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Rating:
"Difficult To Cure".
There is no more fitting title for Ritchie Blackmore's personality; his mania for changing the line-up with each album is difficult to cure. In 1981, he decided to fire both Graham Bonnet and Cozy Powell, hiring drummer Bobby Rondinelli and American AOR singer Jou Lynn Turner. The first album of Rainbow's Mk V is centered on American Rock-Pop style. The elves and wizards, so dear to the Ronnie Dio's epic rock style, are now completely gone. Technically, it's an excellent album without a doubt, with Don Airey's contribution on keyboards proving invaluable, as is the rhythm section created by the Glover-Rondinelli duo.
The album opens with "I Surrender" (which was also the single from the record). It seems like an echo of the previous "Down To Earth" (which I appreciate, by the way), a song specifically built for Bonnet's voice, to which Turner must adapt. It's a catchy, typical AOR song, but not unforgettable. However, unforgettable is "Spotlight Kid", the speed-track that would open concerts in the '80s. A perfect, fast track, with a neo-classical interlude performed by Blackmore (just to keep his skills sharp) and a Moog solo by Airey.
"No Release" seems to come from a Michael Jackson album, with a beautiful intro by Blackmore, and the song seems promising but gets lost along the way, turning into an almost disco-like pop track. "Magic" is more of a filler song, too contrived and uninspired. In short: a workmanlike job.
"Vielleicht Das Nächste Mal (Maybe Next Time)" is a beautiful instrumental, a clear sign that when one strays from AOR, something good is composed. Excellent duet between Blackmore and Airey, who alternate and support each other. This track, in my very humble opinion, still seems to feel the influences of the previous album; let's say there is much more Britain than the USA. We return to the USA with "Can't Happen Here". A nice rock 'n' roll adapted to the '80s, in which Blackmore inserts another classical interlude that adds that extra touch and gives us a well-executed, gritty solo, as is Turner's performance.
"Freedom Fighter" is another song for American radios, while "Midtown Tunnel Vision" is extremely interesting, in which Turner tries to take on the role of a blues singer, with a song featuring a Hendrix-style intro (and vaguely reminiscent of "Dealer" from Deep Purple's "Come Taste The Band" album). The result is, in my opinion, really excellent; a bit of blues always does good.
The last song is the title track, "Difficult To Cure", definitely the best song on the album and one of Rainbow's most beautiful ever. The entire song revisits Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in a rock key (and I confess that thanks to it, I became passionate about that work). An enveloping song, from the first notes, you understand that you're about to listen to a cornerstone of Hard Rock. Blackmore reaches extraordinary heights of skill with his solo, and when you add Airey's accompaniment, using various effects (from chorus to strings), the result is simply marvelous.
Turner's debut is undoubtedly good, and his musical culture will lead to the much-hoped-for genre change desired by Blackmore, taking Rainbow towards a more commercial Rock for the American market.
For fans of the "Rainbow", this record is a must-have.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 I Surrender (04:04)
I Surrender
I surrender to your heart babe
Do anything that you want me to do
Please be tender I'm in your hands girl
This is a feeling I never knew
You know I tried to make it on my own
That's not the way it was meant to be
Spend my time waiting by the phone
Oh darling come back to me
I surrender, I surrender
I'm giving up the role of pretender
Oh be tender, girl be tender
Can't you feel the love that I send you
I surrender.
I remember, seems like a lifetime
Can't believe it's a matter of days
Since you left me I'm near to heartbreak
I want you so bad don't turn away
What does it take to stay by my side
You know I'll do what you want me to
Don't take away this feeling inside
I'm still in love with you
I surrender, I surrender
I'm giving up the role of pretender
I remember, I remember
Can't you feel the love that I send you
I surrender.
I surrender, I surrender
Darling now won't you be tender
Surrender, oh surrender
Feel the love that I send you
I surrender.
02 Spotlight Kid (04:53)
You don't know what's happening, you want to go home
but there's nowhere to hide
you walk out on stage, your first time alone
the crowd's going wild
and you feel so alive
you could stand up and take this all night
they love you but you're in love with the spotlight
you're the spotlight kid
Jokers and women they hang 'round your door
they're all part of the scene
just like a junkie you've got to have more
it's a pleasure machine
and you fly every night
but the dressing room mirror don't lie
they love you but you're in love with the spotlight
you're the spotlight kid
Your audience died, faded away
leaving you on the stage
it's been so many years since that first matinee
it seems like an age
encore one more time
for the ghosts of the past in your mind
they love you but you're in love with the spotlight
you're the spotlight kid
you're living in a dream
you're the spotlight kid
you're in love with the spotlight
03 No Release (05:27)
Through this smoke the dancers move
demonic dirty downtown groove
visions of the day retreat
come on baby feel the heat
then I can disappear
and be at peace
but when my mind is clear
I can't get no release
In the dark the dancers shout
scream the cry of freedom out
strobe crescendos in the night
minds take cover, souls take flight
oh let me disappear
set me free, set me free
buy when my mind is clear
I can't get no release
set me free, set me free baby
well I can feel it yeah
I can feel it, feel it, feel it, feel it
04 Magic (04:06)
There's a light in the sky that hangs on the edge of illusion
something very fine but it's something you know is there
mystery of time hidden by a man of confusion
but the hand is quicker than the eye
only the stranger knows why
'cos it's magic
you know it's magic that you'll find
you see it's magic
I know who you are and there's magic in you
keep your eye on the man
and don't look away for a moment
how is it done how does he make me see
something up his sleeve when speaks you want to believe him
but the hand is quicker than the eye
only the stranger knows why
'cos it's magic
can' you see it's magic that you'll find
you know it's magic
I know who you are and there's magic in you
driven by a force
moving in another dimension
here for today, gone for eternity
seeking for truth hidden by the word of his wisdom
but the hand is quicker than the eye
only the stranger knows why
can't you feel it's magic
you know it's magic that you'll find
I said it's magic
I know who you are and there's magic in you
06 Can't Happen Here (04:54)
Contaminated fish and micro chips
huge supertankers on Arabian trips
oily propaganda from the leaders' lips
all about the future
there's people over here, people over there
everybody's looking for a little more air
crossing all the borders just to take their share
planning for the future
and we're so abused, and we're so confused
it's easy to believe that someone's gonna light the fuse
can't happen here, can't happen here
all that you fear they're telling you, can't happen here
Supersonic planes for a holiday boom
Rio de Janeiro in an afternoon
people out of work but there's people on the moon
looking for the future
concrete racktracks nationwide
juggernauts carving up the countryside
cars by the million on a one way ride
using up the future
and we're so abused, and we're so confused
it's easy to believe that someone's gonna light the fuse
can't happen here, can't happen here
all that you fear they're telling you, can't happen here
Satellites spying for the CIA
the KGB and the men in grey
wonder if I'm gonna see another day
somewhere in the future
We got everything we need for a peaceful time
take what you want but you can't take mine
everybody's living on the Siegfried line
worried 'bout the future
and we're so abused, and we're so confused
it's so easy to believe that someone's gonna light it
easy to believe someone's gonna light the fuse
can't happen here, can't happen here
all that you fear they're telling you, can't happen here can it?
07 Freedom Fighter (04:19)
You can't control me tell me what to do
chained in mediocrity so I can be like you
I am not a statue not part of a machine
I'm sick and tired of the whole routine
calculate your future, computerise your past
instant replay if it's gone too fast
take away my freedom, take away my home
i'm only human but it might now show
I'm not made of stone
I'm a freedom fighter I got something to say
I'm a freedom fighter get out of my way
Hide behind your politics, hide behind your rules
tell me I'm a man but you treat me like a fool
it's the same old story with a different name
you give us all a number and nothing changes
out in the winter of a world upon it's knees
everyone is watching but no one sees
you can't take my freedom you know it is my right
if you try and stop me I'm gonna fight
with all of my might
I'm a freedom fighter and I'm taking command
I'm a freedom fighter and I'm making a stand
Fighting for breath as the world gathers speed
time's running out for the things that I need
I'm a freedom fighter I gotta take a stand
I'm a freedom fighter, yeah that's what I am
I'm a freedom fighter I can't take it no more
I'm a freedom fighter no no more
I'm a freedom fighter but I'm not afraid
I'm a freedom fighter get out of my way.
08 Midtown Tunnel Vision (04:31)
Take good care it's a tightrope ride
neon city is on the dreamers' side
prime time losers going underground
they take you up and they shake you down
can't see nowhere
don't know, and I don't care
'cos here comes another midtown tunnel vision
Sidewalk cruiser in stiletto heels
frozen heart, eyes of steel
wrap your body around my soul
electric love is gonna take its' toll
can't see nowhere
don't know and I just don't care
that girl is the mother of my midtown tunnel vision
Sunset skyline night turns to day
down on the street you could fade away
no second chances in this here wasted life
it'll cut you down like a switchblade knife
can't see nowhere
don't know and I just don't care
09 Difficult to Cure (05:55)
One of the greatest instrumentals ever writen and played !!!
Uno de los mejores instrumentales que se han escrito y tocado !!!
Music: Beethoven, arr. by Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Don Airey !!!
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