[1] Tarot Woman (Blackmore/Dio) - 5:58
[2] Run With the Wolf (Blackmore/Dio) - 3:48
[3] Starstruck (Blackmore/Dio) - 4:06
[4] Do You Close Your Eyes (Blackmore/Dio) - 2:58
[5] Stargazer (Blackmore/Dio) - 8:26
[6] A Light in the Black (Blackmore/Dio) - 8:12
1976 CD Polydor 823655-2
1976 LP Oyster 1601
1990 CD Polygram 823655
1990 CS Polydor 823655-4
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 the first album,
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 Tony Carey, who now has about 97 solo
albums. 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.
As the drums kick into the fierce opener "Tarot Woman", it's obvious
that RISING delivers directly to your door. It is the band's second
release, and a vast improvement over RICHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW. With a
revamped lineup that sounds like it had been touring together for
years, the album takes no prisoners. "Starstruck" is a classic groove
reminiscent ofguitarist Blackmore's ex-band Deep Purple. Blackmore
replaced everyone from the first album's lineup except vocalist Ronnie
Dio with Jimmy Bain (bass), Tony Carey (keyboards), andCozy Powell
(drums). Dio shows what he's got with a stellarperformance on "Do You
Close Your Eyes". "Stargazer" is theband's "Kashmir", an epic
eight-minute track that could stand as its signature song. "A Light in
the Black" features the skin bashing of the late, great Mr. Powell.
RISING is amust-have for any fan of Dio, Blackmore, or classic metal.
Five musicians came together for a one-shot moment that won't be
duplicated. The album is magic.
Amazon.co.uk
Als sich Rainbow exakt ein Jahr nach den Aufnahmesessions ihres
Debütalbums wiederum in den Münchener Musicland Studios
einfand, war vom Original-Line Up nicht mehr viel übrig geblieben.
Die Tasten bediente jetzt Tony Carey, den Bass zupfte nun Jimmy Bain
und der neue Mann an der Schiessbude (in diesem Fall wörtlich zu
nehmen) war kein geringerer als Cozy "Dance with the Devil" Powell. Nur
der Nucleus der Band, der Mann in Schwarz selbst, Ritchie Blackmore,
und sein kongenialer Vokalpartner Ronnie James Dio waren noch mit von
der Partie und zeichneten auch für sämtliche Stücke des
Albums verantwortlich.
Rising besticht durch noch monumentaleren Sound und mehr
Filigranität als sein Vorgänger. Schon der Opener "Tarot
Woman" macht klar, wohin die Reise geht: Sich langsam auftürmende
Keyboard-Glissandi gefolgt von Blackmores langsam eingeblendetem
Gitarrenstakkato (er schlägt wirklich nur einen Ton an!)
kulminiert bis zum bombastischen Schlagzeugeinsatz, der wiederum ein
diffiziles Powerriff einleitet, das den Grundstein für den
kompletten Song liefert. Auf dem Album finden sich hervorragende
Rocknummern wie "Starstruck", aber auch fast zehnminütige Rockepen
wie "Light In The Black" und das wahrscheinlich spektakulärste
Rainbow-Opus "Stargazer". Blackmore macht hier aus seiner Liebe zum
Barock keinen Hehl und versetzt diesen mit Bombast-Romantik à la
Wagner zu einem einzigartigen BaRock-Konglomerat. Vokalist Ronnie Dio,
bekannt für seine mittelalterliche Gesangslyrik, befindet sich auf
der Höhe seiner Sangeskraft und rundet dieses Werk mit "summa cum
laude" ab. Ein wegweisendes Rockalbum.
Thomas Eckert, Amazon.de
This album is as good as gold. It is one hell of an album, with maybe
the strongest lyrics ever made by Ronnie, or anyone. And the cover art
is beautiful !
Tarot Woman: A good song with
some great guitar play. Ritchie really delivers some magic on this one.
I don´t think there is anything special about the lyrics on this
one. Just the regular Ronnie worldclass. I like the intro alot. It is
great. Aswell as, the rest of the song.
Run with the wolf: The magic
lyrics missing in Tarot Woman seems to appeare on this one. I just love
the lyrics. Together with the rest of the Rainbow crew, this becomes
magic too. The part; There´s a hole in the sky...something evil
is passing by. I can thank the rock ´n´ roll wizard for
that. I would really like this one live, I bet it would rock !
Starstruck: His one I´ve
heard live several times, and I like it every time I hear it. This was
the first song I listened to from this album, and it got straight
through my heart, it will always have a special place in my heart. This
one is a good example of the Rainbow team work, they all make this a
magic song that you can play any time, any place...any how ?
Do you Close your Eyes: This
song is the only one on the Rising album that does not get 5 points. It
doesn´t have the magic sound that the other songs have. The
lyrics are not bad, but not good either. One of few love songs by
Ronnie, and definetly the worst. It´s just that I´m
dissapointed that they did not come up with a better song, when all the
others are so good. Maybe they ran out of magic.
Stargazer: I don´t
really see a reason to explain how I feel about this one. I´m
sure you all understand the special magic when Ronnie performs
Stargazer for us. The lyrics are a master piece, and what about Ritchie
? Well, he is superb. This song is one of the best by Ronnie. It is one
of the most loved songs by the fans...
Light in the Black: What
happened to them all when the wizard fell ? Listen to this song, and
then you can tell... The final track on Rising, is the one that I like
the most. It is heavier then the rest of the album, and I just think it
is great. There aint' much talk about this song. It feels like it has
been forgotten. Maybe cause' it´s in the shadow of Stargazer.
Anyway, this song is the winner on Rainbow Rising...
I don't wanna go
Something tells me no, no, no, no
But traces in the sand
The lines inside my hand Say go, go, go
Beware of a place
A smile of a pride shiny face
I'll never return up to your love
Tarot woman
I don't know
I don't know
She can take you there
The answer's to the fear
Mine, mine, mine
Like a carousel
And cast a magic spell
You can fly, fly
Beware of a place
A smile of a pride shining face
I'll never return up to your love
Tarot woman but I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
Something in the air
Tells me to beware, no, no, no
Her love is like a knife
Should cut away your life
So go, go, go
Beware of a place
A smile of a pride shining face
I'll never return up to your love
Tarot woman, I don't know
I don't know
I don't know
Hey, I don't know
RUN WITH THE WOLF
In the light of the day
You can hear the old one say
Was the sound last night the wind
Can you feel the change begin
By the fall of the snow
A single soul will go
The footsteps on the white
There's an unholy light
There's a hole in the sky
Something evil's passing by
What's to come - when the siren calls you go
To run with the wolf
When the world makes a turn
The eyes of one will learn
That the sound just like the wind
Only makes the change begin
By the end of the rain
The feelings passed again
And things that snapped and bited
Unholy light
There's a hole in the sky
Something evil's passing by
What's to come - when the siren calls you go
To run with the wolf
There's a break in the ground
Like the swirling water's angry as they pull you down
When the siren calls you go, yeah
To run with the wolf
Run with the wolf
There's a hole in the sky
Something evil is passing by
What's to come - when the siren calls you go, yeah
To run with the wolf
Run with the wolf
Like a beast in a field
You know just it pays in steel
You run with the wolf, oh oooh
Run with the wolf
See the break, you know it's the same
Now we go
To run, run, run
Run, run, run, run
Run with the wolf
Run with the wolf
Run with the wolf
Run with the wolf
Run, run, run
Now we go run, run, run, run
Run with the wolf
All right
Run with the wolf
Run with the wolf
STARSTRUCK
If I'm high on the hill
She'd still been looking down at me
What does she see that brings her closer every day to my heart
If I'm away from home
And think I'm all alone
She's there, somewhere
I look around and see
And looking back at me
She's there, beware!
Creeping like a hungry cat
I've seen her before
I know it can mean that
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck
The lady starstruck, running after me
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck, yeah
I could fly to the moon
But she soon find me and wait me there
I never knew for a while as smile made me really care
She wants a souvenir
To everyone it's clear
She's hot, hot - hot, hot, one look
She want a photograph
But everybody laughs but not me 'cause I see
She's creeping like a hungry cat
I've seen her before
I know I can mean that
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck
The lady starstruck, running after me
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck, oh oh o-o-oh
Oh my
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck
The lady starstruck, running after me, yeah
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck, yeah
It used to be a game
Now I can't repeat my name at all
She seems to believe that
I never can refuse a call
She wants a souvenir
To everyone it's clear
She's hot; one look
She want a photograph
And everybody laughs, hah!
But not me 'cause I see
She's creeping like a hungry cat
I've seen her before
I know it can mean that
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck
The lady starstruck, running after me
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck, bad luck
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck
The lady starstruck running after me
The lady starstruck, she's nothing but bad luck
Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck
And back in the tree looking back at me
Climbing up my stair
I've just got to beware
Lady starstruck, yes, she's bad luck, bad luck
DO YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES
Oh na na na na
Mystery in me is something I can't see
But I see you very well
You slippy, cool, nobody's fool
But there's something inside I can't tell
I know a poor man, a rich man
I know I can talk to a king
But nobody here is gonna tell me
I can't find out one thing
I see your glow around you
Open your arms 'cause
I'm walking to you, come straight or through
Maybe I'm wrong but
I know it won't take long to see
Do you close your eyes
Do you close your eyes
Do you close your eyes when you making love, yeah, yeah
Making sweet love to me, yeah
The logical friend said that
I know in the end
The things that make me smile
To right from the start, I take the image of your heart
and know it all the while
I know a rich man, a poor man
I know I can talk to a king, yeah
So nobody here is gonna make me believe
I can't find out one thing
I see your glow around you
Open your arms 'cause I'm coming, running, straight or through
I could be wrong but I know it won't take long to see
Do you close your eyes
Do you close your eyes
Do you close your eyes when you making love, yeah
Do you close your eyes
Do you close your eyes, I've gotta know
Do you close your eyes when you making love
STARGAZER
High noon, oh I'd sell my soul for water
Nine years worth of breakin' my back
There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard
See how he glides, why he's lighter than air?
Oh I see his face!
Where is your star?
Is it far, is it far, is it far?
When do we leave?
I believe, yes, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With the whips and chains
To see him fly
So many die
We built a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
Just to see him fly
But don't know why
Now where do we go?
Hot wind, moving fast across the desert
We feel that our time has arrived
The world spins, while we put his dream together
A tower of stone to take him straight to the sky
Oh I see his face!
Where is your star?
Is it far, is it far, is it far?
When do we leave?
Hey, I believe, I believe
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
All eyes see the figure of the wizard
As he climbs to the top of the world
No sound, as he falls instead of rising
Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand
Oh I see his face!
Where was your star?
Was it far, was it far
When did we leave?
We believed, we believed, we believed
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
But why
In all the rain
With all the chains
Did so many die
Just to see him fly
Look at my flesh and bone
Now, look, look, look, look, Look at the tower of stone
I see your rainbow rising
Look there, on the horizon oh no, who's rising
And I'm coming home, I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Time is standing still
You, give back my will
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Going home I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is lead ahead
But it's not home
But it's not home
Ooh
Take me back
You, give me back my will
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is lead ahead
But it's not home
But it's not home
Take me back, take me back
Back to my home ooh, ooh, ooh
LIGHT IN THE BLACK
Can't forget his face
What a lonely place
Has he really let us go?
All the time that's lost
What's the final cost
Will I really get away?
All my life it seems
Just a crazy dream
Reaching for somebody's star
Can't believe it all
Did he really fall
What to do now I don't know
Something's called me back
There's a light in the black
and I'm ready to go
I'm coming home
Breathed the air before
Hear the thunder roar
Never knew it was for me
Always looking down
Lost and never found
Eyes that look but not to see
All my life it seems
Just a crazy dream
Reaching for somebody's star
Like an open door
That you passed before
But you never had a key
Something's called me back
There's a light in the black
I'm coming home, I'm coming home, yeah
I'm going back to my home
I'm going home, home, home
Going home, home, home
I'm coming back
Don't forget his face
What a lonely place
Did he really let us go
All the time that's lost
What's the final cost
Will I really get away?
All my life it seems
Just a crazy dream
Reaching for somebody's star
Can't believe it all
Did he really fall
What to do now, well I don't know
Something's called me back
Like a light in the black
Yes, I'm ready to go
I'm coming home, home, yeah
I've got my way back home
To the sky
There in the sky
I see your star