Machine Head

Wow, I loved this one, the solos were amazing 🔥🔥🔥 4.5⭐

Like i just don't know how to listen to this kind of music

While this benefits from being a little more concise than In Rock, I also think it lacks some of that album's proto-metal muscle. But there's still penty of hard rock swagger, and the riffs and solos are great. There are 3 all time genre classics here: Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, and Space Truckin'. Smoke On The Water has one of the most iconic, recognizable riffs *ever*. But honestly, this album is pretty consistent. I don't have a lot to say, it's another Deep Purple album which added to the foundation of hard rock and heavy metal. I prefer In Rock, this this has plenty of its own merit.

Speeeeed King

It feels very generic and cheezy classic rock. But it's only 8 songs long with some standout tracks. Tracks to Track: Highway Star

Solid early 70s hard rock. A few monster songs.

Bom mas não tanto meu estilo

A landmark album for hard rock and that says it all. Highway Star and Smoke on the Water iconic songs. But I was impressed by the composition Lazy. I haven't listened to this album for a long time, so I forgot about it. Starting to sing five minutes into a song is powerful. And in terms of structure, Lazy is real progressive rock. If you don't want to listen to the whole album, then don't pass by Lazy, please.

A dumb rock record. Nothing wrong with that.

Awesome album

Very close to a 5 - great record. Paced well, the sound is fantastic with a very tight unit playing here and some cool stuff like the organ. Smoke on the Water is probably only the fifth or sixth best track which is saying something!

Classic!

A band to be respected but just not much on here that did anything for me.

Deep Purple is a perfectly named band. The guitar, bass, and organ combine for a deep, even ominous sound, but just as often provide colorful, soaring solos and jams. The drum fills add even more energy to an already hard driving sound. I just really enjoy this music. I recently listened (and re-listened) to “In Rock,” the other studio album on the 1001 list. Each features a band that is in the zone. This album is only slightly more controlled and able to produce a single (“Smoke”) or three. Each of these albums hovers around 4.5/5 for me. Since I rounded up to 5 on “In Rock,” I’ll round down to 4 on this one, with its only deficit being its lack of lyrical depth. But that’s not to say it isn’t a great joy ride.

Gone are the over the top shrieks (musical ones) and broodish jams of At Rock. They are replaced with tighter and mine anthemic work. The trouble is that I can’t tell whether the move is an improvement because this bad does interesting things with each. Lyrically, I am still struggling with them, but the entire genre struggles, so I’m a little more tolerant this time around. Additionally, always keep an ear tuned to drums and bass. The guitar work is solid, but the support work with bass and drums is exceptional.

In the 50+ years since Machine Head was unleashed onto the world, there has been no better album for driving. One of the finest rockers ever made.

On the first listen, I was kinda out of it, and it didn't really speak to me. However, three or four songs deep I started to understand it. While it is true so many of the songs run long, the sounds are just so fun to deal with and I feel like I'm at a jam session in a garage feeling the moment. Smoke by the water is an obvious highlight, whilst lazy also speaks to me quite fondly.

One of the best classic rock albums out there, Deep Purple are an extremely underrated group in the history of rock.

I actually knew only the hits, but it's the more uncommon songs that really drove this home to me like Pictures of Home and Lazy. Glad I listened.

Not my favorite album of theirs, but still has a couple good tracks.

Kinda insane how I could sing along to every single note of Highway Star thanks to Rock Band. Oh yeah, I hated this.

I like Highway Star and Space Truckin but dislike Smoke on the Water enough to knock it down a star.

Head banging nostalgia

I knowledge this is a classic of the genre

Apart from Jon Lord's fannying around with proggy keyboard runs this is a stand out piece of rock.

peak dad music I’m a dad now

Every song is better than the last.

If the worst song on your record is Smoke on the Water you’re in pretty good shape.

It's pretty cool for the era, and inspired a massive genre.

Horny blues rock. The instrumental sections actually anger me.

Rambly rock, I like the organ

Smoke on the Water!!!

A lot of fun riffs, and very high energy. Metal has come a long, long way since Deep Purple's time - but the foundations of what makes metal so great are all here. There is a grungy sound across the album, but it doesn't take away from how precise the instruments are being played. It's clearer to see the link between Blues > Rock > Metal with songs like "Maybe I'm A Leo," which sounds insanely groovy but still heavy.

Yep, that's Deep Purple alright. It's fine but I had already gotten their album before this one on the the list. Do we need two? They are kind of the same thing. Is there really nothing out there that didn't get added to the list because we needed 2 Deep Purple or like 500 Donald Fagen albums?

0-3-5 0-3-6-5 0-3-5 3-0

This was an absolutely amazing album. Only one song didn’t make it onto my playlist.

I liked it. Good vibes on my end.

Fun listen.

Classis rock as it should be, great bass

Smoke On The Water is a classic. The rest of the album was enjoyable but I came away from it not feeling compelled to listen again. I can appreciate the craft and I had a nice time listening but just not something I’m particularly drawn to. Fav song: Smoke On The Water Least fav: Highway Star

I bet this went triple platinum on the American highways in the 80s. Like the vibe and great guitar. Specific rating - 4.3 Fav song- space truckin Least fav- when a blind man cries

Songs written purely for the purpose of guitar solos. I liked all the songs but it would have been nice if there was just one without the minute long guitar break. Favourite song: Pictures of Home Least: Highway Star

bangers

Very classic 70's dad rock.

8/10 Favourite: Lazy Least Favourite: Smoke on the Water

Great album .

Deep Purple the second. It's been a little over a hundred albums since I listened to In Rock, so I guess I'm down to hear another. I remember their previous album having a twangy sound which really didn't work for me, though I'm always one to give second chances. I've heard Deep Purple's name a few times since I listened to their last album, which has been interesting. I'm grateful to now have a reference point for artists that I wouldn't listen to otherwise. Anyways, on with this final entry in their included discography. Yeah, this is pretty alright, though I must admit that the non-star-spangled tracks lost me. The guitarwork is adept across all of the songs, though dang if they ain't samey. The vocals don't do much to hook me, though they're decent for what they are. If there's a silver lining, it's that the two heavy-hitter tracks are pretty decent and the album comes in at a respectable runtime. "Highway Star" is a good opener. It's quite bluesy - I'm surprised the sound doesn't bug me as much as it used to. The gripping guitar riffs are easily the strongest aspect of the song. They're pretty great. The vocals don't move me all that much, but they're good for what they are. "Smoke On the Water" is iconic. Understandably so, too. That leading guitar riff is pretty golden. Book time. Topped the UK charts. Their best album. That's about it. I'm sure Wikipedia has some crazy factoids that would beef out this section nicely, though I'm content with just the book entry - I'm sure this album has more than earned it's place. I cosign this inclusion.

First Listen. 4 I actually listened to this one a couple of times and it grew on me. I liked the organ and guitar with octave effects. It certainly has a heavy metal sound, but is much closer to blues than Black Sabbath. Favorite songs: Highway Star, Lazy, Space Truckin'

Good early bluesy hard rock. I struggle a bit to say much more about this, and that's probably why it's a 4 and not a 5.

Classic as it gets

This is loud early 70s hard rock. Lyrically, it's godawful, with lyrics being either trite, incoherent, or both. Musically, however, it's great. The interplay between the organ and guitar give the Purple a distinctive sound no one has really replicated, and the vocals are suitable for the music, if not the best. It's one of my personal favorite bands, so I'm probably a little biased in my rating. But, alas, everyone here is; no one person can truly rate an album objectively. Such is the beauty of art.

Some seriously cool songs on this record. Particularly like space truckin' and of course smoke on the water.

More 70s pub rock. I guess we wouldn't have Spinal Tap without it. I do enjoy Smoke On The Water, especially the lyrics just being a step by step factual account of how they ended up using the Rolling Stones mobile studio at a substandard hotel. Respect to funky Claude.

All three of these points are for Smoke on the Water.

Highway Star and Smoke on The Water are bangers. Fun album.

Meh. “Smoke on the Water” is a classic and there are some cool guitar riffs, but most of this album didn’t do it for me.

A strong 3 - some good tunes - sadly Smoke on the Waters impact is much diminished due to over familiarity. Would not rush back - but nothing made my ears bleed.

Smashy and Nicey, let's rock! Good for it's time, a couple of good, famous guitar riffs, but now sounds dated and a bit tedious to listen to.

The guitar riffs really save this album. Because yeah, how are you going to sing about how a woman's value is tied to her hotness and compare her to a car, to just feel sad later in like half the album because she left you? Dude.

I seed her is one of my least favorite phrases I've ever heard in a song

I get that this is apparently a historically important record for its influence on later heavy metal sounds. But if it weren't for "Smoke on the Water", I would ultimately want to forget that this existed and just chalk up this album's popularity to "you had to be there at the time". But Smoke on the Water is a decent song, enough to bump up an otherwise 2-star album to a 3-star.

This album immediately earns a +1 for Smoke on the Water, as well as a -1 for Smoke on the Water. This doesn't hit higher for me than a solid 3.5 but it might trend down depending on whether that godforsaken earworm of a song gets stuck in my head for the remainder of the day.

Good rock album overall. I had completely forgotten about Space Truckin.

Sounds like it was written by (all-be-it talented) 14 year olds.

Coulda sworn we already had this one, but I guess that was the live in Japan album. Not that I'm complaining Deep Purple is one of those no nonsense classic rock bands that churned out solid jam after solid jam. This album does not disappoint. Loads of crusty guitar, soulful organ, and tasty jams. The album is bookended by two propulsive road-trip anthems: Highway Star and Space Truckin'. And the internals, while less energetic, jam in their own rights. I'll say that at times, the middle tracks (outside of Smoke on the Water) felt a bit like filler; however, the organ work often elevated things out of the mundane (looking at you Maybe I'm a Leo). Hard to give anything other than a 4. Low as it may be this is solid.

One of my biggest takeaways from this project is how awesome I think Deep Purple is. Absolutely grooving to this album and it's fusion of heavy metal and prog rock in the early 70's where I assume it was leading the charge in both of these genres. Definitely teetering on the 4/5 line here. Think it gets the bump because I want more 5s on my list.

Another masterpiece by Deep Purple. Kicks off so hot with Highway Star. Then just rocks its way through to Lazy, which I have never heard, and is a baller instrumental. Space Truckin is a fun ass way to end. Side note, a random Deep Purple song came on afterwards called Burn and that was an incredible song. Not quite enough gas to give this a 5 because a couple songs weren't quite it but a very high 4

Instantly recognize 2 songs on this and they are absolute jams. Highway Star just has it all. Honestly most of these songs do. Smoke on the Water is one of the most recognizable songs out there and for good reason. Just a fun one all around. Easy 4.

Decent

This was a bit repetitive but still pretty rocking

★★½

An all time great record. In my top 20 of all time.

Every song is a banger!

4.5. Solid, enjoyable hard rock classic with killer playing.

The stretch of albums of Deep Purple mark II is just simply incredible... This is my personal highlight and my personal favorite Purple album, but I won't argue the others 9.8 ★★★★½

A classic among classic rock albums. 4.5 stars

4.5/5

Really good album. "Space Truckin" is the best thing here, but "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" are cool too. 4 stars.

Some people call Blood On The Tracks the best album of the 70s but that is absolute tosh. Chuck your vinyl copy out of the window now. If you have a cd version stamp on it into little pieces and then flush it down the toilet or drop it down the gutter or summink. THIS is real music. It’s all you really need from the 70s other than Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Derek And The Dominoes and a bit of Frank Zappa. It’s basically as classic as classic rock gets. Monster vocals. Monster riffing. Monster soloing. Monster songs with the likes of Highway Star and Space Truckin (not so much Pictures Of Home and Never Before). Jon Lord lords it and it’s as much of a keyboard hero album as a guitar hero album. Even though it’s got the most overplayed riff of all time, Smoke On The Water is still the best tune and Lazy is another massive highlight and is just beastly. Hard to imagine better Machine Head except in a porn version of Stepford Wives or Ghost In The Shell.

Recorded in The Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Studio in Switzerland. Never knew he was recalling a true story in "Smoke on the Water". Not much to write, it's good rock and roll uhhhh music!

Better than Coldplay

4.5

Good rock record. Surprising this is from the early 70s when it has elements of 80s rock - I guess they were ahead of their time? I dug this one overall as it has an easy enough vibe to get along with and some good jams. Solid rock album.

Smoke on the Water reminds me well of my marching bad days, bit this album otherwise leaves me pretty flat-D S finds it more accessible and has actually enjoyed it a lot more than much of the other rock this far.

Classic Rock at it's finest. I can imagine its impact when it was released 53! years ago. It is a really solid album, that potentially suffers because others have imitated it over the years. Highway Star and Space Truckin' are the highlights. Smoke on the Water is iconic

For a "classic" classic rock album this one was totally pleasant to listen to.

It's alright. Nothing crazy

Groovy

Surprised me.

I’m glad I got this one after Made In Japan on this list, because that live album really gave me a new appreciation for Deep Purple after sleeping on them for many years. Machine Head is fantastic. The vocals don’t stand out to me, but there is some seriously fantastic guitar playing on almost every song. The guitar leads stand out even more on the live versions, but Machine Head is a consistent listen with some killer standout tracks like Highway Star, Space Truckin’, and of course Smoke On The Water.

Not my thing

I'd already heard highway star, it's a great track. The rest is mostly really boring, especially smoke on the water. I don't think this kind of music has aged particularly well, but I understand the importance and influence of it for the time

This gets a lot of praise but lyrical this is just abysmal in large parts. Probably sounded fresh at the time but the relentless hard rock does get a bit stale at least Led Zeppelin had the good grace to mix things up a bit 3*

Sans le petit creux au milieu on était dans la catégorie des albums légendaires.

One of the greatest lps of all time? 7 tracks padded out by unnecessarily soloing. Could have been an ep or 12” single. Surely there are better albums by this band? It’s got Gillan, Lord, Glover, Paige FFS. Lyrically, half arsed. The best song Highway Star is about going to a gig. Smoke on the Water about waiting to record this album. Highway Star is pretty good especially Gillan vocals, even Ritchie’s urgent solo contributes to the prosody for once. Smoke has that killer riff. Space Truckin is fun. Lord’s keyboards in Lazy are cool - loop part for two minutes and you’d have a good 4 track ep. 1.5 stars don’t know which way to jump. It’s not as bad as Private Dancer but it’s not as good as any of the two star LPs.

289/1089 - Same song over and over and the song isn't a good one either.

Dad music? Sure it was - I grew up with this album and it introduced me to the world of metal (starting with Black Sabbath, thanks again dad!), then the NWOBHM, culminating in the Bay Area thrash of Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer. 4/5 - Machine Head, Metal Head! \m/

The riff that spawned 1000 dusty stratocasters. Mostly fine!

Deep Purple fuckin’ rocks. This much we’ve established. And here, again, a veritable grab bag of germ ideas – moments that would later be extrapolated (or interpolated, in the case of tragic dad rock) into entire sub-genres of rock and metal. “Highway Star” is an absolute horns up masterpiece. “Maybe I’m a Leo” and “Pictures of Home” both do their thing smoothly, groovily. “Never Before” is hard work when you’re 80% through a running drill designed to increase your lactate threshold and yourself turning a shade of deep purple (“I’ve never felt so bad before” isn’t what you need to hear then, that’s for sure). “Smoke on the Water” is one of those songs you sort of just have to let happen – I might think that it does very little for me, but then also I have memories of it ranging from being nine in a kitchen in Barnsley and hearing it being programmed into a Nokia 3210 through to playing it in sound check in my early 20s and then again on ukulele in my children’s’ bedroom. It’s a riff that just works; guitars seem to yearn to have it played on them. “Lazy” is bonkers; a totally free, entirely brilliant shamble of sound. “Space truckin’” is super fucking stupid and outrageously groovy, and the less said about “A blind man cries” (do we expect them to not?) the better. Many, many highs and couple of lows, but when they’re right they’re absolutely bloody trenchantly so. Deep Purple just fucking rocks.

One of my gateway drugs to metal

Another discovery through doing this. I knew Smoke on the Water but none of their other stuff. This is really enjoyable. Would listen again

5/5

Seems extremely influential to hard rock and metal, I loved this

Best Song: Highway Star. Something about that rumbling rhythm really does make this song feel well suited for a highway. Worst Song: Never Before. This feels a little too chipper. Like they're trying to get pop radio play or something. Overall: Such an original sound. So crunchy, the piano adds a lot. The whole album is better, and more fun, than I had imagined it would be.

Its ok

Rockefot.

Ouf, Mama! C'est du lourd à matin! J'adore Deep Purple, pis je commençais à stresser sur l'idée que le générateur oublie de me donner leurs albums, mais c'est bon. Machine Head est pas mon préféré (en vrai, je sais jamais c'est quoi mon préféré, j'hésite toujours entre l’extrêmement underated Shade of Deep Purple, le classique prog In Rock et le plus accessible Burn), mais ça reste un solide album hard rock, supporté par des gros bangers comme Highway Star, Lazy, pis évidemment Smoke on the Water. Bref, 👍👍👍 _ De retour Cyril! On en étais au jazz-fusion japonais, Beck et Gorillaz, l'étron de Slayer et la Bossa Nova. C'est parti, dans le désorde! J'ai vraiment une bonne relation avec la Bossa Nova, au point d'aliéner mon entourage. C'est un genre tellement polyvalent; tu veux lock in sur la job? Bossa Nova. Tu veux une ambiance relax pour souper en famille? Bossa Nova. Tu veux viber sur la plage ou autour d'un feu de camp? Bossa Nova. C'est le remède miracle! Contrairement à Reign In Blood de Slayer. J'ai été curieux, pis j'ai été voir ta critique, j'ai été surpris de voir un 3/5. Après l'avoir lu, je comprends que t'avais une approche beaucoup plus objective que la mienne, mais je me demandais en tant que critique musical combien de subjectivité tu peux injecter dans tes reviews? Ce que j'aime le plus de Demon Days et Plastic Beach, c'est la diversité de styles et d'artistes invités qui, en plus d'un univers animé vraiment cool, crée un patchwork d'album ultra intéressant, tout en restant assez accessible pour un gars qui a trippe pas beaucoup sur le Hip-hop. Pis en plus, pour un fan de Blur, tu retrouves une subtile fragrance du groupe qui plane sur certaine tracks, principalement sur Demon Days. Mais Beck rocks, ça c'est sûr! Je t'invite fortement à plonger dans le jazz-fusion et le funk japonais si tu te sens déprimer ou tu veux lancer un party en feu, ça marche de mon bord! Précision: My beloved n'est pas un band, mais plutôt une marque d'affection pour l'album Flying Beagle d'Himiko Kikuchi, que je considère fortement à rajouter à la user list. Il y a de quoi dans Jamiroquai qui m'accroche fortement depuis 1 an, genre je peux pas passer une semaine sans lancer un de leur album. Ce qui aide, c'est qu'au Québec, à part Virtual Insanity, le band roule zéro sur les radios commerciales. J'étais aussi pas né quand ils étaient au top des charts, ce qui doit aider! Je comprend vraiment pas pourquoi Gentle Giant n'a pas pogné plus que ça! C'est peut-être un trop jazzy pour les Prog Heads? Mystère! Ok, je devrais finir demain, il y a de plus en plus de sujet à aborder!

Expected better. There are a couple of classic tracks but a lot is pedestrian.

Wikipedia quoted a source that said Deep Purple was “part of the Holy Trinity of proto-metal” with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. What a grievous insult to those bands. Deep Purple are dull and derivative; “Smoke On the Water” likely inspired Spinal Tap.

tipična rokačina. niš posebno, al niš loše

Highway star is such a great opening track Drum solo intro on “Pictures of Home” goes so hard Why didn’t I know that Smoke on The Water had a really good bass line??? Also I really like the mix! Each instruments’ role is super clear Long live heavy metal \m/

Eepy. Boring. Sorry nareez. ONE

mais um clássico, muito bom

So so pretty good - hit or miss. Some solos are great like on Highway Star. Doesn’t feel close to LED Zeppelin or Black Sabbath though.

Gotta be honest it’s just blues rock that goes on too long. I find it dull and not very exciting. Thankfully it’s only 37 minutes long.

Good, not great.

Listenable.

Did this band inspire Spinal Tap?

I only really know Smoke on the Water and Highway Star. Both are so famous that it’s hard to judge them objectively, but the other tracks — while cool — somehow feel dated to me. The album is only about 30 minutes long, yet it feels longer for some reason. I don’t get that same old-fashioned feeling from Zeppelin from the same era, nor do their albums feel long. Maybe if I’d been around back then, I would’ve been really into this.

This was pretty meh for me…sloppy classic rock. But I love that song hush.

Smoke on the water is so boring. Give me highway star and lazy

Had low/mid expectations of dreary dad rock but this is a proper album. Sounds great with some serious riffage and soloing. Not fantastic for every minute, but an enjoyable listen.

This ripped just as much as I wanted it to

Who are these people and why is this my new favourite thing?

Classic Rock at its finest. Overblown guitar solos that seem to take 10 minutes, lyrics about Cars, Girls & Excess. Perfect. And of course the chords that every beginner guitarist learns in Smoke on the Water. Absolute must listen.

Entra bien deep

75/100. Smoke on the Water does most of the heavy lifting here, a track so massive it can sometimes overshadow the rest of the album. Decently good, but not all of it hits the same legendary heights.

Groovy dad rock

Good ol' fashioned dirty bluesy hard rock.

I know smoke on the water, but didn’t recognize any other songs..they’re ok

Not bad

A healthy dose of rock without too much of the flash or ostensible shenanigans I usually hate from this genre. ✨

A meh album. Nothing special about it.

Ok, so this surprised me. All I had ever heard of deep purple before was smoke on the water, but this album shreds. Will definitely be digging into their back catalogue.

It's funny, as a fan of noise and punk rock, dynamics in music is usually not a necessity for me. I can listen to the Ramones and their singular tempo for hours. But as much as this rocks, the consistent caterwauling, organ and guitar noodling just condensed into one dull roar of post-hippie noise. It's impressive considering the year this was released, but not something I would have a lot of interest in listening to again.

I think I wanted to like this more than I did. It’s fine, but not more than that for me. The Smoke On The Water riff still rips. Favorite songs were Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, and Space Truckin’.

Eh? Cool? I guess?

Rock Band Material

Classic in every way. Top of the genre. At least 4 songs still live gems. Vocal never squeaks big high voice. Guitars bass drums keyboards all in top 5 all working together. Song variety.

Turn it up loud!

I can tell it's good music, but it's not my kind of music.

Decent album - a bit of head banging rock combined with white guy funk

It was alright, nice electric guitar

Apparently I've been sleeping on Deep Purple. This is just pure high energy fun. Highlights: Highway Star and Never Before, but every song was fantastic.

I was thinking from the start that this sounded exactly like something out of school of rock - then smoke on the water came on Opening track a banger prolly my favorite Even for someone that doesn't listen to rock this album is real good B tier

the type of dad rock i can really get down with. bangin' riffs. and a few fun solos in there along the way. the side openers are iconic for good reason even if they've been drilled into the ground a bit by overplay deserves to be one of the 1001? for Smoke on the Water alone, sure

5/5 some og heavy metal own on vinyl

It honestly doesn't matter how old you are, how old this band is, what happens to the world, culture, society, or anything else; there will always be one universal truth about music...Smoke on the Water is the coolest fucking song ever written.

If the aliens came down and I was tasked with explaining what "rock & roll" was to them, I'd throw on this album and watch as Highway Star melted their extraterrestrial minds—and that's just the first track!

YES An album made by musicians who are all top-tier on their instruments, wailing away and creating fantastic music. COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! LET'S GO SPACE TRUCKIN'!

Rien de plus à dire que le précédent album, encore pas mal de morceaux variés, avec des solos de zinzin (Lazy, Highway star) et le mythique Smoke on the water. Une vibe un peu plus rock voire border blues par moments par rapport à l'autre album.

Je préférais l’autre

J'ai oublié de noter mon commentaire mais dans mes souvenirs c'était plutôt ok? 3/5

This album was about right for my mood this morning, which gives it extra points.

Not a fan. Classic Rock really doesn't do it for me

Good stuff, but not really my stuff

Solid hard rock entry. I enjoyed this one more than their debut. Smoke on the Water, Never Before, and Highway Star are the standout tracks.

3/6

Dad rock but not in an enjoyable way. Hope some goateed man in a weird fish t shirt somewhere gets some enjoyment out of it

Golden classic!

Classic Heavy Rock!!

It has "Smoke on the Water", n'uff said.

A proper rocker!

The 3rd album of one of the most amazing, wonderful and brilliant three-album run in the music history "Machine Head" is an absolute classic hard rock album. The band was on fire! The synergy is extraordinary, everything fits perfectly: Lord's magical keys, Blackmore's delightful riffs and solos, Glover's perfection and Paige's precision and Gillan's golden voice! Favourites: Highway Star, Lazy, Space Truckin', Never Before, Maybe I'm a Leo, Pictures of Home and Smoke On The Water (yeah got tired of this song even though it is a classic). Magnificent album.

Think of Deep Purple, you think of Smoke on the Water, and that mighty guitar riff is right in the middle of this album. Never Before and When A Blind Man Cries might be even better songs. Beyond these songs, Space Truckin' is a bit Spinal Tappish and the other tracks rely to much on guitar solos and they don't really float my boat.

legendary

Smoke on the Water is an all time top 100 guitar riff, the song is pretty good too. Highway Star is fine. It's a good background music album for a house party with a bunch of old ex-hippies like me.

Great album it starts and ends with a perfect song, highway star intense and frantic, WABMC slow and deep. Awesome guitar all the way, classic SOTW in the middle. At least a 4,5/5.

An absolute classic. Great listen.

Fun

One of the greatest heavy songs and a lot of other stuff.

Lots of the same but the same was fine

Det er faktisk meget sjovt at lytte til. Jeg kommer nok ikke tilbage til dette så meget, men der er nogle meget fede rocknumre, med udvidede soloer, og selvfølgelig og guitar-hero klassikere "Smoke on the Water" som jo er fed at høre i en udgave, der ikke opføres af en person der lige er begyndt at spille elektrisk guitar, eller måske ikke er begyndt men bare har lært den ene del. Så det føles som en klassiker, det er sjovt at høre, men ikke nødvendigvis noget der virkelig får mig op af stolen! 3.5/5

70s hard rock. Recorded in Montreux. Smoke on the Water is about studio burning down in Montreux. Decent rock.

Classic sound. Fun. Will have to revisit.

I, of course, knew Smoke on the Water. I didn’t like this album. It was not for me.

Not for me.

Butt rock.

Great and memorable guitar riffs and solos throughout, very good album

a classic, timeless rock album with great range across the genre. 🤘

Banger.

Great guitar, enjoyable singing, and a great 70's rock album. Its not something I will go back to, but for a one time listen its doing a really good job. 4/5.

Another classic. Didn't know this is where "Smoke on the Water" came from, but now I do. Only heard it 1000 times...

Love it

The Smoke on the Water riff is like the first cool thing you learn when learning any instrument, hearing it sends my ass down the alice in wonderland rabbit hole to time travel back to learning the piano. The album is also fire.

HOOOLY

Por que toda capa do Deep Purple é tão feia? Meu segundo disco deles da lista, e o primeiro foi uma surpresa agradável de uma banda que eu sempre subestimei. Esse disco tem Highway Star, e do enorme catálogo de canções de Rock saturadas em bares mesquinhos e rádios esdrúxulas, essa é uma das mais agradáveis e memoráveis. A grosso modo, esse grupo continua me impressionando toda vez que vou mais fundo no trabalho deles. Esse disco especialmente mostra faixas com progressões fantásticas, sons errantes que vagam por paisagens incríveis. Toda canção aqui tem pelo menos um elemento que me agrada imensamente. Uma sonoridade muito interessante e requintada conseguindo se alojar confortavelmente dentro dos confins do Rock clássico é louvável. Guitarras foda. Tecladinho lindinho. Fumaça na água e fogo no céu. 5/5

rock n roll motherfucker

Natuurlijk kende ik smoke on the water, maar vond de rest eigenlijk ook wel best lekker klinken! Rock on freaky bro

SPACE TRUCKIN'!!!!!

ROCK N'ROLL RACING!! Plein de bonne démesure. On entend souvent l'expression "musique de drogué". Ici c'est plutôt musique d'alcoolique.

Two all time rock classics on one album and the rest fits well

Bro, it was alright. I feel like this would have been more impactful if I was alive when it came out.

Good 70s hard rock

Overall: 8/10 This album opens with such a huge banger that the next couple of songs didn't leave much of an impression on me. With that being said, the second half is a masterpiece. The guitar work is what impresses me the most, but I also love that organ. It adds such an interesting flavour to their music. I think more hard rock bands should include organ in their music. Fav Song: Highway Star

A nice album with some big hits. Its pretty short and good enough for some hard rock but I aint that all impressed.

Pretty good. They went to a lot of genres that I wasn't expecting. Highway Star smoke on the water are obviously a ton of fun

Maybe I’m a Leo, but Never Before have I been Space Truckin’ with an album like this.

At last, an actual rock album rather than jazz. C’mon let’s go Space Truckin’

per wikipedia, the album is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time. The method for recording (trying to find a non-studio space to better replicate the feel of their live shows) creates an epic backdrop for this heavy metal album with unreal vocal range. A classic for sure that ranges from the fast paced Highway Star with the fun organ solo to the blues inspired Maybe I'm a Leo to every guitarists first chord progression in Smoke on the Water, this album feels a lot more authentic and fun than some of their later albums.

Smoke on the water is pretty good, everything else is just Rock

Robotic brain.

An absolute classic. I just love deep purple, hits and deep cuts are always great.

For lenge siden lærte jeg at Sabbath, Purple, og Zeppelin var de tre store i britisk hard rock. Jeg tok dette for god fisk, men i ettertid har jeg begynt å stille spørsmål til hvem som fant på denne treenigheten. Spør du meg, passer ikke Zeppelin inn. Likevel har jeg hørt mer på Zeppelin enn jeg har Purple, til tross for at pappa var en større Purple-fan enn Zepplin- eller Sabbath-fan (dog holder han en knapp på Uriah Heep, som egentlig er litt based, selv om det kanskje er "feil"). Poenget er at jeg har gjort Purple en disservice, fordi de i stor grad lager bedre musikk enn Zeppelin, som kanskje er tidenes mest overrated band (vi kommer tilbake til det når IV står for døren). Dog er de ikke like bra som Sabbath, men regner ikke med at det utsagnet skaper noen større kontroverser. Så ja, jeg er ikke så kjent med DP, har snurra denne på vinyl noen ganger (takk til pappas platesamling), og streamet In Rock fordi Child in Time er tidenes beste låt (hyperbole, men sant fra et gitt pov), og det er mye snadder, men ikke en perfekt skive på noen måte. Highway Star er Highway Star, nuff said, men imellom den og Lazy vakler det litt. Maybe I'm a Leo feks. har ett rolig riff som er kult, men låta blir på en måte designert bakgrunnen. Pictures of Home er til gjengjeld dritbra, underrated. Never Before? Enda et spor som bare kommer og går igjen. Helt greit. Smoke on the Water er en låt det er umulig å si noe fornuftig om da dens ry møter subjektet lenge før det er i stand til å gjøre en smaksdom som ikke baserer seg på hvor forsmeltet riffet er i populærkulturen. Jeg kan si så mye som at da jeg først hørte riffet, synes jeg det var dritkult. Når jeg hører det i dag, synes jeg det er ganske tamt. Er det låtas skyld, eller er det fordi jeg (og andre) har spilt det ihjel på gitar fordi det er teknisk lett? Higway Star, Pictures of Home, Lazy, Space Truckin' er en perfekt EP.

Jeg har hørt denne plata så mange ganger at jeg derfor valgte å høre på 2024-miksen, som var ny for meg. Det var et godt valg, for plata er tatt inn i vår headset-kultur og til og med utspilte Smoke on the Water låter grommere og friskere enn før. Dette er Deep i toppform og med den desidert beste besetningen. Selv om jeg er veldig glad i både In Rock og Fireball er det nok Machine Head som har jevnest kvalitet. Jeg er nok biased etter så mange år med å eksponering for denne plata, men det kan vi vel tillate oss å være gjennom 1001 musikkanmeldelser.

Deep purple lager selvfølgelig kul rock, men dette blir litt for "ballete" for meg. Dette albumet falller også mellom stolene til bedre band. Led Zepplin gjorde hard rock bedre Grand Funk Railroad gjorde funky rock bedre Iron butterfly gjorde prograck bedre Black sabbath gjorde blues/metal bedre Den glimrer til med noen virkelig kule øyeblikk noen ganger. Det er helt greit. Men ikke særlig mer. "Lazy" er et høydepunkt

old school rock & roll, can't be beat.

Guter hausgemachter Rock. I like!

It's alright. Not really my jam.

My favorite Deep Purple album. Listened to the cassette many times in my car when it came out in '72, my senior year of high school. Highway Star, Smoke On the Water, Space Truckin' ... A classic.

Old school hard rock

these guys rock

highway star

Despite being from Englnd, it sounds very much as early southern rock. Bluesy. Good enough

Another masterpiece, from top to bottom. One of the greatest of all time.

Real good fun doesn't overstay it's welcome

Nice. Some of the songs, for me, are too meandering, but when they rock, they ROCK. I like it.

Bombastic, boring, uninspired

Much more blues than I expected. Lazy is a great track.

Solid album highlighted by Smoke on the Water. I enjoyed the rest of the album and felt like it had a cohesive early metal sound, but some songs lacked an oomph and overstayed their welcome a bit in my opinion. Even so, I debated giving this album a 4, but I think a 3 is more representative of my feelings.

Fairly crap

Definitely Deep Purple's best work. The memorable guitar riffs, the unforgettable organ solos--this album just oozes cool. Favorite tracks: Highway Star, Lazy

Largely not my thing--way too many long, long solos. And the lyrics were on occasion hilariously over the top--I think, unfortunately, unintentionally. "I'm alone here/with emptiness, eagles and snow." I...what...eagles?!? BUT Space Truckin' is lively and fun and exactly as goofy as you would expect a song called Space Truckin'"to be. And Smoke on the Water just inarguably SLAPS still. (Part of this is probably nostalgia because my high school marching band did a kickass Smoke on the Water. But they're my ratings, I'm allowed nostalgia bias. And it really does slap.)

I’ve heard parts of this many times over the years, but never the full album. Rockin stuff and you can definitely see how it influenced countless other prog rock/metal bands. Love the low end sound created by the bass paired with the fuzzed out organ.

Great guitar riffs and Hammond wizardry. Smoke on the water an all time belter.

This rocks, great performances all round. Everyone earns their place here and it doesn’t outstay it's welcome or become too indulgent. And I bloody love a Hammond organ

A nice start to this new album a day thing, I had heard high way star and smoke on the water before though it was a different feeling to hear it in its whole on the album, a nice start 3 out of 5 stars!

Шедевр! Что ни песня, то хит. Слушаешь и наслаждаешься буквально каждым звуком. 10 из 10.

Челы создали классику рока

Ну прикольный рок такой. Чем-то Квин напоминает, но день волнительный - плохо слушал

Определенно интересный опыт. Альбом захватывает уже с первой песни, которую я бы назвал лучшей из всего альбома, даже несмотря на всеми известный хит Smoke on the water. Изначально ожидал чего-то более тяжелого, а в итоге получил что-то больше похожее на блюз с участием губной гармошки и синтов. Но это ни в коем случае не плохо, только дополняет общую картину альбома. В некоторых моментах треки были скучными и затяжными в том числе из-за не особо захватывающего текста песен, но были те, от которых коленки двигались в ритм на протяжении всей длины. Не сказал бы, что слушал бы этот альбом на постоянной основе, как музыка для целенаправленного прослушивания, но как что-то для фона - очень даже.

I’ve listened countless times Classic Not much more to say

A blast from the past. One of my first albums. Made in Japan was better.

Machine Head is Deep Purple at their absolute peak, an album that defines heavy rock with both power and precision. From the immortal riff of “Smoke on the Water” to the relentless drive of “Highway Star,” the record barely lets up, each track showing off the band’s chemistry and virtuosity. Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar and Jon Lord’s organ duel and weave around each other perfectly, while Ian Gillan’s vocals soar over the top with grit and force. What makes it so enduring is that balance between muscle and melody. Songs like “Lazy” stretch out into jams without losing momentum, and “Space Truckin’” closes the record with the same energy it started with, almost daring you to catch your breath. Machine Head is one of those rare albums where every track earns its place, a blueprint for hard rock and metal that still sounds vital today.

Brilliant

Heavy solid rock. A bit stodgy at times

Onhan tässä kova meno ja hyvää settiä. 🤘🏼

Onhan se kova lätty.

Top track: Pictures Of Home

Meh

Ahh, well. You know, sometimes listening to one of the most famous hard rock albums of the 70s is just a plain old hoot.

Хороший, крепкий такой рокерский альбом. Прям классика и база, ни убавить, ни прибавить. Смоук он зе вотер естественно присутствует, че ещё надо то? Прям ну хард рок такой, базированный. Уважаю эту группу.

Smoke in the water is great. Loved learning the story behind it

I'm just copying and pasting the review from a few days ago when I got a different Deep Purple album. It fits. I knew some of their stuff but never did a deep dive on them before. Deep Purple is one of those bands that every band after points to and goes "I was influenced by..." This album is history, you can hear other bands listening to this and trying their version of it. You get a sense of what is to come. Personally I enjoyed the bass on this album. Sure it's fairly simple compared to bands today but damn you can't help but go, "Damn man." Good stuff. I want to listen to it a few times to really grasp what is here.

Super good time. Rockers rocking.

😁

Classic ROCK!

An OK album with an all-time banger "Smoke on the Water" included.

I actually quite liked it, better than I remember.

Decent enough. Enjoyed the album more as it went on. The riff for Smoke on The Water isn't that good but well done to them regardless. Best Track - Lazy

More like sleep purple

Orgelfest.

On my radar for a long time but first experience with full album. It’s great - will come back.

Yeah, pretty good. Some great instrumentals. First album I've heard by Deep Purple. Apparently the original venue they wanted to record this in got burned down like right before the recording. By Frank Zappa. LOL!

6/10 They heavy chords get me excited, then they go into standard rock fair. So much potential unused makes me irrationally angry, so they get a 3. 9-12-2025

Fine mostly indistinguishable guitar riffs.

grew up listening to deep purple. the musicianship is so damn good

Probably should’ve been three stars, but the following pushed it up: 1) The 1994 sega mega drive game ‘Rock n Roll Racing’ had a 16 bit version of Highway Star, complete with the extended solo (pure genius). The solo was like an Easter egg. One only heard it when the race was well and truely over, and you were driving around the track backwards to collect the remaining bonus items. 2) The local speedway - Woodford Glen - had a local broadcast ad with Smoke on the Water blaring way too loud (also genius). It wasn’t until high school that I realised the song was not named Woodford Glen

Deep Purple at their peak—tight, energetic, and brimming with confidence. From the blistering opener “Highway Star” to the immortal riff of “Smoke on the Water,” the album is a masterclass in hard rock. The band’s chemistry is undeniable, especially in the way Jon Lord’s organ and Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar weave around each other with both aggression and finesse.

Classic. Love me a bit of Hammond Organ and nobody does it like Jon Lord. Enjoyed hearing this again after a long long time.

Smoke in the water is one of the best songs of this era, but the rest of the album is ok

Total dad rock. Solid, but nothing felt unique. Obviously Smoke on the Water slaps.

Easily their greatest recording

Doesn't go too far beyond being "just another '70s hard rock album" in my mind, but they were relatively early to their craft, it's a decent-sounding one and there were some moments that engaged me, Space Truckin' was fun

During the first song I thought, “Hmm.. this sounds like the band who does ‘Smoke on the Water’.” I’ll be damned if a few minutes later I was right.

(83/100)

I honestly can't complain, most of the tracks here are pretty great. Maybe one or two sleepers on here but this was quality listening material. An above average hard rock album if I'd ever heard. Top 4: Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, Space Truckin' , and When A Blind Man Cries 3.50-3.75/5

Great great great. Listened to it twice. They really go for it full stop. Not an everyday listen but when you are in the mood this will hit.

Doesn't quite do it for me. Highway star is cool; liked lazy a lot. I just don't get anything from this album that I can't get from other places.

I went into this thinking it was going to be dull paint-by-numbers heavy rock. I was pleasantly surprised to find I actually enjoyed it. The guitar lines were fun, the vocals were excellent, and you could tell the band were just having a blast putting this together. Smoke On The Water is actually a pretty good song as well, despite my initial reservations.

Excellent album.

Puts the "classic" in "classical rock", lmao. Very good record, contemporary, awesome set list with a few certified CLASSICS. I would rank it as an essential listen for Deep Purple fans, obvisously, but also as a fan of rock and classic rock as a whole. Very "cool" sounding and fits a few different moods. Overall, a banger of an album, especially as a rock music fan. I mean, "Highway Star" as an opener, "Smoke on the Water" AND "Lazy" on the same album? C'mon now...

I waffled between three and four stars here. On one hand, I do really love smoke on the water, and the grinding sound of early metal in general. On the other, the actual songwriting on this album is really boring, and I can’t see it standing out enough that I would bother listening to it again in its entirety.

Moro moro :D nyt oli sellanen jolle pitää antaa kaikki viis tähteä. Ei ollu yhtään huonoa biisiä levyllä. Tykkäsin ja ois saanu olla pidempi levy.

”Kenen faija pääs jukeboksille?” Klassikkolevy

Kyseessä legendaarinen klassikko hevilevy, joka sisältää yhden historian tunnetuimmista ja soitetuimmista kappaleista. Myös Highway Star erittäin tunnettu kappale, joten tämä albumi kuuluu erityisesti tälle "kuuntele nämä albumit ennen kuin kuolet" -listalle. Koko albumia en ole aiemmin kokonaan kuunnellutkaan, joten otin erittäin tyytyväisenä tämän kuuntelun vastaan. Albumi on täynnä kohtuu tasaisesti vahvoja hevibiisejä, eikä heikkoja osia löydy. Kuitenkin pysyen riittävän monipuolisena, ettei käy tylsäksi. Tämän lisäksi levyn ollessa näin legendaarinen, on vitonen ainoa mahdollinen arvio tälle.

Tosi vahvaa blues rock rämpyttelyä. Eka albumi tästä listasta mikä vei vahvasti ajatukset johonkin tiettyyn paikkaan ja tunteeseen. Ja sehän se vasta hienoa onkin, kun musiikilla sellainen vaikutus. En oo ikinä albumia kokonaisuudessaan kuunnellut, mutta hitto että tykkäsin. When a Blind Man Cries ihan täydellinen lopetus albumille ja löytää kyllä tien moneen omaan soittolistaan. Itellä ollu aina ihan väärä kuva Deep Purplesta. En tiennytkään että on näin bluesia vai onko se vaan tää levy??

Tältä levyltä löytyi siis tuhansien kitaristien ensimmäinen opeteltu riffi! Ei ollut tuttu albumi ja näiden musiikkiakaan ei ole tullut hirveästi kulutettua. Siksi yllätti tietynlainen letkeys sulautuneena taidokkaasti soitettuun rokkiin, joka oli positiivinen yllätys. Tätä viitsisi kuunnella joskus toistekin!

Ihan kivaa kepitystä, mutta pari bängeriä enemmän olisi kaivannut.

Deeppi Purple on näitä rajumman rokin alkupään parhaita pändejä ja tää levy taas on omaan mieleen ehkä paras heijän tekeleistään. Ei heikkoja kohtia ja vaikuttimet kantaa vuoskymmenten päähän. Selkee vintska.

Ihan toimiva, joskaan ei tajuntaa räjäyttävä

Letkeää old school rokkia. Kyllähän tätä kuuntelisi enemmänkin.

Klassikko on ja yhä pirun kova.

Meh, pari miellyttävää kipaletta ja muita en muistakaan

No onhan tää ny kova levy! Highway Star aloitusraitana kyllä ihan täydellinen, antaa hienosti suunnan koko levylle. Jon Lordin ilotulitusta kyllä useammassakin biisissä, painaa iloisesti Hammondilla menemään. Joskus ajattelin että Smoke on the Water on aika kusenpolttama biisi, mutta sitten otin siihenkin uuden kulman. Jätin sen (toki erinomaisen) kitarariffin taustalle, ja keskityin discorumpuihin, Hammondiin ja sanoituksiin, niin sitäkin on taas pystynyt kuuntelemaan. Jos en Bookendsille antanut kuin neljä tähteä, niin ei tämäkään kyllä viiden tähden lätty ole, mutta ehdottoman vahvat neljä tähteä. Oikeastaan vasta viimeinen biisi When a Blind Man Cries on semmoinen mitä ei kauheasti jaksa kuunnella, muuten kyllä kaikki biisit ihan täyttä timanttia.

Awesome heavy metal! Some blues-leaning hard rock too. Big hooks, heavy riffs, and a soaring energy. Epic, fun music all around. The opening track “Highway Star” is incredible. The solos are killer! "Smoke on the Water" is a classic song and actually one that I haven't gotten sick of despite hearing it countless times on the radio. In fact, the more I hear of Deep Purple, the more I appreciate the song. This is a killer album front-to-back. I’d love to play it again nice and loud and rock out.

Deep Purple are such an interesting case of a band when it comes to popularity. "Smoke On The Water" is such a hugely famous track that I bet if you asked a bunch of random non-rock fans if they knew the song they would say "yes" but they wouldn't know the name of the band that wrote it. Meanwhile, Deep Purple have written some really solid tunes outside of just that one, and we are lucky to get their arguably second best song - "Highway Star" on this record as well. "Highway Star" is a classic rock staple. It's got incredibly impressive musicianship throughout, it's got great energy, it rips, and it's got a seriously strong memorable hook with "Nobody gonna take my car I'm gonna race it to the ground Nobody gonna beat my car It's gonna break the speed of sound". I couldn't imagine being a teenager in the 70's and hearing this song as the first track on this album. I would have called every radio station on earth and begged them to play it over and over while I sped around town. "Smoke on the Water" is famously one of the most learned riffs of all time... maybe even considered mandatory for rock guitarists, or guitarists in general. It's perfect in it's simplicity, it's amazingly catchy, and it's hard rockin'. There's really not much else to add or remove from it. It's simply a perfect rock and roll riff. And amazingly, the rest of the track supports it wonderfully and doesn't hurt it in any way. I also adore "Space Truckin'", the final track. The energy is amazing- specially for a final song. I've been obsessed with octave pedals on guitars lately too and this one cruuushes you with those low octaves. Also, hell yea brother, a drum solo! This was a hard rate for me at first. I wanted to give it a 4, but after really thinking about it it's really a 5/5 album for me. It has the most famous rock guitar riff ever, it's got a huge classic rock staple in "Highway Star", and the rest of the album doesn't have any weak points. It's not a "good" album that has two standout tracks. It's a great album that has two of the best classic rock songs ever written.

Nei.

This album is beautifully heavy. A classic

Liked more than I thought I would, especially the bluesy noodly bits. 3/5

Awesome album, head banger for sure.

1972 Is this an important genre defining album? Are there some banging tracks? Are there some questionable lyrics? Does it sounds dated? Does Zappa get a name check? Have all aspiring bass players practiced Smoke On The Water during the early days of learning? Is it classic Dad rock? The answers is 'yes' to all of the above... Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ Classic ★★★☆☆ (6/10)

-went into this expecting to not particularly enjoy it as i was not huge on Deep Purple In Rock. but it goes so fucking hard i was immediately captivated and won over -fucking love the deep nasty guitar it’s sooo good. officially not writing Deep Purple off any longer -Favorites are Smoke On The Water and Lazy

Suberb. Just a fantastic iconic sound. It’s the sound of rock n roll in its best form from the 70s.

Classic Dad Rock

O retrouso de highway star esta guai (o xiro harmónico) pero vaia puta brasa os solos

One of the best early heavy metal records. Even though Deep Purple had moved on to more “standard” hard rock, their prog rock roots are still very clear with their musicianship. Ian Gillan may just be my favorite rock singer ever, he can do amazing things with his voice. The material is very strong and is full of energetic hard rockers. 5/5

Can I give five stars to Ritchie Blackmore specifically? No? Fine, I suppose the whole '72 lineup can share.

Of historical interest only.

Highway Star and Space Truckin' are all time greats.