‘Smoke’ Machine

Blackmore when I was a young guitarist, and I still do. His solos were uniquely inventive, and he often incorporated harmonic minor scales, along with piercing string bends and a vibrato-bar assault that was all his own and could sound otherworldly and supersonic. Most importantly, his solos were mini compositions that were great musical adventures. As a guitarist, he was a great storyteller with a lot to say, and he does. Released in 1972 on the Purple label in the U.K. (and on the Warner Bros. label in the U.S.), it’s the group’s sixth studio album and the third to feature the Mark II lineup of Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.