https://www.amazon.co.uk/Machine-Head-Deluxe-Deep-Purple/dp/B0CT96JCGN?crid=KE69DW3QYB6L&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-ycGPWC86FCkGB9fDpaJGQ.DuNkxcothAvPpZqEzn7fBnYQJNwTDcT2GyJ-DpPyujY&dib_tag=se&keywords=600753993149&qid=1712509895&sprefix=600753993149%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=8cf27a9760a866f7ad20dfe3f64241fb&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
*** Presentation ***** Original Album *** Bonus Material ***** Remasters
OVERALL RATING: ***
"...Big Fat Tyres And Everything..."
Oh dear! And oh yes! I suspect like so many men of a certain age (and given that it's almost two years overdue as a '50th Anniversary' Reissue and comes complete with an extortionate £100 price tag) - this March 2024 latest version of Deep Purple's Classic 70ts Rock album "Machine Head" is going to conflict and thrill in equal measure.
Off the bat - I really don't get the Dweezil Zappa Remix at all - feels like an ugly reworking of an album I love. And why oh why is ONLY his remix on Vinyl and NOT the brilliant Andy Pearce/Matt Wortham Remaster of the Original? BOTH versions should have been pressed on VINYL and put in a gatefold sleeve with the lyric insert - instead of now being asked to accept a REMIX and an overblown foldout page of lyrics as a 'poster' of sorts?
To put this into context - should you be lucky enough to get your purchase-hands on the Creedence Clearwater Revival 2CD/1DVD set "The Singles Collection" from November 2009 (see separate review) - you are greeted with one of the most beautiful foldout posters of single-sleeves from around the world that I have ever seen. Why couldn't something like that have been done for this 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe set? Deep Purple fans are a fanatical bunch and in conjunction with fan clubs and devotees - there must surely have been more to see?
You don't even get proper release dates, catalogue numbers for the album, singles - the "In Concert '72" set on which CD2 is based was a hugely collectable industry-only 8-track LP release called 'Stereo Pop Special-12' on BBC Transcription Discs CNN 1513 recorded for the BBC's famous 'Sounds Of The Seventies' series - but it's not pictured! The 'Selected Albums Gallery' on Page 14 doesn't show either a British or US issue on the newly formed Purple Records Label or Warner Brothers out of the States. The 'Selected Singles Gallery' is fabulous to look at - old issues from around the world (Turkey and Portugal included for "Never Before") and reissues of "Smoke On The Water (Live)" from 1980 - but again - would have made a worthy POSTER of itself.
The Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham Remaster of the 1972 Classic album as is however shines lights in corners previously deadened (so damn clean and yet powerful) and the live stuff (even if Disc 2 has been available before) shows the band in its staggering pomp (see notes below on CD3). But truth be painfully told - there is a gnawing feeling of let-down here when it should be reeking celebration. Still - let's go space truckin' - here be the fretboard details...
UK/EU released Friday, 29 March 2024 - "Machine Head: 5-Disc Deluxe Anniversary Edition" by DEEP PURPLE on Universal/Purple/Warner Brothers/Rhino R2 725876 - 603497828852 00600753993149 (Barcode 600753993149) is an LP-Sized 5-Disc Reissue Box Set containing 3 x CDs, 1 x BLU RAY AUDIO DISC and 1 x VINYL LP (Purple-Smoke Coloured Vinyl) with a Bonus B-side added to Side 2. The VINYL LP has the Dweezil Zappa Remix Only of the album but does include the "When A Blind man Cries" B-side on Side 2 as a Bonus Track – a first.
The Overall package offers two versions of the "Machine Head" album on CD1 - a Dweezil Zappa Remix with a Bonus Track and an Andy Pearce/Matt Wortham straightforward Remaster of the album only, Previously Unreleased Live Material from 1971 (CD3) and Previously Released Live Material from 1972 (CD2). The BLU RAY DISC has 1974 Quad Mixes of the Entire album, a Rare 45-Single Non-LP B-side, a 2024 Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound Mixes. There is a Reproduced Lyrics Poster and a New LP-Sized 18-Page Booklet. Discs play out as follows:
CD1 "Machine Head" (79:26 minutes):
2024 REMIX (Dweezil Zappa)
1. Highway Star [Side 1]
2. Maybe I'm A Leo
3. Pictures Of Home
4. Never Before
5. Smoke On The Water [Side 2]
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin'
Tracks 1 to 7 are DWEEZIL ZAPPA Remixes of the "Machine Head" album originally issued March 1972 in the UK on Purple Records TPSA 7504 and April 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2607. Produced by DEEP PURPLE (Engineered by Martin Birch) - it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the USA.
BONUS TRACK:
8. When A Blind Man Cries
Track 8 is a Non-Album B-side to the 45-single "Never Before". Written by the whole band, it was released March 1972 in the UK as a 7" Single on Purple Records PUR 102 and the same month in the USA on Warner Brothers WB 7572 (charted at No. 35 in the UK but didn't chart USA).
2024 REMASTER (Andy Pearce)
9. Highway Star [Side 1]
10. Maybe I'm A Leo
11. Pictures Of Home
12. Never Before
13. Smoke On The Water [Side 2]
14. Lazy
15. Space Truckin'
Tracks 1 to 7 are an ANDY PEARCE and MATT WORTHAM Remaster of the "Machine Head" album (from original tapes) first issued April 1972 in the UK on Purple Records TPSA 7504 and in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2607. Produced by DEEP PURPLE (Engineered by Martin Birch) - it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the USA.
CD2 "In Concert '72" (79:36 minutes):
Original Recording, Paris Theatre in London, 9 March 1972
Produced by Pete Dauncey and Engineered by Adrian Revill
Previously Released UK 18 October 2012 as "In Concert '72" on Purple TPSA 7518 (Vinyl)
Reissued UK 2014 on Purple TPSAX 7518/Warner Brothers 825646294794
1. Introduction
2. Highway Star
3. Strange Kind Of Woman
4. Maybe I'm A Leo
5. Smoke On The Water
6. Never Before
7. Lazy
8. Space Truckin'
9. Lucille
BONUS TRACK:
10. Maybe I'm A Leo (Soundcheck)
CD3 "Montreux '71" (79:09 minutes):
Previously Unreleased Live Show Recorded at The Casino, Montreux, Switzerland, 16 Apr 71
Recorded by Rene Ernest Finger
1. Swiss Yodel
2. Speed King
3. Strange Kind Of Woman
4. Into The Fire
5. Child In Time
6. Paint It Black
7. Wring That Neck (Hard Road)
8. Black Night
9. Lucille
DISC 4 BLU-RAY AUDIO
2024 ATMOS REMIX
1. Highway Star [Side 1]
2. Maybe I'm A Leo
3. Pictures Of Home
4. Never Before
5. Smoke On The Water [Side 2]
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin'
8. When A Blind Man Cries
1974 U.S. QUAD MIX
9. Highway Star [Side 1]
10. Maybe I'm A Leo
11. Pictures Of Home
12. Never Before
13. Smoke On The Water [Side 2]
14. Lazy
15. Space Truckin'
5.1 MIXES
16. When A Blind Man Cries
17. Maybe I'm A Leo
18. Lazy
DEEP PURPLE was:
IAN GILLAN - Lead Vocals
RITCHIE BLACKMORE – Guitars
JON LORD – Keyboards
ROGER GLOVER – Bass
IAN PAICE – Drums
History first: The Purp's classic "Machine Head" hit the streets in April 1972 and we've been in love with its non-nonsense Classic Rock ever since - a No. 1 in the UK and a No. 7 in the States. Followed later in the year with the stunning double-live set "Made In Japan" - and along with "Fireball" from 1971 and "Deep Purple In Rock" from 1970 already under their hard-rocking belt - the first three years of the Seventies was a slam-dunk for the 'Mark II' line-up of DEEP PURPLE.
Fans however have been here before - specifically with the November 1997 '2CD Anniversary Edition' of "Machine Head" featuring Remixes and Remasters done by an impressive line-up of names - Peter Mew, Peter Denenberg, Roger Glover, Joe DiGiorgi and mastering by the legendary Greg Calbi. That twofer is still available on many auction sites for under a tenner (complete with its 28-page booklet). So, what's new here...
Fans are going to go straight for the PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 1971 live set (recorded in Montreux) on CD3 first that includes faves like "Black Night", "Speed King" and "Child In Time" alongside two tasty covers – The Purps doing the Stones on "Paint It Black" and Little Richard on a frenzied "Lucille". The bad news is that the audio is obviously bootleg standard – starting out with a bit of fun as they doddle through "Swiss Yodel". Unfortunately, what should be a DP Mark II moment is destroyed with drop-outs and muddled sound – Blackmore displaying astonishing axework for "Speed King" even if Gillan seems ever so slightly disinterested and verbose with the crowd. A new single comes next "Strange Kind Of Woman" – but again like the rest of the set – the audio is passable at best. It’s criminal to hear corking material like "Into The Fire" and the mixed-up cover of "Paint it Black" too far back in the mix to be of any use. In all honesty, I don't know how many Purple fans are going to consider this reduced audio experience as a BONUS no matter how thrilling their playing was.
Better - Mike Harding introduces the Purps to a rumbling crescendo-building "Highway Star" on CD2 – not as good as the "Made In Japan" version but getting close. Having originally been a BBC Transcription LP back in 1972 (they have used the CD reissue from 2012 with its extra tracks and not just the original eight) – the audio is lightyears ahead of the Bootleg on CD3 and the material being largely from "Machine Head" – that bit more exciting. You can feel the band and their electricity – hard rocking and unapologetic for it – Blackmore, Lord, Glover and Paice all so tight as they go into the final guitar solo stretch where RB lets rip. Gillan explains the darkness inherent in "Strange Kind Of Woman" – a trail of happiness and misery left by a gal who did not impress our hairy men. The groove in "Maybe I'm A Leo" is fantastic even if Gillan seems to be having difficulty controlling a presumably pissed-up crowd. And on it goes. It absolutely is not "Made In Japan" - but is at least period material worth rehearing and celebrating.
CD1 kind of baffles me – I really do not like the Zappa Remix where the vocals are supposedly given an amp-up but just feel abused and further away from clarity rather than running towards it. But I am absolutely loving the clarity and sheer punch-in-the-face power of the straightforward album Remaster done by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham – two Audio Engineers who have had a long and fruitful relationship with Universal Classic Rock-Sound acts – Budgie, Rory Gallagher, ELP, Wishbone Ash, Free, Spooky Tooth and loads more. It may be hackneyed through over use, but when that riff and that rhythm section combine for "Smoke On The Water" – the Montreux in flames story song - you will feel it. Same goes for that huge Organ sound on "Lazy" – a Jon Lord boogie I still get a kick out of hearing.
The KORY GROW 'We All Came Down To Montreux' Liner Notes in the LP-Sized booklet are dated 2023 and tell of the band's rise to Rock Superstardom – tours in Osaka and Tokyo after the LP's release that would produce the opus directly off the back of "Machine Head" - "Made In Japan". There is a UK trade advert, pictures of The Stones Mobile unit on which the album was taped, very cool period photos in both black and white and colour of the band/individuals, lyrics to the iconic "Smoke On The Water" - Jon Lord's organ awaiting its master - enthusiastic notes from Dweezil Zappa on the 2024 Remix of "Machine Head", Didi Zill who was the photographer on the scene the day after the fire in Montreux (he witnessed Gillan writing lyrics to "Smoke On The Water"), an appreciation of Ian Gillan's fantastic vocals from Sir Tim Rice who of course used his rasp as the voice of Jesus in the 1970 double-album musical smash "Jesus Christ Superstar". But at 18-pages, again you feel short-changed.
I would surmise that what you have here is a three-star reissue of a five-star album and I would say get to hear it first before spending such serious dosh. I would also acknowledge as one of those 'old farts' this Reissue would be aimed at that Deep Purple's 1972 album "Machine Head" may be a seriously outdated listen to kids in 2024 - but you can't help feel that it has earned its place in Rock History and deserved something better than this rather obvious ***-cash-grab.
Shame, because that Remaster is a blast even if the rest seems just a tad too superfluous to requirements...
