lee <grc@tsdman.plus.com> (17.05.2004)

i am 16 years old and have grown up in a world of pop, r n b, modern rock and i had never herd of any of the real rock bands, and rainbows are one of the greatest, and i love rising the album is fantastic'

Tony Scicluna <TOSCI@dhalia.com> (16.08.2006)

What I cannot understand after having read most reviews on Rainbow's and Deep Purple's albums (mainly Ritchie Blackmore's stuff) is why Blackmore is so underrated. Whoever has time to listen to his work closely will realise that he was by far the most technically accomplished rock guitarist at the time, yes better than Page and all the others. Stop comparing Page to Blackmore. Blackmore is far superior. Listen to 'A light in the Black', listen to the studio version of Child in Time, the solo on Highway Star, the Solo on Speed King, I can go on and on. If only Ritchie had a more approachable character and better stage presence.........if only!! As far as Rainbow Rising is concerned, it is in my opinion slightly more polished than Long Live Rock'n'Roll, but both are excellent albums. Rising is in my opinion the Deep Purple in the 'Rainbow' if you know what I mean.

Mike DeFabio <defab4@earthlink.net> (08.12.2000)

Okay, all I've heard from this album is "Man on the Silver Mountain," and it's so incredibly funny. I laugh whenever it comes on the radio. The lyrics are bad enough ("I'm the sun, I'm the sun, I can move, I can run!") but Dio's vocal delivery almost puts me in hysterics. It's so stupid that it's hard to imagine it being any stupider. It's the perfect 70s heavy metal song. All the elements are in place: the silly mystical lyrics, the wailing singer, and a riff that sounds like "Smoke on the Water." I love this goshdarn song.

Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (15.12.2000)

A pretty timid debut for a great metal band. Despite the fact that Blackmore quit Deep Purple so he could get out of the blues-rock rut Coverdale was getting them into, this is not the balls-to-the-walls metal album one would expect. It's not entirely the band's fault - people were still figuring out the best way to record metal in the mid-'70s and the production from album to album is hit and miss. The next album, Rising, was much better and Long Live Rock 'N Roll ranks up there with any Deep Purple album, as far as I'm concerned.

<Sabbath246@aol.com> (22.12.2000)

Fantastic album. Indeed the epitome of 70's metal. Ronnie James Dio is of course one of the best vocalists of hard rock. He SURE as hell ain't no Ian Gillan, that's for sure, but his voice is extremely powerful and fits Blackmore's riffage very well. Speaking of Blackmore, he is awesome on this album as well. I agree with you: his real defining moment on the six-string is "Still I'm Sad". "Man On The Silver Mountain" is obviously the most well-known track, and it is a killer. "Self Portrait" is one of Dio's best vocal efforts. "Black Sheep..." is mediocre in my view. "Catch The Rainbow" is simply glorious. One of the most beautiful ballads the world of rock has ever seen, period. If Dio was incredible on "Self Portrait", then on this song his voice is downright lachrymose. Blackmore's playing is also emotional. "Snake Charmer" is another triumphant moment, although the lyrics are somewhat stupid. "The Temple Of The King" is another excellent ballad, with yet another whole-hearted Blackmore solo. "If U Don't Like Rock N Roll" is a funky, almost Rolling Stones-ish tune. "16th Century Greensleeves" is of course a classic, with a crunching riff from good ol' Ritch. And the album closer, a cover of the Yardbird's "Still I'm Sad", stands out as probably the best song on here. Well, maybe second best, next to the tear-jerking "Catch The Rainbow". This album is simply awesome. Many critics and fans saw this as a poor imitation of Deep Purple, but I disagree. Sure, it wasn't anywhere near as stunning or fabulous as Purple's earlier albums (compare this to Deep Purple In Rock. It's damn near laughable!), but it holds it's own. Well, that about sums it all up. Later. Catch The Rainbow!

Ratko Hribar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (05.09.2001)

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is, and always will be, a truly great debut album. Musically it's almost perfect, but I kinda like the next album better. Ronnie sings awesome, although the songwriting is another matter. I simply detest Ronnie's crap, and I'm thankful that this album doesn't have too many "Dungeons&Dragons" songs. Thank God, there's some covers here, so Ronnie can't get his mystic-producing machinery going yet, but unfortunately he will, eventually. Blackmore really shines here, although, he does a bit better job on the next one. Never mind, he still rules. Cozy Powell rules too. Yes, the melodies are unbelievable, and the hooks are MAGNIFICENT. 'Man On The Silver Mountain' is one of my favorite songs, and it does sounds a little like 'Smoke On The Water', but it's not a friggin' copy. 'Catch The Rainbow' is simple, yet beautiful, and I love it. Hell, I almost love every single song here. Almost. Someone said this album is laughable if it's compared with In Rock. Well, it's not laughable. I love this album because Dio and Blackmore really can make a good vibe together. And isn't it stupid to compare that Purple album with this one ? Jeez, this is only a debut album, and In Rock is one of Deep Purple's best albums. Hah, and what about comparing this and Shades Of Deep Purple? That album is really laughable in comparison with this one, and that's a fact. One more thing. Ian Gillan isn't a better singer than Ronnie James Dio, and that's another fact. Gillan has got a fantastic voice, but hey, he doesn't fit in the early Rainbow style. I can't imagine him singing 'Stargazer'. Can you ? That would be a joke. I'm sure of it. Four stars, no doubt.

Koka Chernov <inter@inter.ustu.ru> (14.09.2002)

Listen, folks, the best thing, that Ritchie ever did, is here. It's called "Catch the Rainbow" - a piece of my eternal inspiration and admiration. Regardless to what ev'rybody thinks about Blackmore, his pleasantest and sweetest "dish" is ambient, modest, slow, thoughtful solos, that are a little bit "drowned"(exact portrait of the one in "CTR"). The state of things (imo) is the following: 1) Blackmore is not capable of playing really fast, furious and convincingly strong at the same time - when he tries (and fails) his solos degrade and turn to messy, crappy mass. 2) Blackmore is not able to create something really beautiful and tense at the same time (with an exception for "Stargazer") - only the first or the second separately 3) Generally, his riffs are weak and annoying - the pedestal of "The Best Riffman EVER" is (and will be) occupied by Tony Iommi 4) As to acoustic passages - Blackmore is very, very good (I often watch my friend swearing, trying to reproduce his endless "band releases"(?)[I'm not sure about spelling] and "slides") 5) Inventiveness - hmmm... Ritchie's abilities are, at least, dubious. I once took "Speed King" intro as something original and unprecedented - but only till I hadn't heard "Star spangled banned".6) Personal - I hate the way he prolongates sound of his guitar (messy technique?).7) Personal - Richard, imo, is lazy - he could make his parties more multilayered and complex.

So, what do we have - we have good guitarist, but overtly and undeservedly overrated (and overtly self-confident as well). Raise your hands those of you, guys, who've heard, say, Joe Satriani? One, two: And Satriani is BLINDING (it means good5) player. And he's not present on this site at all. Paradox?

Back to "Catch the Rainbow" - I'm sure that no one can sing "When evening falls..." with such a deep and warm fire in voice, as Ronnie. This beginning is mesmerizing, stunning, epitome of tenderness, reminding of all the love-pleasure you've experienced - it sounds as if Dio was in love, when he wrote it. You feel desperation and pain of forsaken lover, when Dio cries "Bless me...", immediate transitions from happiness to grief, from love to loneliness - it's all about broken illusions and torn emotions, isn't it? Blackmore does his job brilliantly - gives song gentle guitar dimension, pierces listener with introspective and sweet outro. Masterpiece. My TOP 10 song.

I also like "If you don't like R'n'R" and "Temple of the King" contain moments of true beauty. Others are also O.K.

GREAT album, Dio's voice is killing instrument, his goth ideas are fresh and not angry yet; so, catch it or rainbow will fly away. **** 1/2.

P.S. To Hribar - there's no Cozy here yet, and Gary Driscoll... well, he's average drummer, not too talented, but some of his finds work perfectly.

P.P.S. Maybe the most important reason of my hater towards Blackmore is that the word "modesty" is completely thrown away by his universe-sized ego. Can you name another selfish fool, who dared to call album "My OWN Rainbow". I simply have no words.

Mark Walker (22.10.2005)

What a fantastic album. Should be in every rock fan's cd collection. Blackmore and Dio seemed to feed off each other musically and the results are an album that stands up next to anything Blackmore has ever done in my opinion. I guess most of Dio's previous band Elf is on here. It is my understanding that on the next release they would be replaced with the Cozy Powell lineup. Dio's medievil tales of knights and dragons work wonderful here and his vocal chords as always are in fine form. 'Catch The Rainbow' is simply exquisite. You could find this and 'Man On The Silver Mountain' easily on a Rainbow compilation somewhere, but you would be depriving yourself of great tracks like 'Sixteenth Century Greensleeves', or the boogie woogie of 'If You Don't Like Rock and Roll'. 'The Temple Of The King' has got a nice hook to it and a simple but effective solo. This is where most rock fans were introduced to the voice of Ronnie James Dio and where Ritchie Blackmore successfully proved that he was still a force to be reckoned with. Not that there was any doubt, I mean fans at Deep Purple concerts were screaming for Blackmore in unison as poor Tommy Bolin tried to play. Fighting dragons and crossing swords never sounded so good. A solid 10 across the board.

Julian Lee <sacredword@sbcglobal.net> (04.02.2006)

I always liked Blackmore as a guitarist. He was always one of the interesting ones. But I think he was better when he was not the boss, i.e. in Deep Purple. His solo on "Lazy" is probably one of the great rock solos, in a class with Jimmy Page's thing on "Stairway to Heaven." He does cool things on those super slinky strings.

It is painful to listen to Mr. Dio sing on "Man On the Silver Mountain." He must have shredded his voice by now. You can only do that for so long, apparently. On "Catch the Rainbow" the beauty of his voice comes out. But I find it melodramatic. I also find the heavy reverb annoying, sort of like those old Moody Blues albums with too much reverb. ("In Search Of The Lost Chord.")

I love the melody of "Temple of the King" and the lyrics are evocative of some kind of transcendent mystery, some kind of rite of passage or vision quest of the young male. It's my favorite thing on the album musically, because I put a premium on original melody and song construction, and this one has it. However it is a downer that upon analysis Dio probably wrote the song as a paean to masturbation. All these lines about having this sublime, transcendental experience with a 'just a movement of the hand' is pretty suspicious. If you think that's far fetched, just listen to the lyrics and think about what guys like Dio try to represent in life.

"With just one touch of his trembling hand, The answer will be found. And then like the rush of a thousand wings, It shines upon the one."

and

"With just a wave of the strong right hand, he's gone To the temple of the king..." ...Then all could see by the shine in his eyes The answer had been found."

With his Sabbath/Death Metal connections, I doubt if he's talking about samadhi or spiritual rapture here. Nasty boys of rock love this kind of thing. The "Year of the Fox" probably just means the "year of the sexy chick."

I agree with the reviewer that the album has strong melodies. Originally melody is the hardest thing to create in music. Whoever is behind the melodies on this album is very good.

One thing I always liked about Dio is that he managed to sing in the higher ranges while maintaining a very manly tone rather than the fey shrieking of other heavy metal singers. Because of that, the album does carry some of that mystical credibility that "dragon rock" tries to conjure. His manly ranting about the girl in "20th Century Greensleeves" has that chivalrous notion about it. But then when he screams with bloodlust about burning the guys, it loses a little of that. It sounds like what Ozzy would like to do if he had the vocal chords for tearing.

That's all.

Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (29.12.2000)

I now realize there are certain responsibilities that go along with being a certified commentator - one of them being interrupting my thorough enjoyment of The Who's Live At The Isle Of Wight to pop in Rainbow's Rising in order for me to give it a fair review. No doubt - when it comes to the speed-demon school of electric guitar, Ritchie Blackmore is the king (don't even TALK to me about Eddie Van Halen, OK - or at least anything he did past Fair Warning). From a pure guitar perspective, this is one of his finest moments, mainly by virtue of the fact that there's probably more of his presence than any record since Deep Purple's In Rock. But how do the songs stand up? Well, that's a different story...

I'm no fan of album opener 'Tarot Woman' - no real hook either melodically or guitar-wise. 'Run With The Wolf' is prototypal heavy metal - Ronnie Dio likely based his entire recorded career on approximately this very riff and melody. Still, I find it unremarkable. 'Starstruck' is much better - probably the most Purple-like of the lot. 'Do You Close Your Eyes' is catchy as hell, even though the lyrics make me cringe.

George and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to the second side. I love the two, long, bloated songs. But I like my metal bloated and pretentious - heck, if I want short and catchy I'll listen to punk, or at least AC/DC. I love the way that line "Now where do we go?" hangs in 'Stargazer'. The answer is, not much of anywhere, really, but the greatness of metal lies in its occasional poignant moments.

Boyd Jackson Jr. <bjackson@brandywine.net> (29.12.2000)

George, you are the only person I know who doesn't like "Stargazer" by Rainbow. Listen to it again. You said you are slowly starting to get into heavy metal, so let's get off to the right start. Listen to it until you like it! Besides, it's 70's heavy metal! I guess you would rather listen to Limp Bizkit, wouldn't you? Just kidding!

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (28.03.2001)

Yes, it's brilliant groovy album, but it's not the best Rainbow album, as many people think. The best Rainbow albums are Straight Between The Eyes and Bent Out Of Shape. When speaking about Rising, "Stargazer" is certainly a masterpiece, all songs are good, and the second best song to my opinion is "Run With The Wolf". And the band has got Cozy Powell for this album and Cozy is one of the best drummers, his drumming here is awesome!

Madd Hunter <katsman7@hotmail.com> (05.07.2001)

I do like "Stargazer", as well as "Run With The Wolf" and "Starstruck". Rainbow weren't the same again; more pop melodies, especially on Difficult To Cure. Rising is unique.

Ratko Hribar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (18.09.2001)

Are you joking ? No way that their debut album is better than Rainbow Rising. No way in hell. Just listen to 'Starstruck' (which is an amazing song) or 'Stargazer'. Sorry, George, I forgot, you don't like 'Stargazer'. Well, guess what ? It's a lot better than 'Kashmir'. Also, I don't think that Blackmore's riffs here are generic, as you said. No distinguishable melodies ? Well, that's simply not true. Both of the songs I stated have distinguishable melodies and a lot of other tracks have them too. Too noisy ? Hmm, I wouldn't agree. It's not much noisier than the previous album. Okay, you're right about the number of the songs. Six is way too little, and I'm convinced that the first side is weaker than the second (I happened to love bloated and pretentious songs just like Jeff Melchior). I couldn't agree more that 'Tarot Woman' isn't all that impressive, but 'Run With The Wolf', how can anyone think that song is not great ? And now to the long 'song part', as you call it. 'Stargazer' is wonderful, and that song really is a pure classic that just has to be up there with 'Smoke On The Water' and 'Stairway To Heaven'. 'A Light In The Black' isn't so strong, but it has enough hooks for me. And no, those two songs are not too long. I agree that the lyrics are pretty lame, but they sound just great the way Dio sings them. I love the way Dio sings here. And yes, Blackmore really shreds on this album. Four and a half stars, no doubt about it.

Koka Chernov <inter@inter.ustu.ru> (14.09.2002)

Better than the first album, but only a little bit. Only 6 songs - So what? - it's advantage, imo. By the way, "Stargazer" is here - so why do you complain, George. Obviously, Dio became angrier and his voice lost warmth, not a single ballad is present - it's disappointing. On the other hand, the sound is mighty, full of heavy guitar-drive. Yeah! and forget all the crap that George tries to make you believe in - we all know the author of this wonderful site as an absolute metal-profane. Cozy Powell jumps out of his pants to be the toughest drummer in the world, his show-offs are strong and neat, his beat is extremely loud, and that's the right approach - that's the way real drummer should sound, i.e. merciless manner + tight skins + understanding of where mikes should be + cymbals, cymbals and more cymbals. The only unpleasant impression (once again) is that Cozy doesn't know, that drums are TUNABLE. It's beyond my understanding how almost all of you, guys, can easily sit through 90 min. of the same drumbeat and be satisfied with it. Powell, despite of his good physical abilities, is a stupid guy. On the other hand, his stupidity is embodied in a decent sound on "Raising". I love this album - collection of abrasive melodies, decorated with one of the best voices in rock. "Stargazer" would be even more glorious if it lasted for 5:06 instead of 8:30. Anyway, I love to hear tasty Cozy's cymbals crashing, therefore I agree to torture my ears during 10 minutes, just for purpose of getting professional satisfaction. What about Blackmore, Ritchie is Ritchie and even if I hate him, I have to admit: solo in "Stargazer" is majestic and unbelievable, riff in "Do you close..." is surprisingly decent, spontaneous sections of "Light in a black" are amazing. Guitar work surpasses the one on the previous album, but isn't flawless: soulless solos in "Tarot Woman" and "Run with wolf" are unnecessary.

If first album is ****1/2, then Raising is ****1/2 + small cup of stardust.

<JamesHaire@aol.com> (21.02.2001)

Yes, awesome album indeed. Something about this one pushes it above the performances on On Stage, I can't quite explain it. Some eh...possibly useful information: most readers of this site will probably better know this as Live In Europe (Mausoleum catalog # 60024) however, which is still in print and not too hard to find. Live In Germany was released earlier in the states...about '92 I suppose, and again in '99 on as an import. The two are the one and the same record...and it's scheduled to be released by Spitfire (# 15074) as Live In Germany once again March 20 of this year...seems to resemble the thousands of releases of Jimi's Woodstock concert by various labels; only on the down side, they never add anything new.

David K. Monroe <dkmonroe@hotmail.com> (01.09.2001)

George,

I must disagree with you about the value of Rainbow: Live in Germany versus Rainbow: On Stage. First, the sound quality on Live in Germany stinks. It's far too trebly, and when Cozy Powell starts whacking his bass drum in "Mistreated," it sounds like a sack of flour. I can practically see the dust clouds rise. Also, Ronnie D's little "doo, doo" sing along duet with Blackmore is unquestionably the WORST call-and-response guitar/voice duel ever recorded. It's painful to listen to. If Ian Gillan ever heard it, he'd laugh until he bazooka-barfed. The version of "Man on the Silver Mountain" is also distinctly inferior - just compare the keyboard parts. On Live, Tony Carey parks on the same long chord througout the riff, while on On Stage, he's finally figured out the riff, as played by Mickey Lee Soule on the original album.

Now, the good stuff on Live is, of course, "Stargazer", which mightily trancends the studio version, and much of "Catch the Rainbow", although I prefer the On Stage version. The Live version of "Catch the Rainbow" has a clumsier "Ave Maria" intro, but Blackmore's rhythm guitar playing in "Catch" proper is quite warm and wonderful, and it demonstrates that the the song has much in common with Hendrix's "Little Wing." The similarity never occurred to me until hearing Live. Also, to my irritation, the extended guitar solo in "Mistreated" is a tour-de-force in taste and restraint. Almost the entire solo is executed in a crisp, quiet tone that provides excellent contrast with the song's leaden riff. I love the solo, but I have to cut it off before the annoying sing-along at the end, which is a drag.

On Stage, by contrast, is almost letter-perfect from beginning to end. "Man on the Silver Mountain" has powerful keyboards worthy of Jon Lord, and the "Blues" jam is actually a JAM, with all the musicians contributing equally. "Catch the Rainbow" is sublime, perhaps the best Blackmore on record. Check out the fleshed-out "Ave Maria" intro, the singing, melodious first solo, the tender unaccompanied guitar break in the middle, and the forlorn, lonely finale. Why Tony Carey yells out Ronnie's name at the end is beyond me - Blackmore's really the star on this one. "Mistreated" is similarly actualized; the noisy, racous intro never sounded better. The solo passages aren't quite as sublime as on Live, but hey, no singalong! I've never cared for Ronnie singing "Mistreated" - the man ain't got no blues in him - but in many ways, this is the definitive version.

Richard Hunt <richard.hunt5@virgin.net> (28.02.2001)

I can't understand you giving this album a 4(or 8, unless this is on the scale for the general rating). I agree with your comments about 'Man on the Silver Mountain', except that I don't think this song was ever good. I think 'Kill the King' is amazing, I like 'Mistreated' sometimes, I think that '16th Century Greensleeves' is alright and I don't mind 'Still I'm Sad'. But this would still only be a three(6). But 'Catch the Rainbow' is completely laughable, and the rest of the Medley is boring. So this is 2&1/2(5) at most.

Ratko Hribar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (18.09.2001)

I really can't say anything interesting about On Stage. A very good album, and a must have for every Rainbow fan. Why ? Because they kick ass. I don't know if Live In Germany is better, because I didn't hunt it down yet, but I probably should to that. On Mistreated Ritchie played one of his most gentle solos ever, although I don't quite understand why they performed that particular song. And, would you believe it, Ronnie still performs that song live, although it's not even a Rainbow song. And, yes, I have to slap Ronnie for the lack of effort on 'Man On The Silver Mountain', he really could do a bit better than that. The bastard. Anyway, I don't like live albums, but this one would get four stars from me without any problems.

Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (31.03.2001)

Finally, someone who thinks this album is better than Rising. Long Live... is one of the highlights of Seventies heavy metal, and one of the few that is TRUE heavy metal as it became known in the Eighties and beyond. My problem with calling much of Seventies hard rock "heavy metal" is based on my opinion that most of it was just dressed-up versions of the same old riffs that existed ever since The Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' in 1964. True heavy metal - such as Rainbow - was a class unto itself, related to but distinct from the rock mainstream. The primary defining point is musicianship - a true metal band, in my mind, has musicianship the equal of any progressive rock band, but in a different format. A sense of grandeur helps as well, and Rainbow had both in spades.

This album rocks with a surprising subtlety and depth of musicianship that clods like Metallica could never hope to approximate. Blackmore is in the finest form of his career at this point - it's obvious he enjoyed having the freedom to push the guitars more to the forefront of the mix, unlike Deep Purple, where he duelled for lead-instrument supremacy with Jon Lord's enjoyable but occasionally annoying organ. Ronnie Dio sounds great too - too bad he's now only remembered as an Eighties joke, not much higher up the echelon from Sammy Hagar... (shudder) Sammy Hagar...

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (17.04.2001)

Good album, not worse than Rising. The title track is the eternal anthem of rock'n'roll! "Lady Of The Lake" is groovy, other songs are very decent and this album ends with beautiful charming ballad "Rainbow Eyes", that features a string quartet.

Ratko Hribar <stormbringer@email.hinet.hr> (18.09.2001)

George, why did you give this album the same rate like the debut ? This one is much, much better. I expect to see a fifth star up there when I look again. LLRNR is even better than In Rock/Machine Head, and I stand by my word. The title song is one of the best songs from the seventies, although it was always in the shadow of 'Stargazer' and 'Man On The Silver Mountain'. You know, I was initially concerned how will 'Kill The King' sound in the studio version, but it turns out to be damn impressive. True speed metal here. 'Gates Of Babylon' is similar to 'Stargazer', but I must say that it sounds somewhat more melodic and gentle, perhaps that's because I hear the orchestration a bit better here. And what about that violin ? I presume some people didn't, and wont like it, but to me, it sounds very magical. I just can't help myself. 'Rainbow Eyes' also has the same magic, and Ronnie is simply outstanding there. In fact, Ronnie sounds fantastic on the whole album, and Ritchie Blackmore shreds for the third time in a row, if you only count studio albums. The quantity of the bad lyrics is extremely impressive, though. Nevertheless, it still deserves five stars.

David K. Monroe <dkmonroe@mindspring.com> (28.12.2001)

When I bought this album in 1979, it confirmed to me my longstanding suspicion that rock and roll was going irretrievably to hell. I mean, c'mon - Ritchie Blackmore fires Dio so he can hire some crew-cut idiot and sound like Kiss? I was crushed.  This was the first real evidence that Blackmore was bit by the commercial bug and I could never look at a Rainbow album again without feeling disdain. And to think - Joe Lynn Turner was only two years away!  It was going to get WORSE!!! Now, whenever I tell somebody my favorite band once was Rainbow, they think of that sissy-faced band that did "Stone Cold." Seeing the video for "All Night Long" many years later truly added insult to injury - Graham Bonnett in his lesiure suit and Hawaiian shirt being flirted with by some ancient hooker in a vinyl skirt! Oh, the guilt, the shame!!!

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (08.06.2001)

The musical part of Down To Earth is very good and interesting: "All Night Long" has a great riff, "Eyes Of The World" has an outstanding solo, "Since You Been Gone" has also great riff (by the way, this song was played by Brian May in Moscow 1998 and was dedicated to the memory of Cozy Powell - it was fantastic!), all of the songs have interesting melodies (especially "Makin' Love" - great song)....BUT! Pleasy somebody replace this short-haired idiot with Joe Lynn Turner and then this album would be a masterpiece! Graham Bonnet spoils all the fun. What a dork he is! At first, when they started recording the album in the beautiful castle in France, the ambience was unbelievable, he said "No, I can't sing here". Imagine, he had to be in a dirty studio somewhere before he could sing. Then, once, when Ritchie told him, that he has to grow his hair and send the guard to his door, he sure enough jumped out of the window and ran off and had a haircut. And that's not all. When Ritchie told him, that now Joe Lynn Turner will sing in a band, Graham point-blank refused to leave and he would not leave until Ritchie said, that he'd have to sing with Joe.

I think, Graham Bonnet has got strong and decent vocals (surely decent vocals, but disparate with Joe's vocals - sure that's another story), but when I heard 'bout it all, I've lost my respect for Graham. Speaking about music itself, compare the concert versions of "All Night Long" sung by Turner and the original version sung by Graham, and it would be noticeable, that Turner sings this song better; I guess, "Love's No Friend" (cool bluesy tune) would also fit to Joe better. But anyway, it's not vocal's business, that makes Graham a dork (he sings decent), but his behaviour listed above.

What's wrong with "All Night Long"? Very exciting and good song, IMHO. How can you compare the vocals of Graham Bonnet with the magnificent vocals of Paul Stanley! Absolutely nothing in common! By the way, Joe Lynn Turner's voice is similar to Paul Stanley's voice (both have brilliant voices!!!!) and they are also quite similar visually.

And did somebody notice the resamblance between "Lost In Hollywood" and "Wicked Ways" (last song from Slaves And Masters)?

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (08.06.2001)

Now we mention the beginning of golden period for Rainbow (IMHO) - the first album with Joe Lynn Turner Difficult to cure.

The album begins with one masterpiece - glorious "I surrender" - it's so melodic and catchy! What's wrong if some tracks sound like Foreigner, in my opinion Foreigner are the best representatives of AOR. You think otherwise? Sellout? Fuck, why? Sabbath's Eternal Idol was a big sellout except "Shining" and some other tunes, late albums of Judas Priest were nothing but a sellouts and THIS is not a fucking sellout. This is the album, which features one of the best guitarists ever, one of the best vocalists ever and two very good musicians (I was never much impressed by Glover's bass playing, though on this album he unbelievably shines, especially on "Can't happen here"). "Spotlight Kid" is also a great track with Beethoven stuff thrown in the middle of the song (Don Airey never was obnoxious and he ISN'T obnoxious in Deep Purple now and I confim it because I saw Deep Purple with him on keyboards. There's only one guy, who was in Purple, Rainbow and Sabbath: sure Don Airey). "Magic" is cool. "Vielleicht Das Naechste Mal (Maybe Next Time)" is superb, Blackmore's playing is so nice and pleasant here. And this composition has some kind of continuation - "Anybody There" from Bent Out Of Shape. Why the German subtitle? Because Ritchie loves Germany, that's why. "Can't Happen Here" is marvellous, very exciting track with a great vocal delivery and an outstanding solo. And political lyrics. And it sounded live also good. "Difficult To Cure" contains cool Ritchie's interpretation of Beethoven's 9th and you know it was a cool trick to put some laughing in the end of the composition. So cool, that it's genius. It gives a special charm to the track.

Eric Rogozin <erogozin@mtu-net.ru> (08.06.2001)

Oh, how I love this album! At first, I call "Tearin' Out My Heart" a masterpiece with great vocals of Joe and great guitar solo of Ritchie and I was not always (but sometimes) satisfied with AOR. Speaking of "Eyes Of Fire", I'd like to mention, that these Iron Maiden guys have fully ripped off this song for "Powerslave" (the song, I mean) and in their hands the song sounds not so assertive and professionally like it sounds in the hands of Rainbow. I wonder if it wasn't so: Bruce Dickinson's vocals are laughable when compared with Joe Lynn Turner's wonderful voice, Bruce sometimes sounds so overblown, and both Dave Murray's and Adrian Smith's guitar playing is nothing in comparison with Ritchie's. And then, how much songs Iron Maiden songs were not ripped off? And the most remarkable is the fact, that in Russia there is an absolutely generic band Aria, which absolutely rips off Iron Maiden songs and this band has got a lot of fans, who never heard of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin...In short, "Eyes Of Fire" is a good song. "Death Alley Driver" is great! Great "neoclassical "solo, great keyboards solo. By the way, the keyboard player on this album is David Rosenthal and not Dan Airey! David Rosenthal is very talented guy, even to say extremely talented guy! "Stone Cold" is great as well: melody, vocals, solo, all is splendid (Of course, I praise solos in almost in every sentence, but it's Ritchie Blackmore!), one of the best ballads I ever heard! It was accused in resemblance with "Waiting For A Girl Like You" but I see nothing wrong in it - there are always some resemblances and I consider "Waiting For A Girl Like You" to be a masterpiece. By the way, Joe recorded "Waiting For A Girl Like You" on "Undercover 2" - it's excellent!!! And the videos for "Death Alley Driver" and "Stone Cold" are superb! Seing of these videos will give everyone a lot of pleasure.

"Bring On The Night" is very good. "Power" is my least favourite song on Straight Between The Eyes, though it has got a great riff, the melody is some kind of generic and yes, a totally generic arena-rock arrangement. I adore "MISS Mistreated", it's resplendent! "Rock Fever" I also like, very good. In generalization, I'd like to say, that in the early Eighties Rainbow sound improved with every album, beginning with very good Difficult to cure and ending with a one of the best albums ever Bent Out Of Shape. Straight between the eyes IMHO ranks along Deep Purple bests and is quite similar with KISS Dynasty, also a great album. Too pity, that people always praise Dio's vocals and forget about Joe whose vocals are much better than Ronnie has ever got. And now when Joe Lynn rules with a superb solo abums, with absolutely remaining voice, Ronnie is a miserable self-parody, have you seen Deep Purple in concert with London Symphonic Orchestra 1999, where Ian Gillan sings with Dio "Smoke On The Water"? That's where evidently conspicuous, that Ian is thousand times better singer than Ronnie!