RISING

I first heard Rainbow Rising when I was 11 and it has remained one of my favorite albums ever since. FYI - according to The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal, by Daniel Bukszpan, Rainbow's Rising ranks #9 on the ten most essential Metal albums.

Tarot Woman - which starts with a tremendous keyboard intro from Tony Carey, great vocals and guitar (Ritchie's trademark riffs begin to kick in). The fantasy theme is comparable to the material on their debut apart from being faster and better than anything on their debut.

Run With The Wolf - reminiscent of a darker Man on the Silver Mountain or 16th Century Greensleeves for the reason that it is a short rocking fantasy song.

Startruck - this song, which is about a crazy French Blackmore fan named Muriel who would follow Ritchie around

Do you close your eyes - does not compare to the other songs on this album. Rainbow's commercial song that was performed throughout their tour as an encore.

Stargazer - really showed off Rainbow's prog potential. The song is about a Wizard who takes people and makes slaves of them to build a giant tower of stone in the sky because he is always looking at the stars. Ronnie puts together his best vocal performance ever and Blackmore's use of Arabian scales in the solo gives the song a great Middle Eastern feel. This song has everything...virtuoso guitar playing, an astounding rocking riff, astonishing vocals, amazing lyrics, virtuoso drumming, rock solid bass playing, amazing keyboard playing and a stylish orchestra part. This song is very progressive and some consider it one of the first Power Metal songs.

Light At The Black - follow up to Stargazer, as it is about the slaves going home (song was originally going to be called Going Home). This song has spectacular performances by Blackmore and Tony Carey.

This is probably the first Power Metal album, but I could probably be wrong. I would say that every band member peaked on this album. This is one of those once in a lifetime/career albums that bands put out. It is apparent how big an impact this album had since it topped the charts in many countries and got amazing reviews.

Prog Related - 4/5 Power Metal - 4/5

Highly recommended!