Straight Between The Eyes [Remaster]

Performer: Rainbow
Engineer: Nick Blagona; Nick Blagona
Producer: Roger Glover; Roger Glover
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Rainbow: Joe Lynn Turner (vocals); Ritchie Blackmore (guitar); David Rosenthal (keyboards); Roger Glover (4- & 8-string electric basses); Bobby Rondinelli (drums). Recorded at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Canada. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Joe Lynn Turner (vocals); Ritchie Blackmore (guitar); Roger Glover (electric guitar, 8-string bass, percussion); David Rosenthal (electric piano, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, Oberheim synthesizer); Don Airey (keyboards); Bob Rondinelli (drums, cymbals); Tim Kelly (drums). Recording information: Le Studio, Morin Heights, Canada; Studio, Morin Heights, Canada. Photographer: Jim Houghton. Unknown Contributor Role: Bob Rondinelli. Straight Between the Eyes undoubtedly has one of the worst album covers in rock history, but the record is an unexpected return to form from the journeyman hard rockers. Just a record before, Rainbow sounded as if they were verging on Billy Squier territory, but here, they reverse course and deliver a solid, no-frills hard rock record. It isn't just that the material is stronger, though it certainly is, it's that Roger Glover abandoned his smoothed-out, radio-ready production that marred Difficult to Cure. That's not to say that Straight Between the Eyes doesn't sound dated -- Rainbow was a band that was forever tied to its era -- but the album does have a harder-hitting, muscular sound that is more appropriate for the band. Similarly, vocalist Joe Lynn Turner sounds more comfortable with the group, and the entire band just seems to gel, turning even the generic numbers on the album into enjoyable, straight-ahead hard rock. There may not be any specific showcases for Ritchie Blackmore, but his playing is better heard in this setting, where he's not only soloing, he's propelling the band with his powerful riffs. As always, he's the driving force behind the band, but this is truly a band effort, which is one of the reasons why Straight Between the Eyes is one of the strongest albums the group ever cut. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ritchie Blackmore's combustible guitar riffs in the seminal band Deep Purple were the sparks that fed the conflagration of a whole new genre: heavy metal. Blackmore's musical ambition led him away from the band in 1975, after which he poached members of the band Elf--including vocalist Ronnie James Dio--to record the solo project that would evolve into the band Rainbow. Dio's lyrics were a castles-and-kings affair and Blackmore's classical-derived music suited them well. The pair--with an ever-rotating line-up behind them--recorded several popular albums, until Dio was lured away by Black Sabbath in '79. Blackmore reunited with Deep Purple in 1984, revisiting Rainbow briefly in the mid-'90s before finally pulling the plug on both bands and moving on to the medieval folk act Blackmore's Night.

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