RAINBOW: "Rising"

 

Original released on LP Polydor 2391.224

(UK 1976, May 17)

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. (Geoff Ginsberg in AllMusic)

RAINBOW's Debut Album

Original released on LP Polydor PD 6049

(US 1975, August 4)

Perhaps the first example of "dragon rock" - a style perfected by bands like Iron Maiden and Dio in the early to mid-'80s - was "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow", a rather pretentious 1975 collection from the guitarist's first post-Deep Purple project. Fittingly enough, a young Ronnie James Dio provides the goblin-like frontman presence required by the increasingly Baroque Blackmore. The young Dio is at his best when he fully gives in to his own and Blackmore's medieval fantasy leanings, in hard-rocking tracks like "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" and "Man on the Silver Mountain." The dark, trudging doom rock of "Self Portrait" most clearly showcases what they were capable of. The album's ponderous lyrics are occasionally punctuated by poetic phrases such as "crossbows in the firelight." Rainbow become a true embarrassment when they try to lighten up and boogie down. "If You Don't Like Rock ]n' Roll" is really an abomination, a pale imitation of second-rate radio-rockers like BTO. Although "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" provides a few listenable tracks, its primary value is historical. Look to Rainbow's next album, "Rising" (1976), to grasp the heavy metal potential that is only hinted at here. (David Kent-Abbott in AllMusic)