Product Description
Rare Early Japanese Pressing Still In Top Condition! Heavy Grade Gatefold Cover Includes Tri-Fold Lyric Poster & Japanese Insert. Features “Highway Star”, “Smoke On The Water”, “Lazy”, “Space Truckin” & More ~ An All-Time Classic Deep Purple LP!
Condition – Vinyl: EXCELLENT! Couple of light surface marks, which do not affect play at all. Great sound quality ~ spectacular!!
Condition – Cover: EXCELLENT! Lyric insert has some age spots. Beautifully preserved for nearly 50 years!
Japanese vinyl pressings are highly sought after by audiophiles and collectors, due to their premium sound quality and beautifully presented packaging. The sonic quality of Japanese records is regarded as the best in the world. No wonder all the original Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab records were pressed in Japan! The covers are printed on better quality heavy stock paper too. Near Mint condition Japanese pressings from the ’70s are becoming scarcer ~ and therefore more collectable and valuable every year.
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitars
Ian Gillan – Lead Vocals
Roger Glover – Bass
Jon Lord – Keyboards
Ian Paice – Drums
Side 1:
Highway Star
Maybe I’m a Leo
Pictures of Home
Never Before
Side 2:
Smoke On The Water
Lazy
Space Truckin’
AMG –
One of the essential hard rock albums of all time, Machine Head contains the "mother of all guitar riffs”! Led Zeppelin's fourth album, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, and Deep Purple's Machine Head have stood the test of time as the Holy Trinity of English hard rock and heavy metal, serving as the fundamental blueprints followed by virtually every heavy rock & roll band since the early '70s. And, though it is probably the least celebrated of the three, Machine Head contains the "mother of all guitar riffs" -- and one of the first learned by every beginning guitarist -- in "Smoke on the Water." Inspired by real-life events in Montreux, Switzerland, where Deep Purple were recording the album when the Montreux Casino was burned to the ground during a Frank Zappa concert, neither the song, nor its timeless riff, should need any further description. However, Machine Head was anything but a one-trick pony, introducing the bona fide classic opener "Highway Star," which epitomized all of Deep Purple's intensity and versatility while featuring perhaps the greatest soloing duel ever between guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and organist Jon Lord. Also in top form was singer Ian Gillan, who crooned and exploded with amazing power and range throughout to establish himself once and for all as one of the finest voices of his generation, bar none. Yes, the plodding shuffle of "Maybe I'm a Leo" shows some signs of age, but punchy singles "Pictures of Home" and "Never Before" remain as vital as ever, displaying Purple at their melodic best. And finally, the spectacular "Space Truckin'" drove Machine Head home with yet another tremendous Blackmore riff, providing a fitting conclusion to one of the essential hard rock albums of all time.
Geoff –
‘Machine Head’ brought worldwide superstardom to Deep Purple, putting them at the pinnacle of seventies hard rock. Smokin’! The words "classic" and "rock" were invented for aptly describing the 'Machine Head' record. If you are partial to brilliantly performed guitar / keyboard rock, you simply must have this album in your collection. It’s essential! Originally released in 1972, 'Machine Head' features the most popular (Mk II) line-up of Deep Purple: Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. 'Machine Head' brought worldwide superstardom to Deep Purple, putting them at the pinnacle of seventies hard rock. After the success of 'In Rock' and 'Fireball' the band decided on a European location to record their next album. They chose the Casino in Montreux in Switzerland only to see it burn down the night before recording was due to begin. Out of the ashes of the Casino however, was to come their most memorable song and their most successful album ever. With smoke literally wafting over the water of Lake Geneva the band took up residence in The Grand Hotel and in the swiftly converted corridors and cupboards of the deserted hotel recorded the album that was to become their tour de force. Universally claimed as one of the most influential and successful hard rock masterpieces of the early seventies, 'Machine Head' is a true "Classic Album".