Stormbringer [PAL, Import, Enhanced]

 

 

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Stormbringer, now available in the gloriously remastered series of Deep Purple special editions, is one of my favourite Purple platters. Now augmented with bonus material, it has finally been given the treatment it deserved. It's not everybody's favourite, but its impact over the last 35 years has been pretty significant.

A lot of fans, however, did not like the funkier, softer direction of the band. You can understand this, of course. A fan who loved In Rock, one of the heaviest records of any decade, was going to be turned off by the radio-ready soul funk of "Hold On".

Here's the good news: Whatever Deep Purple set their minds to, they could do. And they could do it well.

Blackmore may not have liked the album, and may have taken a step back in the mix, (you can barely hear any guitar on "Hold On") but he could adapt and play any style. His playing here, while sparse, is sublime. Ian Paice adapts to the funky rhythms very well, laying down some excellent grooves. Jon Lord steps up to the forefront, supplying some excellent, funky keys.

There are a few songs that hark back to the past: "Stormbringer", the title track, sounds as solid as any epic the band had ever composed. It could have been on Burn as easily as this record. In fact, it stands out as being out of place: As the opening track, fans must have been shocked and surprised when the rest of the album was so different. "The Gypsy" is a slow moody piece, perhaps akin to "Mistreated" from the previous album.

One track showed an interesting glimpse of the future. "Soldier Of Fortune" is an acoustic track which forshadowed much of the music Blackmore would do with Rainbow, and even now with Blackmore's Night. David Coverdale in fact performed it live with Whitesnake on an acoustic CD in the late 90's. It is one of Richie Blackmore's finest compositions.

As with all the Purple reissues, this has been lovingly remastered. Finally you can discard your original CD, mastered for digital ages ago, but never really letting the subtleties of the music shine. Stormbringer, of all the Deep Purple albums, perhaps has more subtleties to hear due to the quieter nature of the music. Also with previous reissues, there is bonus material, in this case four remixes by Glenn Hughes. These remixes don't replace the original songs, but they do act as a companion piece of sorts. Fresh light is shed on alternate takes incorporated into the mixes, and "Love Don't Mean A Thing" is extended by over half a minute. "High Ball Shooter" is presented in an early instrumental form as well.

As an added bonus, a second disc has been included. (Most Deep Purple remasters did not include second discs -- only Machine Head and Made In Japan did.) This second disc, for the first time in this series, is a DVD containing the original 1975 quadrophonic mix of Stormbringer! Nice. Apparently, this disc is to be a limited edition so get yours while you can. I quite enjoyed it myself. As with many quad mixes from the 70's, the songs often bear differences from the originals.

Lastly, I must acknowledge the great liner notes once again. The most entertaining story included is in regards to "Love Don't Mean A Thing." A street singer was singing this song about money, and the band liked it so much that they invited him onto their plane. They used his basic arrangement and built the song around it, but never found out his name or anything else and to do this day, nobody knows who the performer was who came up with the song!

Pick up Stormbringer in this 25th Anniversary Edition, and finally you can feel comfortable discarding your original.

5 stars for both the music, and the reissue!

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