So every once and awhile I decide to listen to some old music that I never otherwise hear or think of. I thought about posting a review of an old album I have by Rainbow, called "Straight Between the Eyes." Instead I decided I would just pick a few Rainbow songs from their catalog, and talk about them.
Background
Ritchie Blackmore was the guitarist for Deep Purple (y'know, Smoke on the Water?) but decided to start his own band. He recruited Ronnie James Dio as the lead singer, and they stepped into the metal/fantasy genre. Dio would later front Black Sabbath before having a solo career. Along the way Rainbow picked up a few other Deep Purple alumni, like bassist Roger Glover.
Dio gets fed up with Blackmore in about three years, and Blackmore brings on board another guy who only lasted a year. Then came Joe Lynn Turner, who could really sing, but was more mainstream. Eventually the albums stopped selling and they went their own ways.
Man on the Silver Mountain (1976): B+
This classic rock track is on the first album, called "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow," and it's the first track. For my money it's the best of the Dio tracks. Plus, it has a great opening chord riff that is perfectly reminiscent of Deep Purple. You wouldn't know the difference, until Dio starts singing. Later, in Sabbath and on his own, he is more of a screamer. Here, he is a vocalist.
Lyrics are nothing special, but since they are well-sung they come off okay:
[Excerpt]
I'm a wheel, I'm a wheel
I can roll, I can feel
And you can't stop me turning
- Vocals: A-
- Guitar: A
- Bass: B
- Drums: B
- Keyboards: n/a
- Solos: B
- Arrangement: B
- Lyrics: C+
Long Live Rock and Roll (1978): C-
Off the fourth album with the same name as the song. Generally, I don't like songs with the words "Rock and Roll" in the title. They sound like cheap party songs designed to hook the generic fan. This track goes one step further and has a guitar riff that echoes Dio's voice when he sings the chorus. I nearly always find that unsatisfying, because again, it's just too hooky. The chorus repeats...over and over and over. The drums sound like they were recorded in a garage.
Dio is screaming more here, like an arena rock frontman. And he sounds out of breath. A couple of times he sounds almost like he's talking, fast and loud. Lyrics are a snore:
[Excerpt]
In a different time
When the words didn't rhyme
You could never quite be sure
Then on with the change
It was simple but strange
And you knew the feeling seemed to say it all
- Vocals: C
- Guitar: C
- Bass: B-
- Drums: C
- Keyboards: n/a
- Solos: C
- Arrangement: D
- Lyrics: D
I Surrender (1980): C
Joe Lynn Turner's debut on vocals. I'm skipping the interim guys. This particular song sounds a lot like a Foreigner knock off, with a much worse chorus. It sounds like Foreigner if Foreigner spent all its time wondering what it would look like in a music video.
The verses are alright, though undistinguishable from 1,000 other rock songs during this time period. Turner sounds good, but there's only so much he can do with a chorus that requires him to sing "I surrender" and "I remember" with background singers echoing him. Definitely detracts from the song having any hard edge.
On the chorus, he's straining. I don't think his voice is ready yet. The guitar solo has very little distortion. The drum occasionally has one of those clap/bullwhip cracks for punch. Yuck. They are clearly trying to sell records. No wonder they didn't. This doesn't sound like a hard rock band.
Would Michael Bolton sing these lyrics?:
[Excerpt]
I surrender to your heart babe
Do anything that you want me to do
Please be tender I'm in your hands girl
This is a feeling I never knew
- Vocals: B
- Guitar: C-
- Bass: B
- Drums: C+
- Keyboards: D
- Solos: D
- Arrangement: C+
- Lyrics: D
Death Alley Driver (1982): B
This song and the next one are on "Straight Between the Eyes," an album I bought in 1982. I'm guessing these songs will get decent reviews, because I liked them at the time. Then again, they might not hold up.
This song begins with the cliche of some race car sounds. Then the snare kicks in, uptempo, followed by a chopping guitar. Turner bursts in, and now his voice is in full form. You can't miss the energy in this song. The pre-chorus is weak, but the rest of the song propels along like...a....real...rock...band!
The solo sounds like a less distorted Iron Maiden riff, without the second guitar. Blackmore showing off his chops, especially in the second half of the solo. He's no Dave Murray (of Iron Maiden) in this song, but it's worth listening to. Unfortunately, it is followed by a distorted keyboard solo.
They are rock lyrics, but they work...though there's the dreaded "rock and roll" reference. Points deducted for that:
[Excerpt]
Rough and ready rider
in a supersonic sound machine
Rock and Roll survivor
Chrome pipes between your knees
- Vocals: B+
- Guitar: B+
- Bass: B
- Drums: B
- Keyboards: C
- Solos: B+
- Arrangement: B+
- Lyrics: B-
Stone Cold (1982): B+
This got play on the radio, which is how I ended up with the LP. It is a slower song. I wouldn't exactly call it a rock ballad, because that conjures up some cheap bands like Winger and Wasp. It's more dark and brooding than that.
It has a heavy keyboard part, but it actually adds to the dark mood instead of dominating the song. The pieces all work together very well, with no one part trying to steal the show. The guitar has a chorus effect, and there are a few fills that add a little "haunting" to the song.
Turner sounds a little like Paul Stanley (Kiss) in the pre-chorus but then he actually shows us the real stuff in the chorus. The solo doesn't sound like Blackmore at all...nothing like in Death Alley Driver. Again, a little Mick Jones (Foreigner) here, with more technical skill. Maybe a little Neal Schon (Journey...don't laugh...Schon could
really play). He also has a nice solo in the outro under the lyrics
Lyrics are much improved. Simply put, this song still works. I enjoyed listening to this again. This is when their album sales declined? Crazy!
[Excerpt]
Your words like ice fall on the ground
Breaking the silence without a sound
Oh familiar strangers with nothing to say
Searching in the darkness
- Vocals: B+
- Guitar: B
- Bass: B
- Drums: B
- Keyboards: B
- Solos: A-
- Arrangement: A
- Lyrics: B
Street of Dreams (1983): C
Still Joe Lynn Turner, but this would be the band's last album. It sounds like it would have played perfectly on the previous LP, except the keyboards are front and center, dominating the intro. You'd have to really listen to find the guitar.
This album is
very produced, which is not a good thing. This is an MTV album. Turner still sings pretty well, but it's all cleaned up and softened, for more appeal to the masses. They are trying to find the money, and in the process, making themselves like every other rock band in 1983. I had a brief Icehouse flashback during the second verse! Icehouse wasn't half bad at what it was trying to do, but Rainbow doing it? Unh-unh. I don't think so.
At least the solo has a guitar in it. I expected a little more inspiration from the solo, considering that instrument does absolutely nothing else in the song. Instead, it is a filler solo, there because rock songs are supposed to have solos.
Lyrics are average for this kind of band. Rainbow's end.
[Excerpt]
There you stood a distant memory
So good like we never parted
Said to myself I knew you'd set me free
And here we are right back where we started
- Vocals: B
- Guitar: C- (tempted to put n/a)
- Bass: B-
- Drums: C
- Keyboards: C-
- Solos: C-
- Arrangement: C+
- Lyrics: B-
