Description

Russian pressing on Cd-Maximum with two albums on one cd

The departure of Ronnie James Dio gave Ritchie Blackmore a chance to reinvent Rainbow, which he does to a certain extent on Down to Earth. Adding former Deep Purple colleague Roger Glover as bassist and Graham Bonnet as vocalist, Blackmore tones down some of the excess of the Dio years, particularly in terms of fantastical lyrics, and turns to straight-ahead hard rock, only occasionally adorned by prominent synthesizers. In general, their material is fairly solid, and “Since You Been Gone” easily ranks among the band’s best songs, but overall the record is a little generic and sounds very much of its time — namely, the late ’70s, when album rock still ruled the arenas. Nevertheless, Rainbow has a distinct idea, primarily through the guitar artistry and mystical sensibility of Ritchie Blackmore. He sounds invigorated on the album, turning in muscular performances and strong solos on each cut; clearly, the reunion has revitalized him. Unfortunately, Bonnet tends to oversell his vocals, screaming a little bit too often, but he doesn’t distract from the fact that Blackmore, Glover, and drummer Cozy Powell turn Down to Earth into a fine hard rock platter. It might not offer anything unique, but it delivers the goods. Rainbow then ditched vocalist Graham Bonnet after Down To Earth, hiring former Fandango singer Joe Lynn Turner as their frontman. As it turns out, Turner is less hyperbolic than his predecessor, which fits the focused polish of Difficult To Cure. Where Down To Earth was a streamlined version of early Rainbow, Difficult To Cure is a shot at crossover. Problem is, the band never comes up with the right crossover songs. Russ Ballard’s I Surrender comes close, but much of the record is fairly undistinguished, riding on strident melodies and big riffs that are never quite memorable. It’s all given a contemporary sheen, with plenty of studio gloss that now instantly evokes the early ’80s. On that level, it’s somewhat of an entertaining artifact, anyone pining for an example of what album-oriented radio sounded like in the pre-MTV years should check this out, but it’s never more than that, since the bids at chart success are only occasionally memorable (I Surrender, Magic). Perhaps Ritchie Blackmore felt stifled by the exacting nature of Difficult To Cure’s attempt at crossover — witness how Spotlight Kid veers from a dexterous Blackmore solo to a ridiculous keyboard run, then just verges on collapse — and that’s the reason why each side ends with a pretentious pseudo-classical instrumental that functions as nothing more than a guitar showcase. Certainly, his playing is impeccable, but both numbers are really awkward (particularly the title track, based on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and with a weirdly synthesized pulse as a rhythmic underpinning) and just highlight the fact that Difficult To Cure would have been better if Blackmore had channeled that energy into the rest of the album.

Track listing:
1. All Night Long
2. Eyes Of The World
3. No Time To Lose
4. Makin Love
5. Since You Been Gone
6. Loves No Friend
7. Danger Zone
8. Lost In Hollywood
9. I Surrender
10. Spotlight Kid
11. No Release
12. Magic
13. Vielleicht Das Nachster Zeit
14. Can’t Happen Here
15. Freedom Fighter
16. Midtown Tunnel Vision
17. Difficult To Cure