Review Summary: The Definition of "Epic"
This album must be recognized as much as Led Zeppelin IV, Paranoid and Machine Head
One of the most influential bands in rock history, Rainbow developed many genres like Prog Metal, Power Metal and Neo-Classic metal, however they were never recognized as much as they deserved it, and if there was a contest for the most underrated band, Rainbow should win.
Rainbow was formed in 1975 by the former
Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore along with the members of
Elf , the same year, Rainbow released their first album
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow , it was an excellent album with classic songs such as
Man on the Silver Mountain ,
Catch The Rainbow and
The Temple of the King , but the album had two big problems: First, even when Blackmore's skills and the vocals of the, at the moment, unknown Dio were nothing but fantastic, the rest of the band didn't seemed to shine. Second, it lacked of identity, it seemed just like a less-bluesy version of
Elf. So, almost inmediatly after the album was released, Blackmore fired all the members (with the exception of Dio) and hired more skilled ones.
In 1976, Rainbow had a new line-up, one of the best in the history of rock with:
Ritchie Blackmore on guitar
Ronnie James Dio on vocals
Cozy Powell on drums
Tony Carey on keyboards
Jimmy Bain on bass
This line-up (with the first three of them being among the best in their respective categories) made
Rising :
The first song is
Tarot Woman it starts with a beautiful keyboard solo by Carey with a mystical atmosphere, this solo proves that Carey had nothing to envy to the most recognized keyboardists in the business, then the rest of the instruments enter in the scene with a catchy riff by Blackmore and an awesome drumming by Powell, Dio sings incredible in this one, with an awesome and ultra-catchy low-note chorus and with some mystical lyrics that can be interpretated in many ways. The guitar solo is great too, with a guitar that even "sings" the chorus. The song fades away with a second keyboard solo that is as good as the first one. Sadly Rainbow never played this, easily one of their best songs, live. Without a doubt 5/5
The second song is pretty diffirent, but it remains the dark lyrics:
Run with the Wolf has a great bass line provided by Bain, Blackmore does an awesome (but short) solo and of course, Dio and Powell are extremly powerful in this one and the organ played by Carey is pretty good too. Definitely the best moment in the song is the final part, with an even better work by Powell and an awesome backing guitar. 5/5
Starstruck has a
Strange Kind of Woman feeling with a catchy riff and vocals, it's pretty radio friendly, without falling in commerciality. The only problem in the song is that sounds too much like Deep Purple. 4.5/5
And here it is the fourth track, the only problem with the album:
Do you Close your Eyes , the commercial song in the album, not even three minutes of the cheesiest lyrics you'll ever see, I mean, "do you close your eyes while making love?", seriously? , it doesn't even have a solo and the riff is lame (only if you compare it with the other ones in the album). Don't misunderstand me, its a pretty good song, an excellent one actually but it has nothing to do with the rest of the songs in Rising, it just doesn't fit in the album, if they replaced it with
Gates of Babylon or
Kill the King (from Rainbow's next album) it would'd become the perfect album in every possible way. 4/5
Here it comes, Rainbow's Magnus-Opus, one of the best songs ever made:
Stargazer , it starts with a ten seconds drumming solo by Powell, one of the most impressive ten seconds in drumming history , after that a signature riff by Blackmore shows off, Dio's vocals are the best he ever did and the bass line by Bain is awesome, the orchestral arrangements by the Munich Phillarmonic Orchestra adds even more epicness to this 8:26 minutes song. The solo is stunning making of the already epic atmosphere something even more triumphal, this is where Prog metal, Power metal and Neo-classic metal started, if you search for "epic" in a dictionary, you'll find Stargazer as an example. 6/5
Incredibly, Rainbow manages to equal the quality of the last song with
A Light in the Black , lyrically, the second part of Stargazer, it is the heavist record on the album with an explosive riff and drumming, Dio reaches some awesome notes, again, among the best he ever did. But the best part of the song is the solo, a mind-blowing perfect combination of guitar and keyboard, the solo is the best thing, both, Blackmore and Carey ever did. At the end, the powerful riff and Dio's voice come back to close the song in such an impressive way as it started. 5/5
Rainbow's Rising is a truly masterpiece, it can be enjoyed by relaxed people, sitting in a sofa and closing their eyes (because of its awesome atmosphere only interrupted by "Do you Close your Eyes") as well as by crazy rock fans jumping around the living room trying to imitate Blackmore's solos on an air-guitar and trying to sing as well as Ronnie. As it says in the summary, this album is the definition of epicness (even the cover makes of a Rainbow the manliest thing that ever existed), a true classic, every rock fan must listen to it, and whether they like it or not, they won't be able to deny its quality.
Essential songs: ALL OF THEM, but specially the more progressive-epic ones:
Tarot Woman
Stargazer
A Light in the Black
Produced in Munich in 1976 by Martin Birch
