RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW: STRANGER IN US ALL

I'm a big fan of Rithcie Blackmore; actually I'm his biggest fan that I personally know. Lots of people used to detract him based on his behaviour and difficult personality; as I'm interested in music, not in the musician's character, I really don't care for this point (although I blame him for being too ego-centred and didn't help Dio in reactivating the classic Rainbow line-up).

This album wasn't to be a Rainbow album, but pressures from the company made Ritchie reactivate his old band's name. It's a very good album, far better than the eighties' Turner albums (excepted the first one). Doogie White is a wonderful singer and has its own distinctive vocal signature. Best tracks are IMO Wolf to the moon, Ariel, Too late for Tears and Black Masquerade. The others are good too, but this album can't be considered a truly classic. Hardly it could be labeled as a "excellent addition to any prog music collection"; if it was a "heavy rock collection", I'll give it 4 stars. But if you're a fan of Blackmore you won't be disappointed: there are standing solos and very good riffs along the album. Notice the participation of Candice Night in the lyrics dep. and vocals ("Ariel"), giving a clue for the next Blackmore move.

3 stars - good, but non essential (in a prog context).