STRAIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES

Possibly Rainbow's most commercial album, "Straight Between the Eyes" is a collection of average hard rock songs which have little interest for the Prog fan - but you knew that when you saw that awful comic book cover, didn't you? Nevertheless this album contains some stunning straight hard rock moments and sparkling guitar work from Ritchie throughout, and great vocals from Joe Lynn Turner.

Fortunately within this sea of ordinary rock songs is a shining pearl, a haunting power ballad called "Stone Cold" , which meant a lot to me personally at the time as I was going through a nightmare sequence of events which life throws up at you now and then, and this song could have been the perfect theme for that, though most of the other songs relate the dark side of love too. The group were still experiencing personnel changes, Don Airey gone and replaced by David Rosenthal on this recording. Another "gem" is the song "Tearin' Out My Heart" , which could have been subtitled "Stone Cold part 2", has a great slow riff, well written and performed and includes an emotional solo by Ritchie, also "Eyes of Fire" is an interesting song, which has an almost Zeppelinesque mysterious epic eastern flavour, and includes some intricately played solos.

Overall this album was typical of the sort of music the American rock stations were pumping out at the time a-la Van Halen, Whitesnake and Def Leppard, I assume this was aimed at that market, and guaranteed full venues, though one song an album does not make, however brilliant - I kept this album to listen to "Stone Cold" occasionally but only played the whole album through again after 24 years for this review!

MUSIC RATING 3/5 (STONE COLD 5/5).... PROG RATING 2/5

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