Rainbow Rising by Rainbow

Rising, also known as Rainbow Rising,  Rainbow's second album, from 1976, is one of the best heavy metal albums of all time.

First of all, this is a monster band:

Ritchie Blackmore - guitar ((Deep Purple, Rainbow)

Ronnie James Dio - vocals (Rainbow, Elf, Black Sabbath, Dio)

Jimmy Bain - bass  (Rainbow, Dio)

Tony Carey - keyboards (Rainbow, , a long solo producing career)

Cozy Powell - drums (Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, Black Sabbath)

 

With only six songs, it's the shortest album in Rainbow's entire discography.

Some notes on the tracks:

The mystical, progressive "Tarot Woman," which opens with a synthesizer intro by Carey.

"Run with the Wolf" is a quintessential blues-inspired hard rock song, featuring a great riff by Blackmore and Powell's signature drumming.

The beautiful "Stargazer," one of Rainbow's most famous songs and the album's standout track, is, like "Gates of Babylon," a masterpiece of symphonic rock. It opens with a Powell solo, continues with Blackmore's famous riff and the power of Ronnie James Dio, followed by a magnificent Blackmore solo rich in scales and arpeggios, the strings highlighting the band's classical inspiration, particularly Ritchie Blackmore's. The album closes with "A Light in the Black," featuring a beautiful electric guitar and keyboard duel by Blackmore and Carey, and Dio's high notes.

 

A timeless classic.

Great album!

Tracklist

1. Tarot Woman (6:08)
2. Run with the Wolf (3:47)
3. Starstruck (4:04)
4. Do You Close Your Eyes (2:58)
5. Stargazer (8:27)
6. A Light in the Black (8:11)

Duration 33:35

LineUp

- Ronnie James Dio - lead vocals, arrangements
- Ritchie Blackmore - guitar, arrangements
- Tony Carey - keyboards, Vako Orchestron (CD2.5 intro)
- Jimmy Bain - bass
- Cozy Powell - drums

Featuring:
- Munich Philharmonic Orchestra - strings and wind instruments (5)
- Rainer Pietsch - orchestrator and conductor
- Fritz Sonneleitner - first violin

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page