''Stranger in Us All'' is the eighth and most recent studio album by the British

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

band

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

, released in 1995. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore put together a new line-up of members of little-known musicians in 1994. The album 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. As Blackmore decided to pursue different musical styles (forming

Blackmore's Night Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpe, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, lyri ...

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". Released in the

post-grunge Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush, Candlebox and Collective Soul that emulated the ...

mid-1990s, it was that Stranger in Us All failed to measure up to the critical and commercial acclaim of previous releases and was not particularly well publicised. However, it achieved a modest success, particularly in Europe and Japan.

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 Charles Arnold Burgi III (, born August 15, 1952, Montclair, New Jersey) is an American drummer. He has performed with many rock bands and musicians, ranging from local New Jersey/New York-area artists to international groups, throughout his pr ...

John Miceli John Miceli (born May 29, 1961 in Long Island, New York) is the drummer for Meat Loaf's backing band, the Neverland Express. Meat Loaf Miceli began touring with Meat Loaf in 1991, and was a part of the Neverland Express when '' Bat Out of Hel ...

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 ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and ja ...

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 Douglas "Doogie" White (born 7 March 1960) is a Scottish rock vocalist who currently sings for La Paz and Alcatrazz. He has also notably sung for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Praying Mantis and Tank. Early ...

, for example in 2004 with a band called White Noise, and 2010 presentations with

Rata Blanca Rata Blanca ("White Rat" in English) is an Argentine heavy metal band, formed in 1986. History Beginnings The guitarist Walter Giardino replaced Osvaldo Civile in V8 for a little time, and left the band when his songs were rejected. Hi ...

. 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

on their 2007 ''

Paris Moon ''Paris Moon'' is a long-form concert DVD/CD shot released by the band Blackmore's Night in 2007. This release celebrates the band's 10-year anniversary with a concert in the Paris Olympia in 2006. The band runs through a number of cover songs, i ...

'' tour.

Track listing

*Track 10 was originally recorded by

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwe ...

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 ''Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' (sometimes stylised ''Ritchie Blackmore's R-A-I-N-B-O-W'') is the debut studio album by American/British rock band Rainbow, released in 1975. Recording During studio sessions in Tampa Bay, Florida on 12 December ...

'' and with vocals on '' Rainbow on Stage'' and other live albums.

Personnel

Rainbow *

- 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 Mitchell S. Weiss (born 1957) is an American investigative journalist, and an editor at ''The Charlotte Observer''. He won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, with Joe Mahr and Michael D. Sallah. Life Weiss is a native of New Y ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

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

Certifications

References

External links

Heavy Harmonies page
{{Authority control 1995 albums Rainbow (rock band) albums RCA Records albums