Deep Purple Machine Head 50 (Deluxe) LP + 3CD + 1 Blu Ray Audio - Deluxe Boxset

"It wasn't our choice. I mean, this was coming from the record company. The record company wanted Dweezil, because of, obviously, his father's connection. And we'd met Dweezil, I think, four or five years ago. He got on stage with us and played a couple of songs with us when we played Montreux Jazz Festival. And I didn't really get to know him much. He was just a nice chap, and he came and played guitar. That's all I remember, really, about that. And when they said that they wanted Dweezil to mix the album — well, I'd already mixed the album for the 25th anniversary, so [I said], 'Well, why do you need another remix?' But they said, no, they wanted Dweezil. I think it's probably a marketing thing. They thought it was a cool idea."

And Ian Gillan (from the SDE interview):
"when we heard the first Dweezil Zappa mix, Roger and I were in Portugal at my studio – we were working on something else – and we went ‘What?’ And then we thought, ‘Hold on a moment – don’t compare it with the original…’

It is what it is, and we’ve got to listen to it for what it is and not compare it – it’s all different."

Neither seems really enthused...

 

Just thinking the exact same thing. When I initially read the Gillian interview I took it as a ringing endorsement but I looked again after the Glover and realized just how noncommittal he was.

 

Review from Analog Planet:

Deep Purple’s Seminal, Hard-Rocking Proto-Metal Classic 1972 LP, Machine Head, Absolutely Smokes in Its New 50th Anniversary Box Set Configuration, Especially on Vinyl as Remixed by Dweezil Zappa

 

And Smoke On The Water on this :

 

And I’ve ordered a copy of the 2019 KG vinyl now. I have plenty of comparing to look forward to.

 

Don’t forget the SACD with the UK quad mix!

 

Had it and sold it on eBay back in 2010.
A bidding war broke out and I couldn’t believe what I ended up getting for it. The guy that bought it was SO happy because he’d been after a copy for a long time.

 

I'm currently listening to Roger Glover's 1997 mix and have to state that he did a relly great job here. There are some differences to the original but they serve the music well. Love that prolonged intro to Highway Star.

 

Could anyone confirm if sound wise the mastering for the vinyl version is identical to that of the CD?

I'm on the fence about whether to open my boxset. Having given the entire remix another listen, I've moved past my initial reservations and am starting to appreciate it more. My main critiques lie with the vocals in "Space Truckin'" being too subdued, the missing staccato bass at the start of "Highway Star," the messy effects during the bridge at "Never Before", and the overshadowed ride cymbals in "Maybe I'm a Leo's" instrumental bridge. Beyond these points, there are intriguing aspects that suggest this mix could hold its own unique appeal. Viewing it as an "Alternate Machine Head," akin to Fleetwood Mac's approach with several of their albums, might shift the listening experience into a more favorable light. I am trying : )

 

I am still mad that wasn't included with this set.

 

“Pictures of Home” made me chime it. Not only what you said, but directly after that drum intro, the edit chops off the slight pause - the breathing room - as the band begins.

I do the same thing as Dweezil, screwing around with music on the computer. I don’t like what he did. I also don’t appreciate the bonus stuff. I am glad that Spotify is the only place I’ll hear this.

 

Too Lazy (pun intended) to go through 18 pages, so...
I'm pondering getting it, but can anyone who has the set definitively answer two questions for me:
1) Does the BluRay contain 2-channel stereo hi-res of either the remix or the original mix? Kind of a dealbreaker for me, as I don't own a multi-channel set-up.
2) Does the U.S. version have Warner labels on the vinyl, or are they all the black Universal label?

Re: the remix - I've heard it. Not a fan, but I'm also not gonna hate on it. I think the problem is in the marketing. They're calling it "remixed". They should have called it "reimagined". Then, maybe many of us would have been more receptive.

 

No 2 channel audio on the BD.

 

Nirvana and Steve Albini made a deliberately different alternate mix of "In Utero" to include in the 20th Anniversary set because they didn't have any vintage alternates, but it was merely marketed as "2013 Mix". People tore it apart for being so different, even though it sounds great, not understanding that it's supposed to be different by design. Then they did a 30th anniversary set again but Albini refused to be involved, so they sold it by using crappy AI on some live tapes and stuffing it with useless ephemera for an outrageous price, and people gladly bought it again anyway.

I don't think record companies care about how things are perceived, as long as it is marketed the right way and they get copies out the door, because they are well aware that most consumers don't understand what they are actually purchasing.

 

that's the most frustrating part about the majority of box sets; it usually misses some key content.

would be amazing to have 4-5 different mixes on the same blu ray.

...but then they wouldn't need to make more box sets, I guess....

 

I can't say for sure, but here's the DR info of my needledrop. The DR of the CD is about 2 dB less, but it might be mastered from the same source. I would think that this is most likely the case, probably with some minor tweaks needed for vinyl cutting.

I love that "When a Blind Man Cries" is on the LP now.

Code:

foobar2000 1.6.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2024-04-02 08:58:22

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed: Deep Purple / Machine Head (2024 Remix) (Vinyl)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR         Peak         RMS     Duration Track
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR10      -0.47 dB   -12.55 dB      6:11 01/08-Highway Star (2024 Remix)
DR11      -0.44 dB   -13.19 dB      4:51 02/08-Maybe I'm A Leo (2024 Remix)
DR10      -1.44 dB   -12.80 dB      5:06 03/08-Pictures Of Home (2024 Remix)
DR11      -0.25 dB   -13.25 dB      4:02 04/08-Never Before (2024 Remix)
DR11      -0.24 dB   -13.19 dB      6:10 05/08-Smoke On The Water (2024 Remix)
DR11      -0.11 dB   -13.81 dB      7:22 06/08-Lazy (2024 Remix)
DR11      -1.21 dB   -15.08 dB      3:30 07/08-When A Blind Man Cries (2024 Remix)
DR11      -0.19 dB   -13.15 dB      4:34 08/08-Space Truckin' (2024 Remix)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of tracks:  8
Official DR value: DR11
Samplerate:        96000 Hz
Channels:          2
Bits per sample:   24
================================================================================

 

Downloaded mine years ago even had the artwork

 

Am I right in thinking any genuine outtakes/different mixes from the time from the MH sessions still remain in bootleg land or tape collecting circles?
I have lots of versions of Machine Head sacd, Audio Fidelity , DVD Audio plus various vinyl so it is tempting to keep the collection going but this release lookls a step and price too far at the moment.

 

Worthless.

 

This is an old video and well known around here. In a nutshell, it simply shows that - when cutting vinyl - it is not possible to transfer heavily compressed/clipped masterings to the vinyl cutting head, the cutting head cannot follow the clipped peaks, thus somehow changing the outcome from a flat-top waveform to something which looks more like a dynamic peak (whether this is good or bad is not the point here).

And as I have stated, I am quite sure that the basic source for the vinyl was the same as for the digital version.

But creating needledrops, and analyzing the WAV-forms and measuring the DR values is not worthless in my opinion, but it might be worthless to you, I suppose. And the statement in the headline of the video "Why TT meter does not work on vinyl" is a bit silly, in my opinion. The tool works just fine and does measure the dynamic range of the vinyl playback. The better statement would be along the lines to be careful when making direct comparisons of DR readings made of CD rips and needledrops, but it certainly is not a problem of the tool and is attributed how the vinyl cutting, production and playback process changes the sound compared to the source material. The flaw - if you want to call it that - is in the vinyl cutting/production/playback and not in the DR Meter tool.

And even vinyl pressings which are based on the same dynamically limited mastering source usually sound better to me compared to their digital counterparts. But this is purely subjective.

 

Thank you for spending some time with this. It definitely would be also interesting to do an aural A/B comparison (matching volumes) to compare vinyl and CD. Cheers and many thanks again.

 

This comment offers valuable insights that merit recognition. I wholeheartedly concur with the points raised. As @rjstauber noted, any transfer of information, be it digital-to-digital or analog-to-digital, inherently involves some degree of fidelity loss—a natural aspect of the process. The same can be said for measurement processes, as they rely on the sensitivity of those measuring devices. I personally don't see any harm in utilizing vinyl drop Dynamic Range (DR) values as a referential benchmark to compare potential differences.

Furthermore, while it hasn't been mentioned here, I believe the emphasis on DR values in discussions often receives undue attention. In my view, DR values serve as a guide rather than a definitive gauge of sound quality or fidelity. Our auditory systems are so complex that ultimately I rely on what I hear. For instance, it's unrealistic to expect a Metallica album and a classical music piece to adhere to the same DR standards, reflecting their distinct sonic characteristics. A recording's compression, indicated by lower DR values, doesn't automatically imply it's of inferior quality.

 

should have included a hi-rez stereo mix instead of the audience recording. unless I missed it in the thread how does the atmos mix sound

 

That's just awful that they didn't have any control over who would remix their album for this project. What the heck does a band have to do to get control over their own product. It won't sell one more copy for having Dweezil's name on it.

 

As long as they don't own their master recordings, it's not really "their" product as much as a product of the record company.

Impossible to measure, but I'm not sure you're right. It certainly creates a marketing angle that a name like, say, Martin Pullan (who did the Made In Japan remixes from ten years ago) doesn't.