On their second release,
Rainbow not only avoid the sophomore jinx; they hit a home run. After replacing the entire band (except
Ronnie James Dio) immediately following the recording of the first album,
Ritchie Blackmore and the
Rising lineup (
Blackmore;
Dio;
Tony Carey, keys;
Jimmy Bain, bass; and the late, great
Cozy Powell, drums) had plenty of time on the road touring the first album to get the chops and material together for their second. In particular, "Stargazer" really came together on the 1975 tour and featured stunning keyboard work from
Carey. The material is uniformly strong, with "Starstruck" and "A Light in the Black" standing out in particular.
Ronnie Dio turns in a great vocal on the stunningly direct (under three minutes!) "Do You Close Your Eyes." All six songs on the album are up there with anything the band has done, before or since. The playing has a very tight, colorful feel to it, which was lacking a bit on the first record. This album can legitimately be mentioned in the same breath as classic
Deep Purple. [A 2011 re-released digital version added 13 remixes of songs from the original album.] ~ Geoff Ginsberg