RAINBOW — Rising (review)

RAINBOW — Rising album cover Album · 1976 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Losimba
Rising was my first Rainbow album (still on vinyl), and I loved it immediately. Though Jimmy Bain on bass and vocalist Ronnie James Dio have never been the most talented musicians, and Ritchie Blackmore has proven later that he is at his best with an acoustic guitar, they somehow managed to compensate this by something they never achieved again: playing as a real band.

The most dominant feature of Rising is the intensity of the songs. It is no wonder and quite fitting that Rising contains no ballad. The six songs, however, are nowhere near similar or even monotonous. Though it is evident that Ritchie Blackmore dominated the songwriting, of course letting Dio write the lyrics, similarities to Deep Purple are subtle. Blackmore's solos sound like they always did, but that's it basically. Drummer Cozy Powell and keyboarder Tony Carey prove that they are in the same league as Iain Paice and Jon Lord. Who would have thought that Carey would later become famous for a pop ballad like Room With A View?

It is not easy to point out single songs as better or weaker, although Dio once stated in an interview that he wished A Light In The Black had never been written. I strongly disagree, as it is my second favourite song of the album. It is only surpassed by Stargazer which is the reason why I didn't write impossible at the beginning of this paragraph. Stargazer is definitely a five and a half star song with tendencies to six stars, although it never made my personal Top 10. But this is not Stargazer's fault but simply due to the even higher quality of the other songs I rated above it.

The rating for Rising is simple: 5.0 stars.
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Losimba wrote:
more than 2 years ago
IJ, thank you very much for your detailed and critical comment. I fully agree with your statement about respect for Dio's career. My opinion, however, is that he managed all of this with a high workrate and the skill to find the right co-musicians for his albums. His songwriting didn't shine with a lot of variety, including his lyrics. Neither was his voice in a league with Ian Gillan, Meat Loaf or even Freddie Mercury.
IndianaJones wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I (and probably many other people) would most definitely disagree with the opening notion of Dio "never being the most talented musician". I have high respect of everything that Ronnie did with his career, although a couple of albums under the moniker of Dio were not suited for my taste. On the high marks of this album, however, I agree wholeheartedly!
Unitron wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Good review, I've always loved this album and the other Dio-era Rainbow albums.

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