephard Sherbell – photography
• Roger Glover and John Coletta – cover design
• Peter Denenberg and Roger Glover – remixing (1997)
• Peter Mew – remastering at Abbey Road Studios, London (1997)

Bibliography