(Turn On) The Music Machine is the debut album by the American garage rock band the Music Machine, and was released on Original Sound Records on December 31, 1966. It arrived just months after the group's hit single, "Talk Talk", propelled to number 15 on the national charts. Although the album was hastily recorded to capitalize on the Music Machine's popularity, (Turn On) The Music Machine managed to become a moderate hit on the Billboard 200, and is hailed today as a classic garage rock piece. Another single, "The People in Me" was also released in support of the album.

Fronted by their innovative songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the Music Machine became a radio favorite as a result of their rebellious proto-punk song "Talk Talk", which reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1966. "Talk Talk", along with the B-side "Come on In", was rigorously rehearsed by the group under the instruction of Bonniwell, who held a virtue to perfecting a uniquely hard-edged sound for the band. By the time the Music Machine entered RCA Studios to record the two songs, they were well-practiced and completed them in only a few takes. Hoping to capitalize on the band's sudden success, their record label Original Sound hastily summoned the members back into the studio to record for (Turn On) The Music Machine.

The album includes five cover versions -- "Cherry, Cherry", "Taxman", "See See Rider", "96 Tears", and "Hey Joe" -- that were recorded for a local dance club in Los Angeles called 9th Street West, but were never intended to be featured on (Turn On) The Music Machine. However, the group's record producers insisted that the songs would improve record sales, a decision that Bonniwell recalled made him feel "artistically crest-fallen and infuriated". Still, Bonniwell regarded the Music Machine's arrangement of "Hey Joe" as innovative, invoking a slow, moody nuance that is strikingly similar to Jimi Hendrix's more well-known version. All of the remaining tracks were penned by Bonniwell, including the melodically complex "Trouble", the reflective ballad "Some Other Drum", which hinted at the musical direction the group would later take, and "Wrong", a song written in a similar style to "Talk Talk". Perhaps the most accomplished piece other than "Talk Talk" is "Masculine Intuition". Bonniwell explained the song is "very tricky for non-musicians. They really can't quite figure out what it is...I've had other musicians tell me, their bands have tried to play that song, and they can't. There's two sections--it's called a turnaround, and I invert two chords. And if you don't pick up on it, there's no way you can play the song".

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