The House of Blue Light
1987 studio album by Deep Purple
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The House of Blue Light is the twelfth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 12 January 1987 by Polydor Records. It was the second recording by the reformed Mark II line-up, and the sixth studio album overall by this formation of the band.
September 1986 (mixing)[2]
| The House of Blue Light | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 January 1987[1] | |||
| Recorded | April-August 1986 September 1986 (mixing)[2] | |||
| Studio | The Playhouse, Stowe, Vermont, USA with Le Mobile Studio | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:38 | |||
| Label | Polydor, Mercury (US) | |||
| Producer | Roger Glover, Deep Purple | |||
| Deep Purple chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The House of Blue Light | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10[5] |
| Kerrang! |  [6] |
| Rolling Stone | (favourable)[7] |
Recording
The album's creation was an exceedingly long and difficult process, which singer Ian Gillan compared to the recording of Who Do We Think We Are in Rome and Frankfurt.[8] Gillan has remarked on how strained relations within the band compromised the album: "I look back at House Of Blue Light, there are some good songs on that record, but there’s something missing in the overall album. I can’t feel the spirit of this band. I can see or hear five professionals doing their best, but it’s like a football team, it’s not functioning. It’s like 11 superstars that are playing on the same field but are not connected by the heart or by the spirit."[9] Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has said much of it was re-recorded,[10] and confessed, "I think I played like shit on it, and I don't think anyone else really got that into it."[11] Organist Jon Lord later said, "House of Blue Light was a weird album and hard to put together. We made the massive mistake of trying to make our music current. We discovered that people didn't want us to do that."[12]
Despite the band's concerns, House of Blue Light sold well. It hit No. 10 in the UK charts, No. 34 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and reached the top 10 in six other countries.
Promotion
Two promotional videos to the songs "Bad Attitude" and "Call of the Wild" were produced, both of which feature members of the band.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Attitude" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord | 5:04 |
| 2. | "The Unwritten Law" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Paice | 4:54 |
| 3. | "Call of the Wild" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord | 4:48 |
| 4. | "Mad Dog" | 4:36 | |
| 5. | "Black & White" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord | 4:39 |
| 6. | "Hard Lovin' Woman" | 3:25 | |
| 7. | "The Spanish Archer" | 5:31 | |
| 8. | "Strangeways" | 7:36 | |
| 9. | "Mitzi Dupree" | 5:05 | |
| 10. | "Dead or Alive" | 5:00 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Attitude" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord | 4:32 |
| 2. | "The Unwritten Law" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Paice | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Call of the Wild" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord | 4:48 |
| 4. | "Mad Dog" | 4:29 | |
| 5. | "Black & White" | Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord | 3:39 |
| 6. | "Hard Lovin' Woman" | 3:25 | |
| 7. | "The Spanish Archer" | 4:56 | |
| 8. | "Strangeways" | 5:56 | |
| 9. | "Mitzi Dupree" | 5:05 | |
| 10. | "Dead or Alive" | 4:42 |
Note: Several tracks on the LP and cassette versions are shorter than those on the original CD released in 1987. The 1999 CD remaster used the original vinyl master tapes, meaning its running time is also shorter than the original CD version.
Personnel
- Deep Purple
- Ian Gillan – vocals, congas, harmonica
- Ritchie Blackmore – guitars, guitar synthesizer
- Roger Glover – bass guitar, synthesizers, bass guitar synthesizer, sequencer, sampler
- Jon Lord – Hammond organ, synthesizers, electric piano, sampler
- Ian Paice – drums, percussion
- Production
- Produced by Roger Glover and Deep Purple
- Recorded at the Playhouse, Stowe, Vermont, with Le Mobile operated by Guy Charbonneau
- Engineered by Nick Blagona
- Mixed by Harry Schnitzler at Union Studios, Munich, West Germany
- Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York
Charts
Weekly charts
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Monthly charts
Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[30] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[31] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[32] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[33] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 2,500,000[34] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||