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The one with Smoke On The Water
Speaking of the “best of 2024” lists, Machine Head made it to the Classic Rock magazine Best rock reissues of 2024:
Yup, the one with Smoke On The Water. That song, and this album, made Deep Purple legends all over the globe. This, essentially, is a three-CD version. The first disc pairs the Dweezil Zappa 2024 Remix with the 2024 Remaster; the second contains In Concert ’72; the third delivers the previously unreleased Montreux ’71.
Given that you already own at least one copy of Machine Head and possibly bought In Concert ’72 on CD in 2012, you’ll need to know that this £100 box also contains: a 60-page booklet, Dweezil’s remix on vinyl in gatefold sleeve, and a Blu-ray audio disc containing a Dolby Atmos version, the 1974 quadraphonic mix and some Dolby 5.1 surround versions.
If you’re curious, check out other entries on Louder Sound.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
It’s how all DP reissues should be properly done. In Rock could certainly do with a sonic revamp. The last remix was laughably long ago (in the mid 90s) and sounded harsh. The source masters have their limitations of course, but so much more could be done with it today.
December 27th, 2024 at 04:56Yeah…. $$$…. nope! Haven’t they heard about the cost of living crisis? Especially as I’ve got no money to burn…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aG0X81aCF0
We aren’t all as well off as Uwe, & you know money talks!…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqLfkw4Yh8
I guess love don’t mean a thing…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eDJ9k6rIGY&list=PLuxv3hvEAhDd-wfAihOHraypNDm3ZMI9H&index=2
December 27th, 2024 at 06:17Interesting it’s DZ – but 100£!
Guess I prefer eating this month! And drinking some coffee 😉
Not that I wouldn’t like it in my collection, but again – 100£!
December 27th, 2024 at 06:56@2
December 27th, 2024 at 11:19😂 good one!
I would spend 100€ for an original vinyl copy of Perfect Strangers if I were a serious collector
December 27th, 2024 at 14:58You have to milk the baby boomers while they are still alive. They aren’t made anymore, you know. The market for analog music media is dying away.
The pricing is overdone, no doubt, and for that the boxed set is not really lavish at all, more perfunctory. But I’m pretty sure that 2025 will see a release of the Dweezil Remix as a standalone CD (or two with some of the live tracks added) and that is really all you need. The Dweezil remix will take its place in Purple history.
The only thing that reconciles me with the pricing is that Rhino will likely make a nice buck off it and that will induce them to repeat the exercise with other Purple goodies. That is how capitalism works, it gets product on the shelves.
December 27th, 2024 at 15:16Downloading the bits you don’t have saves a few quid. But I was disappointed that few of the Montreux tracks were comply – and not advertised as incomplete!
December 27th, 2024 at 17:26Did I really pay £100 for this? I think it was less.
I looked at Rhino and I’m right, about $80.
December 27th, 2024 at 17:26Deep Purple In Rock in Dolby Atmos, you have to be joking Uwe. Well maybe not in Atmos. Machine Head had the sonics available & that is a an incredible advantage, including over any of their other albums. Again it depends on who attempts any remix etc, some people stuff it up big time, others not so much. In Rock while rough in it’s original 1970 sound, in certain aspects it has it’s charm as we say. Perhaps some things should be left alone? Cheers.
December 27th, 2024 at 20:53Just don`t let Geezer Butler remix In Rock,like he did original mix with Born Again for Sabbath…LOL
December 27th, 2024 at 23:55Steven Wilson should remix In Rock, he’s the one who can do those things.
December 28th, 2024 at 08:19He did remix Made in Japan at one point, but for whatever reason it stayed in the vaults. Someone must have disliked the end result or there were contractual difficulties. Wilson always says that he only remixes albums he likes (and gave up remixing ELP because he found their music cold), maybe he has an issue with DP, I don’t know. He’s not only a Prog remixer though, he also did Chicago’s sophomore album to general acclaim.
https://youtu.be/Jfjc5Z1j7Xo
With today’s technology, I believe that In Rock, for all its inherent sonic limitations stemming from the less than optimal recording process, could gain some warmth and lose some distortion plus also see the rhythm section come out a bit more – no worries, it will still sound raw enough. And it doesn’t have to be Dweezil (though I like what he did on Machine Head), any musician with remixing skills who has a special appreciation of In Rock. It’s such a pivotal album for 70s rock in general and DP specifically, it deserves a boxed set release (which it has criminally never seen). Next year will be it’s 55th anniversary…
@2, John re LDMAT, that outro solo Blackmore plays, all subdued, totally undistorted and even a little jazzy, is another one of his unsung gems. If I’m honest, then something like that impresses me more than the grandeur and drama of, say, the Stargazer solo. Blackmore was uncannily good when he was outside of his narrow comfort zone. And Stormbringer contains some of his most mature playing.
December 28th, 2024 at 15:25From what I have read over the last 15 years or so, Steve Wilson started out remixing (King Crimson initially) & a few others as they were bands that influenced and inspired him as a younger individual. Eventually he branched out and began mixing other various artists and these days remixes anything it seems, depending on the situation. I cannot find any comments from him in regards to his ‘alleged’ remixing of Made In Japan. I say alleged because it seems to be a rather vague notion of sorts. I am not saying he didn’t do that album, but it is all kept rather quiet for some reason. Unless someone can find comments by Wilson in regards to that job he undertook. A one line ‘quote’ I read from a few commentators at a couple of rock music forums, along these lines. ‘I did remix that album (MIJ), but it never went any further than that’, or words to that effect. Come on Uwe, get out your Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass & get to it. That is an ORDER by the way! Cheers.
December 29th, 2024 at 08:49I don’t like the Dweezil Zappa remix.
I like the Roger Glover Remix (1997) wich I bought at the time.
A reissue / remix of the other albums (by Roger Glover) would be great I guess..
I Like the job he did on the remixing of some of the In Rock and Who Do We Think We Are tracks.
The remixes of the Fireball tracks however, didn’t add anything to my taste..
(The Live in Japan (1993), expanded version of Made in Japan is spectacular!)
December 29th, 2024 at 13:06@12 Mature indeed, Uwe. Blackmore has come a long way from, say, Hard Livin’ Man to Love Don’t Mean A Thing. If only he had stayed on this path, who knows what could have been achieved. The mix of influences on Stormbringer is nearly breathtaking and Purple could have been the first band that really was able to stretch from Sabbath via Exceptionto The Average White Band…and act naturally while doin’ so.
December 29th, 2024 at 13:56Herr MacGregor, I fear my sources aren’t any better than yours:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/deep-purple-made-in-japan-blu-ray-audio-in-5-1.19096/page-2
Steven Wilson: “There are a lot of things I’ve done that have gotten shelved. I mean, Deep Purple’s Made in Japan (1973) — I did that years ago, and it never came out.”
But for all I know, it might have been just a 5.1 and not stereo remix, he sometimes only does one of the two: Rush’s A Farewell To Kings justs exists as a 5.1 mix from him while Chicago II he only did as a stereo remix. By now, Stevens remix might also be outdated given technology advancements in the meantime.
Anybody interested in Steven’s painstaking remixing process should find this article a treasure trove:
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/steven-wilson-remixing-classic-albums
Serge @14, the Live in Japan remix from 1993 was helpful from a historical perspective as all three nights came out for the first time, but the actual remix job then only appealed if you (i) hate Roger Glover’s bass playing and don’t want to hear it, (ii) prefer to listen to Litte Ian at twice his usual volume in the overall sound. That 1993 release should have been called “Ian Paice & Friends – My Cymbals From Tokyo – Banging Ludwig in Japan, A Drum Tribe Tribute to Deep Purple”. 😂 Simon Robinson who co-mixed the 1993 Live in Japan release together with Darron Goodwin somehow got carried away with Little Ian’s (of course excellent) drumming or perhaps he’s even a closet drummer, I’ve heard it’s a common affliction.
The 40th Anniversary Remixes in 2014 of both Made in Japan (Kevin Shirley) and Live In Japan (i.e. all three nights) (Martin Pullan) actually give you the full sonic picture of DP on that 1972 first Japan tour.
December 29th, 2024 at 14:52I wouldn’t claim that I’m familiar with Steven Wilson’s overall remix activities.
December 29th, 2024 at 16:54However, I happened to listen to some of his Jethro Tull remixes and absolutely disliked them. Somehow he managed that most of the songs completely lost their charme on me. The emotions I associated with them were not reflected any more in the new mixes. Heavy Horses was an example for that.
So please anyone but not Monsieur Wilson!
@14
December 29th, 2024 at 20:25Oh yeah the Roger Glover remix is really something 😊
@ 16 – Thanks Uwe & yes those sites are a few that I have read through hoping that there was something else there, somewhere. Alas we remain in the dark so to speak. @ 17- Christof thanks for the Tull info, interesting feedback & much appreciated with myself being a ‘Tullophile’ and all. Aqualung did need something though, it is a very muddy & noisy the original recording on the original cd release. Steve Wilson does reiterate the difficult process it can be at times, getting it as close to the original recording as possible & also with the quality or degradation of the original source tape being an issue at times. It is a fine line indeed with all this remixing & as he says & others also say it here at THS, it is best to view remixing as simply another take on it, not necessarily better or worse, just different. I am one individual who has a rather critical take on it at times. I need to take another look at a few of these remixes no doubt. I have heard Aqualung online & did like it, however I haven’t heard the epic Heavy Horses as yet. One of Tull’s classic albums & apparently nicely packaged and all. I will suss it out. The only Wilson remix mini box set I have on cd is Hawkwind’s ‘Warrior on the Edge of Time’ album & I like how he did that. I also like the mid to late 90’s remixes of Roger Glover’s with MH & the two Who albums remixed byAndy Macpherson & Jon Astley. Who’s Next & Tommy are superbly done to my ears. They all sound fine to me. However I don’t like Kevin Shirley’s remix of Come Taste The Band. Some people do the remixing better than others I suppose. Horses for courses again. Cheers.
December 29th, 2024 at 22:23I dig the Kevin Shirley remix of CTTB, but I’m happy it was released with a remaster of the original mix as well, I listen to both and never can make up my mind which I like better.
December 31st, 2024 at 21:45CTTB is one of DP’s better sounding records, it would easily be in my top six, in no particular order. Machine Head, Fireball, WDWTWA, CTTB, Purpendicular & Stormbringer. They all sound good off the vinyl or cd. Cheers.
January 1st, 2025 at 02:45I think all 70s albums from Machine Head onward sound good, Fireball has some, In Rock quite a few sonic limitations. Stormbringer is easiest the most hifi’sh sounding 70s album of Purple, it approaches clinical, but the glossy Steely Dan
-type production fits the music. CTTB sounds great too, but more organic than Stormbringer.
What always puzzles me is that Stormbringer sounded so state-of-the-art and then immediately Martin Birch’s next album (within weeks) with Ritchie – the Rainbow debut – sounds so dull. Same producer, same studio, same guitarist and musical mastermind, and the Elf guys were no musical slouches either as their previous Roger Glover-produced prior albums showed. Yet the Rainbow debut sounded even when it came out in 1975 like it was from a second or third generation tape – strangely undynamic, subdued and even muted. Now if someone could get his hands on these original masters … Or alternatively, take the approach and technology DC used on the brilliant remixes of his two 70s solo albums.
January 1st, 2025 at 16:08I agree regarding Rainbow’s debut album sounding poor compared to Stormbringer. The mind boggles, did Blackmore try to disassociate himself as much as possible from the funk & glam of the previous DP album? Getting in quickly and in a hurry perhaps, not caring about how it sounded & all that. That happened on all the Dio era Rainbow albums. From what we have heard over the years Ritchie loathed being in the studio, so that probably has something to do with it. Stormbringer is a bit light on in regards to the bottom end sound, it could have had a touch more oomph, so to speak. Otherwise it is a nice sounding album with excellent clarity. A better sounding album than Burn, which sounds too dry to my ears and lacking much needed bottom end. Cheers.
January 1st, 2025 at 22:25@22 @23
I couldn’t agree more, gentlemen. Always thought its such a shame that albums that stand out musicwise sounded so poor. In Rock and Burn are timeless classics but sound tinny. A lot of Jazz records made decades before sound so much better.
January 2nd, 2025 at 15:14Martin Birch sure did great on some records – not so on others. A miracle.
In Rock was a budget production in various studios (De Lane Lea, IBC & Abbey Road) with a new band – Episode Six had never recorded an album, only singles – producing themselves for the first time unleashed from Derek Lawrence’s more old-fashioned ways and using three different engineers in the process (Martin Birch engineered only Bloodsucker, Flight Of The Rat & Hard Lovin’ Man, his work at De Lane Lea however impressed the band the most, he had already been the engineer under Derek Lawrence), it wasn’t really a properly funded and supported venture.
Burn doesn’t so much lack low bass frequencies as it lacks audible low mids from Glenn’s bass playing – while he used a Rickenbacker 4001 just like Roger (at Ritchie’s recommendation), he didn’t quite know how to record it well and Martin Birch obviously had issues getting Glenn as a player with a different style down as prominently as Roger (who had used the Ric to great effect on MH, MIJ & WDWTWA). The bass sound you hear on Burn is not at all Glenn’s bass sound on Trapeze’s ‘Medusa’ and ‘You Are The Music, We’re Just The Band’ (where he played Fenders as he would eventually do with DP again because he simply didn’t gel with the Ric 4001). It possibly had something to do with Glenn not being used to getting himself heard in contest with Jon’s Hammond beast – his last two studio albums with Trapeze had been g-b-dr trio recordings with keyboards being used only intermittently and not as a lead instrument as with DP.
By the time Stormbringer was recorded, the audible mids in the bass sound were there – Glenn was recording with a Fender Precision again -, but that album could have indeed used a little more subwoof oomph. I guess it was produced to sound well over US FM radio where a lot of the sub-low frequencies are lost in any case. But overall, Stormbringer’s production (the first one in Munich’s Musicland Studios) has aged well. Burn has more grit, but that comes in part from the fact that the Rolling Stones Mobile was in late 1973 not offering the newest technology anymore (although it had served DP well with MH, WDWTWA and Burn), studio technology in the 70s was improving in leaps and bounds, while the Musicland Studios were essentially brand new in 1974 (due to an expansion of the studio + new technology installed in 1973) and offered a close to squeaky-clean sound.
Of the Rainbow Dio era albums I find the Chateau-recorded LLRnR to be the best sounding by a stretch, you hear everything well and separation is better than on the rushed and raw Rising, the sound much more forceful and present than on the Rainbow debut.
January 2nd, 2025 at 22:36Now I have been told over and over again how much Ian G reminds you of Elvis, but I found this little pearl where I think he reminds me of a completely different singer:
https://youtu.be/LqXTAXLrb7Q?si=E-GV3hOqiUmfdpXw
At 2:03 to 2:08 he sounds so much like Brian Johnson from the Australian electricians AC/DC 😃 – so there you have it 😉
January 8th, 2025 at 14:16