Rainbow - Rising
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Free Music Notes for Rising
Free Music Review: Has the STARGAZER annotated below
Hit: 5 Stars
STARGAZER(BLACKMORE/DIO)
''high noon,oh i'd sell my soul for water''
-sun is high up above and thirst kills the narrator(a slave of the wizard)
''nine years worth of breaking my back''
-for nine years he's been working,carrying huge blocks of stone
''there's no sun in the shadow of the wizard''
-well,there's some amount of brightness in a shadow,but the wizard's is,due to his evil feature,tar dark
''see how he glides,why he's lighter than air''
-the wizard can fly,but not at great heights
''oh i see his face''
-wizard's face might have been obscure for he
might be using a veil,but as he's going to fly to his star,he might have unveiled his face maybe to reward the slaves
''where is your star?''
''is it far,is it far,is it far?''
''when do we leave?''
''i believe,yes,i believe''
-is the star that the wizard's going to take them to,far?asks the narrator.he adds when they will leave and expresses his convincement in the wizard
in the heat and rain
-the setting is a desert.and in the desert,heat and rain are natural occurences.
''with whips and chains''
-the guards use the whips on the slaves and the slaves are bound to each other by chains
''to see him fly''
''so many die''
-many die in the course of the building process
''we built a tower of stone''
''with our flesh and bone''
-the tower is built after bone-crunching work
''just to see him fly''
''but don't know why''
''now where do we go''
-wizard can already fly but not at great heights,now the tower is ready he'll be flying to his star.so many slaves are unaware why the wizard is leaving to a star(our narrator is an exclusion).to which star are we going to go?
''hot wind,moving fast across the desert''
''we feel that our time has arrived''
-a hot wind blows(indication of a great thing happening).and now we feel that the time's come
''the world spins,while we put his dream together.''
''a tower of stone to take him straight to the sky''
-world spins(naturally),so we do the finishing touches to the tower.the tower will take him out to the sky
. ''oh i see his face''
-wizard has unveiled his face
''where is your star?''
''is it far,is it far,is it far?''
''when do we leave?''
-is the star that the wizard's going to take them to far?and now the tower is ready,when will you take us to our new habitat?
''hey,i believe,i believe''
-i am convinced in you,oh holy wizard!
''in the heat and the rain''
''with the whips and chains''
''just to see him fly''
''too many die''
''we built a tower of stone''
''with our flesh and bone''
''to see him fly''
''but we don't know why''
''ooh,now where do we go?''
-ANNOTATED ABOVE
''all eyes see the figure of the wizard''
-it is about evening,and the wizard's silhouette appears
''as he climbs to the top of the world''
-for a while the wizard keeps on ascending in the air(from tower)
''no sound,as he falls instead of rising''
-everyone is quiet now,for the wizard plummets onto the ground(end of the narrator's dreams
to go to another star)
''time standing still,then there's blood on the sand''
-time stops(seemingly)and the sand is washed with the wizard's blood(he is human)
''where was your star?''
''was it far,was it far''
''when did we leave?''
''we believed,we believed,we believed''
-was the star the wizard would take them to far,asks the narrator.we believed you but we did not leave.
''in heat and rain''
''with the whips and chains''
''to see him fly''
''so many died''
''we built a tower of stone''
''with our flesh and bone''
''to see him fly''
-ANNOTATED ABOVE
''but why''
''in all the rain''
''with all the chains''
''did so many die''
''just to see him fly''
-there is no outcome of the slaves' effort so narrator questions the happening
''look at my flesh and bone''
-look at my degraded body(after 9 years of slavery)
''now,look,look,look,look,look at the tower of stone''
-look at the tower it is there but it is functionless
''i see your rainbow rising''
-a rainbow rises as a result of wizard's death
''look there,on the horizon oh no,who's rising''
-wizard's soul is rising
''and i'm coming home,i'm coming home,i'm coming home''
-tower is built,the tyrant wizard is dead,the narrator shall be heading his home
''time is standing still''
-seemingly,time has stopped
''you,give back my will''
-he wants his future back(future in another star)
''ooh ooh ooh ooh''
''going home,i'm going home''
''my eyes are bleeding''
-i am continuously crying(inside)
''and my heart is lead ahead''
''bu it's not home''
''but it's not home''
''ooh''
-my heart wants to go to another star,not home
''take me back''
''you,give me back my will''
''ooh ooh ooh ooh''
-narrator wants wizard to take him and give the future he said that he'd
''going home''
''i'm going home''
-i don't want to,but i'm on my wy home
''my eyes are bleeding''
''and my heart is led ahead''
''but it's not home''
''but it's not home''
-ANNOTATED ABOVE
''take me back,take me back''
''back to my home ooh,ooh,oo''
-ANNOTATED ABOVE
Free Music Review: Everything you've heard is true...this is "THE" Rainbow album
Hit: 5 Stars
Yeah, the first one had its moments. MORE than moments, actually..."Man On The Silver Mountain" was as good as any truly "greatest hit" from Deep Purple and it opened the debut album with a bang. Killer trademark Blackmore riff, and DON'T tell me you haven't driven along in your car with this in the CD player as you sang "Come and make me holy AGAIN..."
You HAVE! ADMIT it and don't be ashamed of it! I HAVE!
But "Rising"...wow. Probably the single greatest non-Purple album Ritchie's cranked out in his career. Ronnie James Dio deserves equal credit. I strongly recommend the recent "Live In Munich 1977" CD & DVD for a closer look at the power this band served up in its prime. YES, there are a few technical difficulties...like Dio's mike cutting out during "Do You Close Your Eyes"...but you'll see prime footage of Blackmore, just LOOKING for the right spot on that stage to EXPLODE. You'll see Dio as a confident frontman, a full year before Diamond Dave ushered in a renaissance of no-nonsense rock & roll with Van Halen. I seriously doubt that R.J.D. will EVER receive proper credit for his Rainbow / Sabbath work. Black Sabbath recently released "The Dio Years," and Rainbow owes him the same respect (Although, to be fair, disc one of "Catch The Rainbow: The Anthology" basically IS "The Best Of The Dio Years")...
:-)
YES, it's a shame that "Long Live Rock & Roll" squeezed "Stargazer" out of the band's set list during the aforementioned 1977 tour, because it IS a jaw-dropper. It's Rainbow's "Starship Trooper" or "Roundabout" or "I've Seen All Good People"...a SIGNATURE song. There are a few other songs Ritchie could have kicked to the curb, but I doubt that he cared THEN, and I'm almost positive that he REALLY doesn't care NOW..."In the heat and the rain, with whips and chains?"...huh? "I see a rainbow rising"...YES, Ronnie, YES...I do TOO!
:-)
"Tarot Woman" opens the album with a weird little synth riff and then, at the 1:20 mark, Blackmore's riff comes in, followed by the rest of the band, and you're FLYING, baby.
"Starstruck"...chugs along like an out-of-control train, reminiscent of Uriah Heep's "Easy Livin'" but maybe a zillion times BETTER.
IF you're a fan of Ritchie Blackmore...and if you're not, why are you reading this..."Rising" is so essential that the word "essential" seems like a cop-out. There's GOT TO BE a better word.
IF you're a Ronnie James Dio fan...and if you're not, etc. etc. etc., THIS album is every bit as good as "Heaven And Hell" or "Holy Diver"...maybe BETTER. No, let me take that back...IT IS R.J.D.'s shining hour. Period.
Also...and I say this as a consummate Deep Purple fan..."Rising" proved that he could record a five-star album without the name "Ian Gillan" appearing in the credits.
I can't listen to "Down To Earth." Yes, I KNOW "Since You've Been Gone" was a hit, but I hated it the first time I heard it and each of the 999,999,999 times I heard it AFTER that. I'm pretty much ecstatic that Graham Bonnet has faded into the "Where Are They Now" ether. Irritating, generic, like a million nails scraped down a million blackboards. BUH-BYE. Schenker didn't keep him around EITHER.
The Joe Lynn Turner years? Blackmore trying to be Journey. Or maybe Loverboy. Or Glass Tiger. Or A-Ha. Or any one of a zillion MTV 80s bands I didn't care about THEN, and I don't care about NOW. Sorry, Joe, and YES...I WOULD like fries with that. You were Micky Thomas in search of Starship and you never really found it. The smartest thing Ritchie did after "Bent Out Of Shape" was head back to Deep Purple...until they couldn't stand his diva behavior anymore...but hey, "Perfect Strangers" is nothing to sneeze at.
:-)
But the Dio albums? ESPECIALLY "Rising?" They still sound vibrant and fresh and full of attitude. "Long Live Rock & Roll" INDEED. "Rising" is a triumph, a wonderful ALBUM..."all killer, no filler"...BUY IT already! Don't sweat the fact that it's only 33 minutes long. It's the best 33 minutes you'll ever spend.
Free Music Review: :::Buy This Album:::
Hit: 5 Stars
This is one of the single greatest releases in Rock history for a number of reasons. Of course, the first is obvious, it is by the band Rainbow. While the name may not be very intimidating, don't take them lightly. They were one of the best things to hit the rock music scene, and the world of hard rock was changed forever by their music.
The band has, in my opinion, everything required to call it a 'superband'. While that name never really stuck before this, I'm sure you'll find that you can't disagree.
When the band first formed, it featured these members:
Ronnie James Dio - vocals
Ritchie Blackmore - guitar
Mickey Lee Soule - keyboard
Craig Gruber - bass
Gary Driscoll - drums
Shoshana - backing vocals
It was almost a perfect set up. Blackmore was already a renowned guitar virtuoso, formerly of Deep Purple where he did most of his best work. And Dio, while he was still relatively below his peak, was an incredible vocalist.
They came out with their first album, an incredible work of art called 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'. Simple title, but not too simple for Blackmore to use it again twenty years later with 'Night' - his latest band, a change from hard to folk-rock with Candace Night as vocals. The album was a success, featuring some very nice songs. But something, to me anyway, felt like it was missing. 'If it aint broken, don't fix it', they always say. But something was definately broken.
And did they fix it!
For Rainbow Rising, the band brought in some different acts. For a start, Mickey Lee Soule was out, and on keyboard for this album was Tony Carey. Craig Gruber was also replaced, with Jimmy Bain. But perhaps the best decision yet was the replacement of Gary Driscoll for Cozy Powell - a drumming genius, and one of the reasons to buy this album.
And so now the band looked like this:
Ritchie Blackmore - Bass, Guitar, Arrangements
Ronnie James Dio - Arranger, Vocals
Cozy Powell - Drums
Jimmy Bain - Bass
Tony Carey - Keyboards
They also brought in the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra for strings and horns in some of their songs, Fritz Sonnleitner as the concernt master, and Rainer Pietsch as the conductor. This was all in favor of the song: 'Stargazer' which is a standout title on this album, and notably the only track to actually include the lines: 'Rainbow Rising'.
So they basically had one of the greatest set ups in rock history, but how was their performance?
Incredible.
You turn on this album and the first thing you hear is the very sound that makes you realize just why Tony Carey was brought in for keyboards. At this point, you know that you've purchased the right album.
As you make your way through the songs, still caught up in the genius of 'Run With The Wolf' and 'Starstruck', you come to track five. This is where things get taken to a whole new level.
You hear some drumming; it's nice, not too fast at first. You crank it up thinking 'this is kind of cool' and Cozy Powell offers an explosion of drumming brilliance. Then you are treated to one of the finest riffs in any song in this world or any other.
The lyrics, the music, it's all brilliant.
But if anything, Ronnie James Dio's vocals stand out the most in this song, above the drumming, above the keyboards, and above the guitar solo. His voice is brilliant, and really gives off the right feel for this song. Once you've heard 'my eyes are bleeding!' there's no going back!
Get this album. It will be the best purchasing decision you ever make!
Free Music Review: This is an Album that was Ahead of it's Time
Hit: 5 Stars
1976 was the year that "Rising" was released. I was too young to know anything about Rainbow at the time...I was only 3 years old. I heard this album for the first time when I was older during the mid-80's. I remember I was at a friend's house looking through old albums he had and I saw this one mixed in with his Dio albums. I asked him what it was because it was the first time I had seen this record. I am a huge Ronnie James Dio fan so I really wanted to hear it. Needless to say, I ran out as soon as I could to find the tape. If you are into Dio then this is a must-have. Ronnie James has always seemed to have the luck of working with some of the best guitar players in the business and Ritchie Blackmore is no slouch. Probably more known for being in Deep Purple, Ritchie is a wizard at playing the electric gutar. Especially whilst he was in his band, Rainbow. I'm not too familiar with Deep Purple other than the hits. However, I know a bit about Rainbow. They had a more classical and melodic sound I think. "Rising" is a short album but it has some really great metal songs on it. "Tarot Woman" opens the album with a keyboard intro by Tony Carei which is a prelude to the awesome mix job by none other than Martin Birch who is best known for his work with Iron Maiden. A powerful tune in which Dio and the rest of the band take you to a bright shining place. "Run With the Wolf" is a solid rocker that keeps the feel and is a typical formula of Rainbow. "Starstruck" was written about a woman who always followed Ritchie around and it a great song with a great solo. "Do You Close Your Eyes" is kind of weird. Doesn't fit the album too well but it's ok. But, Now, we come to "Stargazer". Possibly one of the best metal epics ever written! Cozy Powell open this classic with a great drum intro while Ritchie slides in with one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time. Jimmy Bain, the bass player who would later play in Dio's solo band and also known for his group, Wild Horses, is a tight player who keeps it in the pocket and plays just the right thing. Tony Carei plays along with his soaring keyboards that mix very well with the guitar and Ronnie tells us the tale of slaves who try to build a tower to the stars. Truly, "Stargazer" is just as much a classic as "War Pigs", "Smoke on the Water", and "Rock and Roll All Nite". Then, the record closes with "A Light in the Black". This track really showcases the talent of each of the great members of Rainbow at the time. Again, this is another metal epic. One of the greatest harmonies ever played during the middle of this song with a scathing guitar solo to boot. "Rising" turns out to be a very solid album with a lot of strong tunes on it depite it's short length. A definite metal must have! This album sounds like it was recorded around 1982 or maybe around 1984 but was made in 1976. It has a 70's sound, but it really comes across very heavy. Ritchie's distortion is at a great level and Martin Birch mixes everything very well. The drums have a huge sound. Sounds like they were recorded in a cathedral. Don't let all the talk about syths scare you. The keyboards on this album are'nt like the keyboards of the 80's. Rainbow's second album beloongs in every Dio fan's collection. Not only that, is is an essential album to have in any serious heavy metal collector's CD rack.Free Music Review: Fellow Stargazers...
Hit: 5 Stars
This is THE definitive Rainbow record! After the first album, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" was released, Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio chucked Dio's former Elf bandmates and replaced them with Tony Carey on keyboards, Jimmy Bain on bass guitar, and Cozy Powell on drums. This lineup fit together perfectly, and brought out the true mystical aura of Rainbow better than any of the other lineups. The front cover couldn't say it any better: Rainbow is powerful, progressive yet rooted in ancient lore, dark and mystical but also full of light and hope. If Rainbow's music on "Rising" could be summed up in a picture, then this would be the visual representation of their music.It's amazing; this album only has six songs on it, and totals only about 34 minutes. But Rainbow's "Rising" is far more than the sum of its parts. It conjures up such mystery, imagination, and wonder that it goes way beyond its songs to create such a beautiful panorama of images for the mind to enjoy.
The album opens with one of the greatest and most memorable keyboard intros in the history of rock and roll, for the powerful song "Tarot Woman." When Tony Carey did this back then, he probably didn't know that this would cement him in R'N'R history as one of the most dynamic, three-dimensional keyboard players ever. But it did, and this keyboard intro is his proudest moment on the album. When the bass and drums kick in, they pack a wallop similar to a train crashing through a brick wall. This CD is a sonic boom of epic proportions.
"Run With The Wolf" and "Starstruck" also pack a major punch, with Ronnie James Dio's powerful voice seeming to float on top of the music. It is an instrument all it's own. Not bad for a former barroom bluesman who got his career started as the founding member of "Ronnie and The Rumblers" way back in the late 50's (I wonder if I can get a collection of their songs, I'd love to hear what Ronnie sounded like back then...imagine that, eh?)
Although "Do You Close Your Eyes" is short and fairly disposable (I'm sorry, but it is the only song that just doesn't seem to fit here; I think it would have been better off on the first album, quite frankly), it is followed by what is my favorite song on the album, the magical epic "Stargazer." This song never fails to give me chills, especially when I am listening to it in the dark (this is one of those albums that are best heard in the dark). To me, this really is the centerpiece of the album, as it has Ronnie singing, "I see a rainbow rising!", and it features such an unbeatable combination of atmospheric keyboards and orchestra, slicing guitar work, and thunderous bass and drums. This is the progressive side of Heavy Metal at its very best.
The album then closes with "Light In The Black," which begins as a pretty straight-forward rocker, but soon turns out to be an extended showcase of keyboard and guitar solos, courtesy of Carey and Blackmore, respectively. This is Tony Carey's second proudest moment on the album. Overall, this is Rainbow's proudest moment-- ever.