Talk:Machine Head (album)

The reviews
Something is wrong with the "Q" review, the linked source in just a page trying to sell the album, and there's no reference to the Q magazine on that "source" page. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by MaxThonder (talk • contribs) 15:14, 14 December 2006 (UTC).

Release Date
The release date is stated as May 1972 yet it reached number one in the UK on April 22 1972. Surely therefore it must have been released in the UK at least a month before.--Hammard (talk) 18:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Expansion
This album (to me) ranks easily alongside Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and similar. I hope nobody minds, but I fancy expanding this article to GA or perhaps FA. Parrot of Doom 22:54, 8 January 2011 (UTC)


 * It is one of my favorites - probably in my top 10. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 04:54, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

How did they come up with the title?
A machine head is the tuning peg on a guitar. How did the band decide to name the album? Can somebody write a little blurb about the title? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.161.55.95 (talk) 19:23, 4 April 2015 (UTC)

Rolling Stone Magazine Top 500 Albums
Why was this album not included in that list? Quite the mystery...A P Monblat (talk) 19:54, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

Highway Star intro
It is possible that the intro was inspired by the one on The Doors' "LA Woman". Anyone else noticed it? Chapa1985 (talk) 17:47, 18 March 2016 (UTC)
 * No. Why are you going around musical articles and asking if song X is inspired by song Z ?  Mlpearc  ( open channel ) 17:49, 18 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Why? Because that way more people can find out about it. After all, there's a whole article on Led Zeppelin and the inspiration behind the songs, the original credit, whether it should change or not, etc. What's the problem? List of Led Zeppelin Chapa1985 (talk) 21:12, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

Taped in a single day??
The infobox says "recording date: 21 December 1971". Now, the album was recorded fairly quickly and spontaneously, but surely not in less than 24 hours from start to finish? 83.254.159.179 (talk) 21:07, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Surely some mistake..
"The song was actually composed by Blackmore and Gillan at the start of the Fireball gigs on a bus travelling to Portsmouth Guild Hall, in response to a question from a member of the press as to how the band created their material."

This doesn't make any sense as it stands. The obvious remedy, to switch around the two parts of the sentence, seems to entail the introduction of the passive voice, viz: "In response to a question ... reply was made that the song was actually composed by" etc.

I invite editors to have a try. Harfarhs (talk) 23:54, 8 April 2019 (UTC)

Claims in the lead vs sourced content in main body
Right now the lead claims: "Machine Head is cited as a major influence in the early development of heavy metal music"; that it is "Deep Purple's most commercially successful album"; and it "stayed in the [UK] top 40 for 20 weeks" and remained "on the Billboard 200 for 118 weeks". None of this is supported in the article.

Most of the statements in the following sentences (under Critical reception) aren't supported either: The first single released from the album, "Never Before", reached number 35 in the UK and did not chart in the US. Prompted by heavy radio play of "Smoke on the Water" as an album cut, Warner Brothers eventually released it as a single in May 1973. The song became a hit in North America, reaching number two on the Canadian RPM chart and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. The only source there is a Billboard chart history for Deep Purple's Hot 100 hits, which couldn't possibly support mention of what the album's first single was, its UK chart peak, or an initial non-charting in the US, nor for Warner's then issuing "Smoke" after heavy rotation on radio (and in a certain month), and its subsequent Canadian chart peak.

Apologies if I'm missing something – eg, regarding the "major influence in the early development of heavy metal" point – I only skimmed through the article up to Release. JG66 (talk) 14:45, 24 March 2021 (UTC)


 * I've trimmed the lead down, I've never considered Deep Purple "metal" as the term didn't exist back then, or at least wasn't in common circulation. I'm surprised didn't pick up on this in the GA review. I don't believe the chart positions are wrong (editors like  used to keep on top of this stuff), but I don't have any sources for them to hand. Ritchie333 (talk)  (cont)  21:43, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Are you? The Rambling Man (Stay alert! Control the virus! Save lives!&#33;!&#33;) 21:44, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
 * The chart stuff was added by in in this edit. Let's see what they have to say. Ritchie333 (talk)  (cont)  21:52, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
 * I can always re-open the GAN review if it's deemed unsatisfactory. The Rambling Man (Stay alert! Control the virus! Save lives!&#33;!&#33;) 22:02, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

Release date
The given release date of 25 March is necessarily an error, as in 1972, this date was a Saturday. 31 March was a Friday, and the standard of the day was that UK albums were released on Fridays, with occasional exceptions on Mondays. The LP entered the charts in the UK and US on 15 April, which is to be expected if it was released 31 March. As the only source for 25 March is an online magazine, this appears to be a case of citogenesis Ray1983a (talk) 01:25, 22 December 2023 (UTC)


 * What is your source of information for this? Ritchie333 (talk) (cont)  13:03, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Reissues section
Says "A Blu-ray audio-only disc is also set to be reissued including Zappa's Atmos Mix, 1974 U.S. Quad, and 5.1 surround." I haven't found anything about it being released yet. Is anything known? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 21:27, 31 March 2024 (UTC)