Stranger in Us All
Stranger in Us All is the eighth studio album by the reformed British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 1995. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore put together a new version of Rainbow with little-known musicians in 1994. Strangers in the Night was originally intended to be his solo album, but due to pressures from BMG, it was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, making Stranger in Us All the band's first studio album in twelve years.[1] As Blackmore decided to pursue different musical styles (forming Blackmore's Night with his companion Candice Night), this 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".
| Stranger in Us All | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 August 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Studio | Long View Farm Studios, Brookfield, Massachusetts, Cove City Sound Studios, Long Island, New York, Sound on Sound, Unique Studio and Soundtrack Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 51:44 | |||
| Label | RCA/BMG | |||
| Producer | Pat Regan & Ritchie Blackmore | |||
| Rainbow chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10[2] |
Released in the post-grunge mid-1990s, Stranger in Us All achieved a modest success, particularly in Europe.
Promotion
Much 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
| 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
Rainbow
- Ritchie Blackmore - guitar, producer
- Doogie White - lead vocals
- Paul Morris - keyboards
- Greg Smith - bass, backing vocals
- John O'Reilly - drums
Additional musicians
- Mitch Weiss - harmonica
- Candice Night - background vocals
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
- Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Finnish Albums Chart[3] | 6 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[4] | 8 | |
| German Albums Chart[5] | 36 | |
| Norwegian Albums Chart[6] | 38 | |
| Swiss Albums Chart[7] | 40 | |
| GfK Dutch Chart[8] | 70 | |
| 1998 | Oricon Japanese Albums Chart[9] | 7 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[10] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- Adams, Bret. "Rainbow Stranger in Us All review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- Popoff, Martin (August 1, 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.
- "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – Stranger in Us All (album)". Finnishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – Stranger in Us All (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- "Album – Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Stranger in Us All". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – Stranger in Us All (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow - Stranger in Us All". Hitparade.ch (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – Stranger in Us All (album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
- レインボー レインボーのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
- "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
