DOWN TO EARTH

Rainbow's last studio album of the 70s, the generally successful and hard-rocking 'Down to Earth', is an eighth-track LP displaying a more "approachable" and stripped-down sound, compared to the charmingly epic musical world of the Dio era. This August 1979 album also sees the sole appearance of vocalis Graham Bonnet and marks the last work of the band to include Cozy Powell as the main behind the drums. Further shifting the lineup, Blackmore had invited ex-Deep Purple bandmate Roger Clover to take are of all production duties, ultimately playing all the bass parts on the album, with the lineup further completed by the addition of keyboard player Don Airey, currently of Deep Purple. The commercial edge of this then-new Rainbow album takes its toll and unfortunately comes at the expense of the unbridled and epic creativity that had defined the music of the previous iterations of the Blackmore-led group.

What we have here is a guitar- and keyboard-heavy rock with strong melodies and catchy choruses, and despite the overall radio-friendly dimensions of the LP, 'Down to Earth' remains a really solid collection of songs, on which Blackmore shines through as an ingenious riff-craftsman, giving us several of his most recognizable and sharp-edged licks. At the same time, Graham Bonnet's performance is satisfactory, and he impresses as a fine vocalist, nailing all of the hooks this record has to deliver. What this work really misses is the progressive edge that had prevailed on 'Rising' and the debut album, for example; Nevertheless, the music is decent enough and most of the songs do a pretty good job of "delivering the goods" - opener 'All Night Long' is an energetic rocker that sets the tone for the record, 'Eyes of the World' is interesting and somewhat daring, while other songs like 'Makin' Love', 'Love's No Friend' and 'Danger Zone' impress with the gritty Blackmore riffs. Ubiquitous radio hit 'Since You Been Gone' if the fifth track off the album, while 'No Time to Lose' and 'Lost in Hollywood' are pure rubbish, but this, of course, is not a flawless album. Just a fine hard-rocking collection of songs with excellent guitar playing, ballsy vocals, and an enjoyable production style, which renders 'Down to Earth' as lively and organic, as much as it can be.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to A Crimson Mellotron
• Report this review (#3183227)
• Buy RAINBOW music online with PA partners
• Show all RAINBOW MP3/Stream
• Go to RAINBOW page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Down to Earth page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for RAINBOW related discussions