There are, as we well know, many great stories surrounding Machine Head, arguably Deep Purple's definitive musical moment – most famously the Montreux Casino fire that scuttled the group's plans to record the album there and sent them to the nearby Grand Hotel. But even before Deep Purple hit town there was some drama for Roger Glover and the bass he planned to use on the album.
Glover had purchased a new Rickenbacker 4001 at Manny's Music on 48th Street in New York City while Purple were touring North America in the autumn of 1971. He sent the guitar back to England with a roadie while he spent a little extra time in the States with a girlfriend, only to receive a call to tell him that "customs has seized your guitar. The next morning when I went through, it was, 'Hello Mr. Glover...' It was like a spy movie; I was in a room, this light shining in my face.' 'What's your story?'
