Perfect Strangers (album)

Perfect Strangers is the eleventh studio album by the British rock band Deep Purple, released in October 1984. It was the most successful album recorded by the reformed 'Mark II' line-up.[1]

Perfect Strangers
Studio album by
Deep Purple
Released29 October 1984
RecordedAugust 1984
Studio"Horizons" in Stowe, Vermont, USA with Le Mobile Studio
GenreHard rock, heavy metal
Length45:01
LabelPolydor
ProducerRoger Glover & Deep Purple
Deep Purple chronology
Come Taste the Band
(1975)		 Perfect Strangers
(1984)		 The House of Blue Light
(1987)
Singles from Perfect Strangers
  1. "Perfect Strangers"
    Released: 1984
  2. "Knocking at Your Back Door"
    Released: 1984

It was the first Deep Purple studio album in nine years, and the first with the Mk II line-up in eleven years, the last being Who Do We Think We Are in 1973. Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover arrived from Rainbow, Ian Gillan from Black Sabbath, Jon Lord from Whitesnake, and Ian Paice from Gary Moore's backing band. Just one song in the reformed Deep Purple’s new repertoire, "Nobody’s Home", would be credited to all five band members. Gillan and Glover, attempted to return matters to the all-for-one credits of the band’s earliest recordings, but Blackmore held firm. It was not until Blackmore left the group in 1993 that the issue was finally resolved.[2]

The CD and cassette versions of the album contained the extra track "Not Responsible" (one of few Deep Purple songs with profane lyrics, as the word "fucking" can be heard in the song). The album was remastered and reissued on 22 June 1999 with the bonus instrumental track "Son of Alerik". The latter had previously been available as a B-side on the single "Perfect Strangers" in 1984.

The album was a commercial success, reaching #5 in the UK charts and #12 on the Billboard 200 in the US. Perfect Strangers was only the second Deep Purple studio album to be certified platinum in the United States, following 1972's Machine Head.[3] The tour was so successful that the band had to book many additional dates to the U.S. arena tour, as tickets sold out very quickly. Their U.S. tour in 1985 out-grossed every artist that year except Bruce Springsteen.[4]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[5]
Rock Hard9.0/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]

The album received mixed reviews. Deborah Frost of Rolling Stone in a contemporary review remarked that, with the exception of the two singles, "The material consists of hastily knocked-off jams" and wondered if the release was just made "to cash in on the current heavy-metal craze." But she also stated, "Blackmore's Strat has such a great roar that you're willing to just let it reverberate in your eardrums for a bit. And it's nice to hear Jon Lord's unsynthesized organ squalls, Ian Paice's electrifying drumming, Ian Gillan's howls and whispers and Roger Glover's solid bass lines once again," although, "Instead of Glover, an outside producer might have forced the band to tighten up its licks and arrangements."[7]

Canadian journalist Martin Popoff praised this comeback album which "only nods to the '70s" and concentrates "on songcraft rather than technical display," placing Deep Purple as "a reference point of a genre in metal without categorization."[5]

"A great moment in time," suggested Glover, "but, as an album, it doesn't quite hang together."[8]

Track listing

All songs by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover except where noted.

"Son of Alerik" had appeared in an edited form on the 7" B-side of the "Perfect Strangers" single, or in full on the 12" "Perfect Strangers" single and the European version of the compilation Knocking at Your Back Door: The Best of Deep Purple in the 80's.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Knocking at Your Back Door"7:09
2."Under the Gun"4:40
3."Nobody's Home" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice)4:01
4."Mean Streak"4:22
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Perfect Strangers"5:31
2."A Gypsy's Kiss"5:14
3."Wasted Sunsets"3:58
4."Hungry Daze"5:01
Cassette and CD release extra track
No.TitleLength
5."Not Responsible"4:53
1999 CD bonus track
No.TitleLength
10."Son of Alerik" (Blackmore)10:01

Personnel
Deep Purple
Production
  • Produced by Roger Glover and Deep Purple
  • Recorded at "Horizons", Stowe, Vermont with Le Mobile Studio, 1984
  • Mixed at Tennessee Tonstudio, Hamburg, Germany
  • Engineered by Nick Blagona
  • Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Platinum 100,000^
Germany (BVMI)[27] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! United Kingdom "End of Year Lists – Top Album of 1984"[31] 1984 7
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References
  1. Adams, Bret. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. Dave Thompson Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story. 2004. pp. 241
  3. "Deep Purple & A Momentous Mark II Reunion". udiscovermusic.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  4. Lalaina, Joe (January 1989). "Jon Lord's Purple Reign". Modern Keyboard. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  5. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  6. Breusch, Matthias. "Review Album: Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  7. Frost, Deborah (28 February 1985). "Deep Purple: Perfect Strangers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. Rees, Paul (April 2017). "To Infinity… and Beyond?". Classic Rock #234. p. 40.
  9. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers". Hitparade.ch (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  10. "Album – Deep Purple, Perfect Strangers". Charts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  11. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  12. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (album)". Swedishcharts.com. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  13. AA.VV. (1990). Oricon Chart Book 1970-1989 (オリコンチャートブック〈LP編) (1 ed.). Tokyo, Japan: Oricon. p. 205. ISBN 978-4871310253.
  14. "Deep Purple Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  15. "infodisc.fr Note : You must select Deep Purple". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  16. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers". Austriancharts.at (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  17. "Gli album più venduti del 1984" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia.it. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  18. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (album)". charts.nz. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  19. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers". Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  20. "Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers (album)". Finnishcharts.com. GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  21. "Deep Purple Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  22. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 41, No. 19, January 19, 1985". Library and Archives Canada. 19 January 1985. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  23. "Deep Purple Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  24. "infodisc.fr Note : You must select Deep Purple". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  25. "Deep Purple Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  26. "Canadian album certifications – Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers". Music Canada. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Deep Purple; 'Perfect Strangers')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  28. "New Zealand album certifications – Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  29. "British album certifications – Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 April 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Perfect Strangers in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "American album certifications – Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 April 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  31. "Kerrang – End of Year Lists – Top Album of 1984". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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