RAINBOW

RAINBOW

LONG LIVE ROCK'N'ROLL (1978)

REMASTER
320 KBPS

Long Live Rock and Roll is an album every bit as good as its predecessors and in some ways better. While Rising contained two masterpieces in Stargazer and Light In The Black, some of the shorter songs had an "outtake" feel to them. The 1975 debut suffered from Elf playing workmanlike behind the two obvious stars, Blackmore and Dio. Long Live Rock and Roll, however, rocks from start to finish. The title track has been criticized by some, but never was there a better bluesy shuffle. Lady of The Lake crushes you with its powerful, Zeppelin-ish riff, mystical lyrics, and a slide guitar solo so smooth that one reviwer thought it was a synthesizer. On to LA Connection, another bluesy number telling the tale of why Tony Carey left the band. Then Gates of Babylon, with one of Blackmore's finest solos, full of texture changes and exotic scale-use. Kill The King is one off-with-their-heads stomper, right to its "Ah! Kill! Ah!" ending. The Shed (Subtle) is heaviness personfied, Dio's voice menacing yet enticing all at once. Sensitive To Light would have sounded great on Rising, its quick tempo causing one to bang one's head until...yes...the grand finale, the soft and romantic Rainbow Eyes. One of Dio's finest vocal performances, the tune is only enhanced by Blackmore's Hendrix-like backing. By the end of 1978, the original Rainbow was history--and legendary. Dio went on to Sabbath, and Blackmore started getting more commercial.

1. Long Live Rock & Roll 4:19
2. Lady of the Lake 3:37
3. L.A. Connection 4:58
4. Gates of Babylon 6:46
5. Kill the King 4:28
6. The Shed (Subtle) 4:45
7. Sensitive to Light 3:04
8. Rainbow Eyes 7:11

DIFFICULT TO CURE (1981)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

After Ronnie James Dio left the band, Rainbow started to make more radio-friendly music. When I heard 'Down To Earth' I was very disapointed by Rainbow. The album was so much weaker then the Rainbow albums with Dio. So when this album came out I didn't want to buy it. When I heard that Rainbow had another singer again I was very curious, so I bought the album and I liked it very much. Joe Lynn Turner is a great vocalist, much better then Graham Bonnet.
All the songs are great on this album. It starts off with 'I Surrender', that was a very popular hit and it's a great song. It isn't a rock song, it's a pop song, but that doesn't matter, I also like pop, but when I buy a Rainbow album I expect some rock. Well, the second song (Spotlight Kid) is a great hardrock song! The instrumental part is great! Great guitarsolo and keyboardsolo! The rest of the album is also fantastic. The guitarsolo of 'Midtown Tunnel Vision' is one of the best together with the guitarsolo of 'Spotlight Kid'. The instrumental song 'Difficult To Cure' is a great song to end the album. It is a cover of Beethovens 9th.
So if you like rock music, then you should buy this. It's a great album and surely the best rainbow album with Joe Lynn Turner. Not the best of all Rainbow albums, cause nothing tops the Dio years.

1. I Surrender 3:55
2. Spotlight Kid 4:50
3. No Release 5:26
4. Magic 4:04
5. Vielleicht Das Naechste Zeit (Instrumental) 3:13
6. Can't Happen Here 4:52
7. Freedom Fighter 4:11
8. Midtown Tunnel Vision 5:00
9. Difficult To Cure(instrumental) 5:54