Stormbringer

Stormbringer takes the Mark III Deep Purple sound beyond the framework of traditional hard rock and captures the individual instincts of its members in especially vivid form. Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar is still sharp and forceful, creating storm-like urgency in the title track, yet Glenn Hughes’s funk-and-soul sensibility and David Coverdale’s bluesy delivery make the album’s center of gravity move with greater flexibility. The light bounce of “Love Don’t Mean a Thing,” the warm songcraft of “Holy Man,” and the tight rhythm of “You Can’t Do It Right” all reveal colors unique to this lineup. “Soldier of Fortune,” placed at the other end of the emotional spectrum, gives the record a quiet, reflective shadow. The creative tension between Blackmore’s preference for hard-edged rock and Hughes’s more soulful direction also helps make the music rich rather than uniform. Because the members are not aiming at exactly the same destination, each song develops its own pull. It may not fit a narrow idea of what Deep Purple should be, but it is one of the best places to hear the range, warmth, and humanity of Mark III.