| Stormbringer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Deep Purple | ||||
| Released | December 10, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | August 1974 Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany |
|||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock[1] | |||
| Length | 36:31 (Original LP) 65:30 (2009 CD edition) |
|||
| Label | EMI/Purple (UK) Warner Bros. (US) |
|||
| Producer | Martin Birch & Deep Purple |
|||
| Deep Purple chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
|
35th anniversary CD slipcase
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
Stormbringer is the ninth studio album by Deep Purple, released in November 1974. On this album, the soul and funk elements that were only hinted at on Burn are much more prominent. Ritchie Blackmore would leave after the making of this album, returning later during the recording of the Perfect Strangers album.
Contents |
The cover image of Stormbringer is based on a photo. On July 8, 1927 a tornado near the town of Jasper, Minnesota was photographed by Lucille Handberg.[3] Her photograph has become a classic image,[4] and was used and edited for the album's cover. The same photograph was used for Siouxsie and the Banshees album Tinderbox in 1986.
Stormbringer is also the name of a magical sword described in several novels by Michael Moorcock. David Coverdale has denied knowledge of this until shortly after recording the album.[5] A few years later, Moorcock collaborated with Blue Öyster Cult to write "Black Blade", a song that actually was about the sword Stormbringer.[6]
According to Glenn Hughes, the slurred gibberish that is spoken by David Coverdale at the beginning of the track just prior to the first verse is the same backwards dialogue that Linda Blair's character utters in the film The Exorcist when she is questioned by the priest.[7]
In 1990, the album was remastered and re-released in the US by Metal Blade Records with distribution by Warner Bros.
This record has been the object of much renewed interest: Friday Music label released it stateside on July 31, 2007 (along with Made in Europe and Come Taste the Band). It is unclear which tapes were used as a source for this release, but the label's website claims that the album has been digitally remastered (but not expanded).
Additionally EMI (Deep Purple's label for much of the world outside the US) worked with Glenn Hughes on a remastered, expanded version of the album (much like the one done with Burn) which includes bonus remixes/alternate takes. Originally due in fall 2007, it was ultimately released on February 23, 2009 as a "35th Anniversary Edition" for the European/international market only. The release has been expanded into a limited edition 2 disc set: the first disc is the full remastered album along with the new remixes, and the second disc is a DVD containing the quadraphonic mix in 4.1 audio as originally released in the USA back in 1975. Once the CD/DVD edition sells out a single CD edition will follow it. A limited double gatefold vinyl edition was also released.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stormbringer" | David Coverdale, Ritchie Blackmore | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Love Don't Mean a Thing" | Coverdale, Blackmore, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, Ian Paice | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Holy Man" | Coverdale, Hughes, Lord | 4:28 |
| 4. | "Hold On" | Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice | 5:05 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Lady Double Dealer" | Coverdale, Blackmore | 3:19 |
| 6. | "You Can't Do It Right (With the One You Love)" | Coverdale, Blackmore, Hughes | 3:24 |
| 7. | "High Ball Shooter" | Coverdale, Blackmore, Hughes, Lord, Paice | 4:26 |
| 8. | "The Gypsy" | Coverdale, Blackmore, Hughes, Lord, Paice | 4:13 |
| 9. | "Soldier of Fortune" | Coverdale, Blackmore | 3:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Holy Man" (Glenn Hughes remix) | Coverdale, Hughes, Lord | 4:32 |
| 11. | "You Can't Do It Right (With the One You Love)" (Glenn Hughes remix) | Coverdale, Blackmore, Hughes | 3:27 |
| 12. | "Love Don't Mean a Thing" (Glenn Hughes remix) | Coverdale, Blackmore, Hughes, Lord, Paice | 5:07 |
| 13. | "Hold On" (Glenn Hughes remix) | Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice | 5:11 |
| 14. | "High Ball Shooter" (instrumental) | Coverdale, Blackmore, Hughes, Lord, Paice | 4:30 |
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[9] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Silver | 60,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
||