Deep Purple Album: “Stornbringer [Remaster]”

Hey Purple-heads of all ages and places out there!

I just wanted to take a moment to give you a quick note before you go in and buy this CD: there is ANOTHER release of this album in the works that is going to be...well, maybe better is not the right word, but rather more "complete"...

Remember the remastered "Burn" that Rhino released a few years ago, which was expanded to include some bonus remixes done by Glenn Hughes and the b-side "Coronarias Redig"? Well, EMI (Purple's Label for the world outside the US) was in FACT responsible for THAT release and Rhino only picked it up after it was done...

And now, once again, EMI has prepared a remastered, expanded edition of "Stormbringer" (working with Glenn again) for release outside the US...yeah, I know, it stinks having to pay for import CD's, but c'mon, this is Purple we're talking about! I'm sure you'd prefer the WHOLE package, wouldn't you? I know I do!

I have nothing against THIS release from Friday Music (actually, I think it is a worthy effort to salvage a long lost, truly awesome album), I haven't even heard it yet, so I can't really critizise it, but I felt compelled to give ya 'all a heads-up about this...

Stormbringer? It's a jewel, one of my fav Purple albums, even if it is a true departure from their trademark fast paced, guitar driven sound...I like it even more than the MK II albums...yeah...that's how much I like it...if you want a little more in depth comment about the songs, check out my review of the 2 CD pack of "Burn/Stormbringer"...

The only reason why I give this CD 4 stars and not 5 is because I'd rather wait for the expanded EMI release...But hey, it's your dough, after all, and God knows I'd be the last person in the world to be telling other people what to do...

Peace and Rock On...

Stormbringer is a decent album. Not my favorite Purple album, but still ok listening. Here's the thing, though. The DPAS (Deep Purple Appreciation Society--www.deep-purple.net) is currently working with EMI, Purple Records, and Glenn Hughes himself on a REAL remastered version of Stormbringer. This so-called remaster here is just the original album mixed differently. If you have any of the other Purple remasters (Shades, Book of Taliesyn, Deep Purple, In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, Who Do We Think We Are, Burn), then you know that they've each come with a bunch of bonus tracks and extensive liner notes, rare photos, etc. This version doesn't have any additional tracks or anything of the sort. If you'd just like to get the album to hear, then this is what you want. It's good that this is finally getting put out in America again. However, if you're a Purple fanatic, I'd suggest waiting until the DPAS remaster is released sometime in late 2007 or early 2008. Cheers.

Bottom Line if you love Glenn Hughes and the influence he had on Deep Purple buy this CD!! "Holy Man" is great as is the title track and the rest. Many Purple fans dismiss this cd cos' Blackmore has publicly stated that it wasn't a favorite recording of his. But I am here to say it gets a lot of play time by this Deep Purple fan.

To hell with the tiresome reviews and intellectualizing going on about the bands direction and so on... what a load of crap... let me put it plainly: you need to hear this exceptional release for yourself and be prepared to become amazed and addicted to what these guys did... you're gonna wonder how the hell this release got so little press and even now is not praised to the skies as an essential recording...

I picked up this CD back in 1976 having never heard of its existence, but damn, I was 18, Smoke on the Water was an awesome hit that was playing on all the rock stations and being a guitarist myself, I was freakin obsessed with Richie Blackmore... when Machine Head came out, I had it on vinyl and 8-Track and listened to those Blackmore solos endlessly... I liked Rock, and I liked Rock with Balls... still do... and Deep Purple was right up my alley....

So, when I picked this title up at a little general purpose drugstore in White Haven, PA, unheard and on a whim, I was expecting exactly more of the heavy rock that I was accustomed to hearing, with Blackmores mind-boggling, technically impressive, and all-out-assault type guitar solos. What I heard instead was simply beyond anything I was capable of imagining at the time, and even now beyond my ability to convey in it's impressiveness, and shall I dare to use the phrase in it's outright addictiveness...

Hell, I played this non-stop from start to finish for months after first hearing what's on it. It was just beyond anything else they ever did as far as the creativity behind their compositions and arrangements, it was more engaging and emotive than any other recording I'd ever come across at the time, and even now after 30 years I still listen to it and am incredibly moved by what they did on this release... it is still unlike anything else I've ever heard from them, and truly just an outstanding release all the way through. There is really not a bad tune to be found, although with anything you listen to a few hundred times, you eventually decide some tracks are more favored than others in comparison... But 30 years later I can still listen to this release in its entirety and still be amazed that so few people know of this release, and of those that do, that they can actually intellectualize and debate it so superficially. This is simply an outstanding release beyond the ability of words to convey, and for the few dollars it costs to get a used copy, you're simply missing out if you don't grab yourself a copy and hear what they did here for yourself...

Overall, I can tell you that there is rock, but there's no metal, there's funk, there's soul, and Glenn Hughes vocals are perhaps the best I've ever heard him do right here on this release of the half dozen releases of his that I have, there are tunes that you just can't get out of your head... they just stay with you and haunt you, they're so tastefully done... I can assure you that this is a side of DP you haven't heard before, and it's a good side... it's even better than their rock side, and when you hear it for yourself, you'll wonder as I did why it seems to be such a lost gem...

Yeah, the history lesson others have given is true, Blackmore didn't like the direction the band was going in musically, and just before the albums release he bad talked it on a radio interview that he had done... his remarks were quoted in the music magazines and that was it... he singlehandedly sank the album... and he left the band... which was unfortunate, as the material is just so freakin good... it's unbelieveable just how good it really is once you actually get to hear it... it's hard to believe he could have done such a thing when you listen to the music they laid down on these tracks... but the personal differences, the temperments and internal clashes about leadership within the band had taken it's toll, and Richie was more concerned with that than anything else... he didn't care if the album even got released because of his personal turmoil... but the music itself was way beyond impressive... and still is today... band member differences aside, what they produced was a superlative album that is catchy, that moves you in your soul, that touches the listener deep inside, melodies rythms lyrics that come back to you days and days at a time, and that you just don't want to stop listening to no matter how many times you hear it, again and again and again...

Honestly, I can't believe how anyone who likes deep purple can say anything negative about this release, or speak about it so superficially, as it's so outstanding, and so moving. I've had it on vinyl, I have it on CD, and I got a copy of the import version when it came out which has a little different sound to it (better sound) which I believe is the only version currently available...

I'll share something else with you, too... this is the CD that I turn people onto who either tell me they don't really like Deep Purple, or the only thing that they know from Deep Purple is Smoke on the Water (Made in Japan) or Machine Head... over the past 30 years I've turn perhaps a dozen friends onto this release and every one of them had the same reaction as me... they couldn't stop listening to it for weeks... they raved about it, and wanted to know why it wasn't as well known as the other Deep Purple releases as it is just such an excellent addition to ones collection... this is simply a CD you should not miss hearing, and no amount of intellectualizing or reciting of the bands history or comparisons of their other releases is going to give you a sense of what you'll hear on this release... you just have to get a copy and be prepared to be amazed at what they've done here... this is simply incredible... enjoyable beyond words... an essential recording to add to your collection... and an overlooked gem that anyone you share it with will be impressed with... just get it and be prepared to be impressed yourself... like me, you'll be wondering what all these folks were going on about with their intellectualizing and history lessons, and wondering why everyone didn't just say "get a copy and hear this...!" This is definitely one of the top 3 things they ever put out, if not the best... hear it for yourself, and enjoy... ;-)

Despite whatever a lot of people say about Stormbringer (and some bad things they say are true - like.. it is a tired not very original, not too diverse, not stunning musically etc.) I love this one. Yes it is close to the same somewhat tired musical direction that DP was exploring for the last five years and beating it to death in the process... but what exactly do you expect from them now? and were there other bands doing this with at least 50% of their professionalism and quality and drive? some of the newcomers were perhaps younger and more enthusiastic but they never got close even to the worst DP records.

This is one extremely even record with all the tracks really close to each other in quality while none of them is a superhit. My personal favorite is "Highball Shooter" because of its great chorus melody but "Holy Man" is also quite good while all the others are simply good. None of the tracks here can be said to be just bad and most of them would have kicked ass if they were included on any album by Blue Oyster Cult or Montrose or Budgie or whoever...