Machine Head (album)

Machine Head
Studio album by
Deep Purple
Released30 March 1972[1]
Recorded6–21 December 1971
StudioGrand Hotel (Montreux, Switzerland) with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
Genre
Length37:46
LabelPurple
ProducerDeep Purple
Deep Purple chronology
Fireball
(1971) 		Machine Head
(1972) 		Made in Japan
(1972)
Singles from Machine Head
  1. "Never Before"
    Released: March 1972
  2. "Lazy"
    Released: May 1972 (US)[2]
  3. "Highway Star"
    Released: September 1972 (US)[2][3]
  4. "Smoke on the Water"
    Released: May 1973
Alternative cover
25th anniversary CD slipcase

Machine Head is the sixth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded in December 1971 in Montreux, Switzerland, and released on 30 March 1972, by Purple Records. It is the band's third album to feature the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Previous recording sessions had been slotted into the group's gigging schedule. This time, 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 used the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio for recording and block-booked the Montreux Casino as a venue, but during a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention concert immediately before the sessions, the casino burned to the ground after an audience member fired a flare gun into the ceiling. 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".

Machine Head became Deep Purple's most commercially successful album, topping the charts in several countries, including the UK. Influential in the development of heavy metal, it continues to be viewed favourably by music critics and has been reissued several times. It is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time.

  1. ^ "Record Mirror dated 18 March 1972" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b Popoff, Martin (2016). The Deep Purple Family (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-908724-42-7.
  3. ^ "Deep Purple singles". Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2021.