When I first heard this album on our crackly record player way back when I was immediately hooked. I think it was a combination of the screams from Ian Gillan that open the album, the pounding drums of Ian Paice and the masterly organ work of Jon Lord. For years I thought the guitar solo on "Highway Star" was actually a second keyboard solo. Hey, I was 5- give me a break. There is also a photo on the inner sleeve of bassist Roger Glover with an out of focus Gillan (I think) in the background looking like he's shouting at him. There's a printing glitch on the sleeve and it actually looks like Glover is crying. Seriously. For AGES I was wondering what that dreadful man was saying to make him so unhappy....again, I was 5....
In later years, I appreciated the amazing musicianship of the five players in Deep Purple on this record. "Highway Star" is probably the single greatest opening track on any album ever made. Ever. Never has racing at breakneck speeds down a highway sounded so damn good. The entire band just throws themselves into this track (and the remaining 6) with gusto. The tempo shifts gears into the funky groove of "Maybe I'm A Leo" and then breaks into a run again (via a killer drum solo from Ian Paice) with "Pictures Of Home". Lyrics about soaring eagles and chilling bodies just ram the point about the homesickness right into your face. "Never Before" rounds out side one- although I love the song, many Purple fans hate it for some reason. Side two opens with "Smoke On The Water"- a song about the creation of the machine head album and how the casino they were going to record the album in burnt down thanks to an over zealous Frank Zappa fan. Tomes have been written about this song so I won't bother repeating what has already been said. Jon Lord then brings in a haunting little solo to usher in the blues jam "Lazy" and then we hit the final stride with "Space Truckin'". Again, Gillan's masterly vocals really shine as well as the playing of the entire band.
In 1997 the album was reissued and never has a remastering process ever made the album so MUCH better (not that it wasn't brilliant to begin with). "Highway Star" now has a proper start that actually sets up the groove that originally started the album, there are different solos and vocals on a couple takes (including Gillian shouting "Break a leg Frank" during "Smoke On The Water") but it also adds as a final track "When A Blind Man Cries"- the only real ballad of the sessions that produced the album. It's a haunting, lyrical masterpiece and it serves as a gentle coda to an already brilliant album. In a way it's a perfect way to reintroduce yourself back to reality after 45 minutes of heart-pounding musicality.
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