MACHINE HEAD

Which one is better ? "In Rock" or "Machine Head" ? For me this is a difficult choice. It is a cool story though about them travelling to Montreux, Switzerland to record this album and then witnessing the gambling house that they were going to record in burn to the ground during a Frank Zappa And The Mothers show. They ended up writing and recording "Machine Head" in a cold hotel with the help of the ROLLING STONES mobile unit. I think it was all worth it in the end as they got a pretty good song and album out of it. Haha. Understatement of the year right there.

"Highway Star" is a great driving song. The drums and organ start things off before Ian comes in singing. Lord and Blackmore each pull off some terrific solos and the drumming to close is killer. "Maybe I'm A Leo" has a great beat to it. I love Paice's drumming. "Pictures Of Home" has an excellent drum intro as the guitar comes in. Some blazing guitar solos from Blackmore later and Lord responds in kind. Check out the bass solo from Glover before 4 minutes ! "Never Before" is ok but the drumming is again outstanding.

"Smoke On The Water" has one the most famous riffs in rock. It was cool to see Steve Morse playing this riff with DEEP PURPLE during the "Live 8 " concert in Toronto. "Lazy" is where Jon Lord really shines, from the powerful organ intro to the melodies throughout the song. Harmonica solo 5 minutes in. "Space Truckin' " is an awesome song ! Check out the drumming 3 minutes in ! Great vocals and guitar as well.

This is 4.5 stars for me. And as you might have guessed, I think that the star of this album is Ian Paice. Although they are all amazing.