With the exception of the title track and "Lady Double Dealer", which remain in hard rock territory, the real change on Stormbringer comes from Ritchie Blackmore's clean guitar sound for most of the album! You can tell he's put his distortion on hold for most of the time. It's almost like 70s West Coast Sound at times, and that's great! As for the occasional funkiness, that wasn't unusual for Ritchie as he always incorporated a few funky riffs into his playing, even back in the days of DP MkII. He's always said that he doesn't like funk music and that's a fact, but he's a guitarist who could groove naturally.
Great video Peter and fantastic album. My favourites are probably Holy Man and Hold On the latter is good for testing speakers as the vinyl sounds amazing. Another quick story had a random stormbringer teeshirt but its long gone now wore it as a work tee and eventually got a hole in the armpit area and missus made me turf it.
At last, someone has recognized the links between Deep Purple Mk.1 and Mk.3. I think there were elements of this on the Burn album too, but realized in a heavier, updated Shades of Deep Purple way. On Stormbringer, there are some Book of Taliesyn / DP3 indirect references. The Gypsy is a great example of that. But hear Hey Bop-a-Rebop from the Mk.1 BBC radio sessions. It's an in-progress take of The Painter, and it's so funky! Of course, Mk.1 and Mk.3 were linked by Mk.2, the heaviest of DP's '60s/'70s line-ups, and Blackmore, Lord and Paice were in all three - but Jon's solo on Might Just Take Your Life and High Ball Shooter sound (to me) closer to those on Wring That Neck and The Painter - less overdriven, more jazzy. Same with Ritchie's Mk.3 solos.
To answer the question in the title - yes! Ritchie didn't like the funky stuff. Only three songs entered the live set - Stormbringer, Lady Double Dealer and The Gypsy, none of them especially funky. I love Stormbringer a lot. The only weak spot is "High Ball Shooter", it's a bit ordinary and uninspired IMHO. Holy Man, Hold On, You Can't Do it Right and Gypsy are 10/10! Love those songs. Peter, I think the first two solo records by Coverdale are very much into the soul vein. I love both records and listen to them regularly.
Great album, certainly Coverdale and Hughes flexing their chops after being in the crucible for a year. You can feel them pulling back a little from the harmony singing and exerting more individuality, eventually leading to somewhat separate workings on 'Taste'. Personally, the 'Hard Rock' songs are the weakest, especially lyrically, but still fun and driving nonetheless. Crazy how Ritchie's alleged disdain for Funk is probably the key to his seeming mastery of it, his minimalist approach. Nothing worse than overplaying on good pure Funk, yet when Ritchie lays down the groove for 'You Can't Do It Right', just wow. Still haven't figured that riff out yet, and he never bothered recycling it either. Simply outstanding rhythm which leads back to Paice, and especially Hughes, Ninja level playing. Michael Jackson said the songs write themselves and I don't think anyone plays the song better than Glenn. Overall, I loved the songs from the first listen, and favored the fresh material and approach over the tried and true template. Right up there with all the early stuff.
Stormbringer is a brilliant album. Yes, there is some very funky stuff on there like Hold On and You can’t do it right, love don’t mean a thing, but the title track, holy man, lady double dealer, high ball shooter, gypsy and soldier of fortune are hardly funky at all. I love it all and the album works because of those fusion influences not in spite of them. The irony is that Blackmore then goes and records the song snake charmer with Rainbow, which is as funky as hell. 😂😂 I could even go on record by saying Stormbringer is my favourite DP album.
I love how this album showed off a whole different side to deep purple and this is David Coverdale's and Glenn Hughes showing off their diverse talents with David Coverdale you see what he would do with Whitesnake a few years later on this album and with Glenn Hughes you can see what he would do with his solo and future projects on this album to and as for Ritchie Blackmore this album signalled his exit to begin what would become the mighty rainbow so this definitely is an end of an era start of something totally new album for deep purple at this stage
I want to love Deep Purple but just can’t get into them. Besides the giant hits or anything from Machine Head what 10 songs would you recommend I listen to a bit closer?
When a blind man cries … (an epic expanded version ) from “Live at the Olympia” and the original plain b side mix of it. One of Ritchie’s best slow solos. The Album Purpindicular can stand alongside any of their famous albums. “Sometimes I feel like screaming” from it is one of Purple’s best ever tracks. The album Perfect Strangers is as good as their very best. Whoosh! (2019)(BBC record of the week … got several 5 star reviews in the music press) is to some degree , a concept album. Great recording /production by Bob Ezrin and good diversity of music. Ians singing is great. Their last 3 albums all went to no1 in Germany and charted high worldwide. I have a feeling that the new album … =1 , will be very good (out in July)
Although its hard to imagine some of these Stormbringer tracks on the In Rock album, In Rock had its own elements of funk via Flight of the Rat & Living Wreck (& Fireball had No One Came)
The rest of MK3 were reticent to cut ‘Soldier..’ Ritchie and David had to cut a demo for the band’s approval. A factor to RB slinging his hook elsewhere. If only the demo could be included on a Stormbringer box set. The Rockier tracks would benefit from a remix.
The one gripe with the track Stormbringer is no keyboard solo (although they added one for live renditions); also Lady Double Dealer sounded much heavier (& faster) live, though they cut out some of lyrics in the chorus
Nice discussion, interesting subject! A great band at the absolute peak of their game suddenly finds itself at the crossroads. They could have just kept making bangers like "Burn" for the next 10 years. But it's the restless, adventurous, barbaric nature of these guys that I like so much about them. I have to admit that I don't like some of the songs on the album, although "Hold On" has really grown on me over the years, it's a nice obscure little gem in the catalogue.
I love Stormbringer. I think it's a very good album, not as good as Burn, but so what. I saw them on the Burn tour and later in 75, but I don't remember if Stormbringer was released yet when I saw the 75 show. It was a long time ago. Either way, it's all just a matter of taste. And the bottom line for me is, it's Deep freakin Purple, one of the very best hard rock bands of all time.
I have to admit, I was never a big fan of this album but then again I haven't heard it in many years now so I probably should try it again one of these days, it can only surprise me positively...
I love all purple 💜 lps up to come taste the band. After that, not at all. Blackmore said I don't want to play shoe shine music. Yes, it pushed him out of purple. He has a 6th sense to know when a band is sinking. Top 4 guitarists in the world on his day.
It took me a long while to come to terms with Stormbringer, but now it's an album I like a lot. I think it's better than the first Rainbow album, and there's a reason why Deep Purple were the headliners and Elf the support band. Ritchie may not have liked the music, but his playing is faultless. Hold On is one of my favourite solos by him, even if I laugh to think how carelessly it was performed. I don't think I've heard a guitar player with more control or nuance in their fretting hand, even when using a slide. I also think it's exaggerated when he claims not to be able to remember guitar parts. If you listen closely to recordings, there are quite a lot of occasions where he's tracking himself or adding harmonies. I live Glenn Hughes as a bass player, and I think he made Ian Paice a better drummer for having to accommodate his different style. David Coverdale's pre-Whitesnake solo albums have a lot of soulful material and I think they are some of his best work. If one of the ballads had been a hit his whole career might have been different.
Considering that the Rainbow album is just as funky, musically I would say no. I think that Ritchie would have left whatever, as he was no longer able to call the shots.
He might be remembering Stormbringer used on either a cinema trailer for the movie or it used for a television network trailer/advertisement for the film, rather than it being used on the soundtrack itself.
I played this to death. Only things which annoyed me are the tracks which Ritchie held back on and didn’t have the Purple signature heft… Lady Double Dealer say. Have to give him a break .. it’s a miracle he picked up a guitar and plugged it in for a record and band he wasn’t on board with .
IMO, Stormbringer is great but it's not hard to see why RB left the band cos both it and Come Taste the Band are very different from what he clearly wanted to do and did go on to do with Rainbow.
Stormbringer album is not good in Ritchie’s central view of history. But it’s a wonderful album、when you think of it as a work where you can listen to two great singers. Glenn wouldn’t have been scolded、 saying "Don’t enter this way from this line"、in a restrained studio .
blackmore didn't get on with coverdale and hughes'....'shoeshine' music....' but when the band said....'we like that riff, ritchie....can we work on that....' blackmore said....'no - its for my solo album....' ritchie was going to leave, whatever stormbringer ended up like....
I know this is not a popular opinion but although I think the title track from Burn and You Fool No One are better than anything on Stormbringer I think Stormbringer is a stronger album overall.
I got this album when it first came out. Very underwhelming. Only two or three tracks that arent mediocre. I think Ritchie did the right thing in creating Rainbow.
Trapeze was the perfect musical vehicle for Glenn Hughes. I only heard recently that Trapeze were going to sign with Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label.Perhaps with a more robust management team,Trapeze could have joined the big league in ‘73/‘74/‘75 had Glenn Hughes had stayed with the band? Lord,Paice and Blackmore saw Trapeze live and must have seen something in Glenn Hughes’ bass playing and singing to take the Deep Purple sound to a different place. Glenn was arguably vocally reigned in on Deep Purple’s studio recordings,perhaps that was by Ritchie,Martin Birch or the rest of the band. Onstage with Deep Purple,especially during his solo sections Glenn Hughes could get over flamboyant and sound like a fish out of water.
@@GrabAStackofRocK “English Speaking”, I fixed it. I never liked his vocals and he pretty much ruined the California jam show by trying to showboat over Coverdale’s vocals. He was probably high on something then though.
With the exception of the title track and "Lady Double Dealer", which remain in hard rock territory, the real change on Stormbringer comes from Ritchie Blackmore's clean guitar sound for most of the album! You can tell he's put his distortion on hold for most of the time. It's almost like 70s West Coast Sound at times, and that's great!
As for the occasional funkiness, that wasn't unusual for Ritchie as he always incorporated a few funky riffs into his playing, even back in the days of DP MkII. He's always said that he doesn't like funk music and that's a fact, but he's a guitarist who could groove naturally.
I love Stormbringer.
Fun discussion. I'm a big fan of this album.
Bought this album , when it came out. Loved it from day one.
The vocal opening to Stormbringer is a backwards track of Coverdale saying some of Linda Blair's x-rated lines from The Exorcist ("Your mother...")
Thank you!! Mystery solved. It's awesome.
Yes - you are spot on....Incidentally...Linda went out with Glenn Hughes around the come taste the band era (bit of trivia)
Great episode!
Thanks for the feedback!
Great video Peter and fantastic album. My favourites are probably Holy Man and Hold On the latter is good for testing speakers as the vinyl sounds amazing. Another quick story had a random stormbringer teeshirt but its long gone now wore it as a work tee and eventually got a hole in the armpit area and missus made me turf it.
Thanks Philip! Its a great album speaker tester for sure...
At last, someone has recognized the links between Deep Purple Mk.1 and Mk.3. I think there were elements of this on the Burn album too, but realized in a heavier, updated Shades of Deep Purple way. On Stormbringer, there are some Book of Taliesyn / DP3 indirect references. The Gypsy is a great example of that. But hear Hey Bop-a-Rebop from the Mk.1 BBC radio sessions. It's an in-progress take of The Painter, and it's so funky!
Of course, Mk.1 and Mk.3 were linked by Mk.2, the heaviest of DP's '60s/'70s line-ups, and Blackmore, Lord and Paice were in all three - but Jon's solo on Might Just Take Your Life and High Ball Shooter sound (to me) closer to those on Wring That Neck and The Painter - less overdriven, more jazzy. Same with Ritchie's Mk.3 solos.
To answer the question in the title - yes! Ritchie didn't like the funky stuff. Only three songs entered the live set - Stormbringer, Lady Double Dealer and The Gypsy, none of them especially funky. I love Stormbringer a lot. The only weak spot is "High Ball Shooter", it's a bit ordinary and uninspired IMHO. Holy Man, Hold On, You Can't Do it Right and Gypsy are 10/10! Love those songs.
Peter, I think the first two solo records by Coverdale are very much into the soul vein. I love both records and listen to them regularly.
Great album, certainly Coverdale and Hughes flexing their chops after being in the crucible for a year.
You can feel them pulling back a little from the harmony singing and exerting more individuality, eventually leading to somewhat separate workings on 'Taste'. Personally, the 'Hard Rock' songs are the weakest, especially lyrically, but still fun and driving nonetheless.
Crazy how Ritchie's alleged disdain for Funk is probably the key to his seeming mastery of it, his minimalist approach. Nothing worse than overplaying on good pure Funk, yet when Ritchie lays down the groove for 'You Can't Do It Right', just wow. Still haven't figured that riff out yet, and he never bothered recycling it either. Simply outstanding rhythm which leads back to Paice, and especially Hughes, Ninja level playing.
Michael Jackson said the songs write themselves and I don't think anyone plays the song better than Glenn.
Overall, I loved the songs from the first listen, and favored the fresh material and approach over the tried and true template.
Right up there with all the early stuff.
Some fans have said that Ritchie re-purposed part of the ‘You Can’t Do It Right’ riff on ‘Snake Charmer’ from the Rainbow debut album.
I heard that DP refused to record "Black Sheep in the family" and Blackmore started rehearsing it with Dio and Elf instead. The rest is history...
It's also funny how Ritchie with a last name like that, wasn't ever really into 'black music' much...
@@LarryFleetwood8675 he was clearly very much into the blues and Hendrix in the first half of 1970s
Stormbringer is a brilliant album. Yes, there is some very funky stuff on there like Hold On and You can’t do it right, love don’t mean a thing, but the title track, holy man, lady double dealer, high ball shooter, gypsy and soldier of fortune are hardly funky at all. I love it all and the album works because of those fusion influences not in spite of them.
The irony is that Blackmore then goes and records the song snake charmer with Rainbow, which is as funky as hell. 😂😂
I could even go on record by saying Stormbringer is my favourite DP album.
Nice comment and agree! Thanks for watching...
I love how this album showed off a whole different side to deep purple and this is David Coverdale's and Glenn Hughes showing off their diverse talents with David Coverdale you see what he would do with Whitesnake a few years later on this album and with Glenn Hughes you can see what he would do with his solo and future projects on this album to and as for Ritchie Blackmore this album signalled his exit to begin what would become the mighty rainbow so this definitely is an end of an era start of something totally new album for deep purple at this stage
Holy Man is a stellar solo vocal by Hughes.
Coverdale's version on WS The Purple Album is a high point of an otherwise lacklustre record.
Thanks Mike...that purple album is a red hot mess....too heavy, not subtle.....Holy man what a song
I want to love Deep Purple but just can’t get into them. Besides the giant hits or anything from Machine Head what 10 songs would you recommend I listen to a bit closer?
When a blind man cries … (an epic expanded version ) from “Live at the Olympia” and the original plain b side mix of it. One of Ritchie’s best slow solos.
The Album Purpindicular can stand alongside any of their famous albums. “Sometimes I feel like screaming” from it is one of Purple’s best ever tracks.
The album Perfect Strangers is as good as their very best.
Whoosh! (2019)(BBC record of the week … got several 5 star reviews in the music press) is to some degree , a concept album. Great recording /production by Bob Ezrin and good diversity of music. Ians singing is great.
Their last 3 albums all went to no1 in Germany and charted high worldwide. I have a feeling that the new album … =1 , will be very good (out in July)
I would try Slaves and Masters for something completely different.
Although its hard to imagine some of these Stormbringer tracks on the In Rock album, In Rock had its own elements of funk via Flight of the Rat & Living Wreck (& Fireball had No One Came)
You are spot on..but alas they are never referred to as funky!
Yes
The rest of MK3 were reticent to cut ‘Soldier..’ Ritchie and David had to cut a demo for the band’s approval. A factor to RB slinging his hook elsewhere. If only the demo could be included on a Stormbringer box set. The Rockier tracks would benefit from a remix.
Glen Hughes . Fired from every band he was ever in . He has a great voice but his execution of that voice is hard to take .
The one gripe with the track Stormbringer is no keyboard solo (although they added one for live renditions); also Lady Double Dealer sounded much heavier (& faster) live, though they cut out some of lyrics in the chorus
Blackmore always seem to play some of these Purple songs (and for that matter Rainbow) much faster....
Nice discussion, interesting subject! A great band at the absolute peak of their game suddenly finds itself at the crossroads. They could have just kept making bangers like "Burn" for the next 10 years. But it's the restless, adventurous, barbaric nature of these guys that I like so much about them. I have to admit that I don't like some of the songs on the album, although "Hold On" has really grown on me over the years, it's a nice obscure little gem in the catalogue.
I love Stormbringer. I think it's a very good album, not as good as Burn, but so what. I saw them on the Burn tour and later in 75, but I don't remember if Stormbringer was released yet when I saw the 75 show. It was a long time ago. Either way, it's all just a matter of taste. And the bottom line for me is, it's Deep freakin Purple, one of the very best hard rock bands of all time.
I have to admit, I was never a big fan of this album but then again I haven't heard it in many years now so I probably should try it again one of these days, it can only surprise me positively...
I love all purple 💜 lps up to come taste the band. After that, not at all. Blackmore said I don't want to play shoe shine music. Yes, it pushed him out of purple. He has a 6th sense to know when a band is sinking. Top 4 guitarists in the world on his day.
I think Ritchie had decided long before Stormbringer but definitely was the nail in the coffin.
It took me a long while to come to terms with Stormbringer, but now it's an album I like a lot. I think it's better than the first Rainbow album, and there's a reason why Deep Purple were the headliners and Elf the support band. Ritchie may not have liked the music, but his playing is faultless. Hold On is one of my favourite solos by him, even if I laugh to think how carelessly it was performed. I don't think I've heard a guitar player with more control or nuance in their fretting hand, even when using a slide. I also think it's exaggerated when he claims not to be able to remember guitar parts. If you listen closely to recordings, there are quite a lot of occasions where he's tracking himself or adding harmonies. I live Glenn Hughes as a bass player, and I think he made Ian Paice a better drummer for having to accommodate his different style. David Coverdale's pre-Whitesnake solo albums have a lot of soulful material and I think they are some of his best work. If one of the ballads had been a hit his whole career might have been different.
Considering that the Rainbow album is just as funky, musically I would say no. I think that Ritchie would have left whatever, as he was no longer able to call the shots.
I don’t hear the funkiness in rainbow?
I think you'll find it's Glenn playing the funk guitar on You can't do it right.
Interesting to speculate about that and certainly believable. I don’t think Ritchie would allow that to get all the way through to the master tapes.
This album absolutely pushed to Ritchie to leave
It was child in time used in twister not storm bringer 🤷🏻♂️
He might be remembering Stormbringer used on either a cinema trailer for the movie or it used for a television network trailer/advertisement for the film, rather than it being used on the soundtrack itself.
@@jimmycampbell78 This could be.
I played this to death. Only things which annoyed me are the tracks which Ritchie held back on and didn’t have the Purple signature heft… Lady Double Dealer say. Have to give him a break .. it’s a miracle he picked up a guitar and plugged it in for a record and band he wasn’t on board with .
He plays better with his thumb than most mortal guitar players would play normally....
IMO, Stormbringer is great but it's not hard to see why RB left the band cos both it and Come Taste the Band are very different from what he clearly wanted to do and did go on to do with Rainbow.
For sure...not enough neo classical on Stormbringer except the title track and perhaps soldier of fortune to satisfy Ritchie...
Stormbringer album is not good in Ritchie’s central view of history.
But it’s a wonderful album、when you think of it as a work where you can listen to two great singers.
Glenn wouldn’t have been scolded、 saying "Don’t enter this way from this line"、in a restrained studio .
Thanks for the comment and watching!
Peter is very kind, Glens vocals at California Jam almost ruin the entire show, just horrible.
funk rock... shoeshiner music, James Brown style...
blackmore didn't get on with coverdale and hughes'....'shoeshine' music....'
but when the band said....'we like that riff, ritchie....can we work on that....'
blackmore said....'no - its for my solo album....' ritchie was going to leave, whatever stormbringer ended up like....
Blackmores mistake was getting rid of Glover.
I know this is not a popular opinion but although I think the title track from Burn and You Fool No One are better than anything on Stormbringer I think Stormbringer is a stronger album overall.
That is a little contrarian...However, I always enjoy reading your takes Lance!
Blackmore hated the cocaine laid back sound of fleetwood Mac and thought purple were heading that way
I got this album when it first came out. Very underwhelming. Only two or three tracks that arent mediocre. I think Ritchie did the right thing in creating Rainbow.
Coverdale ends up like micheal bolton
He could've become the British soulful Bolton, if he would have had a big hit he could've gone that route but it just wasn't to be.
To me, mark lll, especially Stormbringer, was like zep lll, transitional. I didn’t like the direction of the band!
I don't know about Richie, but that group pushed me away from purple.
i hate glenn hughes so much they did not need him Coverdale was the singer
Roger Glover should never have been pushed out of Deep Purple. Glenn Hughes was never a good fit with his style
Its a mystery Paul...thats for sure (considering he was back in the RB fold with Rainbow in 79)
Trapeze was the perfect musical vehicle for Glenn Hughes. I only heard recently that Trapeze were going to sign with Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label.Perhaps with a more robust management team,Trapeze could have joined the big league in ‘73/‘74/‘75 had Glenn Hughes had stayed with the band? Lord,Paice and Blackmore saw Trapeze live and must have seen something in Glenn Hughes’ bass playing and singing to take the Deep Purple sound to a different place. Glenn was arguably vocally reigned in on Deep Purple’s studio recordings,perhaps that was by Ritchie,Martin Birch or the rest of the band. Onstage with Deep Purple,especially during his solo sections Glenn Hughes could get over flamboyant and sound like a fish out of water.
I’ll never understand what people see in Glenn Hughes, he’s an adaquate bass player, but just a mediocre vocalist as are his songs.
Yet in Japan, he is known as "The God of Voice".
@@GrabAStackofRocK the Japanese aren’t the progenitors of taste in English speaking vocalists. Lol
@@sspbrazil I like him too, wake or not.
@@GrabAStackofRocK “English Speaking”, I fixed it. I never liked his vocals and he pretty much ruined the California jam show by trying to showboat over Coverdale’s vocals. He was probably high on something then though.
@@sspbrazil I'm sure he was high (who wasn't in the 70s), but fortunately you have five other singers to choose from!