Man, I love YouTube.

Part two of my thoughts on Machine Head, track by track.

When I first purchased Machine Head about 10 years ago, I believe it was the third DP album to enter my collection. I had previously gotten started with Deepest Purple and Made In Japan, so by the time I got Machine Head I was certainly more than familiar with "Highway Star", "Smoke On The Water", "Lazy" and "Space Truckin'". The other three tracks I heard for the first time when I got the album.

"Maybe I'm A Leo" grabbed me immediately. It has a great bluesy riff (courtesy of Roger Glover) and a really nice groove. It's simple, but in the best rock'n'roll tradition it has a great feel. Also, it has great solos (of course) from Blackmore and Lord - who employs his electric piano on this number to great effect.

Gillan sings brilliantly on this one, and it's one my favorite tunes to (attempt to) sing along with. I also really like the lyrics. It's the first of two "breakup songs" on side one. This one is about a split where the guy is at fault. Certainly we've all been in a situation where we thought we blew it. I think the lyrics capture that feeling pretty well without resorting to melancholy.

Also, this song is one of my favorites to play on the guitar. It's a great tune to jam on while sitting on the back porch on a spring day while enjoying a cool beverage. And if I ever get the stones to perform on open mic night, this will most likely be in the set list.

While "Highway Star" has been a staple of DP's live shows since its introduction in the fall of 1971, "Maybe I'm A Leo" was only performed by the Mark II lineup on one occasion I'm aware of, that being their set for BBC's In Concert series just prior to the release of Machine Head in 1972. That version is available on the highly recommended In Concert 1970/1972 2 disc set. Gillan flubs the lyrics, but Blackmore provides some nice soloing. Since then, the song has been performed at various times by Marks VI, VII and VIII, and there are plenty of versions available both officially and on bootlegs. Always a good live number, in my opinion, and I wouldn't mind seeing it return to the setlist at some point.

It's been a busy few weeks, hence the no blogging.

However, last week I did get in some new DP CD's. Several months ago, I discovered that through some unknown happenstance, Disc One of my copy of Live In Japan had a hideous scratch that made "Space Truckin'" unplayable. Also, I had a few scratches on Disc Two that caused some skips. Probably caused by the carrying case I'd had them in when I was carrying them in my car. Anyway, I finally got around to replacing them last week.

Listening to the three shows again, I was again reminded of just how unbelievable the band was on that short three-date Japanese Tour in the summer of '72. Powerful is putting it mildly. The Mark II lineup had always had an agressive live sound, but for some reason they were absolutely pummelling on stage in Japan that year. Of course, the live album the shows originally produced, Made In Japan, is an all-time classic. However, this three disc set provides valuable insight into just how much the performance could change on consecutive nights while retaining high quality.

If you've not picked up the Live In Japan 3 Disc set, I heartily recommend it.

Now when's my copy of Live In London coming out?