Stormbringer (album)
Occupation
- Vocals: David Coverdale
- Guitar: Ritchie Blackmore
- Bass: Glenn Hughes
- Organ, Keyboard: Jon Lord
- Drums: Ian Paice
Stormbringer (English for: storm -maker ') is the ninth studio album by the English hard rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded with the Mark III Instrumentation and released as the band's second album this year in November 1974.
Background
Stormbringer was included in the Musicland Studios in Munich in August 1974 with producer Martin Birch and mixed in the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles in November 1974. In the U.S., the album received the 1975 Gold Record in Britain Silver. 1990 saw a remastered re-release on the label Metal Blade Records. Appeared in 2007, another re-release on Friday Music. In 2009 they had a 35th Anniversary edition of the album, which was reworked digitally by Peter Mew at Abbey Road Studios in London. This is also a DVD was settled, which contains a DTS 5.1 audio mix of the album.
Music style
Even more clearly than the previous album Burn is the stylistic shift away from a pure hard rock band that is sure also due to the change in the composition in Stormbringer.
While the title song Stormbringer and the title Lady Double Dealer are still relatively hard rock pieces, sound in other songs on poppier, sometimes even funky to soulful, sounds. Here, in particular seven of nine pieces of Coverdale and Hughes together - sometimes alternating, sometimes with Coverdale as the lead singer and Hughes Harmony singers in the chorus - sung. Only in Holy Man Hughes sings alone and in Soldier of Fortune Coverdale - both rather the genre " gentle ballads " attributable. Both songs also define the strengths of the respective singers dar. While Coverdale's striking moaning vocals in particular excels at lower altitudes, Hughes moved large parts of his song on the head voice with which he achieved remarkable heights. Very striking is the contrast with the song Gypsy, consisting primarily almost exclusively from his reef and ultimately mainly lives from the very differentiated harmony vocals of the two singers.
Most of the songs on the album are typical studio recordings with somewhat striking many overdubs, especially on guitar. So was next to Stormbringer, The Gypsy and Lady Double Dealer even Soldier of Fortune is a regular way to the live program of the band, which was dominated at that time by significantly longer instrumental duels of the band members on the basis of the classics of the band.
Cover
The album cover shows a winged horse in a hurricane. It is based on a photo from 1927 by Lucille Handberg, which was artistically worked. The album was released in various countries with slightly different cover illustrations. 1986 Siouxsie and the Banshees used the same photo as the basis for the album cover of Tinderbox.
Title list
Bonus tracks ( 35th Anniversary Edition)
Reception
Commercial Stormbringer was quite successful, but the album did not necessarily find the full reciprocal love of the fans of harder albums such as Deep Purple in Rock. The trade press was then little excited. The vocal performances of Coverdale and Hughes were recognized, but the style of the plate was in large parts noticeably past the former Deep Purple fans. Yet, the album on January 9, 1975 was awarded with the Golden Record.
Wrote Alex Henderson of allmusic.com, Stormbringer rich not come close to the "excellence " of Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are. Although he highlighted some songs like the melancholy ballad Soldier of Fortune, called the album but otherwise rather interesting for the " more enthusiastic fans " by Deep Purple. He missed two out of five stars. The reviewer praised by www.metal.de occasion of the publication of the 35th Anniversary Edition of the " incredibly transparent " sound of this issue. However, with the title track Stormbringer is contained " only a true classic ." Nevertheless, a " concise recommendation activities" and awarded eight out of ten.