Rainbow – Reissues: Rising and Down to Earth
Universal
www.universalmusic.com
Ratings:
Rising: B+
Down To Earth: B-
Two classic Rainbow CDs have seen a good remastering
and release with bonus tracks, though the bonus tracks
are questionable and really not needed. On Down to
Earth the bonus tracks are rough, instrumental
versions of the songs on the album. Rising’s
bonus features three different mixes of the songs,
something that only true rock nerd Rainbow fans will
dig.
Rising
This is one of the best albums that Rainbow ever
released. The lineup is amazing with Ritchie Blackmore
on guitar, Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Cozy Powell on
drums, Tony Carey on keyboards and Jimmy Bain on bass.
“Tarot Woman,” “Starstruck,” “Stargazer” and “A Light in
the Black” are all Rainbow classics. No matter what the
mix you listen to these deserve to be turned up to 11.
“Run with the Wolf” and “Do You Close Your Eyes” are
both great, albeit somewhat sort songs in terms of
Rainbow tunes on this album. This six-song release
influenced many guitar players and singers going forward
and will be remembered as a classic in the metal genre.
Down to Earth
The ever-revolving lineup of Rainbow had changed
drastically since Rising. Only Ritchie Blackmore
and Cozy Powell remained. Blackmore brought in his old
band mate, Roger Glover on bass and future Deep Purple
keyboard player, Don Aiery, on keyboards. Gone was
Ronnie James Dio, replaced by Graham Bonnett, an unknown
R&B style rock singer. Bonnett learned a lot about hard
rock and his time in Rainbow and actually changed the
direction of his musical interests. With Rainbow, on the
Down to Earth tour, he fronted the stage of the
inaugural Monsters of Rock Tour as Rainbow headlined the
show.
Down to Earth saw Blackmore wanting to have hit
songs. He was tired of twenty-minute jams and lyrics
about the occult and wizardry. Bonnett was chosen to
give the band chart success in America, something that
had eluded him in Rainbow. “All Night Long” and the Russ
Ballard penned “Since You’ve Been Gone” were popular but
failed to set the charts on fire. The rest of the album
wanders around somewhere between radio friend tunes and
hard rock, the best song being “Eyes of the World.” The
reissue has two b-sides included that are two of the
best songs on the album. “Bad Girl” is a hard rocker
while the instrumental “Weiss Heim” is a wonderful
guitar showcase for Blackmore. With the result of the
album not putting Blackmore on American Top 40, Bonnett
was swapped out for Joe Lynn Turner.
At the end of the day, both albums are worthy of
being in your collection, if they are not so already.
That said, the bonus features for both are a little
lackluster but the added b-sides and the original albums
make up for that. They rock, Rising more so but
Down to Earth has its moments.
