Deep Purple Releases Music Video for ‘Smoke on the Water’ Remix
Traditionally you only make music videos for new songs, but every now and then something truly weird happens. To celebrate the new Super Deluxe Edition of their 1972 album Machine Head, heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple have released a music video for the remix of their most iconic song of all time, “Smoke on the Water,” 52 years after the original version of the song was released. This song is so old (How old is it!?) that the main reason the original version of “Smoke on the Water” didn’t have a music video is that it predates the launch of MTV by nine years.
According to Blabbermouth, the new remix was created by Dweezil Zappa, son of legendary musician Frank Zappa and a musical visionary in his own right. This is particularly appropriate since the original song was inspired by the fact that the band intended to record Machine Head at the Montreux Casino in Switzerland in 1971, but the venue caught on fire after a fan fired a flare gun at a Frank Zappa concert in the hotel, causing smoke across nearby Lake Geneva.
I have to say, I’ve been pretty excited at some concerts, but I’ve never been so excited I felt the uncontrollable urge to fire off a flare gun. Who brings a flare gun to a concert anyway? That’s a very strange way to party, but hey, you do you.
The animated music video, directed by Dan Gibling and Luke McDonnell of Chiba Film, is filled with wild color and trippy images, giving a nod to Deep Purple’s psychedelic side. It also tells the story of how the band recorded the album, albeit in a surreal fashion. In a statement reported in by Blabbermouth, the video’s directors have this to say about the new video:
“It’s been an honor to put visuals to this song, undeniably one of the greatest rock tracks of all time.
“The fact that the song is itself a story meant we had no shortage of inspiration for the scenes that accompany the music.
“Our idea for the video follows the fact that the band were under pressure to make this record on time after the events that unfolded at the casino. We wished to depict all these events and band members accurately, but also elevate the animated video into an exciting, action-packed chase that sees the band pursued by the stylus as they ride along the deep grooves of the record.
“On their journey, we visit the places and heroes mentioned in the song, as well as encounters with fire, water, smoke, police and even dragons as they strive to take control of the record stylus and cut their track into the vinyl.
“The writing of the album was an adventure summed up in the lyrics, and we hope we have created an accompanying adventure that existing and new fans will enjoy.”
The Machine Head Super Deluxe Edition comes out on March 29 and includes three CDs, an LP, and a set of Blu-Rays. The package is available for pre-order from Rhino Records.
