Friday, October 13, 2006
Thoughts on Machine Head
"It's a dark album. The sound is dark." - Jon Lord
It may be somewhat cliched to say, but Machine Head is my favorite Deep Purple album. It is a dark sounding album - very focused and intent, and some of the lyrical themes are less-than-happy (most notably "Pictures of Home"), but I find this album inspiring on many levels.
Last weekend I was feeling a little down. Not depressed, but I had some weighty things on my mind that I wasn't sure how to deal with. I popped Machine Head into the CD player as I was driving somewhere... instant comfort food for the soul. Now, I certainly wouldn't recommend DP's music to be one's source of spiritual guidance or the only place one goes for comfort in uncertain times (it is only rock'n'roll, after all), but the music is outstanding and I think some of the lyrics speak very well to some of the truths of the human experience that are common to everyone. (More on that in subsequent posts, as I share a few thoughts about some specific songs.) There's something encouraging about that, and there's something pleasant about the temporary distraction of a well-written song played well.
As I mentioned, the album is very focused. It was recorded in a short period of time (about three weeks) under trying circumstances. There seems to be a bit of a no-nonsense attitude in the recording, and the sound of the album certainly makes it easy to imagine it was recorded by a group in the hallway of a closed hotel in the midst of winter. (As much as I love Roger Glover's more "open" sounding mixes on the anniversary edition, I do not get the same feeling from that mix.) It gives the album a sense of immediacy that I think In Rock and Fireball, despite their excellence, lack.
The next few posts I'll be giving some specific thoughts on several of this album's tracks, although I don't know if I'll do them all.
Aside: special thanks to Stewart for his work on the format of this blog.
It may be somewhat cliched to say, but Machine Head is my favorite Deep Purple album. It is a dark sounding album - very focused and intent, and some of the lyrical themes are less-than-happy (most notably "Pictures of Home"), but I find this album inspiring on many levels.
Last weekend I was feeling a little down. Not depressed, but I had some weighty things on my mind that I wasn't sure how to deal with. I popped Machine Head into the CD player as I was driving somewhere... instant comfort food for the soul. Now, I certainly wouldn't recommend DP's music to be one's source of spiritual guidance or the only place one goes for comfort in uncertain times (it is only rock'n'roll, after all), but the music is outstanding and I think some of the lyrics speak very well to some of the truths of the human experience that are common to everyone. (More on that in subsequent posts, as I share a few thoughts about some specific songs.) There's something encouraging about that, and there's something pleasant about the temporary distraction of a well-written song played well.
As I mentioned, the album is very focused. It was recorded in a short period of time (about three weeks) under trying circumstances. There seems to be a bit of a no-nonsense attitude in the recording, and the sound of the album certainly makes it easy to imagine it was recorded by a group in the hallway of a closed hotel in the midst of winter. (As much as I love Roger Glover's more "open" sounding mixes on the anniversary edition, I do not get the same feeling from that mix.) It gives the album a sense of immediacy that I think In Rock and Fireball, despite their excellence, lack.
The next few posts I'll be giving some specific thoughts on several of this album's tracks, although I don't know if I'll do them all.
Aside: special thanks to Stewart for his work on the format of this blog.
