MACHINE HEAD

I was in Okinawa when "Machine Head" came out. I bought a cassette copy of the album based on the fact that I liked enough of their "Fireball" album to take a chance on the new music. I was really getting into groups that played epic length songs and I stayed away from the top 40 scene. My mind set was if a band was content to do 2 to 4 minute tunes, they were after the big bucks only. I saw that the times on these songs were shorter than their previous works and I was hesitant about getting it without first listening to it. I am now glad that I did get "Machine Head." After listening to it, I noticed that all the songs had lively solos in them. The most important thing I liked was that instead of bragging about his sexual prowess as in previous efforts, Ian Gillan gives us a glimpse at his heart on songs like "Maybe I'm a Leo" and "Never Before." The lyrics are sharp and thought provoking. In fact, this is probably one of the best efforts in rock history. "Highway Star" is very well played with Mr. Paice setting the pace for the flight of Purple Mayhem, along with Mr. Gillan screaming his way to the beginning of the lyrics. These guys just sounded hungry on the whole album. Jon Lord does some great soloing here with the usual scale runs the Purple is known for. Richie Blackmore is at the top of his game. The solo is excellent! "Maybe I'm a Leo" is a little more funky and the lyrics are a standout here. Ritchie's solo work is expressive and majestic. "Pictures of Home" kicks you right in the teeth from the very start. It is easily one of the best tunes on the album. Everyone gets a piece of the action here. On the Roger Glover remix, we get treated to some more of Mr. Blackmore's fine soloing technique. I like that version better. "Never Before" starts off totally out of character from what we are used to the Purple doing and it is excellent. Here again the music and the lyrics just shine out! "Smoke on the water' is of course the primer for every budding guitar hero. I was slightly disappointed that they didn't have more going on at the end of the song, but Glover's version gives me what I wanted, so I'm happy! "Lazy" is the best song on the album. Everything from start to finish just falls right into place here. Next to "Child in Time" this will probably be the best they will ever record. "Space Truckin" is sneaky. It comes up from behind and clobbers you. My favorite part is where Ian Gillan screams "They've got music in their solar system." The way the music and he mesh is simply genius! I absolutely loved it! As far as this reviewer is concerned, "Machine Head" is essential to the rock scene. It gets five stars from me, and if I could give it more, I would!