THE VERY BEST OF RAINBOW

This compilation gets a competent 3 stars. The best RAINBOW compilation, which isn't listed here is THE BEST OF RAINBOW, which is a 2 CD set, now out-of-print but generally available used at amazon.com for no more than $12 to $15. The track listing is as follows:

CD 1 1. All Night Long 3:53 2. Man On The Silver Mountain 4:39 3. Lost In Hollywood 4:53 4. Jealous Lover 3:14 5. Long Live Rock'n'roll 4:23 6. Stargazer 8:29 7. Kill The King 4:31 8. A Light In The Black 8:13

CD 2 1. Since You Been Gone 3:20 2. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves 3:32 3. Catch The Rainbow 6:36 4. Eyes Of The World 6:42 5. I Surrender 4:03 6. Gates Of Babylon 6:49 7. Can't Happen Here 4:59 8. Starstruck 4:06

As with every Rainbow album prior to the Joe Lynn Turner years, there were several tracks that were destined for the trash, or at least should've been in the vetting process for inclusion on an album(that's quite enough! - ed.). This 2CD compilation corrects that problem by omitting most of the dross such as _Do You Close Your Eyes_ from RISING and _If You Don't Like Rock & Roll_ from RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW. The 2CD compilation also included the proggy highlights from 1978's _Long Live Rock & Roll_ such as GATES OF BABYLON and KILL THE KING. Essential in every prog.rock compilation. The best tracks are also included from the lacklustre GONE TO EARTH album, the best pick being _Lost In Hollywood_ featuring stellar drumming from Cozy Powell and the crisp production of Roger Glover which was one of the main features in the Joe-Lynn Turner-era of RAINBOW. Again, skip the _Very Best Of Rainbow_ compilation and search for the 2CD *BEST OF* (Label: Polydor ASIN: B000CBRY1K)

The Rainbow-era albums with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals are best experienced individually. Those are DIFFICULT TO CURE(1981), STRAIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES(1982) and BENT OUT OF SHAPE(1983). THE BEST OF RAINBOW 2CD set would garner a 4.5 star rating if it were listed here.