Stranger in Us All is the eighth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released on 21 August 1995 by RCA Records. This was the band's first studio album in twelve years, and originally intended to be a solo album by Blackmore, but due to pressures from BMG, it was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, which saw him putting together a new line-up featuring himself and four then-unknown musicians: vocalist Doogie White, bassist Greg Smith, keyboardist Paul Morris and drummer John O'Reilly.
| Stranger in Us All | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 August 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 51:44 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer |
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| Rainbow chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10[2] |
As Blackmore decided to pursue different musical styles (forming Blackmore's Night with his companion Candice Night), Stranger in Us All was his final recording as a rock artist for two decades, until he put together a reincarnation of Rainbow in 2016 and released a series of new singles. The album takes its name from a line in the song "Black Masquerade".
Released during the post-grunge scene of the mid-1990s, Stranger in Us All failed to measure up to the critical and commercial acclaim of previous releases and was not particularly well publicized. However, it achieved modest success, particularly in Europe and Japan.
Promotion
editMuch of the album was featured in the live concert sets. Drummer John O'Reilly was replaced for the tour by the returning Chuck Burgi. John Miceli joined the band for the U.S. shows, from February to May 1997, plus one in Denmark. A live performance recorded at Philipshalle Düsseldorf for German TV show Rockpalast on October 9, 1995, was released on the DVD Black Masquerade in 2013.
A few songs off the album were played live by the band Over the Rainbow in 2008 and 2009, as the line-up featured Greg Smith and Paul Morris, who played in Rainbow in 1995.
The songs have been also performed occasionally by Doogie White, for example in 2004 with a band called White Noise, and 2010 presentations with Rata Blanca. An official DVD recording of White Noise titled In the Hall of the Mountain King was released in 2004. The song "Ariel" was performed live by Blackmore's Night on their 2007 Paris Moon tour.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wolf to the Moon" | Ritchie Blackmore, Doogie White, Candice Night | 4:16 |
| 2. | "Cold Hearted Woman" | Blackmore, White | 4:31 |
| 3. | "Hunting Humans (Insatiable)" | Blackmore, White | 5:45 |
| 4. | "Stand and Fight" | Blackmore, White | 5:22 |
| 5. | "Ariel" | Blackmore, Night | 5:39 |
| 6. | "Too Late for Tears" | Blackmore, White, Pat Regan | 4:50 |
| 7. | "Black Masquerade" | Blackmore, Paul Morris, White, Night | 5:35 |
| 8. | "Silence" | Blackmore, White | 4:04 |
| 9. | "Hall of the Mountain King" | Edvard Grieg, lyrics by Night, arrangement by Blackmore | 5:34 |
| 10. | "Still I'm Sad" (The Yardbirds cover) | Paul Samwell-Smith, Jim McCarty | 5:22 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Emotional Crime" | Blackmore, White, Regan | 3:49 |
- Track 10 was originally recorded by The Yardbirds on the album Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds. The song was previously covered as an instrumental by the Dio-era Rainbow on Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and with vocals on Rainbow on Stage and other live albums.
Personnel
editRainbow
- Doogie White - lead and backing vocals
- Ritchie Blackmore - guitar, producer
- Greg Smith - bass, backing vocals
- Paul Morris - keyboards
- John O'Reilly - drums
Additional musicians
- Candice Night - backing vocals
- Mitch Weiss - harmonica
Production
- Pat Regan - producer, engineer, mixing
- Fran Flannery, Jesse Henderson, Ed Miller, Steve Moseley, John Reigart, David Shackney, Steve Sisco and Dug - assistant engineers
- Vlado Meller - mastering at Sony Music Studios, New York
Charts
edit| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[3][4] | 102 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5] | 70 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] | 6 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] | 36 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] | 7 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] | 38 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] | 8 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] | 40 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[12] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Adams, Bret. "Rainbow Stranger in Us All review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 361. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ "Rainbow". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK - Quick Guide (1994– )". The Zobbel Website. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rainbow – Stranger in Us All" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Rainbow: Stranger in Us All" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rainbow – Stranger in Us All" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rainbow – Stranger in Us All". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rainbow – Stranger in Us All". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Rainbow – Stranger in Us All". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications – Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – Stranger in Us All" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1995年9月 on the drop-down menu