Smoke on the Water

Smoke on the Water is an EP issued by EMI in 1977, built around the song that became Deep Purple's best-known number. The title track comes from Machine Head, the band's 1972 studio album, so this release is a way of putting that one piece of their work into a compact, single-purpose format.

It sits in the middle of a long career that began with Shades of Deep Purple in 1968 and has carried on well into the 2020s. By 1977 the band had already made Deep Purple in Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and the 1970s records that followed, including Come Taste the Band in 1975. For anyone who wants the famous riff without committing to a full album, it makes a handy way in, though Machine Head is the place to hear it in its original setting.