Machine Head

Compared to Made in Japan, this album has slightly less energy, but far more balanced composition, which is a welcome tradeoff to me. The solos feel less elaborate and less strung out. Sometimes, this felt more punctual and proper to the song, other times the solos lacked some soul to it. In general, the album has excellent composition, I found the flow of the album to be good, and other than the solos, I enjoyed the songs quite a bit. The solos were hit or miss (or more frequently hit, then miss), and those are primarily what prevent me from listening to this more often, hence the score.

Not my thing. But if you like it, that’s cool.

This album was interesting. In the way that every song sounded alike. Maybe that's how I digested it. I enjoyed "Maybe I'm a Leo"

Fine, a little fun. They rocked so we could run(?). Or something. Foundational but overplayed. Should I start a cult based on the song Space Truckin’?

Decent enough classic rock that rocks. Nothing special, in my opinion. Fine enough background music, but doesn’t really hold up to further scrutiny.

Best song; smoke on the water and lazy Worst song: maybe I’m a Leo Most of the songs on here sound the same, none of them are bad but it does get boring after a while

Classic rock. Some good music in here.

Smoke On The Water // When A Blind Man Cries

Peak ”gubbrock” or dad rock in English. I sure heard my father repeatedly play this in the car growing up. It’s alright for what it is but the singer is a bit bland.

Deep Purple’s Machine Head actually doesn’t really feel like metal. Its softer, although still hard rock. I felt it was a little bit too long for my liking considering having only a 7 track album. I liked certain parts of Maybe I’m a Leo and Smoke on the Water, but they both turned in directions that became not as great as the tracks progressed. Besides those two, most songs were just alright. All in all, Machine Head is an alright album. Best Song: Maybe I'm a Leo Worst Song: Space Truckin'

Generic rock. The definition of dad rock. Does absolutely zero for me. I can understand the merits, however, as for my taste it just don’t hit.

Fond memory alert: my dad, who *does not* play instruments, taught me Smoke on the Water when I was an itty bitty child on like a $40 Walmart guitar

Kaksi kunnioitettavaa meemiä ja bluesia kukkoillen. Onnistunut levy.

Back in the day I absolutely loved Deep Purple. I still rate this album, but perhaps not as much as I did then.

Carried by the popular songs imo. Not bad but not something I will return to, just not my go-to genre.

Was ok

Guitar is going CRAZY. The solo on highway star is great. Smoke on the water is iconic, but still goes on for too long. Overall songs are quite long and a bit boring not really for me. Somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3.

I am familiar with several songs on this album. I can see why it is in the top 1,001 although listening to it once was enough for me.

Deep Purple has some deep cuts??? Led Zeppelin lite??? Some great jams and some ok. Good album overall.

Guitar riffs are legendary. Everything else is average.

Die konnten noch selbst Musik machen 😀. Im Ernst: technisch toll. Ich mag aber auf dauer keine Rockmusik. Hat ein wenig etwas von einer Jazz Session: jeder hst mal ein Solo.

The start of heavy metal! Smoke on the Water. Other good tracks, too.

A classic, I guess. Not really my thing.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, it wasn't as heavy as I was expecting.

Good Rock album!

This is my second Deep Purple album in less than a week. I'm glad to say I enjoyed this one more; there are a few songs that I'm familiar with, and I know how much shouting to expect. The proto-metal sound is more obvious to me here than it was on 'Deep Purple In Rock', particularly in the soloing and vocals. These songs are catchier and more discernible. I'm still not blown away. Highlights: Highway Star, Maybe I'm a Leo, Pictures of Home (the instrumental outro is bananas)

Great guitar

Jykevää hard rockia. Kovia Deep Purplen kappaleita tällä levyllä. Muuten ihan perus hyvää. Parhaat: Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, Space Trucking

Overall decent hard rock album for it's time. There were some interesting moments throughout the album, but nothing that made me feel anything strongly really. Smoke on the Water, no doubt, is the track that stood out the most, it is the group's biggest hit after all (to the point of becoming one of the forbidden riffs to play at a guitar store). The story behind the song was cool though, which I never knew till I dived in.

Anyone who owns a guitar MUST give this album a minimum of 3 stars for the number of times we have all played the riff "Smoke On The Water" 🎸

2 stars for the music, and 1 extra star for the nostalgia! Dad rock yes, but I still enjoyed it :)

It was okay.

Now this is what should be playing on the radio when speeding around the GTA sandbox! Big guns, big cocks, big engines, big tits!! Turn the women on the way you start a car. Yeah...start that business, baby. Territorial pissing at its best. Gotta let this one go.

Prog Rick meets metal

Se pensar nos dias de hoje está datado, mas para época acredito que tenha sido bem atual...várias mudanças de ritmos interessantes.

It's fine

not their best ...

First time for this album. It was good.

Smoke Under Water - Banger. Space Truckin' - Unexpected banger. A bit too expected maybe? Not too many standouts. 6/10

I remembered the first song from Rock and Roll Racing on the SNES and I think I was most surprised by how compressed and sound font-y it managed to feel. Rest of the album never picked up from there.

Lots of noodling guitars and blues-y riffs. Not bad, certainly better than Smoke on the Water suggests.

Couple decent tracks but again very 70s

good album for guys who have sex with their cars.

3.5/5

Old heavy metal is basically blues - see e.g. Maybe I'm a Leo on this album. Highway Star is pretty good on here, as are a few of the others. Smoke On The Water is probably the least effective of the bunch, maybe just because it's been so overplayed.

I’ll say it. Smoke on the Water sucks. However, the opening and closing track on this album rock pretty hard. I don’t hate this band as much as I thought I did.

We need half-stars here. This is a 3.5 star album, import for early hard rock, but it hasn't survived as well as many other artists/albums of the era.

It was fun to listen to this album again. It has been a long time. They certainly had a distinctive sound, that was present throughout the album.

It was ok, not great, but ok. Smoke on the water is a track I remember with fondness from my youth so I’ve rounded up to a three

Was excited about this, loving metal and all. Even the albums namesake I used to love in my teenage years. Sadly didn't do a lot for me. A lot of the other NWOBHM were better, if still not my thing. Very average.

everything is just in the way until Ash Williams favourite song Space Truckin’ comes on

3/5 for Smoke on the Water. Lazy is good too 👍

Good album. I like Made in Japan better as most of this album is on that.

Good

I liked this better than Made in Japan. It feels more focused but still feels like jam band meets metal and ultimately isn’t really for me. I really don’t like the screams vocals at all.

Interesting I liked it

Fuck boomers and their overrated 2 chords riffs man

What can be said about the artists that wrote thee seminal jam song that every, I mean every, high school garage band played at one time. Prior to having the chops to play ‘Stairway To Heaven’, which came second, the first one learned was always, ‘Smoke on the Water’. Like most jam bands, DP likes to beat the heck out of the same riffs for days..so don’t expect a lot of changes/B sections in their songs.

It's solid classic rock, and while I don't like very bluesy rock, this toes the line, only slightly more than a Black Sabbath. Overall, I am surprised and impressed at how much I did like it, but it won't be a new part of my regular rotation or anything. "Space Truckin'" was likely my favorite track, as it sounds very proto-stoner rock.

MARRY... the rhythm section F**K... the keyboards KILL... the singer (Sorry Ian Gillen)

Brings back memories. Not a big fan though.

Took me back.

Vibey wibey

Yeah. Wish the recording wasn’t so muddy. Smoke on the water is a classic, hands down. Can’t see putting the whole album on.

Some classic tracks, a lot of forgettable proto-prog.

Highway Star and Smoke on the Water are classics, Lazy has an awesome guitar solo, but the rest is a bit forgettable.

Too much jamming

Not too bad. Smoke on the water is a classic of course.

Dad rocks finest

I think this record was more important historically. It's not that it doesn't hold up, but you can't sense the impact it had at the time.

Good

Super simple stuff. I was surprised when smoke on the water came on, it wasn't a teenager learning acoustic guitar playing to a wonky metronome..

Good solid British rock. Music to make models to, well today it was, anyway.

Haven’t heard in ages. Way more metal sounding than I remembered. No wonder they are always mentioned as early metal. Good for educational purposes.

Machine Head is another album I feel like I’ve heard millions of times, whether or not I actually have. Given the date of its release, I imagine this to be some of the earliest heavy rock with metal elements. Favorite Track = Space Truckin’

I had this on in the car while running errands with my son this morning. I didn't pay much attention but it wasn't something I absolutely loved or hated.

Better than I expected. Would be a 3.5 if that were an option

Ok 1001 albums generator plz try to keep at least a week between a live album and a studio album by the same band lol. Not bad to listen to this - my favorite track was actually a bonus track and I didn’t even realize it!

Weird, I guess this is the 70s but it just sounded...like generic old rock?

Pretty solid classic rock. The whole thing felt like one big jam sesh. I really liked the story behind smoke on the water, as it made the song even more enjoyable!

Classic rock album but has lost some of its luster over the years. Liked the opener Highway Star a lot, though the album goes downhill from there. Not to say it's ever 'bad' (although Never Before comes close), but I caught myself nodding off while listening to it several times. At times it's because of repetitive riffs, other times it's just kind of boring. Fun listen overall, but gets upstaged by other rock albums. Fav. Tracks - Highway Star, Smoke On the Water

nice energy

Solid rock. Plus Smoke on The Water

I mean I guess? It's not terrible. Organ wails.

Liked ok

2.5

Ich habe (wegen meiner Unwissenheit) etwas anderes erwartet. Ich dachte, dass Deep Purple etwas "härter" ist/war. Mir hat es aber gefallen, habe gleichzeitig mit mehr Besonderem gerechnet..

The lyrics … it would score higher with better lyrical content. Alas, there were no poets in DP, but they played great.

Really rather enjoyed this. Not a million miles away from Cream, in terms of the playing is pretty great and it's not overly-heavy. Should probably give it a 4

Another case of - they had more than one song.

Not a fan, but good album.

🤘🏽

Rockig, aber dieser typische Deep Purple Beat geht mir nicht so rein.

Has Smoke on the Water. Outside of that pretty mediocre.

Little Dad rocky but still liked it

Machine head rules and so does smoke on the water

Good stuff. I’ll never love early metal, but I certainly like it. Pictures of Home is great. Love the story behind the album. I was a bit too young to appreciate Machine Head on its initial release, but have grown to appreciate it over the years.

Some early iteration of dad rock here. The guitar riffs were cool. Smoke on the water is just story telling.

Fun album, with some absolute classics on it

Standout Tracks: "Highway Star," "Smoke on the Water" Lyrics- 4/5 Vocals- 3/5 Instrumentals- 5/5 Vibes- 3/5 Overall: 3/5 This is your standard 70s classic rock album. For me, this album was a nice listen but nothing really "leapt" out at me after the two recognizable tracks. The guitar was insanely impressive, but really did not leave a lasting enough impression for me to remember any of the songs besides the two I already knew.

SMOOOKE ON THE WAAAAATEEEEERRRR 7/10

I feel like this album should come with some shitty weed or LSD. I'm very much hit or miss on this era of rock; don't usually care for it outside of the hits but thought this was respectable and hey, "Smoke on the Water". 7/10.

I remember listening to this when it first came out, too heavy rock for me then, except for the radio hits, but I enjoyed it today!

It’s fun

3.5

A whole generation (or 3) of people were turned off Deep Purple by the opening riff of Smoke on the Water. Started with high adrenaline heavy metal which fucked HARD, and descended into mediocre rock. Still, much better than expected.

Two songs were good, the rest I don't even remember.

Hard Rock

3.8. Should be a 4

Not a heavy-ish metal fan, but you can't go wrong with Smoke in the Water anytime. This is Deep Purples best song by far. The final four tracks starting with Smoke.... improve upon the first four tracks which left me "meh".

Remarkably enjoyable. I've never had much of a reason to dip in to Deep Purple but this was soulful, it rocked, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable listen. I probably wouldn't throw it on again but I didn't wish most of these songs away.

This did not hit me straight out of the gate, and based on the first song I was expecting cheesy, generic rock. But by the time the vocals kicked in on Lazy I was properly grooving along. Definitely a pleasant surprise. Highlights: Maybe I’m a Leo, Smoke on the Water, Lazy

Nicht schlecht

Has the major hits, really all you need for Deep Purple

Sounds pretty dated and generic, almost Spinal Tap like at times. Still an enjoyable listen.

Helt ok.

Like so many things in life, this album starts off at a high level and then falls into the middle class. What's most annoying are the solos and repetitions that feel like they last for hours.

Totally not a genre I like, but not gonna lie - Space Truckin’ just hits the spot sometimes.

- pretty solid - Smoke on the Water is a classic - enjoyed Space Truckin’ as well

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

yeahh!! smoke on the water!!!

Hey, this is a pretty good album but why does this 1001 list have such a boomer rock slant to it? I will admit.. Smoke on the Water is probably one of the first riffs I learned when I picked up the guitar for the first time. It's just so damn accessible. Highway Star, already a good song, has a whole section of it that is not played on the radio.. or at least wasn't in my head and there are sick instrument solos in it. I can imagine this is the best of Deep Purple. At the end of the day, this makes classic rock album list... idk surely though this slot could offer a more complete album from someone else? I had never pulled up the lyrics to Smoke on the Water before this.. it's literally about the troubles they had trying to secure a place to record this album. I love when musicians so plainly talk about an experience they've had through their music in a meta sort of way. Best Track: Smoke on the Water

Average rock album, some interesting song concepts.

It is exactly what it says on the tin. Good, straight ahead, hard rock, keyboard-infused, 70s rock and roll.

Better than expected but a mixed bag.

Very enjoyable. Not quite heavy enough for me. Some nice songs. Smoke on the water.... Ugh

- Get's off to a poor start with a turgid song about a car. - Like the previous Deep Purple album, it does improve when the organ bits come in. - The riff to Smoke On The Water has lost its lustre over the years, but I enjoyed discovering the very literal nature of the lyrics and the story behind them. I feel like it's all a bit 'meh' really so it gets half-marks: 2.5 stars. But there's something about the big dumb riffs and big dumb lyrics of Space Truckin' in particular that makes me smile, so I'm roundin' up.

It was fine.

These guys are obviously talented musicians. Some good guitar, solos, and cool effects from the keyboards. But seriously, do we need another white guy singing about his car? A lot of it felt pretty cheesy, but I will be giving it three stars for its place in rock history And that awesome organ sound

2 good songs. Others pass.

oh like the simpsons

6.5

The only one I knew was Smoke on the Water. This whole album reminds me of my early childhood, but more of what it feels like to look at a blurry photograph and to be at the rides at the carnival. And the basement of the Blake’s where their teenage sons introduced me to Kiss. I was what, 5? The potter scared me a little. The had the painting of dogs playing cards around a table, too. I did like that.

Two Deep Purple albums close together. Didn’t love either, didn’t hate them.

Alot better than I was expecting for Deep Purple 3/5

Some classic songs here but I like the less-polished In Rock more. Space Truckin' is great. Ritchie Blackmore has one of the most original guitar sounds of anyone from this era.

Great classic album, Jojo moment

Love the organ. Subject matter often isn't the most relatable but super impressive classical solos. Not a great album but worth it just for Smoke on the Water.

The guitarist shreds on this album. Everything else is kinda baseline. Funny that the most famous song on this album is the easiest guitar song to learn ever.

Not bad. Less heavy guitar screech than others of this ilk. Good roadtrip company.

3.75

5.5/10

It’s got some classic rock hits. Kind of a good mix of blues rock with a little more hard rock/metal influence. I wish hush was on it

Dad rock, kinda boring

It was fine . I have heard this one before.

sadly the first thing I think of is guitar hero.

Solid album

While I never considered myself a fan of Deep Purple I do not dislike them. Highway Star and Smoke on the Water are the tracks I recognize the most from this album. It is music.

Not bad, but this genre of music has not aged well

I had a decent time listening to this. Normally "Dad Rock" isn't my thing but everything, except maybe some lyrics, meshed well for me.

Short, good sounds, some songs are similar. 2 classics

Fun stuff! Probably wouldn't throw it on at home too often, but I'd totally rock out to this while eating slices of pizza and playing pinball at Old School Pizza.

My friend Ken played this album for me in 9th grade. Gotta appreciate how good it is 50 years later!

This is very much a tale of two albums. First, we have 4 tracks (Leo, Pictures, Never Before, Lazy) which are some funky white boys playing the Blues. I’d this were the main facet of Deep Purple’s sound, I wouldn’t care for them. Execution is fine, I love the mix of distorted organ and guitar weaving together in these arrangements, but these songs don’t do much to make a lasting impact. BUT the other three tracks (Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, Space Truckin’) are the famous songs from this record for a reason. They RIP! They’ve got their own weird and at the time innovative style that I feel really holds up. Great stuff. So overall? I lean positive, this is a very strong 3.

Decent classic rock album

I thought it would be more “country” but it really wasn’t that bad. Doll

a bit dad rock-y

It was a fun novelty to hear the album that contains the first song I ever learnt on guitar, as I'm sure it was for many people. Unfortunately the cheese is too much but it has some moments.

Not bad. Just more radio fodder I've heard a million times.

Classic rock and roll. No tricks or mechanical synthesizing. Just some pretty great music and instrumentation.

Songs are long and pretty repetitive. Not completely without interest, but I'm not sure in what situation I'd ever want to put this record on.

Some fun and iconic riffs. Not 100% my cup of tea but fun to listen to. 3.5/5

Deep Purple is the least interesting of the Unholy Trinity. They're just so... dad-ish. 3 stars out of obligation

before listening to this, i knew 'highway star' and obviously 'smoke on the water' - 'highway star' is as killer as ever, i think it's a very good song. but unfortunately, that's where it ends for me. the rest of the album did not do much for me. it's not bad, i just found it fairly uninteresting. i don't mind bluesy hard rock, but this was pretty formulaic to me, not much going on. the organ playing throughout the album, however, was great and fairly unique. but otherwise, i feel like there wasn't of much interest to this one.

Je m'attendais à un peu plus. Les pièces moins connues de l'album ne m'ont pas particulièrement impressionné. Je comprends le statut de Deep Purple, mais ce genre de hard rock reste un style que j'aime un peu moins. 7/10

a classic in my childhood music education

A pretty good entry into the "classic" blues-rock canon. Lord & Paice prove themselves as perhaps the most vital part of the band on this record, keeping most songs in the groove and in time. Ian Gillan is a perfectly serviceable hard rock vocalist but lacks the fireworks or the attitude of a Plant or a Mercury. Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord are supremely talented (guitar and keys/organ, respectively) technicians and pretty good at melodies, but they can tend a bit toward the baroque, eventually. Machine Head is a tremendously competent album and a big influence on heavy rock to follow, but after twenty minutes of the gymnastics running from Highway Star through Never Before, it's pretty refreshing to arrive at Smoke On The Water, which feels downright restrained in context. Lazy is a great, fairly straight blues if you wade through the first five minutes of it. Space Truckin' is a bit more riff and rhythm based (almost like slow motion Helmet, thirty years early). Ultimately, for all their influence on what was to follow, Deep Purple are a band better at playing music than writing it. Machine Head is a masterclass in playing, but you're unlikely to hear something new in the composition. Listen to this once and understand its importance, but you already know the best two songs on the disc. Unless you really love guitar solos, you're probably not coming back regularly.

I can definitely understand how they're considered pioneers in heavy metal. "Smoke on the Water" is likely their most popular song (and one of the most popular rock songs of all time...), and the only one I recognized from this album. Overall, I think it's a good album, but not a great one. I can understand its importance in music history, but I wasn't really 100% feeling the songs on this one. "Smoke on the Water" is probably my favorite, but I also enjoyed "Never Before." I give it 3 out of 5 space truckers!

not bad. Smoke on the water is the most popular song, but there are quite a few good ones on here

Highway star. Good intro song, sweet bassline, cool keyboard/organ. maybe im a leo. cool riff. Both songs have melodies and a sound that remind me of 8 bit video games. pictures of home. cool mix of solos, guitar then organ then even bass for a second! never before. funky intro. smoke on the water. classic, not sure why its so iconic, every other song so far has been just as good if not better. maybe just because the main riff is catchy and the chorus? lazy. sweet organ intro, trippy, cool. followed by guitar, cool instrumental through the first half. space truckin. catchy chorus. Cool guitar strumming in later verses adds some 'texture' or something. dig. little drum solo action when a blind man cries. ballad. pretty good

Cva, nice riffs, nice melodies

Surprisingly good. Can see how this influenced later metal bands.

Half hokey half inspired classic classic rock

Decent 70’s power psychedelic rock. Won’t be in rotation on my playlist, but still a good album.

Was surprised not to enjoy this more. Think I would get more out of it having heard it a few times. There's obviously some fine musicianship on display, but it doesn't always feel like it serves the songs.

Not as uninspired as I originally thought, and much better than In Rock. Still not sure how these guys get mentioned in the same breath as Zeppelin and Sabbath though, they are clearly inferior in every way. Sometimes I wondered if I was listening to rock or elevator music. Ian Gillan has one of the most boring voices in rock. Smoke on the Water in retrospect is not that great of a song, yes it’s an influential riff, but it’s super rudimentary, a child could have come up with that riff. Best songs are Space Truckin and Maybe I’m a Leo.

This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Big dumb rock

Forever tied to the Rock Band start screen. Solid! I like the singles and the ones I don’t recognize too.

Its ok. Not my kinda music tho

A classic and influential rock album but I’m not fully convinced it’s aged particularly well.

I mean, I grew up in the 70s so good lord, this album was played.

okkk 6.5/10

feel like some douchebag driving an old pickup truck but in a cool way

This album just doesn't do it for me. I have a lot of appreciation for Deep Purple and recognise their classic and influential status, however the only tracks of this album I enjoyed were Smoke On The Water and When A Blind Man Cries.

Great classic electrified rock and roll...not my favorite though.

This also goes pretty hard. It sounds a lot like their live album that I just listened to.

I’ve never liked Deep Purple’s studio work as much as I’ve liked them live. That’s a me problem I guess. This album’s great, and a classic. But I’d have preferred it if it was live.

Wow okay the first four songs were incredible. A little long but that's okay. You can definitely see influences that other artists had from this. However I personally can't stand Smoke on the Water and Lazy so 5/7 songs is gonna have to bring this one down a little.

This album likely contains one of the most famous rock songs in the world. Also, if some YouTubers are to be believed, simply uttering “zero three five” will get their videos demonetised (the frets played in Smoke On The Water’s famous riff). That aside, it will be interesting to hear the rest of the tracks surrounding this. Songs I already knew: Smoke On The Water Favourites: Highway Star Firstly, Smoke On The Water is undoubtedly a very good, catchy song, but I think I’ve just heard it too many times at this point so it’s not quite as exciting as it once was. Highway Star shows some pretty amazing musical talent, and I loved the guitar solo in this. Conversely, the closing song Space Truckin’ might have been one of the silliest songs I’ve ever heard. It feels more like a Deep Purple parody than an actually serious song.

Can’t help but enjoy the vocal histrionics

We had a live album by Deep Purple before, 'Made In Japan', that I was expecting to be bad but turned out to be very good. This is almost the opposite situation. I saw 'Smoke on the water' on this record and expected it to be a banger, but almost all songs turned out to be boring. This was also a stupid expectation to have from me to have, since I can't find any joy with 'Smoke on the water' to begin with, I have simply heard it to many times, and it has lost its magic. My overall feeling with the album is also a bit perplexing. On paper, this album really has everything I should like. Good singer, rock from era I usually enjoy, cool electric piano etc, but it just doesn't get up there for some reason. The album was saved by the last two songs, 'Space truckin'' and 'When a blind man cries' which were actually very good songs, many steps above the rest.

Deep Purple has some amazing tracks but my god is "Smoke on the Water" not one of them. I don't know it if is because it has been played to death but it's just a weak track with a boring riff. Luckily this album starts off with "Highway Star" which is one of the better Deep Purple songs (sadly my version didn't have the extended intro). This album is an early metal album and sadly it sounds slightly generic today but i guess that back in it's day it was groundbreaking. Still "Highway star" and "When A Blind Man Cries' are great tracks but the rest doesn't really reach the same heights. I don't feel like I want to listen to it again but just cherry pick the first and last track while the rest was ok but brings me no real excitement.

Klassisk rock

Kudos for being one of the foundations of metal, but I have an irrational hatred at this brand of hard rock.

Whew! Ritchie Blackmore melts all the faces on this one. Highs: double tracked solo on Highway Star and the super soft-overdrive tone on Lazy.

Some great hits on this one. Others sound alike to me. We've come a long way in the recording production quality these days!

Heard several of the songs before. Did not download any. Don’t care much for the keyboards. Love the guitar playing.

Drei plus

3.5/5 Apparently I have been confusing Purple Haze and Deep Purple since high school. Whoops... Lmao. I liked this album. I thought it was one of those cheesy hair bands that are one hit wonders, but I was wrong. I think it was because of the cheesy lyrics, and overt macho energy. But who doesn't like cheese?

Had that one hit I knew and that's about all I remember. Chugged along nicely but a mostly unremarkable album for me.

decent, gets the juices flowing

Tout est bien qui finit bien

smoke on the water etc

Pretty rocky. I liked some of the more bluesy songs - they reminded me of black keys.

Heavy

Highway: "Highway Star," "Pictures of Home," "Smoke on the Water," "Space Truckin'" Consistently excellent performers. The songs tend to be more downbeat and groovy than on In Rock a few years ago, with a little more dithering and drag in the middle, but the keyboardist definitely comes through as feeling himself on this album: loud, distorted wurlitzer with the most inspired solos in the group for a clear standout. And the opener is probably the best song they ever had.

Not sure what to think about this one. At times I was really vibing, another times it felt like the songs were going on for too long.

I'm always more impressed with Deep Purple's stickiness than I think I am going to be, I end up humming their hits a lot more. We had gotten the live version of this album a few weeks back, and this is way more engaging than that! I'm not NOT a fan. 3/5

De songwriting van deze cd stelt niet veel voor, maar de solos zijn leuk om naar te luisteren. Het is alleen jammer dat je telkens minstens een couplet en een refrein moet luisteren om bij de coole gitaren en orgeltjes te komen. Eigenlijk is 21st Century Schizoid Man het ideale Deep Purple nummer.

High 3

Better then I expected

Fairly fun solid glam rock, Everything you'd expect from the Smoke on the Water band

The cool thing about going through these albums that have impacted history is that one can encounter an album from 1972 that would arguably carry itself in the 21st century. While the album does not hit particularly hard or profound, it is a testament to Deep Purple that they were doing this music in 1972. The old scripture from Ecclesiastes in which its author laments that 'there is nothing new under the sun' rings all the more true here and while trends and styles may certainly change, a decent album at any point in history is a decent album at any point in history.

I used to listen to a ton of classic rock, so I've heard a few of the songs on this album a lot over the years. I have a copy of this album on vinyl as well, but this was my first time listening to this album in its entirety. Overall, this is a really good album, and and it's easy to see how it influenced a number of hard rock and metal bands that came after its release. I love the heavy use of lower notes on the guitars that are present on a lot of songs, and I love that there's also some fast tempo guitar playing here too, like on "Highway Star" (perfect opening track for this album in my opinion). The drums are fast and manic, but also manage to be tight and clean as well. I also love the way that the keyboard and organ are utilized here; sometimes it's to provide a contrasting higher sound to the deeper guitars, and sometimes it's deeper as well to compliment them. Ritchie Blackmore is a great guitar player, and his talent is really on full display here. "Smoke on the Water," "Highway Star," and "Space Truckin" are my favorite tracks here, but everything else wasn't terribly memorable to me. The album works well as a whole, but in my opinion, the most important thing here is the influence that this album would go on to have.

7/10 Beaucoup de classiques. Ecoute facile.

This is the second album I’ve listened to recently that had a weird car song. Less weird car songs please. The guitarist is jamming throughout (that’s like half the album) but not really feeling any strong feelings about this one overall, generally pretty neutral on this old school heavy rock. Talked myself into a 3 because Smoke on the Water is iconic at least. Also I really like When A Blind Man Cries as the last song on the album, much slower and more ballad-like than the rest of the album, which was more guitar-shredding (Note: I learned this after finishing listening; When A Blind Man Cries was not on the original album, it was a B-side to the Never Before single. It was recorded when the album was first recorded but got added to the end of the album for the 25th anniversary release. I'm keeping it as my favorite song anyway because there's no rules here). Favorite song: When A Blind Man Cries Other: Never Before, Smoke On The Water

Dad rock really is a hit or a miss. You may get sleaze. You may get the most revolutionary shit you've ever heard. You may just get a decent time. I don't really find Machine Head to be particularly remarkable, but the songs on it were fine, and I can understand why some of them are well known. Highway Star really is *that good*

cool bit of rock

Another really solid album by DP.

Good stuff, not anything I hadn’t heard before and not my jam at the moment, but it was interesting listening to it from a perspective of it being an important album instead of just a tired song being played on classic rock stations 😅

No matter its historical relevance (especially to me, born in '89), Machine Head has half the teeth and sounds only half as heavy as In Rock, a record that truly blasts you to bits from the opening second. There's no ground here that they hadn't covered previously. Only a handful of flagship songs which are classics in their own right. They just happen to be on this album. I much prefer to listen to the Made in Japan live workouts of these songs.

Highway Star: 7.5/10 Maybe I'm a Leo: 5.5/10 Pictures of Home: 7.5/10 Never Before: 6/10 Smoke on the Water: 8.5/10 Lazy: 7/10 Space Truckin': 6/10 When a Blind Man Cries: 8/10 Overall: 7/10 (3.5/5)

I've always liked Smoke on the Water but the rest of it not so much

Two classics, no other stand outs

I go back and forth with this. I kind of prefer Highway Star to Smoke on the Water thanks to Dazed and Confused and now I want to drive around the US neighbourhood smashing US Mailbox things with a baseball bat. The rest, is way honkier than I was expecting, and while it's not bad, I'm not that arsed. Space Truckin' is great fun though, so that's three songs genuinely enjoyed. 3 out of 8 should warrant a 2, but these are 3 very good songs. Seeing the live album also in the book which is these songs but twice as long, fills me with some trepidation, but it could be excellent. Will find out in due course.

Enjoyed this. Heard Smoke on the Water so many times it feels like the worst track on there now! Maybe I’m a Leo / Lazy were my highlights. Chunks passed me by, but for what it is - a classic rock staple - it’s pretty good!

Not heard much Deep Purple before and thought this was some decent rock music. I didn't particularly dislike anything but nothing blew me away either. Highlights: Highway Star Smoke On The Water Space Truckin'

Album actually got better as it went on, solid enough

3/8, 38%

Another pretty enjoyable record here from Deep Purple. Though it's not exactly my rhythm I can understand the legacy this band and album have earned. Towards the end of the album in particular it was fun to really hear them not take things too seriously and just connect lean into having a good time while playing music. Probably somewhere between and a 3 and a 3.5 Fave track by a country mile was Space Truckin'... I mean come on.

Another great album from a classic rock band. Has aged well!

- drumming really interesting - adds more than just a sense of direction to the piece, truly driving - the drums in Space Truckin' are just beautiful...probably my favourite song on the album - story behind Smoke on the Water (and the history of the whole recording of the album) very interesting From Wikipedia: As previous recording sessions had been slotted into the group's gigging schedule, Deep Purple wanted to dedicate time to record an album away from the typical studio environment, hoping it would result in a sound closer to their live shows. They hired the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio for recording, and block-booked the Montreux Casino as a venue, but during a Frank Zappa concert immediately before the sessions, the casino burned to the ground. After a week of searching for an alternative venue, including a session at a nearby theatre that was abandoned due to noise complaints, the band managed to book the Grand Hotel, closed for the winter, and converted it into a live room suitable for recording. These events, particularly the casino fire, became the inspiration for the song "Smoke on the Water".

This is a band that would be on Guitar Hero if I've ever heard one. It's pretty generic 70's rock for the most part. That being said it's not bad. The first track is pretty good. I could see myself listening to this in the car with my dad. They do suffer from the 70's music trope of "This song doesn't have a good ending so we'll just stop/add an instrumental part at the end that pads the runtime" Oh these are the "Smoke On The Water" guys. This is music that would be playing in a biker bar though. Really just any bar that serves an older crowd. Can't decide if this is a low 4/5 or a high 3/5 It's a 3/5 because they have a 7-minute song that takes 4 minutes to start

holy shit smoke on the water. i played that on my guitar when i was like 14. wicked.

funkier than expected, which is always enjoyable. otherwise very emblematic of the era. i didn’t particularly enjoy it but there were some fun solos

Highway star is awesome, other than that everything else is pretty good too. I think they are trying to be hard but it's just regular classic rock. Just needed a few more bangers to be great.

This is another one of those classic albums/bands I have little personal experience with. I’m not sure if I’ve even ever heard Smoke on the Water all the way through until now, which seems impossible. The point I’m making here, much like Hotel California, I have zero sentimentality associated with this album, nor was it played to the point where I am sick of it. It’s hard reviewing albums like this on just a play through or two, because they frankly don’t always hold up. That’s how I felt about Hotel California, and it is sort of how I feel about this one. There’s good songs here, Highway Star in particular is a perfect opener, but I come more from a punk background which got its start being the antithesis to albums like this. Songs like Lazy get boring to me so quickly, and the well songs like that come from feel incredible wide but extremely shallow these days. There’s only so much guitar virtuosity one can take in a sitting, and while their abilities are impressive, I feel like I’ve got it after hearing it just once. It’s not always easy to listen to something old for the first time, and trying to appreciate it for the period it came out in, but it is a requirement when you want to love something like this. This go around, that was too high of a mountain to climb for me.

The sound of this album is the definition of classic hard rock. I read that they were a precursor to heavy mental and that makes a ton of sense from this album. The tone is much harsher then other classic rock albums. I liked it but I don’t think it aged as well as other bands like Pink Floyd or Creedence Clearwater Revival. Might be for me I’m not a fan of heavy metal. I didn’t read all the lyrics but read that they were mediocre. Lazy and smoke on the water were stand out tracks.

Decent enough

One of my dad’s favourite band

I didn't know Highway Star was Deep Purple. That song is a jam! Some serious Dazed and Confused nostalgia there. Their biggest hit, Smoke on the Water, is ok. The rest of the album is pretty good.

Perusrockia

Solid album, I especially love the guitar and other instrumentals, but not really my thing personally.

When it comes to rock music Deep Purple is solid and so is this album. But it's nothing that will be too memorable for me.

I'm sure this sounded better in 1972, before generations of rock bands that all sound exactly like this made the same record 500 times. It's not bad, though. Smoke on the Water is obviously a classic for a reason. Highway Star is cheesy fun. Lazy was a standout for me, love its more bluesy sound. Overall a very middle of the road classic rock album. Favorite track: Lazy

smoke.. on the water... in my house...

I did enjoy this. But not as much as I hoped I would

Some of it is good. I don't like the bluesy songs, they are little bit too melodramatic for me.

classic tunes

Enjoyed this more than expected actually.

green to red

honk shmimimi

when a blind man cries is a great closer.

Not really for me. Smoke on Water is fun if course, but also it’s so overplayed maybe I should hate them for it.

purp

Very regular. Lol.

BOOORRRIIIIINGGG

Totally fine album. Nothing really to note

A couple bop.coms

highway star is a meta song. smoke on the water is the first song anyone learns on the guitar so yk it’s good.

Reminds me a lot of Led Zeppelin - although a bit poppier and a bit less folky. It's a bit self-indulgent in places, to be honest, and the lyrics are really average in most places (particularly the sci-fi shit). Highway Star is a good pop song, and Smoke On The Water is great (helps that they're actually telling a real story, which masks some of the lack of creativity in the lyric that you hear on the stuff they've made up), and Lazy is a cool listen (although again, a bit self-indulgent). 3/5.

Believe it or not I've only listened to Deep Purple 3 times - 3! Artist #2556 I was expecting a whole lot more metal sounding minor stuff... this is like good time rock yeah?

Classic rock, a little dated by this point, but Highway Star is a really good opener.

*mullet intensifies*

Oui, Smoke on the Water est bonne est connue, mais sinon j'ai plutôt écouté d'une oreille distraite. L'originalité est maintenant diluée. J'ai remarqué la présence de l'orgue, c'est ce qui m'a le plus interpellée.

Great album. I am a bit torn between a 3 and a 4 star rating. My favorite tracks are "Highway star" and "When a blind man cries". I would give this 3.5/5 if possible.

Some fun 70s rock for sure. Nice hearing songs other than smoke on the water by them. Enjoyed "lazy" the most I think.

Whiffed real bad of dad rock, well good dad rock though so I don't know A decent record

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. The remastering makes it sound better than I remember as a teenager.

lazy är ju jävligt fin och det är ett rätt gött sound generellt. en stark trea.

Meh

Finally! I am not well-versed in hard rock, metal or really anything from the 1970s that isn't funk or jazz, so this is very much out of my comfort zone. However, I quickly settled in to this album, the keys (organ?) are spectacular, the guitar solos are always excellent. Smoke on the water is probably a weak spot, doesn't help that it was the third thing I learned to play on guitar when I was a kid and it just doesn't rock like the rest of this album! I think highway star is the peak, the battling solos are stunning, but the jam band feel on Lazy is a highlight as well. I would give this a 7/10 because I'm not comfortable with this style yet to say this is a classic, plus it does drag in places.

Classics

I imagine it was very exciting and new at the time and sounded amazing on vinyl! Enjoyable listen but don't feel the need to listen again or belt out any tunes. A lot of guitar solos, great vocals though!

it's cool but it's not that cool and it's pretty stupid, too, and not always in a good way

Yeah. Classic.

As a teenager I loved this band. Highway Star is possibly their greatest tune. Smoke on the Water is a bit of a dirge. There is less of Gillan's awful screams than In Rock but I still find it all a bit caveman. Lyrics are never going to win a Nobel prize and the constant keyboard/Blackmore duels tire. It's dated badly. I've lost the love. 3.

listen

Better than expected

I had no idea about smoke on the water and like the song even more now. Also highway star kind of rocks. Did not like space trucking at all

Extra star because Smoke On The Water was the first riff I learned to play when I was learning how to play an guitar and then bass 3/5

Gøy å hørra Highway star igjen

This album was alright, there's nothing that really stood out on this one.

No es el estilo de música que elijo escuchar pero es un buen disco y evidentemente se logró el propósito de que sonara menos a estudio y más al sonido en vivo. "Highway Star" es el tema del disco, incluso lo elijo por sobre "Smoke on the water".

I had obviously recognized the album cover and band name because of Smoke on the Water (which I will say right now is far too overrated when there are far better songs on this album alone), but I never knew too much past that. This was just seen in my eyes as "dad rock" through and through. This was alright, though. I mean, nothing spectacular (besides that guitar, all of the soloes were wonderful), but certainly nothing bad, save maybe Space Truckin'. There were some times where songs genuinely surprised me with their quality, and I don't regret listening in. Will I be adding Deep Purple into my band rotation? No, probably not, but I still enjoyed it, in a middle of the road, one time romp, sort of a way.

Best cool om te eens te luisteren. De basis voor stoner!

Wel een beetje ouwe-lullen-rock, maar toch nog best goed te hebben.

pretty fun rock all around 3.5

Bit boring

This is stoner rock with electronic organs. The album was not what I would have expected from Smoke on the Water alone.

Pretty good

A classic of hair metal, fun but nothing something I’ll be coming back to a lot

Pretty generic stuff. I'd only ever heard the two hits before and now I know why. It wasn't bad at all but nothing really there to make me come back.

I can't believe how annoyed I got by the end. It's OK, but kinda one-note and uninteresting.

70s Rock before glam came along and made it all a bit silly. Maybe I'm a Leo sounds like a proto-Black Keys / Royal Blood stomper. A sound that's stood the test of time and still shifting records today

Apparently this album was recorded with the intention of capturing a 'live performance' feeling. It worked. It's much less clinical and is more engaging than the other Deep Purple albums on this list. They'll never be a band I return to, but I didn't mind this. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: Smoke On The Water Date listened: 04/10/22

Not bad. The hits on this one are the cheesier cuts...

Definitely reminds me of my teenage years back in AA. Highway Star, Space trucking and Smoke on the water are classics, although I tend to change from Smoke in the water due to over playing on classy radio. Enjoyed. Not a big fan of organs in rock, but good stuff. 3 for me. Hope to hear some Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore

This is better than you might assume. Don't let the overplayed Smoke on the Water (good lyrics) delay your listening!

Not much into rock these days But it was a good classic album