LONG LIVE ROCK & ROLL

The first time I bought this album was in cassette format. I almost returned the cassette to the record store because the record quality was bad - basically there was no bass sound at all. But in fact, when the CD format was coming out, the bass problem remained, so it's basically the recording master was not good at all. Musically, I was not impressed at initial spin as an album this one was weaker than Rainbow's "Rising" but there were great tracks as well from this album. The opening title track is quite motivating and it became our "yells" when we motivated ourselves to be consistent with rock music when I was teenager. We were so proud being a rocker and we spread the words on this. "Lady Of The Lake" 3:37 is another excellent track with unique characteristics of Ritchie's guitar sound. "Gates Of Babylon" 6:46 is really special for me in terms of songwriting, arrangement and structure. It blends the elements of eastern music with Rainbow sound and the result is totally an awesome song! I remember that this song influenced Yngwie Malmsteen when he was a kid and during his album making period he made an album called "Inspiration" which contains cover of songs which influenced his music. It's really a great track, I would say. "Kill The King" 4:28 is best presented live at "Rainbow On Stage" but it's okay also with studio version. I believe this fast tempo track had a great influence to the birth of power metal music (pioneered by Germany's Helloween). By the time I listened to this song I could not believe any song that run faster than this one. It's a very dynamic, very uplifting and energetic song that has become my all-time favorite! The concluding track "Rainbow Eyes" 7:11 is a nice and melodic ballad.

Overall, it's a very good rock album with a total of 3.5 stars out of five even though the sonic quality of the CD is not that good. I have noticed that all Rainbow's albums sonic quality are not good. Keep on rockin', keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW