MACHINE HEAD

I can't understand why this album is listed on Progarchives. I understand that some of Deep Purple's early albums can easily be slotted into the proto-prog box, but Machine Head belongs to early heavy rock, and as such has nothing to do with prog, especially as it was made in 1972, when prog was something completely different than this.

Forgetting that, Machine Head is a masterpiece of its genre, and was among the most important albums for me personally in my youth. All four tracks of side A are good, and tracks 2- 4 are fantastic. As a youngster, I loved and admired Highway Star's solos and drive the most, but in the end it is quite one-dimensional, and the other three tracks have grown on me whereas HS has become the dullest piece of the side.

Side B is more problematic, because Smoke On The Water and Space Trucking don't belong to Deep Purple's better tracks, but Lazy is simply fantastic, and on par with any of the band's best works. The constant change of moods and styles throughout the piece is simply outstanding, and maybe, well just maybe, warrants this album's place on Progarchives after all.