Deep Purple Vinyl Records – Machine Head, In Rock & Essential Albums on Vinyl

Deep Purple are one of the founding bands of hard rock. Formed in Hertford in 1968, the classic Mk II line-up of Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice produced a run of albums between 1970 and 1973 that defined what heavy rock could be — Blackmore's razor-sharp guitar, Lord's distorted Hammond organ, Paice's hurricane drumming, and Gillan's range-free vocals operating as a single propulsive unit.

Machine Head, In Rock and the live Made in Japan are the essential records. Later line-ups — the Coverdale/Hughes Mk III era, and the various reunions — have their own pleasures but the 1970-73 run is where the band's reputation lives. Deep Purple on vinyl is thrilling: the dynamic range of Blackmore/Lord trading leads really needs analogue width to breathe. The recent 180g Purple Records reissues and the UK first-press A-Warners are all worth owning.

Best Deep Purple Albums on Vinyl

Machine Head (1972)
Their best-known album and rightly so. Smoke on the Water, Highway Star, Space Truckin', Lazy — recorded in a Montreux hotel corridor with the Rolling Stones' mobile studio after the casino burned down. One of the best-selling hard rock records ever made.

In Rock (1970)
The record where Mk II truly arrived. Speed King, Child in Time, Flight of the Rat, Hard Lovin' Man — all pointing toward what hard rock and heavy metal would become. The cover (the band carved into Mount Rushmore) remains iconic.

Made in Japan (1972)
One of the greatest live albums ever recorded. Captured across three nights in Osaka and Tokyo in August 1972, it documents Mk II at absolute peak — extended versions of Highway Star, Smoke on the Water, Child in Time and The Mule. The 2xLP is essential.

Fireball (1971)
The often-overlooked bridge between In Rock and Machine Head. The title track, Strange Kind of Woman and Demon's Eye — the band experimenting with slightly odder arrangements before settling into the Machine Head groove.

Burn (1974)
The first Mk III album with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes replacing Gillan and Glover. The title track, Mistreated and Sail Away are extraordinary — a different band really, but one with its own deep pleasures. Worth owning.

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