Rainbow
Rising

The year was 1974 and Ritchie Blackmore, the legendary guitarist of DEEP PURPLE, decided to leave the band to give free rein to his medieval-renaissance aspirations. He recruited Ronnie James Dio's Elf and recorded a first LP. Ritchie, not satisfied with the result (though the CD is actually very good), decided to fire the former lineup entirely and hired the very talented Cozy Powell behind the drums and two good professionals like keyboardist Tony Carey and bassist Jimmy Bain. In 1976, RISING came to light, a masterpiece condensed in 34 minutes of great music. The orchestral arrangements, Ronnie Dio's voice, and Blackmore's guitar make us soar into fantastic worlds and legendary skies. From then on, nothing was ever the same.

Off we go, starting with the opener "TAROT WOMAN"; a keyboard solo introduces this beautiful song, where Ronnie James Dio's brilliant voice soars to the stars, supported by Cozy's solid rhythm and Carey's good work. Ritchie immediately proves to be inspired: an overwhelming riff and a beautiful solo. We continue with "RUN WITH THE WOLF," a blues with a very determined and heavy feel. "STARSTRUCK" unfolds on a triplet rhythm by the always skilled Powell. Very captivating and fast, it remains etched in the listener's mind from the first listen. "DO YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES" is the lowest point of the album (not that it's bad). A very simple and direct song based on Dio's vocal performance, truly of great level.

This brings us to the masterpiece of the album and, perhaps, of Rainbow's entire career. Ah yes, "STARGAZER" doesn’t need much commentary... Introduced by a mini-solo from Powell, the song unfolds on a majestic and highly baroque riff. Here Dio’s voice flies truly high (what a performance, guys!), helped by Carey’s truly magical keyboards. And could a solo from the Man In Black be missing? Absolutely not. In fact, Ritchie delivers a truly indescribable solo, very epic and overwhelming, which makes us truly fly with our minds towards the Rainbow...

A separate discussion certainly deserves the song's lyrics. Written by Dio and Blackmore, it tells the story of a wizard who promises his people to take them to another world, a star. To accomplish this, a stone tower must be built to make the wizard fly. The people obey, building the tower. At the fateful moment, when the wizard climbs and reaches the top of the construction, the sorcerer takes flight but falls to the ground and dies. The people, seeing the only thing they believed in lost, surrender to total dismay: "Now Where Do We Go?", the last verses of the lyrics recite. The album closes splendidly with "A LIGHT IN THE BLACK," a thunderous final gallop. Here Powell rolls out an irresistible rhythmic carpet, centered entirely on his double bass, where Ritchie and Carey exchange continuous guitar and keyboard solos, delivering real duels.

The first chapter of the Rainbow saga is concluded. You will not be disappointed.