Deep Purple could easily have been as big as Led Zeppelin. They were certainly as talented. If only Ritchie Blackmore had got on better with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, this classic line-up could have stayed together for a few more years, and clocked up true supergroup status. And earned an awful lot of money.

But an inability to make compromises often goes with the territory of being highly talented. Listening again to these remastered anniversary editions of 'In Rock', 'Fireball' and 'Machine Head' together with 'Rainbow Rising', I am strongly persuaded by the argument that Ritchie Blackmore has been rock's greatest post-Hendrix guitarist.

This was a re-master I had to buy. 'Machine Head' was the first album I ever bought. For several months it was the only album I owned, so I played it to death. Every piece of music brought into my boarding school had to be approved by the headmaster. At the time, only 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' had been approved. Rather than ask permission and get the album confiscated, I sneaked 'Machine Head' in to the school, intending to play it to myself on headphones. But other boys -- we were 13-year-olds -- wanted their own copies, so a number of crude speaker-to-microphone recordings were made. That summer, the sounds of 'Highway Star' and 'Pictures of Home' echoed around the subterranean cavern that was called the Model Club. Fortunately this was not the era when hard-rock bands felt obliged to insert gratuitous four-letter words into their lyrics. Despite the musical style of 'Machine Head' not nothing like the classical stuff that our teachers wanted us to aspire to, the album was not banned. Strangely, 'Smoke on the Water' was NOT one of the tracks we paid much attention to. It was only when I moved on the next term to another school -- one where boys could learn the guitar -- that I became aware of the legendary status this track was acquiring.

This 2CD set throws up an immediate dilemma: which to listen to first -- the Remixes or the Remasters? I know every note of the original album, so the Remasters were my first port of call. The recordings are clearer, but there's no particular revelation.

What is stunning -- and this is the reason why every Purple fan has to own this version -- are Roger Glover's Remixes. Normally I am suspicious of remixes. Today remixes are usually an excuse for another producer to cut and splice, re-order chorus and verse, and put down several new layers of synth and drum machine. Glover has done none of that, but he has brought a fantastic clarity to the recordings. Most tracks last a little longer, because Glover has left in an additional bar of music at the opening or at the very end. Two tracks, including 'Smoke on the Water', have completely different solos.

In listening to the remixes, you feel very close to the stage of the Grand Hotel, Montreux. There is a tremendous live feel to the recordings. Extraordinarily for a band whose members couldn't abide each other, the level of empathy between the musicians is oustanding. The interplay between Blackmore and Lord is wonderful. (Now at last with the sonic clarity of the remixes I can just about be sure which bits are played by Lord and which by Blackmore.) Even Glover's bass solo on 'Pictures of Home' sparkles.

Ian Gillan may have been casual about the writing of the lyrics, but Purple's music has lasted because the band put so much into the development of each track. I found that it took many listens to fully appreciate all the nuances of their finest recordings. That was, after all, part of the appeal of progressive music. This anniversary set is a fitting testament to the greatest progressive hard rock band I have known.

Deep Purple at their ultimate very best. The classic line up of Gillian, Blackmore, Lord, Glover and Paice. Too bad they only made a few albums with this grouping. Sure, we all know it's tough to get along with Ritchie Blackmore, but the esoteric types usually are. Blackmore shreds & slings like there is no tomorrow on Machine Head. All the band members click her, but most notably are Blackmore & Ian Paice. Paice is one of the most under-rated drummers ever... he cooks on this album. His drumming is smooth and almost effortless. "Highway Star" and "Smoke on the Water" are two songs that any person even slightly interested in rock & roll will remember. But, the songs that didn't make it to the radio (or got very little air play) are the ones that hold this great album together. "Pictures of Home", "Maybe I'm a Leo", "Never Before"... and "Lazy"... how can you not jump up from whatever you are doing and just run yourself silly? This classic hard rock is full of energy & heart. A 1972 essential in any rock library.

So, this is the shape of music to come eh? Take an excellant, superbly recorded and mixed album from 30 years ago and make it sound like it was just done yesterday. Without a doubt the greatest breakthrough in music since the first CD was pressed. 6.0 sound track, 5.1 soundtrack, and for those who don't want to know what they're missing, 2.0 soundtrack. All in Dolby Digital All with highs so crisp they cut like a knife. All with bass so intense if you walk in front of your subwoofer you will do yourself an injury. And all with every nuance of the music brought out in crystal clear clarity. The DVD contains the 7 original tracks plus the bonus 45rpm flipside of When A Blind Man Cries. Add to this video of the band playing Highway Star and Lazy from the Danish TV in 1971 and you have one special little package. Too bad it dosen't have the alternate tracks and out-takes from the 25th anniversary CD, then it would have been perfect. If you want to hear your music sound like the soundtrack from a modern movie buy this DVD. You will need a DVD player marked with the DVD AUDIO label in order to play the videos or the 6.0 tracks. If you don't have one, the 5.1 is just as effective for seperation and effect. There are quite a few other albums in Deep Purple's discography that I would like to see recieve this treatment. Shall we say, all of them!

Deep Purple Machine Head is an absolutely fabulous album containing the smash hit Deep Purple songs, Smoke On The Water, Highway Star, Lazy, and Space Trukin.' This is a must have album for any hard rock fan and now its even better as a remastered CD. Disk One is the whole album remastered with 24 bit technology Smoke On The Water, Highway Star, Lazy, and Space Trukin, Maybe I'm A Leo, Never Before and Pictures of Home along (songs out of order in my review) Three bonus tracks; When A Blind Man Cry's (a B side), Maybe I'm A Leo and Lazy both Quadraphonic mixes. Disk 2 is all the original songs Smoke On The Water, Highway Star, Lazy, and Space Trukin, Maybe I'm A Leo, Never Before and Pictures of Home from machine head and the B side When A Blind Mans Cry's all remixed with different emphasis, for instance there are different Guitar and keyboard parts on many of the songs; Disk 2 is very very cool. The booklet is informative as well. Cool Pictures and a nice slip case for the Jewell case.

The first thing to state about Machine Head is that if any group were to release an album of this calibre today you would not be able to avoid hearing about them in the media. But the fact is that no group today will release an album like this, not even come close. The main reason for this is quite simple; this album was a product of a different age where the motivation was to create music that was a form of exploration and which, when it was at it's best, pushed the boundaries of what was possible. That simply does not happen anymore where far too many groups and musicians are in the music business because it is a career option and a means to make money, and not because they have any understanding of, or sensitivity to the fact that music might be a path to knowledge. Suffice to say that Machine Head blows away anything around today by a country mile and in another 30 years time will sound just as good if not better than what is going to be around then if current trends are anything to go by. No point in giving individual reviews of the songs because the album should be taken as a complete package and as such it is a razor sharp statement of metal integrity.