Album of the Day

One of the groups that helped forge heavy metal at the end of the 1960s, Deep Purple's many iterations could produce a whole orchard of “rock family trees.” Of all their line-ups, the five-piece with Ian Gillan (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jon Lord (keyboards), Roger Glover (bass) and Ian Paice (drums) is considered the British group's best, and their 1972 album MACHINE HEAD is perhaps the pinnacle of Purple. It's hard to argue the point given that the seven songs on the multi-Platinum set include “Highway Star,” “Space Truckin'” and that ultimate air-guitar anthem “Smoke On The Water” (which was inspired by a Swiss casino fire that happened on this day in 1971). If the volume on your speakers goes up to 11, MACHINE HEAD is the album you want playing through them...