MACHINE HEAD

No question the zenith of Deep Purple Mark 2. The band triumphed against adversity when the original recording venue was burned down and they had to come up with alternative at short notice. The story is wonderfully captured on the superb Smoke on the Water, of course the song also contains one of the most famous riffs ever.

However the other 6 tracks are just as vital, with the driving Highway Star, the majestic Pictures of Home and jazz-tinged Lazy defining their career. It's a testament to how good this material is because the current band play most of these songs in shows today and they sound just as good now as they did then. Unfortunately the only way to go after this was down.......

If there is a negative, it's that the album is too short. They had intended that When a Blind Man Cries was to be included but Blackmore disliked the track so it was omitted. I won't knock off half a star for that though.

Try and get a hold of the DVD of the Classic Albums analysis of this album to find out there is a lot more to the music than just hard rock riffing. No question it qualifies as a masterpiece of progressive rock.