"Space Truckin'"

Is this unfashionable? Ah well. Come on, this isn't one of your ponderous heavy-metal riffola blowouts. Given that it's Deep Purple, you'd be forgiven for thinking the worst, but "Space Truckin'" is pretty nimble and packs a mean punch. Ian Paice's drums are sensational on this, Ritchie Blackmore's guitar riff constantly pushes on, and the song builds up unstoppable momentum. Just great. Yes, certain later songs just don't really work ("Child in Time", anyone?), and Deep Purple moved on into more turgid territory, but this kicks ass all over the place.