RAINBOW
RISING (1977)
REMASTER
320 KBPS
On their second release, Rainbow not only avoid the sophomore jinx; they hit a home run. After replacing the entire band (except Ronnie James Dio) immediately following the recording of the first album, Ritchie Blackmore and the Rising lineup (Blackmore; Dio; Tony Carey, keys; Jimmy Bain, bass; and the late, great Cozy Powell, drums) had plenty of time on the road touring the first album to get the chops and material together for their second. In particular, "Stargazer" really came together on the 1975 tour and featured stunning keyboard work from Carey. The material is uniformly strong, with "Starstruck" and "A Light in the Black" standing out in particular. Ronnie Dio turns in a great vocal on the stunningly direct (under three minutes!) "Do You Close Your Eyes." All six songs on the album are up there with anything the band has done, before or since. The playing has a very tight, colorful feel to it, which was lacking a bit on the first record. This album can legitimately be mentioned in the same breath as classic Deep Purple.
1. Tarot Woman
2. Run With The Wolf
3. Starstruck
4. Do You Close Your Eyes
5. Stargazer
6. A Light In The Black
1 comment:
this is easily one of the contenders for the title best hard rock album ever , and probably the last true classic by blackmore ( though a few greats like long live r´n r, down to earth or perfect strangers were still to come ). the flawless warm and heavy sound of purple ( and later iron maiden´s producer) martin birch , the outstanding vocals of dio ( god indeed) , a magical atmosphere without the kitsch and schmalz of blackmore´s night . i could ramble on forever - if someone doesn´t know this waste no time and get it - stargazer alone is well worth the price of the cd (or vinyl!)
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