- Highway Star
Song infobox
Name = Highway Star
Artist =Deep Purple
Album = Machine Head
Released = March 1972
track_no = 1
Recorded = December 6 - 21, 1971Mountain Studios Montreux ,Switzerland
Genre =Rock music
Length = 6:09
Label =EMI (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)
Writer =Ian Gillan Ritchie Blackmore Roger Glover Jon Lord Ian Paice
Producer =Deep Purple
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next_no = 2"Highway Star" is one of British rock group
Deep Purple 's most famous songs. It is characterised by a long classically-inspired guitar solo and organ solo [ [http://glover.thehighwaystar.com/rosas/tab/hstar.htm :::: Roger Glover - the official website ] ] . OrganistJon Lord claimed that the organ solo is based on aBach -like sequence. The song appears on the album "Machine Head" and is the fastest song (tempo-wise) recorded on the album.History
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 vocalistIan Gillan improvised lyrics over the top. The song was refined and was performed that same night [ [http://www.stevemorse.com/interviews/200310guitarmagazine.html Roger Glover Interview] at stevemorse.com] . 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.Two live versions of this song 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".Structure
The structure of the song consists of a 25 second guitar introduction, before the band launches into the thumping opening riff, which soon leads into the first vocals section (0.55). The first two verses are sung, then
Jon Lord begins his organ solo (2.14). The organ solo lasts for about a minute, thenIan Gillan sings the third verse of the song (3.24). At the conclusion of the third verse, theguitar solo starts (4.07), and lasts for just under a minute and twenty seconds. Then, the fourth and final verse, which in the original recording is simply a repetition of the first verse, is sung, finishing around 6.10. Depending on the version, there may be a 15 second-long exit section before the end of the song. When the song is played live, Gillan has been known to improvise its lyrics, as seen in the official video for the song.Covers
Because of its fast tempo, "Highway Star" is covered by numerous bands in the
speed metal genre as well as other bands from other genres.*
Faith No More has covered at least one verse of the song, which can be heard on the second disc of their greatest hits albumWho Cares a Lot? .
*X-Cops , aGWAR side project, covered the song (with slightly different lyrics to better reflect the theme of the band and album) on their only album, "You Have the Right to Remain Silent... ".
*Metal Church covered the song on their self-titled debut album.
* Australian classical guitar bandSaffire perform an equally fast but acoustic cover of Highway Star on their 2004 CD Nostalgica.
*Alter Bridge covered the song several times on their concerts withMark Tremonti andMyles Kennedy playing both the guitar solo and the organ solo together.
*Type O Negative have a version of the track on their recently released 'Best of'.
*Dream Theater performed the song as well as the rest of the Made in Japan album on January 13 2006. It was subsequently released as an official bootleg on Mike Portnoy's Ytse Jam Records.
*Bugotak band fromNovosibirsk made their [http://www.last.fm/music/Bugotak/_/Men+Chuguruk+(Deep+Purple's+Highway+Star) Men Chuguruk] cover with throat singing vocals inBuryat language and instruments ofSiberia n indigenous people.Appearances in other media
*Part of this song was played during a Rob and Big episode when Big was showing Rob that he knows how to protect Rob in a car
*Acover version of "Highway Star" by Kaleb James is featured in one stage of theNintendo DS video game "Elite Beat Agents ".
*In "The Simpsons " episode "Viva Ned Flanders ",Homer Simpson sings his own version of the song, replacing the word "car" with "Ned".
*An instrumental version of Highway Star is featured inSuper Nintendo title "Rock N' Roll Racing ".
*"Highway Star" was the original name for the NES game "Rad Racer " until they were asked to change it by Deep Purple. The name, however, was still used as the title for the game in Japan, and one of the tunes in the game is inspired by the song.
*The song can be heard very briefly in the film "Dazed and Confused".
*The master recording of this song is a playable track in themusic video game "Rock Band". The song also plays during the game's introduction video. In Rock Band, the volume of the organ solo has been decreased to make it easier for players to hear and play their respective instruments.
*Yuuya Fungami, a character in part four ofJojo's Bizarre Adventure , names his stand ability "Highway Star".
*A cover version of this song can be played onGuitar Freaks 3rd mix/drummania 2nd Mix.*
*In an episode ofMetalocalypse , the character Toki Wartooth proclaims that a car has 'Big fat tires and everything!', referencing a line in the song.
*In theanime seriesBubblegum Crisis , an advancedmotorcycle named "Highway Star" was built by the mechanicMackey Stingray .
*The song is played briefly in the episode "" ofThat '70s Show .
*Highway Star is the name of an enemy in theCapcom video gameBreath of Fire :Dragon Quarter for thePlaystation 2 console.
*Highway Star was the original name of the Irish punk bandStiff Little Fingers , when they were still aclassic rock cover band.
*In the CSI episode, "Cockroaches", the song can be heard in the beginning while the camera follows the red car behind the dumpster truck.
*During the "My Name is Earl " episode "Dad's Car" in Season One, the song is played during a drag race between Earl and Billy Reed.
*In a devil may cry episode 2 the demon and the episode are titled "Highway Star". " [citation needed] "References
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