DEEP PURPLE Announces ‘Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition’

Deep Purple’s 1972 album Machine Head will be reissued as a 3CD+Blu-ray+LP super deluxe edition next month.

The English rock band’s sixth studio album was famously due to be recorded at Montreux Casino before it burnt to the ground. The band ended up setting up the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in the nearby Grand Hotel which was closed for the Winter, Overlook-style. These events were depicted in the classic Smoke on the Water, which starts side two of the vinyl version of this album.

Machine Head has been reissued many times, so what new content does this super deluxe edition offer? Well, Dweezil Zappa has remixed the record in stereo and in Dolby Atmos. The new stereo mix features on the coloured vinyl LP (“opaque white with hints of purple”) which is included in this super deluxe and on the first CD in the five-disc set, which is also home to a 2024 remaster (two versions of the album on one CD). The new stereo and Atmos remixes also include ‘Never Before’ B-side, ‘When A Blind Man Cries’.

The two CDs both include live performances. The first, recorded on 9 March 1972, at the Paris Theatre in London, captures the group on their Machine Head Tour. The second is previously unreleased; it was recorded in April 1971 at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland (yes, the same one that burned down eight months later). This is an “audience recording” which covers songs the band recorded prior to Machine Head, including ‘Child In Time’ (from 1969’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra), ‘Speed King’ (from 1970’s Deep Purple in Rock), and ‘Strange Kind Of Woman’ (from 1971’s Fireball ).

The blu-ray audio features the new Atmos Mix, and the original 1974 US Quad Mix and three tracks in 5.1 Surround Sound. The new stereo mix is not listed amongst the content (go figure) and why the whole album, rather than just three tracks, isn’t included in 5.1 (from the old DVD-Audio) is a mystery.

The super deluxe edition includes a 60-page book with new sleeve notes and the usual archive and rare photos.

Machine Head will be released on 29 March 2024 via Universal ex USA and Warners in America.

3CD+Blu-ray+LP super deluxe

• CD 1: Machine HeadDweezil Zappa 2024 Remix
  1. “Highway Star”*
  2. “Maybe I’m A Leo”*
  3. “Pictures Of Home”*
  4. “Never Before”*
  5. “Smoke On The Water”*
  6. “Lazy”*
  7. “Space Truckin’”*
  8. “When A Blind Man Cries” – B-side*
  2024 Remaster
  1. “Highway Star”
  2. “Maybe I’m A Leo”
  3. “Pictures Of Home”
  4. “Never Before”
  5. “Smoke On The Water”
  6. “Lazy”
  7. “Space Truckin’”
  * previously unreleased
• CD 2: In Concert ’72
  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”
  10. “Maybe I’m A Leo” – soundcheck
• CD 3: Montreux ’71
  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” *
  * previously unreleased
• Blu-ray AudioDweezil Zappa 2024 Atmos Remix
  1. “Highway Star” *
  2. “Maybe I’m A Leo” *
  3. “Pictures Of Home” *
  4. “Never Before” *
  5. “Smoke On The Water” *
  6. “Lazy” *
  7. “Space Truckin’” *
  8. “When A Blind Man Cries” – B-side *
  1974 U.S. Quad Mix
  1. “Highway Star”
  2. “Maybe I’m A Leo”
  3. “Pictures Of Home”
  4. “Never Before”
  5. “Smoke On The Water”
  6. “Lazy”
  7. “Space Truckin’”
  Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound Mixes
  1. “When A Blind Man Cries” – B-side
  2. “Maybe I’m A Leo”
  3. “Lazy”
  * previously unreleased
• Vinyl LPSide One
  1. “Highway Star”
  2. “Maybe I’m A Leo”
  3. “Pictures Of Home”
  4. “Never Before”
  Side Two
  1. “Smoke On The Water”
  2. “Lazy”
  3. “When A Blind Man Cries” B-side
  4. “Space Truckin’”