Last Updated on 25 February 2026 by Massimo M.
Machine head is Deep Purple’s sixth studio album.
It is certainly their most famous album together with the contemporary live album Made In Japan.
Despite this, the album was processed rather quickly, in fact the band entered the studio at the end of December 1971 and in March 1972 the album was already ready to be released.
Musically, in this new album the band leaves aside the power of In Rock and the experimentalism that had characterized Fireball and focuses on the composition of songs with great appeal. And in fact he succeeds given that, in the list of songs contained in Machine Head, practically every piece has become a classic of Deep Purple’s production.
The particular care dedicated to the composition of the songs for this vinyl is also demonstrated by some biographical notes of the band members. Blackmore, for example, confirmed that the chord progression for the solos in Highway Star was inspired by music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is known however that the song was initially composed by Blackmore himself with the help of Ian Gillan on a bus transfer trip taken during the Fireball tour.
The true star of the album is undoubtedly Deep Purple’s most famous song, Smoke on the water.
The story of how this famous song was born is part of the legends of rock and deserves to be remembered. While Deep Purple were at the Casino in the city of Montreux to record Machine Head, Frank Zappa’s group held a concert in that same casino.
During this concert someone lit a flare which caused a large part of the structure to catch fire. At a certain point, Glover looking out the window saw the smoke from the fire dispersing on the surface of the lake and the red flashes of the sunset impregnating the sky, literally Smoke on the water and fire in the sky.
Also due to this accident, Deep Purple could no longer record in the casino and therefore, after renting the Grand Hotel, they recorded the entire album using the Rolling Stone Mobile (the Rolling Stones recording van) in a soundproofed corridor with mattresses.
Just six days after its release the album reached number one in the UK sales charts and remained there for two weeks. Then in May it reappeared in the charts and remained there for several weeks.
In the USA the album reached seventh place and remained in the charts for two years!
In March 2024, Deep Purple released a remixed version of Machine Head.
The new mix was curated by
Dweezil Zappa, son of Frank, and it is most likely no coincidence that the mix of the album containing Smoke on the water was entrusted to him.
This new release called “Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition” will collect, in different formats, new mixes and unreleased live recordings.
Original vinyl Title track (Purple Records TPSA 7504 UK / Warner Bros. Records BSK 3100 USA)
SIDE A
Highway Star 6:05
Maybe I’m A Leo 4:51
Pictures Of Home 5:03
Never Before 3:56
SIDE B
Smoke On The Water 5:40
Lazy 7:19
Space Truckin’ 4:31
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