Deep Purple “Space Truckin'” Isolated Organ Track

The original Deep Purple lineup had a very unique sound in the annals of rock, and much of that was because of Jon Lord’s organ. While most organ players want their Hammond’s to sound like the instrument they are, Lord treating his C3 more like a guitar, going as far as plugging it directly into a Marshall stack to get his unique sound. No where is that more evident than in this isolated organ track from the band’s hit “Space Truckin.'” Here’s what to listen for.

1. The organ has a very short slap echo on it. It sounds like the echo from a tape machine running at 15 ips.

2. In the verse, the organ is overdubbed and split in stereo. Lord is also playing in a higher register. Listen to how different the ambience is.

3. Listen to the space noises during the guitar solo coming from the organ (remember, this was the days before synthesizers.

4. You can hear the some leakage from the rest of the band, but it’s a beat before the organ part. This is probably due to the gap between the synch and playback heads of the tape machine.

5. There’s an ending that’s not on the record if you listen to the end. It’s nothing special though.