Deep Purple "Perfect Strangers (7'' Vinyl Single & Video, Holland, Polydor, 881 605-7)"

"Perfect Strangers" is a song by the British rock band Deep Purple. It is the title track of their 1984 comeback album Perfect Strangers. It was also released as the first single from the album in the UK.

It is one of the few Deep Purple compositions not to feature a guitar solo. Nevertheless, founding band member and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has called it his favorite Deep Purple song. The lyrics are inspired by the Elric books by Michael Moorcock.

As a single, it spent 3 weeks in the UK Singles charts from 26 January to 9 February 1985 peaking at No. 48, a modest performance as compared to the album as a whole which had peaked at No. 5 of the UK Album charts throughout November and December the previous year.

Dimmu Borgir on their album Abrahadabra as a bonus track.

Progressive metal band Dream Theater on their EP A Change of Seasons. Dream Theater also performed it live on a BBC Radio show with Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson singing the lead vocals. The band also performed it under the pseudonym Nightmare Cinema at interludes during their concerts when they would switch instruments.

Hard rock vocalist Jørn Lande on his solo album Unlocking the Past.

Finnish duo Timo Kotipelto and Jani Liimatainen during live performances and on their studio album Blackoustic.

American doom metal band Yob covered Perfect Strangers as a standalone single.

1980s glam metal band Vixen (band) performed the song as an interpolation between their song Rock Me included in their live album Live Fire (2018), a recording of their live performance in Chicago in 2017.

Deep Purple "Smoke On The Water (Single & Video)"

"Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, released on their 1972 studio album Machine Head. The song's lyrics are based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. It is considered the band's signature song and its guitar riff is considered to be one of the most iconic in rock history.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Smoke on the Water" number 434 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Total Guitar magazine ranked the song's riff number 4 on its "Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever" list, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 12 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks.

In 2017, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

"Smoke on the Water" is easily identified by its central theme, developed by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. It is a four-note blues scale melody in G minor, harmonised in parallel fourths. The riff, played on a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar by Blackmore, is later joined by hi-hat and distorted organ, then the rest of the drums, then electric bass parts before the start of Ian Gillan's vocal.

Blackmore later claimed that the main riff is an interpretation of the inversion of the main theme of Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven, and that "I owe him a lot of money".

Jon Lord doubles the guitar part on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall amp, creating a tone very similar to that of the guitar. Blackmore usually plays the main riff using a finger pluck.

On the eve of the recording session, a concert with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention was held in the Montreux casino's theatre. This was the theatre's final concert before the casino complex closed down for its annual winter renovations, which would allow Deep Purple to record there. At the beginning of Don Preston's synthesiser solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun towards the rattan-covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line. Although there were no major injuries, the resulting fire destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all the Mothers' equipment. The "smoke on the water" that became the title of the song (credited to bassist Roger Glover, who related how the title occurred to him when he woke from a dream a few days later) referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning casino as the members of Deep Purple watched from their hotel. Glover said that, "It was probably the biggest fire I'd ever seen up to that point and probably ever seen in my life. It was a huge building. I remember there was very little panic getting out, because it didn't seem like much of a fire at first. But, when it caught, it went up like a fireworks display." The "Funky Claude" running in and out is referring to Claude Nobs, the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival who helped some of the audience escape the fire. Swiss police named Zdeněk Špička, a Czechoslovak refugee living in Épalinges, as a suspect in the case, but he fled Switzerland shortly after.

Left with the expensive Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and no place to record, the band was forced to scout the town for another place to set up. One promising venue (found by Nobs) was a local theatre, the Pavilion, but soon after the band loaded in and started working/recording, neighbours took offence at the noise. The band was only able to lay down backing tracks for one song (based on Blackmore's riff and temporarily named "Title No.1"), before local police shut them down.

After about a week of searching, the band rented the nearly-empty Grand Hôtel de Territet and converted its hallways and stairwells into a makeshift studio, where they laid down most of the tracks for what would become their most commercially successful album, Machine Head (which is dedicated to Claude Nobs).

The only song from Machine Head not recorded entirely in the Grand Hotel was "Smoke on the Water" itself, which had been partly recorded during the abortive Pavilion session. Its lyrics were composed later, primarily by Gillan and based around Glover's title, and the vocals were recorded in the Grand Hotel.

Because of the incident and the exposure Montreux received when "Smoke on the Water" became an international hit, Deep Purple formed a lasting bond with the town. The song was honoured in Montreux by a sculpture along the lake shore (right next to the statue of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury on the concrete wall right below the Marché couvert) with the band's name, the song title, and the riff in musical notes. However, this monument has been removed and has not been there since at least 2017. The new casino in Montreux displays notes from the riff as decoration on its balustrade facing the gambling hall. The only other memorial in Montreux dedicated to the band's song is a small plaque placed outside the back entrance of the former Grand Hôtel de Territet, the building in whose hallways the album Machine Head was partially recorded.

On the Classic Albums episode about Machine Head, Blackmore claimed that friends of the band were not fans of the "Smoke on the Water" riff, which they thought too simplistic. Blackmore retorted by making comparisons to the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, which revolves around a similar four-note arrangement.

"The amazing thing with that song, and Ritchie's riff in particular," observed Ian Paice, "is that somebody hadn't done it before, because it's so gloriously simple and wonderfully satisfying."

The intro riff has been described as very similar to the intro of the bossa nova song "Maria Moita" composed by Carlos Lyra and Vinicius de Moraes in 1964, appearing in Lyra's album Pobre Menina Rica, and also recorded the same year by Nara Leão for her first album, Nara.

On March 3, 2024, to celebrate the Super Deluxe Edition of Machine Head, Deep Purple released its first official music video to "Smoke on the Water" after 52 years. The song was remixed by Dweezil Zappa, son of musician Frank Zappa, and the animated music video was directed by Dan Gibling and Luke McDonnell of Chiba Film.

"Smoke on the Water" was included on Machine Head, which was released in early 1972, but was not released as a single until a year later, in May 1973. ("Never Before" and "Highway Star" were the first singles issued from the album.) The band members have said that they did not expect the song to be a hit, but the single reached number 4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States during the summer of 1973, reached number 2 on the Canadian RPM charts, and propelled the album to the top 10 more than a year after its release. Live performances of the tune, featuring extended interplay between Blackmore's guitar and Jon Lord's Hammond organ, would become a centrepiece of Deep Purple's concerts, as in the live version found on the album Made in Japan. Warner Brothers included the live version of "Smoke on the Water" from Made in Japan as the B-side of the "Smoke on the Water" studio single.

Record World called it a "heavy thumper that never gives up."

The principal songwriters included the song within their subsequent solo ventures after Deep Purple had split up. Ian Gillan in particular performed a jazz-influenced version in early solo concerts. The band Gillan adopted a feedback-soaked approach, courtesy of Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme. The song was also featured live by Ritchie Blackmore's post-Deep Purple band Rainbow during their tours 1981–83, and again after Rainbow were resurrected briefly in the mid-1990s and for three European concerts in June 2016.

During Ian Gillan's stint with Black Sabbath in 1983, they performed "Smoke on the Water" as a regular repertoire number on encores during their only tour together.

Deep Purple "Speed King (Single & Video)"

"Speed King" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple, from their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. The song has been cited as an influence in the development of speed metal.

Although released as B-side to the "Black Night" single in the United Kingdom and many other countries, "Speed King" was released as a single in its own right in The Netherlands and Germany, ahead of the Deep Purple In Rock album.

"Speed King" was the first Deep Purple song to be written by vocalist Ian Gillan, who stated that before the lyrics were fully formed, the song's working title was "Kneel & Pray". The song reportedly developed from a bass riff by Glover, who was trying to emulate Jimi Hendrix' "Fire". Gillan developed the lyrics by writing down a mix of lines from Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry songs in the order that they came to mind. In an interview with Gillan, he stated: "The first things that came into my head were Chuck Berry and Little Richard words, so I just stole them."

The song has been cited as an influence on the development of speed metal. The song's aggressive guitar riffs, loud volume, and relatively fast tempo would later become some of the defining characteristics of speed metal and other subgenres of heavy metal.

Deep Purple "Fireball (Single & Video)"

"Fireball" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple, from the album of the same name. It was also released as the band's second single of 1971, and peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song is one of several based on Ian Gillan's real life experiences: "She was a complete mystery to me. This is another tale of unrequited love", he explained.

The song begins with the sound of an air conditioner being switched on, recorded by assistant engineer Mike Thorne. Roger Glover suggested to engineer Martin Birch that the sound of a machine starting up would be a good way to begin both the song and the album, but Birch could not think of anything available that would fit the purpose. Thorne suggested the sound of an air conditioning unit, and duly recorded it, to the band's delight. At the time the members of Deep Purple claimed that the sound was produced by a "special" synthesizer. A promo clip was made for the song, consisting of the band miming to the studio recording in front of a dancing audience.

The song features a rare instance of Ian Paice playing a double-bass drum, thus it often appeared as an encore in the band's live show so the crew would have time to add the extra bass drum to Paice's stage kit. With is fast tempo and rapid guitar picking, the song is often cited as one of the earliest influences in the later development of speed and thrash metal.

Deep Purple "Strange Kind Of Woman (Single & Video)"

"Strange Kind of Woman" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple that was originally released as a follow-up single after "Black Night" in early 1971. The song also became a hit, peaking at No. 8 on the UK chart and Germany, and No. 1 in Denmark. The 1996 remix by Roger Glover later appeared on the re-release of the band's 1971 album Fireball, while the original version can be found on various Deep Purple compilations. Although not part of the Fireball recording sessions, "Strange Kind of Woman" was included on the US and Canadian editions of the album, in lieu of the track "Demon's Eye" on the UK edition.

The B-side song, "I'm Alone", was later released on The Deep Purple Singles A's and B's as well as on the 25th anniversary reissue of Fireball.

The song was originally called "Prostitute". Vocalist Ian Gillan introduced the song on Deep Purple in Concert: "It was about a friend of ours who got mixed up with a very evil woman and it was a sad story. They got married in the end. And a few days after they got married, the lady died." In Wordography's section Gillan gives a slightly different version of the song's history:

I loved her in a strange post-adolescent-pre-adult way, but then so did quite a lot of other people. She loved them too and gave them good return for their money. I failed miserably when I tried to break her from the habit… she said it wasn't a habit, it was her life and what did I know anyway? I did get promoted from Wednesday morning trysts to Saturday evening dates (sort of). The fact is, this song is not about one woman… but a compilation of thrills and disappointments, and such a package can only be called Nancy. I grew up fast… the innocence died and, in the category… My Woman… all claims were relinquished.

When Deep Purple performed the song live, Gillan and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would engage in a call and response guitar-vocal duel in the middle. This would always end with an extremely long, high-pitched scream from Gillan before the band returned to playing the original song. An example can be heard on the live album, Made in Japan, recorded in 1972.

Deep Purple "A Fire In The Sky (3CDS, Japan, Rhino Records, WPCR-18081~3)"

A Fire In The Sky is a 3cds compilation album, released September 26th, 2017.

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Hell to Pay (radio edit) 05:12  
2. Vincent Price 04:48   
3. Wrong Man 04:54  
4. Rapture of the Deep 05:56
5. Sun Goes Down 04:11
6. Any Fule Kno That 04:30  
7. Sometimes I Feel like Screaming 07:31   
8. Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic 04:17  
9. The Battle Rages On 05:56  
10. King of Dreams 05:27  
11. Call of the Wild 04:37  
12. Bad Attitude (radio edit) 04:45
13. Knocking at Your Back Door 07:04  
14. Perfect Strangers 05:29  

Time:  01:14:37  

Disc 2

1. You Keep on Moving (single edit) 05:21   
2. Dealer (2010 Kevin Shirley Remix) 03:56  
3. Stormbringer 04:07
4. Soldier of Fortune 03:15   
5. Mistreated 07:28  
6. Might Just Take Your Life 04:39   
7. Burn (US single edit) 06:01   
8. Rat Bat Blue 05:26  
9. Woman from Tokyo (single edit) 05:51   
10. Space Truckin' 04:35  
11. Smoke on the Water 05:41  
12. When a Blind Man Cries 03:31  

Time:  59:51  

Disc 3

1. Highway Star 06:09  
2. Demon's Eye 05:21  
3. Fireball 03:24
4. Strange Kind of Woman 03:52  
5. Child in Time 10:17
6. Speed King (U.S. album edit) 04:21
7. Black Night (single version) 03:27  
8. Hallelujah 03:42  
9. Emmaretta (2012 Stereo Mix) 03:26  
10. The Bird Has Flown (Early Version - 2012 Stereo Mix) 03:04  
11. Wring That Neck (aka "Hard Road") (stereo mix) 05:13  
12. Kentucky Woman (Neil Diamond cover) (stereo mix) 04:44
13. Mandrake Root (stereo mix) 05:58
14. Hush (Billy Joe Royal cover) 04:12   

Time:  01:07:10  

Housed in gatefold with sticker

Deep Purple "Black Night (Single & Video)"

"Black Night" is a song by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, released as a single in June 1970. "Black Night" became a hit in August 1970 peaking at No. 1 on UK New Musical Express and Melody Maker charts, while reaching No. 2 on the UK singles chart, and remains Deep Purple's highest charting UK single. It also topped the chart in Switzerland, and is one of only two singles from the band to chart in Ireland, peaking at No. 4, thus making it the group's only Irish Top 10 hit. It was later included on the 25th anniversary version of their 1970 studio album, Deep Purple in Rock.

Once Deep Purple in Rock had been completed, EMI asked for a suitable single to be recorded to help promote the album. Though Roger Glover states that Ricky Nelson's 1962 hard rocking arrangement of the George Gershwin song "Summertime" was the basis for the Mk II Deep Purple single "Black Night", it is also similar to Blues Magoos's 1966 psychedelic hit song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet". In the BBC documentary Heavy Metal Britannia, keyboardist Jon Lord supports Glover's statement about the song's origin, stating "Black Night was nicked from the bass line in Ricky Nelson's Summertime" and then proceeds to play the bassline riff on his grand piano.

"Black Night" made its way into the setlist soon after release, generally as the first encore. It was not played in full after Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left the band in 1973, but snippets were often played by Ritchie Blackmore as part of his improvisations. On the reformation of Deep Purple in 1984, it returned as part of the main set list. The song is featured on many Deep Purple live albums.

Deep Purple "Deep Purple In Rock (1995 Reissue, Remastered, 25th Anniversary Edition, Holland, EMI, 7243 8 34019 2 5)"

Deep Purple in Rock is the fourth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 5 June 1970. It was the first studio album recorded by the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Work on In Rock began shortly after Gillan and Glover joined the band in June 1969, with rehearsals at Hanwell Community Centre. The music was intended to be loud and heavy, and accurately represent the group's live show. Recording took place at various studios around London in between extensive touring, during which time songs and arrangements were honed into shape.

In Rock was the band's breakthrough album in Europe and peaked at No. 4 in the UK, remaining in the charts for over a year. By contrast, it underperformed in the United States, where the band's Mark I albums had been more successful. An accompanying single, "Black Night," reached No. 2 in the UK, becoming their highest-charting single there. The album has continued to attract critical praise as a key early example of the hard rock and heavy metal genres.

By mid-1969, Deep Purple had recorded three albums, and achieved commercial success in the US, but suffered from a lack of musical direction. Although the group contained experienced musicians, none of the original members were accomplished songwriters, and their earlier work ranged from psychedelic hard rock based around guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's riffs, classical-influenced tracks developed and arranged by organist Jon Lord, and cover songs from the Beatles, Joe South, Neil Diamond and Donovan.

After a US tour in May, Blackmore, Lord and drummer Ian Paice decided to replace original lead singer Rod Evans with someone who could tackle a hard rock style. The group had also recently signed a deal with Harvest Records in the UK, who were intending to represent progressive and underground bands, but label owner Malcolm Jones thought Deep Purple relied too much on gimmicks and only appealed to the US market. Lord and Blackmore had met with Paice during the tour to discuss the personnel change, and Blackmore said he wanted to "have a go at being really heavy" after hearing Led Zeppelin's debut album. Blackmore asked his former bandmate, drummer Mick Underwood, to see if he knew a suitable singer. Underwood suggested his Episode Six bandmate Ian Gillan. Blackmore, Lord and Paice went to see an Episode Six gig in Woodford Green on 4 June, and after Blackmore sat in with the band, they offered Gillan the job.

Gillan and Episode Six bassist Roger Glover were friends and had formed a songwriting partnership. However, Glover did not want to leave Episode Six, so Gillan suggested he could help out with Deep Purple's songwriting as a compromise. On 7 June, Gillan and Glover were asked to play on a Deep Purple recording session for their next single, "Hallelujah", with Glover performing as a session musician. Afterwards, Glover changed his mind and decided to join the band.

The group initially met and developed song ideas in secrecy, not telling Evans or original bassist Nick Simper because the original lineup still had tour dates to promote the album The Book of Taliesyn, which Harvest had finally released in the UK (several months after its October 1968 US release). Furthermore, Episode Six's management did not want Gillan and Glover to quit the group, and they attempted to get a settlement from Deep Purple. However, after a few weeks, both Evans and Simper discovered they had been fired, and were unimpressed with the underhanded way it had been done, particularly recording with a different line-up. Underwood later said he regretted recommending Gillan to Deep Purple because he did not want Simper to lose his job. The final show with Evans and Simper was on 4 July, with the new lineup playing their first gig at The Speakeasy Club in London on 10 July. Gillan and Glover continued to play several more dates with Episode Six, the final show taking place on 26 July. They were replaced by John Gustafson as singer and bassist.

Hanwell Community Centre was booked for the band to rehearse and write new material; according to Glover, it was chosen because "it was the only place we could find where we could make a lot of noise". The basic structure of "Child in Time" was worked out at these sessions, and both it and "Speed King" (then titled "Kneel and Pray") were in the live set by the line-up's seventh gig at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, on 24 August. The Mk II lineup began to tour extensively, and found they had good musical chemistry together. Work on the new material was briefly interrupted by Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which featured Deep Purple playing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall on 24 September. Though the concerto was a different style to the material worked on at Hanwell, it led to increased publicity in the UK, which along with the group's live act, started to give them a following.

Recording on In Rock began at IBC Studios, London, with the first sessions in October. Studio work was spaced out between gigs, which were needed to provide the band with income, and continued intermittently until April the following year. Gillan later said that the regular gigging was important for material to be developed and to find the most suitable arrangements before recording. The basic ethos behind recording was that everything had to be loud and heavy; Glover recalled seeing VU meters in the red (signalling audio distortion) in the studio. In November 1969, the group played "Speed King" and "Living Wreck" for a BBC session, while in February 1970, the group performed a concert for the station, previewing some of the new live material. The band's US record company, Tetragrammaton, declared bankruptcy around this time, meaning an uncertainty of the album being released there. Warner Bros subsequently bought out the Tetragrammaton contract, and would release Deep Purple's albums in the US throughout the 1970s.

The album was the first one produced by the group, though they made prominent use of the engineers at the sessions, particularly Martin Birch who aimed to reproduce the live sound of the studio room on tape. The title was a reaction to Concerto for Group and Orchestra, emphasising that Deep Purple were a rock band. The cover was designed by the group's management; it depicts Mount Rushmore with photographs of the band's faces superimposed over the US presidents.

After recording had finished, the group continued touring. Gillan recalled playing 50 UK gigs in the first half of 1970, plus a further 15 in Europe. They also performed a live television special for Granada TV's Doing Their Thing and for London Weekend Television's South Bank Summer. On 9 August, the group appeared at the National Jazz and Blues Festival, which culminated in Blackmore setting fire to his amplifiers.

Unlike earlier albums, every song on In Rock is credited to the five Deep Purple band members. Gillan recalled the songs were initially rehearsed at Hanwell, then introduced to the live show to see how they would work. Lord said the purpose of the album was to make "a conscious effort to stop and think about writing material we all understood".

"Speed King" developed from a bass riff written by Glover at Hanwell, in an attempt to emulate Jimi Hendrix's "Fire". Gillan wrote the lyrics by taking phrases of old rock 'n' roll songs by Little Richard. It was originally known as "Kneel and Pray" and developed as a live piece for several months before recording. The first studio take of the song featured Lord playing piano instead of organ, which was later released as a B-side in Holland. The final take used on the album was recorded in January 1970; it opens with an untitled instrumental known as "Woffle", recorded in November 1969.

"Bloodsucker" was recorded at De Lane Lea Studios and finished at Abbey Road Studios. Paice enjoyed playing on the track. The song would be re-recorded 28 years later, with Steve Morse on guitar, and retitled "Bludsucker" for Deep Purple's 1998 album Abandon.

"Child in Time" was written early during the Hanwell rehearsals, after Lord began playing the introduction to "Bombay Calling" by It's a Beautiful Day. The group decided to play the song's main theme at a slower tempo, with Gillan writing new words inspired by war. He later said he came up with the song's title spontaneously. The song was regularly played live, and was well-rehearsed by the time it was recorded at IBC in November 1969. It subsequently became a de facto anthem for anti-Communist resistance groups in Eastern Europe during the period of the Iron Curtain.

"Flight of the Rat" was the last song recorded for the album, at De Lane Lea on 11 March. It evolved during rehearsals from a humorous re-arrangement by Glover of "Flight of the Bumblebee".

"Into the Fire" was written by Glover as a warning against drugs. The main riff developed after discussing chromatic scales with Blackmore.

"Living Wreck" was recorded at the early IBC sessions in October 1969. It was almost left off the album as the group felt it was not good enough, but they listened to it again towards the end of the sessions and decided they liked it. Blackmore played the guitar solo through an octave pedal, while Lord's closing organ solo features the Leslie speaker pushed through Marshall Amplifiers.

"Hard Lovin' Man" was derived from a Glover bass riff and developed as a jam session by the rest of the band. It was the first track for the album recorded at De Lane Lea in January 1970 with engineer Martin Birch. The group were impressed with Birch's skills, and he was retained as engineer for the rest of the group's albums up to 1976. He was credited as a "catalyst" on the original LP.

After completing the album, the group's management were worried there was no obvious hit single, and booked De Lane Lea in early May 1970 so the band could write and record one. After struggling to come up with a commercial-sounding song, Blackmore started playing the riff to Ricky Nelson's arrangement of "Summertime", while the group improvised the rest of the structure. Gillan later said he tried to write "the most banal lyrics we could think of". The result was the single "Black Night", which became the group's first UK hit.

"Cry Free" was recorded at IBC in January 1970. Although the group recorded over 30 takes, it did not make the final track listing, and was later released on a compilation album.

An instrumental, "Jam Stew" was recorded in late November 1969 at IBC. A version with improvised lyrics had been recorded as "John Stew" for a BBC session, while the main riff was featured on the track "Bullfrog" on the session album Green Bullfrog, released the following year.

The album and the single "Black Night" were both released on 5 June 1970. In Rock reached No. 4 in the UK and stayed in the album charts throughout the year and into the next, until the follow-up album Fireball was ready. The original release featured a gatefold sleeve with full lyrics, and a set of black and white photographs of the band.

The U.S. release of the album cut the intro to "Speed King", which lasts just over a minute. It remains edited on the standard Warner Bros. U.S. release, but was restored to full length on the 25th Anniversary package. The album was reissued in a single-sleeve vinyl in 1982, replacing the original gatefold sleeve. The Mexican release also included "Black Night" to the track listing.

The chart success of In Rock greatly raised Deep Purple's profile. In October, while touring the UK, Melody Maker ran a feature of "Purple Mania" showing the group's concerts were attracting increasingly enthusiastic crowds. The band finished the year touring Scandinavia and Germany. At a show at Lüdenscheid, they played without Blackmore who had taken ill. Fans started a riot and destroyed £2,000 worth of equipment.

In 1995 a remastered and revised 25th anniversary edition of the album was released by EMI. The album was remastered by Glover, adding "Black Night", "Jam Stew", a new mix of "Cry Free", and remixes of "Flight of the Rat" and "Speed King".

In 2009 audiophile label Audio Fidelity released a remastered version of Deep Purple in Rock on a limited edition 24 karat gold CD. Mastering for the CD was performed by Steve Hoffman. This release follows the original seven-track format with no bonus tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Speed King 05:03   
2. Bloodsucker 04:16
3. Child in Time 10:19   
4. Flight of the Rat 07:58   
5. Into the Fire 03:29  
6. Living Wreck 04:34   
7. Hard Lovin' Man 07:11   
8. Black Night (Original Single Version) 03:27
9. Studio Chat 1 00:33  
10. Speed King (Piano Version) 04:15
11. Studio Chat 2 00:27  
12. Cry Free (Roger Glover Remix) 03:21   
13. Studio Chat 3 00:05  
14. Jam Stew (Unreleased Instrumental) 02:31   
15. Studio Chat 4 00:40  
16. Flight of the Rat (Roger Glover Remix) 07:55   
17. Studio Chat 5 00:31  
18. Speed King (Roger Glover Remix) 05:53  
19. Studio Chat 6 00:23  
20. Black Night (Unedited Roger Glover Remix) 04:47  

Time:  01:17:38

Remastered from original tapes. Includes picture disc, signed jewel box, unreleased material, studio outtakes, extra tracks, a unissued instrumental track (from the session and between song studio chat), bonus Glover remixes and 24 page booklet together with rare pictures and memorabilia.

Printed in Holland - on back cover.

Made in Holland - on disc.

Recording information:

Recorded at IBC's Studio A (Portland Place), De Lane Lea (Kingsway) and Abbey Road studios, London; from October 1969 to April 1970.

Andy Knight – engineer IBC Studios (side 1, tracks 1 & 3, and side 2, tracks 2 and 3)

Martin Birch – engineer De Lane Lea (side 2, tracks 1 and 4)

Phillip McDonald – engineer Abbey Road Studios (side 1, track 2)

Edwards Coletta Productions – cover design

Nesbit Phipps & Froome – art studios

Mike Brown, Alan Hall – photography

Mick (Egg) Angus, Ian (Bige) Hansford – equipment

Peter Mew – original album remastering

Roger Glover – oversaw the mixing of the extra tracks

Tom Bender and Jason Butera – additional studio work

Deep Purple "Machine Head (1997 Reissue, Remastered, 2CDS 25th Anniversary Edition, Slipcase, UK, EMI, 7243 8 59506 2 9)"

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 studio 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.

By 1971, Deep Purple had been touring for two years and earlier studio albums, such as Deep Purple in Rock (1970) and Fireball (1971) were recorded in between live shows. The band felt that prior studio work did not sound as good as their live performances, and wanted to record in a stage environment. Drummer Ian Paice recorded his kit in the corridor for some of the Fireball sessions, believing it sounded better, and he wanted to find an alternative recording environment away from a typical sound-proofed studio. Deep Purple were advised to record outside the United Kingdom as they would not have to pay as much income tax.

The group toured the UK from September to October 1971 and previewed some new material that was ultimately released on Machine Head, in particular "Highway Star" and "Lazy". They then began a tour of the United States, which ended up being cancelled after two gigs after singer Ian Gillan contracted hepatitis. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore started to think about possible solo work for the future, teaming up with Paice and Phil Lynott for a brief period as a possible side-project, and Deep Purple as a whole looked forward to a dedicated block of time to record, getting away from the pressures of touring.

Deep Purple initially planned to record Machine Head at Montreux Casino in Switzerland in December 1971. They had booked the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio and made hotel reservations. The casino was a large arena, containing several entertainment facilities. The band had performed there in May 1971, and befriended Claude Nobs, founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival. Among others, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Black Sabbath had all performed at the casino. It closed for refurbishments each winter, allowing it to be used as a recording venue. Deep Purple arrived there on 3 December 1971. After a final concert, they would have the location to themselves. In return, the band tentatively proposed to perform a show at the casino, which would have allowed them to release a double album, half live and half studio.

The last gig at Montreux Casino was a matinée performance by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. At the time, the group included singers Flo & Eddie, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. During the show, a member of the audience fired a flare into the building's roof. Although the audience were initially unaware of the incident because the roof was covered by a false bamboo ceiling, about an hour into the set, people started seeing sparks emerging. The group stopped playing; according to bassist Roger Glover, Zappa said that "no-one should panic, but ..... FIRE!" After this, management ordered a controlled evacuation. There were no fatalities, but a group were briefly trapped in the casino's basement before being rescued by Nobs. Shortly after everyone had been safely evacuated, the building went up in flames.

Nobs relocated Deep Purple to the Pavilion, a nearby theatre, where they recorded the basic tracks for a song provisionally named "Title No. 1". Glover recalled waking up one morning saying the title "Smoke on the Water" out loud. From this, Gillan wrote the lyrics which describe the experience in Montreux. A photograph of the burning Montreux Casino was included in the album's gatefold cover.

The Pavilion proved to be impractical to record in, as nearby residents complained to the police about the noise. Although roadies tried to prevent the police entering by holding the doors shut, the band were quickly evicted. They searched for other recording locations and settled with the empty Grand Hotel, on the edge of Montreux. With the mobile unit parked at the main entrance, Deep Purple set up at the end of a corridor off the main lobby where the hallway came to a "T". An assortment of equipment and sound-insulating mattresses were installed, which meant the band had to walk through bedrooms and across balconies to get to the recording van. This proved so arduous that Deep Purple stopped listening to playbacks of their recordings, instead performing until they were satisfied. A closed-circuit television system was set up so the band could communicate with engineer Martin Birch and allow staff in the studio control room to see them.

We had the Rolling Stones' mobile recording unit sitting outside in the snow ... once we got to the truck for a playback, even if we didn't think it was a perfect take, we'd go, 'Yeah, that's good enough.' Because we just couldn't stand going back again.

—Ritchie Blackmore

The opening track, "Highway Star", was written while the group were on a coach travelling to their opening UK tour date in Portsmouth on 13 September 1971. The band's management arranged for them to travel to the gig with a group of music journalists who could interview the band at their leisure. One of them asked Blackmore how he wrote songs, upon which he said, "like this", picked up the guitar and played the song's opening riff. Gillan improvised a set of lyrics around: "We're on the road, we're a rock'n'roll band". The rest of the band completed the arrangement during rehearsals and it was added to the show on the evening of the gig. Blackmore based his guitar solo around a figure that he learned from Johnny Burnette, and liked its resemblance to Johann Sebastian Bach.

"Maybe I'm A Leo" went under the working title of "One Just Before Midnight", which appears in a picture of a recording sheet on the album sleeve. The finished title and lyrics refer to Gillan's birth sign. Glover wrote the song's main riff after listening to John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?", and he liked that the riff did not start on the first beat of the bar. The song was played live once in 1972 at a BBC In Concert performance. It became a live favourite years later, after Joe Satriani temporarily joined the band in 1993.

"Pictures of Home" describes the sights and images of the local area around Montreux, far away from home. The track was initially recorded with a drum introduction, which was left off the original recording; however, it was added for the 25th anniversary reissue. The track was also played live after Satriani joined Deep Purple. "Never Before" was considered by the band to be the most commercial track on the album, and was released as a single. The song was played live once at the BBC In Concert show.

"Smoke on the Water" documents the experiences of recording Machine Head, including the casino fire and evacuation, and the sessions at the Grand Hotel. The title referred to thick black smoke from the fire hanging over the shore of Lake Geneva. The backing track was the only usable material that came from the Pavilion recordings, before police shut the sessions down. Blackmore contributed the opening guitar riff, and later said it was popular due to being simple and based around four notes, comparing it to the opening musical phrasing of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Although the track is the most famous by Deep Purple and rock music generally, the band did not think it had much commercial potential, and it was one of the last of the tracks from Machine Head to be played live. After finally being released as a single in the US more than a year after the album release, the song became a major chart hit there, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. As well as Deep Purple, Gillan has performed the song live as part of his solo career, and during his brief time with Black Sabbath in 1983.

"Lazy" was first played live during the 1971 UK tour, and retained throughout the following year. It was performed towards the end of the live show, replacing the instrumental workout "Wring That Neck", and was later moved mid-set in early 1972. Glover said the song was roughly based on an Oscar Brown song, "Sleepy", while Blackmore stated it was inspired by Eric Clapton's "Stepping Out". The song was designed to be a vehicle for various instrumental showcases, including an unaccompanied organ introduction and Gillan's harmonica. Blackmore recorded the guitar solos in sections on two different days, which were then joined.

"Space Truckin'" was written as a pastiche of 1950s rock 'n' roll lyrics, but with a science fiction theme. Deep Purple began thinking of nonsense phrases such as "music in our solar system" that would fit. Paice played a short drum solo on the track. It was first played live in January 1972 at the next gig following the Montreux sessions, and led into the instrumental section of the earlier live showcase "Mandrake Root" as the closing number. The song remained the last number in the set after Gillan and Glover left the band in 1973, including a memorable performance at the California Jam the following year, where Blackmore set fire to his amplifiers and destroyed a TV camera with his guitar. The song was regularly played as a wakeup call by the crew on board the Space Shuttle program flight STS-107 in 2003.

A ballad entitled "When a Blind Man Cries" was recorded during the Machine Head sessions, but was not included on the album. Instead, it was used as the B-side on the "Never Before" single. The song appears as a bonus track on the 25th anniversary edition of Machine Head.

The album was released in the UK on 30 March 1972. A US tour for March and April that year was postponed after Blackmore fell ill. The first shows in the UK, promoting the album were at the Rainbow Theatre in June 1972. Two months later, the band toured Japan for the first time, recordings of which become the double live album Made in Japan. Four songs from Machine Head ("Highway Star", "Smoke on the Water", "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'") were included in the album.

The album title was inspired by the adjustment knobs on Roger Glover’s bass; such knobs on string instruments are known as a machine head, and the back album cover features a picture of Glover's bass headstock.

The cover art was created by stamping the album title into a polished metal sheet, which was held up to act as a mirror in front of which the group stood. The photographer Shepard Sherbell then took a picture of the reflection; a small trace of him can be made out on the finished picture (just below the "Head" text). The album's inner sleeve was mostly designed by Glover and manager Tony Edwards, and features a selection of mug shots that were previously used for record company contact sheets. It included a picture of Nobs, to whom Machine Head was dedicated. The initial pressings also had a hand-printed lyric sheet.

The album was released on the multichannel formats DVD-Audio (2001), in a new 5.1 channel mix and Super Audio CD (SACD) (2003) with the European quadraphonic mix. It was later released via SACD on 17 August 2011, through Warner Music Group in the Warner Premium Sound series of the label, which has the same 5.1 channel mix as the 2001 DVD-Audio version.

The 40th anniversary edition of Machine Head was released in October 2012 by EMI; this is a five-disc set, accompanied by an illustrated 60-page hardback booklet. Its contents include: Original album 2012 remaster (CD1), Roger Glover's 1997 mixes (CD2), Original album quad SQ stereo (2012 remaster) (CD3), In Concert '72 from Paris Theatre, London, 9 March 1972 – 2012 mix (CD4), 2012 high-resolution remaster and surround mixes (DVD, audio only).[61] To celebrate the 40th anniversary, a tribute album Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head was released in September 2012, through Eagle Rock Entertainment.

A new Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition was reissued 29 March 2024 by Rhino with a new remix (including the b-side "When A Blind Man Cries") produced by Dweezil Zappa and a new remaster of the original mix by Andy Pearce on CD 1. The edition includes two live performances: the first being recorded on 9 March 1972 at Paris Theatre in London (CD2, previously available as In Concert '72), the second being recorded earlier in April 1971 at Montreux Casino in Switzerland (CD3). The new remix is also included on a vinyl LP, with "When A Blind Man Cries" inserted between "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'". Furthermore, the set contains a Blu-ray audio-only disc including Zappa's Atmos Mix, 1974 U.S. Quad (available for the first time on a digital medium), and three tracks in 5.1 surround (taken from the 2001 DVD-A).

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

Disc 1 - 1997 Remixes

1. Highway Star (1997 Remix) 06:39
2. Maybe I'm a Leo (1997 Remix) 05:26
3. Pictures of Home (1997 Remix) 05:21   
4. Never Before (1997 Remix) 03:59
5. Smoke on the Water (1997 Remix) 06:18
6. Lazy (1997 Remix) 07:33  
7. Space Truckin' (1997 Remix) 04:52   
8. When a Blind Man Cries (1997 Remix) 03:32   

Time:  43:40  

Disc 2 - Remastered

1. Highway Star 06:08  
2. Maybe I'm a Leo 04:52   
3. Pictures of Home 05:06   
4. Never Before 04:00   
5. Smoke on the Water 05:42   
6. Lazy 07:22   
7. Space Truckin' 04:34   Show lyrics
8. When a Blind Man Cries (Original B-Side) 03:32
9. Maybe I'm a Leo (Quadrophonic Mix) 04:58  
10. Lazy (Quadrophonic Mix) 06:54  

Time:  53:08  

2CD jewel case in cardboard slipcase. Included 28-page glossy booklet with liner notes, pics and credits.

Recording information:

Recorded from December 6 to 21, 1971 at the Grand Hotel, Montreux, Switzerland, with the Rolling Stones' Mobile Studio.

Mixed at De Lane Lea Studio, Wembley.

Produced and co-mixed by Deep Purple.

Martin Birch – engineering, mixing with Deep Purple

Jeremy "Bear" Gee – assistant engineer

Nick Watterton – technician, Rolling Stones Mobile Studio operator

Ian Hansford, Rob Cooksey, Colin Hart – equipment technicians

Shephard Sherbell – photography

Roger Glover and John Coletta – cover design

Peter Denenberg and Roger Glover – remixing (1997)

Peter Mew – remastering at Abbey Road Studios, London (1997)