Album
Machine Head
Machine Head is Deep Purple's sixth studio album, released on 30 March 1972 on Purple Records. It is the third record from the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, following Deep Purple in Rock and Fireball. Earlier sessions had been squeezed around touring, so this time the band wanted to step outside the usual studio and capture something closer to their live sound.
That plan went sideways in Montreux, Switzerland, in December 1971. The Montreux Casino, booked as the venue for the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, burned down during a Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention show when a flare gun was fired into the ceiling. After a week of searching, and one abandoned theatre session thanks to noise complaints, they turned the closed-for-winter Grand Hotel into a makeshift live room. The fire inspired "Smoke on the Water". The album topped charts in several countries, including the UK, and remains their biggest seller and a key record in heavy metal's development.
Machine Head: tracklist, credits and charts
7 tracks · 37:15Tracklist
- 1Highway StarBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice6:11
- 2Maybe I’m a LeoBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice4:56
- 3Pictures of HomeBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice5:05
- 4Never BeforeBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:58
- 5Smoke on the WaterBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice5:40
- 6LazyBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice6:52
- 7Space Truckin’Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice4:33
- Produced by
- Deep Purple
- Recorded at
- Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Grand Hotel (Montreux, Switzerland) and the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio
- Recorded
- 6–21 December 1971
- Labels
- Purple Records, Purple, Warner Bros. (US & Canada)
- Length
- 37:15
Line-up
- Ritchie Blackmore · electric guitar
- Roger Glover · electric bass guitar
- Jon Lord · Hammond organ
- Ian Paice · drums (drum set)
- Ian Gillan · lead vocals
Singles
- “Never Before” · March 1972
- “Lazy” · June 1972 (US)
- “Highway Star” · July 1972 (Japan)
- “Smoke on the Water” · May 1973
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1972 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1972 | 7 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1972 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1972 | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1972 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1972 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1972 | 1 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1972 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1972 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1972 | 3 |
All 19 charts
| Austrian Albums · 1972 | 4 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1972 | 4 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 1972 | 4 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1997 | 5 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1972 | 6 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1972 | 14 |
| Swiss Albums · 2024 | 19 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · 2024 | 26 |
| Scottish Albums · 2018 | 94 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Brazil · 2024 | Gold |
| France · 1977 | 2× Gold |
| Italy · 2017 | Gold |
| Japan · 1993 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1974 | Gold |
| United States · 1986 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
91.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
11k
ListenBrainz listeners
200k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
56k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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More from Deep Purple
Full discography →
Murmullo – Hush
1968
Shades of Deep Purple
1968
Shades of Deep Purple
1968
The Book of Taliesyn
1968
Deep Purple
1969
Deep Purple
1969
Concerto for Group and Orchestra
1969
The Bird Has Flown
1970
Black Night
1970
Deep Purple in Rock
1970
Fireball
1971
Hits
1972
Never Before
1972
Stereo Pop Special‐12
1972
Purple Passages
1972
Made in Japan
1972
Abril
1973
Space Truckin’
1973
Who Do We Think We Are
1973
Mark I&II
1973
Black Night
1974
Deep Purple in Rock
1974
Вокально-Инструментальные Ансамбли
1974
Burn
1974
Stormbringer
1974
Lay Down Stay Down
1975
Child in Time
1975
24 Carat Purple
1975
Come Taste the Band
1975
Made in Europe
1976
Come With Me / Smoke on the Water / Woman From Tokyo
1977
2 + 2, Vol. 43
1977
Smoke on the Water
1977
Last Concert in Japan
1977
New Live & Rare
1977
Powerhouse
1977
The Deep Purple Singles A’s & B’s
1978
When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll
1978
New Live & Rare: Vol. 3
1980
Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple
1980
In Concert
1980
Live in London
1982
Perfect Strangers
1984
Smoke on the Water
1985
Lady Double
1985
Smoke on My Mega‐Mix
1985
The House of Blue Light
1987
Bad Attitude
1987
Perfect Strangers
1988
Nobody’s Perfect
1988
Live in Stockholm
1988
Scandinavian Nights
1988
Slaves and Masters
1990
In the Absence of Pink: Knebworth 85
1991
Knocking at Your Back Door: The Best of Deep Purple in the 80’s
1991
Smoke on the Water
1993
The Gemini Suite
1993
The Battle Rages On…
1993
Smoke on the Water: The Best of
1994
Come Hell or High Water
1994
On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat: Live in California 1976
1995
Purpendicular
1996
California Jamming
1996
Deep Purple Mk III: The Final Concerts
1996
Live at the Olympia ’96
1997
Smoke on the Water
1998
Abandon
1998
30: Very Best Of
1998
Shades 1968–1998
1999
Friends & Relatives
1999
Total Abandon: Australia ’99
1999
Days May Come and Days May Go: The California Rehearsals, June 1975
2000
The Very Best of Deep Purple
2000
Smoke on the Water & Other Hits
2001
This Time Around Live in Tokyo 75
2001
Deep Purple The Soundboard Series 2001
The Soundboard Series
2001
Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy
2001
Live at Inglewood 1968
2002
Listen, Learn, Read On
2002
Deep Purple The Best of Deep Purple: Live in Europe 2003
The Best of Deep Purple: Live in Europe
2003
Bananas
2003
The Early Years
2004
Deep Purple The Platinum Collection Sampler 2005
The Platinum Collection Sampler
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Rapture of the Deep
2005
Live at Montreux 1996
2006
Kneel & Pray
2006
Deep Purple Original and Remixed Hits 2007
Original and Remixed Hits
2007
Live in Concert at the 2006 Montreux Festival
2007
Phoenix Rising
2011
Live at Montreux 2011
2011
All the Time in the World
2013
Now What?!
2013
Above and Beyond
2013
Live in Verona
2014
Deep Purple Out of Hand 2015
Out of Hand
2015
Long Beach 1976
2016
Time for Bedlam
2017
All I Got Is You
2017
Infinite
2017
Johnny’s Band
2017
Throw My Bones
2020
Whoosh!
2020
Turning to Crime
2021
Lazy Sod
2024
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2024
Things I Never Said
2025
SPLAT!
2026
The best of 1972
All of 1972 →
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David Bowie · 1972
The Rolling Stones / Curved Air / Fanny
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Feliz
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Congratulations
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Acoustically
Led Zeppelin · 1972
Exile on Main Street
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Do Anything You Say
David Bowie · 1972
Exile on Main St.
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Obscured by Clouds
Pink Floyd · 1972
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones · 1972
Vol 4
Black Sabbath · 1972
Never Before
Deep Purple · 1972
More on Purple Records
The label →Burn
Deep Purple · 1974
Stormbringer
Deep Purple · 1974
Child in Time
Deep Purple · 1975
Who Do We Think We Are
Deep Purple · 1973
Made in Japan
Deep Purple · 1972
Made in Europe
Deep Purple · 1976
Mark I&II
Deep Purple · 1973
Live at Inglewood 1968
Deep Purple · 2002
Days May Come and Days May Go: The California Rehearsals, June 1975
Deep Purple · 2000
Live in Stockholm
Deep Purple · 1988
Powerhouse
Deep Purple · 1977
New Live & Rare
Deep Purple · 1977
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1972-03-30; musicbrainz + wikidata 1972-03-25 (5 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 March 1972 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 30 March 1972 | |
| Wikidata | 25 March 1972 | |
| US release | March 1972 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 25 March 1972 | earliest UK or European date |
58 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Rhino | 603497940790 | other |
| — | CA | Columbia House | 777495539338 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227976545 | other |
| — | AU | EMI | 077774624220 | other |
| — | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 07599273242 | other |
| 1972 | AU | Purple Records | other | |
| March 1972 | DE | Hör Zu | other | |
| March 1972 | FR | Pathé Marconi EMI | other | |
| March 1972 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| March 1972 | JP | Warner–Pioneer Corporation | other | |
| 25 March 1972 | GB | Purple Records | original | |
| 1973 | GB | Purple Records | other | |
| 1974 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1974 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1976 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1976 | DE | EMI Electrola | other | |
| 1984 | PT | Purple Records | other | |
| 1985 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1985 | — | EMI | 5099915764140 | other |
| 1985 | DE | Purple Records | 5099915764119 | other |
| 1986 | GB | EMI | 077774624220 | other |
| 25 February 1987 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014313537 | other |
| 7 July 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992732420 | other |
| 10 February 1989 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014726054 | other |
| 1990 | GB | EMI | 077774624220 | other |
| 1994 | BR | EMI Odeon Brazil | 077774624220 | other |
| 10 October 1996 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1997 | XE | EMI | 724385950629 | deluxe |
| 1997 | XE | EMI | 724385950629 | deluxe |
| 1997 | GB | EMI | 724385950629 | deluxe |
| 1998 | US | BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. | other | |
| 15 April 1998 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674156627 | other |
| 17 November 1998 | US | Rhino | 081227562229 | deluxe |
| 30 January 2001 | US | Rhino | 081227666491 | other |
| 2003 | XE | EMI | 724353860127 | other |
| 2003 | US | EMI | other | |
| 8 February 2005 | US | Rhino | 081227883164 | other |
| 2006 | US | Rhino | 081227562212 | remaster |
| 22 February 2006 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674061419 | other |
| 17 September 2008 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674083237 | other |
| 16 March 2010 | US | Audio Fidelity | 780014206529 | other |
| 23 March 2010 | US | Audio Fidelity | 780014206529 | other |
| 17 August 2011 | JP | Warner Archives | 4943674108886 | other |
| 8 October 2012 | XW | Deep Purple (Overseas) Ltd. | other | |
| 8 October 2012 | XE | Purple Records | 5099946326928 | deluxe |
| 12 October 2012 | GB | Purple Records | 5099946327420 | deluxe |
| 12 October 2012 | MX | Parlophone | 5099931955959 | other |
| 6 November 2015 | XE | Universal | 600753627358 | remaster |
| 2016 | — | Rhino | 603497877782 | other |
| 2016 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227945299 | other |
| 25 January 2016 | XE | Purple Records | 600753635827 | other |
| 2019 | US | Warner Records | 081227562212 | other |
| 7 August 2019 | JP | Warner Records | 4943674298235 | other |
| 2024 | US | Warner Records | 603497828852 | deluxe |
| 28 March 2024 | — | Universal Music | 602465235227 | other |
| 29 March 2024 | XE | Universal | 600753993149 | deluxe |
| 29 March 2024 | XE | Universal Music | 00600753993149 | deluxe |
| 29 March 2024 | CA | Rhino | 603497826254 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 4000x4000, downscaled to 3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 4000×4000 | native: native 4000x4000, downscaled to 3000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |