Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Rainbow
Label: Polydor Records
Release: 1976
Length: 33:28
Rating: 5/5
The unpredictable guitar virtuoso in black, Ritchie Blackmore, and vocal god Ronnie James Dio: two musical legends who, with the 1975 Rainbow debut, did more for the development and popularization of hard rock than most of today’s representatives of the genre manage in their entire careers. In 1976 they were dead set on seizing the vacated throne of the kings of heavy rock. The timing couldn’t have been better; Blackmore’s former partners in crime Deep Purple had fallen apart (temporarily) in ignominious fashion that year, Black Sabbath were in a deep existential crisis thanks to the ‘problems’ with singer Ozzy Osbourne, and the same could be said of Uriah Heep, who were still recovering from the departure of the inimitable David Byron, while the idea of Whitesnake hadn’t even begun to stir in the corners of David Coverdale’s brain.
Besides Rainbow and Blue Öyster Cult, the somewhat rusty heavy rock scene was mostly being kept alive by art rock outfits of the Queen, Rush and Wishbone Ash caliber, while Judas Priest had only just landed on the musical map. The genre’s popularity was also in a brief slump, partly thanks to the rise of new trends led by disco, punk and glam rock, but Rainbow were determined to turn that negative trend around with their second studio album »Rising«, which sits right at the very top of their achievements.
To that end, Blackmore and Dio first gathered three musicians around them who could keep up with their egocentric compositional and lyrical creations. Blackmore dumped the rest of the members of Dio’s previous band Elf and brought in legendary drummer Cozy Powell (ex-Jeff Beck), gifted bassist Jimmy Bain and all-round keyboardist Tony Carey. Carey’s keys delivered a whole parade of classical arrangements that deepened the epic and melodramatic nature of most of the »Rising« material, while on »Stargazer«, the centerpiece of the whole album, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra joined in.
This new Rainbow lineup, which sounded far punchier than the previous incarnation, stayed together for only about two years, but that was long enough to create some of the most brilliant songwriting achievements in the history of heavy rock, most of them found on »Rising« and its studio successor »Long Live Rock’n’Roll« (1978). Dio enriched Blackmore’s trademark guitar mysticism and classicism with his vocal masterstrokes, through which he projected his fantasy lyrics about wizards, fortune tellers and knights.
The epic bomb »Tarot Woman« is an outstanding opener and one of those inimitable hard rock peaks that could only have been born under the direction of the unbeatable Blackmore-Dio duo. Carey’s opening synth solo works as an enigmatic overture to the hard-hitting section driven by Powell’s drum stampede, Bain’s rumbling bass lines and above all Blackmore’s blazing yet innovative guitar phrasing. The moment Ronnie’s thunderous vocals crash in with his tale of a mysterious fortune teller, a truly epic atmosphere takes hold, culminating in a triumphant, majestic chorus. On this legendary evergreen you can feel at every step what a well-oiled, uncompromisingly punchy machine Rainbow were at the time under the joint patronage of Ritchie and Ronnie. The influence of »Tarot Woman« on the development of the early forms of British heavy metal was just as remarkable, and you can still hear it today in some of the work of bands in that vein.
»Run With the Wolf« is a temporary retreat into a somewhat slower tempo, but the punch doesn’t drop one bit under the merciless drum crashes and scorching guitar passages, while a distinctly epic atmosphere once again takes over, especially in the chorus. With a distinctive guitar improvisation in the middle, Ritchie once more confirms his role as a great guitar innovator, while Ronnie’s vocals lose none of their traditional, epic thunder and fighting spirit. On the no less spirited »Starstruck«, where Dio slyly camouflages his tale of a femme fatale as yet another mystical adventure, you can also feel Blackmore’s blues rock roots through the onslaught of witty guitar phrases. The punchy, vengeful chorus stands out among the numerous guitar variations with which Ritchie ‘smears’ Powell’s uncompromising drum fills. »Do You Close Your Eyes«, a short but iconoclastic hard rocker, pushes a mighty guitar phrase to the front, while Ronnie’s irritated vocals neatly build a dramatic mood that peaks in an epic chorus.
The best moment on »Rising« is the epic masterpiece »Stargazer«, Blackmore and Dio’s splendid answer to the Led Zeppelin classic »Kashmir«, with which it shares a related guitar phrase and a similar oriental-mystical atmosphere that sucks the listener straight into the heart of this mighty epic. Here the art rock nature of early Rainbow shines in full glory. Ronnie’s fantasy tale of a wizard and his mystical journey to the stars is driven by devastating drum crashes and hellish guitar passages, while the classical depth comes from the orchestral arrangements of the philharmonic, teamed up with Carey’s symphonically seasoned synth lines. The solemn, pompous mood reaches new dimensions in the mighty chorus, and the middle section doesn’t lack an inventive guitar variation either, with which Ritchie boosts the all-encompassing epic magic even further. Even today it’s no exaggeration to call »Stargazer« one of the best achievements in hard rock of all time and one of the peaks of seventies rock music.
The closing act of the album, the somewhat fatalistic »A Light in the Black«, is driven at a hard-hitting, about as fast as it gets tempo, and once again you can admire the exceptional cohesion between the individual members of this inimitable Rainbow lineup. The thunderous Ronnie once again sings like a ‘plane’, backed by Powell’s drum stampede, while Blackmore doesn’t hold back on bursts of guitar passages that were seriously brutal for the time. Carey also finds room for a cunning synth solo, proving he was one of the most overlooked keyboard innovators of his day. The virtuoso instrumental breaks, played at a rapid pace, stretch the composition to at least double its length, yet they still sound fun and innovative today. This was one of those key compositions that helped later heavy rock bands start playing faster and harder.
»Rising« was recognized as a heavy rock masterpiece the moment it came out, and its standing has only grown over the years, so it’s only right that one of Rainbow’s two best studio achievements gets properly celebrated at every opportunity. It’s sad that two of the musicians who worked on this studio classic have already passed away (Dio and Powell), while in his old age Blackmore ‘lost the plot’ and decided to become a modern-day Robin Hood, which means that the »Rising« songs can hardly be heard live anymore from the men who created them. Ego trips between the man in black and the little man with the mighty voice were sadly becoming more and more frequent in 1976, and their collaboration slowly began to crumble over the following two years. Blackmore had started to get sick of Dio’s ‘Tolkienesque’ lyrics, while the thunder-voiced singer generally had a hard time putting up with egomaniacs with numerous eccentric habits in his company anyway.
Lineup
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Ronnie James Dio – vocals
Jimmy Bain – bass
Cozy Powell – drums
Tony Carey – keyboards
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra – orchestral arrangements
Fritz Sonnleitner – concertmaster
Rainer Pietsch – conductor
Production
Martin Birch
Tracklist
1. Tarot Woman
2. Run with the Wolf
3. Starstruck
4. Do You Close Your Eyes
5. Stargazer
6. A Light in the Black
