Deep Purple - Highway Star

"Highway Star" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple off their 1972 album Machine Head. It is characterized by a long classically-inspired guitar solo and organ solo. Ritchie Blackmore claimed that he wanted the song to have a "Bach sound." Robb Reiner of Anvil has called it one of the earliest speed metal songs.

This song was born on a tour bus going to Portsmouth in 1971 when a reporter asked the band how they wrote songs. To demonstrate, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore grabbed an acoustic and began playing a riff consisting of a single "G" repeated over and over, while vocalist Ian Gillan improvised lyrics over the top. The song was refined and was performed that same night.

The song first appears on the 1972 LP Machine Head. The track remains one of the band's staple live performances, and was the set opener for many years. These days the song is usually an encore. The album Made In Japan features a live version of the song, and two live versions can be heard on the Deep Purple-Extended Versions Live Compilation CD. The first version heard on the CD is fused with the song "Not Fade Away".

• Category

  Music

[fineart10]

This video is PURE GOLD... in the exact time, moment, space,, etc.. One of the most representative bands of rock.... I would put like this... If some ET would come to earth and ask us "what is a rock and roll rhytm??".... this video explain everything to them....

[rocksgaiden]

yeah you are right! Machine Head such a great album and this performance its a classic of the rock!