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"Mistreated" is a song by the English rock band
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
taken from their 1974 album ''
Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
''. The song was written by the band's guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...
and new vocalist
David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Whitesnake. Coverdale was also the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976; he has had a solo car ...
, who, along with new bassist Glenn Hughes, brought new blues and funk elements to the band.


History

At live performances Hughes would introduce "Mistreated" as a song that Blackmore had written about two years prior to ''Burn''. Inspired by the
Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the difference betw ...
song "Heartbreaker", the song had been considered for the band's earlier album ''
Who Do We Think We Are ''Who Do We Think We Are'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released on 12 January 1973 in the US and in February 1973 in the UK. It was Deep Purple's last album by the Mark II line-up with singer Ian Gillan and ...
'', but Ritchie held it back. When work on ''Burn'' started, Coverdale wrote the lyrics to "Mistreated", and it is the only song on ''Burn'' where he sings the lyrics entirely himself. During the studio recording for "Mistreated", most of the instrumental tracks were recorded from 11PM to 7:30 AM. When it was time for Coverdale to hear his own vocal parts after the first playback, he found it to be mediocre, which upset him. Coverdale demanded it to be perfect for the next take. "It was so bad I just sat down and cried because I wanted it to be so good," Coverdale remembered the following night. The next night followed another session and Coverdale took a second try to attempt to get the perfect voice he wanted on the record. Coverdale admitted the pressure he was going through during the recording, although he was very timid at that time. Blackmore's
solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...
near the end of the song was at first layered heavily by Coverdale and Hughes' chorus vocals, making it extremely hard to hear the solo. As a result, the stems that aided the vocals were deleted, which again upset Coverdale. Coverdale agreed with Blackmore's argument that it could not have too many vocal recordings, otherwise it would disorient the guitar's sound. During the mixing of "Mistreated", Coverdale and Hughes recorded a dozen vocal tracks for the final chorus towards the end of the song. In Blackmore's view, the backing vocals overlapped the guitar solo, so the vocal stems were muted throughout the process. Coverdale was upset about the change and felt that the drama created by overlapping vocal tracks had been almost completely lost.Bloom: p. 212. Hughes participated in songwriting but did not get credits due to contractual obligations with Blackmore. However, the 30th-anniversary edition of the album included Hughes in the credits for all the tracks except "Sail Away", "Mistreated", "A' 200" and bonus track "Coronarias Redig".


Composition

"Mistreated" is the longest track on the album. The song shifts gears and builds to a
climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...
with Blackmore launching into a rapid solo, and Coverdale and Hughes building a wall of multi-tracked
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
before the song's end.


Reception

In a retrospective review for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Eduardo Rivadavia called "Mistreated" the "fantastic slow-boiling blues", qualifying it for the "highest echelons of hard rock achievement, and therefore ranks as an essential item in the discography of any self-respecting music fan".


Versions


Live performances

The song stayed in the band's set-list until Blackmore left in April 1975, and a live version was included on the ''
Made in Europe ''Made in Europe'' is a 1976 live album released by Deep Purple, recorded on the final dates in April 1975 before Ritchie Blackmore left the group. It was released in November 1976, after the group had broken up. It is the band's third live alb ...
'' album in 1976. Other live versions can be found on '' Live in London'' (1982), ''
Live in Paris 1975 ''Live in Paris 1975'' is a live album by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, recorded in 1975 at the Palais des Sports in Paris. It was meant to be released before the 1975 '' Come Taste the Band'' album, but was not released until 200 ...
'' and on the video ''
Live in California 74 ''Live in California 74'' is a live DVD of the first California Jam concert performance from Deep Purple released in 2005. It was recorded and aired live by ABC-TV on 6 April 1974 at the Ontario Motor Speedway near Los Angeles, California. This c ...
''. After Deep Purple broke up in 1976, David Coverdale continued performing "Mistreated" with his band
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...
(which has also included former Deep Purple members
Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...
and
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...
) until the early 1980s and briefly again in 1997. Live versions of the song are featured on the band's albums '' Live at Hammersmith'' and '' Live...in the Heart of the City''. Whitesnake covered "Mistreated" for the 2015 studio album '' The Purple Album'', which consists entirely of songs Coverdale originally recorded with Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore performed "Mistreated" with his band
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
in the late 1970s, the mid-1990s, and during their reformation in 2015. Live versions of the song by Rainbow can be heard on the group's albums '' On Stage'' (1977), '' Live in Germany 1976'' and ''
Live in Munich 1977 ''Live in Munich 1977'' is a live album and DVD released by the British hard rock band Rainbow in 2006. The concert was recorded in Munich on 20 October 1977, originally filmed to air on the German '' Rockpalast'' TV show. Repeated airings hav ...
'' with
Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...
on vocals. More recently, Glenn Hughes has performed the song live both as a solo artist (as heard on the album ''
Soulfully Live in the City of Angels ''Soulfully Live In The City Of Angels'' is a live album and DVD by former Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Trapeze vocalist/ bassist Glenn Hughes. It was recorded at Sound Image Studio, Hollywood on January 11, 2004 in front of select group of g ...
'') and with the band
Black Country Communion Black Country Communion is an English-American hard rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2009, the band is a Supergroup (music), supergroup composed of bassist and lead vocalist Glenn Hughes (British musician), Glenn Hughes, gui ...
.


Covers

* Dio covered "Mistreated" on the tour for the album ''
Angry Machines ''Angry Machines'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on October 4, 1996, through Mercury Records in Japan, and on October 15, 1996, through Mayhem Records in the U.S. It was the last studio album to feature ...
'' in 1996 and 1997. A live version of the song can be found on the album '' Inferno: Last in Live''. * Swedish guitarist
Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...
covered the song for his 1996 album ''
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''. * German guitarist
Axel Rudi Pell Axel Rudi Pell (born 27 June 1960) is a German hard rock guitarist. Career Pell commenced his musical career with Steeler (German band), Steeler (1984–88) before leaving in 1988 for a solo career. During this time, he has played with such dr ...
occasionally includes "Mistreated" in his setlists. Cover versions of the song are featured on the albums ''Made in Germany'' (1995), '' Live on Fire'' (2012) and '' Magic Moments - 25th Anniversary Special Show'' (2015).


Personnel

*
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
*
David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Whitesnake. Coverdale was also the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976; he has had a solo car ...
lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
* Glenn Hughes
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
*
Jon Lord John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only ...
keyboards *
Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mistreated 1974 songs Deep Purple songs Songs written by Ritchie Blackmore Songs written by David Coverdale