Deep Purple
Stormbringer

THE REVIEW

In 1974, Deep Purple released the album Stormbringer. At the time, the band was comprised of the Mark III lineup: Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, David Coverdale on vocals, John Lord on keyboards, Glenn Hughes on bass (and backing vocals), and the timeless Ian Paice on drums.

This album opens with the title track "Stormbringer," a decidedly intense, epic, and imposing piece, unlike (as we will see later) other tracks within this album. Stormbringer has definitely been the album's most successful track, just as happened with the previous album's title track "Burn"; it is curious that these two songs are placed first in the tracklist of their respective albums. After the four minutes of Stormbringer, the second track "Love Don't Mean A Thing" begins, which is definitely much more calm compared to the previous one. Indeed, in this song Blackmore's guitar repeats a mellow clean riff, which allows Hughes' bass to have a very prominent and marked part. We reach the point of Holy Man... Another relatively mellow and relaxed track with a chorus that, once it gets into your ears, doesn't leave. Of note in this track are the fabulous vocals of Coverdale and Hughes. The fourth track is Hold On, which begins with a keyboard intro and develops into a well-driven rock blues, always heavily marked by Coverdale's bass. In the chorus, one can hear an excellent vocal interplay between Coverdale and Hughes. It's time for Lady Double Dealer, the fifth track on this album. In my opinion, this is the best song on the record; a fine piece of driven and intense hard rock, characteristic of Purple. Blackmore's style is clearly audible in the main riff. Undoubtedly one of the best tracks from Purple Mark III. You Can't Do It Right is the sixth track on the album and mirrors the structure of Love Don't Mean A Thing and Holy Man. A very calm song with a brilliant and fairly complex bass riff of which I am madly in love. We then move on to High Ball Shooter, a solid rock piece reminiscent of earlier tracks; in this track too, Blackmore's heavy influence on riff-writing can be heard; finally, in this song (yes, we had to wait until the seventh track), a keyboard solo worthy of Jon Lord can be heard. The Gypsy opens the eighth chapter of Stormbringer and is yet another calm song on this album. A very expressive track with the double vocals of Coverdale-Hughes practically always in action. The track Soldier Of Fortune closes this album. A sweet Blackmore-style ballad with Coverdale's voice giving the best of expressiveness. Surely, after Lady Double Dealer and Stormbringer, this is the most beautiful track of the album. It is curious that these three tracks were written by Blackmore and Hughes without anyone else's help.

I conclude by saying that Stormbringer is an excellent CD that every Purple enthusiast should own. Clearly, it is not comparable to the milestones of Mark II, but it has its own merit.