Review by Daniel for Rainbow - Rising (1976)

Rainbow’s debut album “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” was a difficult one for me. I really wanted to like such a well-respected & highly regarded hard rock record but unfortunately I couldn’t quite look past the inconsistent song-writing & execution. There were some really promising signs in the first half of the album but things faded significantly in the back end & I found myself losing interest. Apparently Ritchie wasn’t terribly enamored with the result either as he elected to replace his entire band for 1976’s follow-up release “Rising”. Legendary frontman Ronnie James Dio was the only band member to be retained so there was every likelihood that things might sound a fair bit different going forwards. “Rising” was my entry point for Rainbow & it’s always been a funny album in that my opinions have often fluctuated over the years but I think the time & attention I’ve given it over the past week has finally cleared up any indecision.  

Even the most casual listen to “Rising” makes it blatantly obvious that Rainbow are an entirely different band to the one we heard on “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow”. It’s a much more epic sounding record. Not so much from a production sense as the production is still a little thin. I’m talking more about the instrumentation, themes & atmosphere. Everything is bigger! The blues rock backbone that was so evident on much of the debut is now overshadowed by the stronger & more exciting presence of early heavy metal. As a band Rainbow now sounds far more sure of themselves. There is a confidence that was sorely lacking before. The recruitment of gun session drummer Cozy Powell added substantial weight to the rhythm section while 19 year-old keyboardist Tony Carey also plays a strong role in defining a more substantial sound for the band. Ritchie’s exotic lead guitar solos seem to enhance the lyrical themes at times & although there are still some hints of the blues in some of his riffs this is definitely a much heavier Rainbow. I do have to admit that I struggle with Ritchie’s slide guitar solos a bit though as it’s just not my thing. Vocally Ronnie James Dio puts in one of the great performances in rock music here. It’s truly amazing that a front-man can totally overshadow the likes of Blackmore & Powell but Dio has done it pretty easily here. In fact he’s overshadowed every musician on every record I’ve ever heard him on to be honest. He’s quite simply one of the greatest rock/metal front-men ever.  

For all its positives my major problem with “Rising” is in its overall consistency. In fact, it’s a very good example of what I commonly refer to as the quality sandwich. The album starts off very well with a couple really high quality songs. “Tarot Woman” is the sort of epic proto-metal that defines the album. It’s quite long with fantastical lyrical themes & soaring vocals that take you to places you’ve only dreamed of. Then we get the equally impressive rocker “Run With The Wolf” with its great singalong chorus. It’s an underrated song that’s often overlooked amongst the album highlights but I really like it. Then things drop off dramatically. “Starstruck” is a generic blues rock song that sounds very dull to my ears. It really kills that atmosphere that’s been built up over the first two tunes. This is followed by the decidedly cheesy “Do You Close Your Eyes” which sounds quite like early 80’s Van Halen party song to me. It’s not horrible but it’s again a big step down from the earlier tracks. Thankfully things are about to pick up in a major way with album highlight “Stargazer”. This eight & a half minute piece is clearly the defining moment for Rainbow. It features an incredible atmosphere & a stunningly exotic Blackmore solo while Ronnie puts in one of the great vocal performances in all of rock. To be honest I think this song warped my opinion of the record for many years as it’s hard to look past. Finally the album is closed out by another eight minute monster in “A Light In The Black”. It’s an up-tempo rocker in the vein of “Tarot Woman” with some great singalong vocal hooks & some long keyboard & guitar solos.  

I think I’ve generally always wanted to like “Rising” more than I actually did & that’s not difficult to do if you focus on the highlights. However if I look at the tracklisting holistically I can’t help but be a little disappointed with the two tracks in the middle of the album. And when you then consider that there are only six tracks on the album it’s hard to deny that this drop in quality in the middle is a significant factor & I’ve had to adjust my score accordingly. “Rising” is a substantial step up from “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” & features some amazing performances but I think it could have been even better with a bit more time & a little more quality control.