Rainbow - Straight Between the Eyes

Commercial Development for Rainbow

Recent Joe Lynn Turner Project "SUNSTORM" led me to this 1982 Rainbow album in which Joe Lynn Turner showcases his brilliant soulful vocal.

DEATHALLEY DRIVER drives this commercial release quite deftly. STONE COLD is no doubt signature Rainbow song to date and it's unfortunate it is their biggest and only US top 40 hit so far. TIGHT SQUEEZE is another beautifully crafted tight straight rock song. POWER and ROCK FEVER show their pop rock appeal which should have been quite large hits. EYES OF FIRE just like LED ZEP classic KASHMIR has the mid-east tone and this song alone is the reason why 70s and 80s rock fans must get this.

Verdict: Commercial yet Beautiful release.
Rating: 93 out of 100
Recommended for: Wide range of 70s and 80s rock fans and must-buy for Joe Lynn Turner fans. December 21, 2007

"Let the Dream Chaser take you away"

A lot of Rainbow fans seem to dislike this record but I think it's awesome! I only have five Rainbow records, but this one is my favorite so far. It's just a feel good, fun, rock n roll album. It doesn't offer those long, complex, epic numbers like "Stargazer," but it is a solid album of excellent tracks including two of my all-time favorites "Stone Cold" and "Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser)." There is only one track I'm not too crazy about ("Rock Fever") but the rest are great. Joe Lynn Turner has an amazing voice and it, of course, features the guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore. The worst part about this album is, actually, the cover. Rainbow is not known for the best album covers (i.e. "Difficult to Cure"), but this one is hideous! Oh well, it's what's inside that counts and here's what's inside:

"Death Alley Driver" (4:36): Fast and furious opener. Killer guitar and keyboard solos. I really like the overall sound of this one and I think the keyboards really stand out. I guess I'm one of the few fans who like keyboards in hard rock and metal.
"Stone Cold" (5:15): From the first guitar riff, this song rules! Soft and delicate in places and catchy rocker in others. Excellent use of keyboards, too.
"Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser)" (4:02): I love this song! This one and "Stone Cold" are my favorites on this album (and also favorite songs all-time). It just flat out kicks! The sweeping sound right before the chorus is cool!
"Tite Squeeze" (3:15): This song is OK. I can listen to it. It is just an average, straight-forward rock song. Nothing sets this song apart like most of the others on this record.
"Tearin' Out My Heart" (4:00): Slow, power track.

"Power" (4:23): This track kicks! Like with "Dream Chaser", my favorite part is right before the chorus. The intensity is built with flying percussion. Double bass would've been even better.
"MISS Mistreated" (4:25): Another of the better tracks. Guitar solo a highlight as well as the bass. I also like the use of keyboards. A medium-tempo song.
"Rock Fever" (3:40): The only track here I don't care for. The chorus is just stale, good-time rock n roll. "Lemme see you rock, lemme see you roll, lemme see you burn." No originality.
"Eyes of Fire" (6:41): The closest to an epic track on this album. It has an interesting sound. I wonder if Bruce Dickinson had this song in mind when he wrote Iron Maiden's masterpiece "Powerslave." They have the same Egyptian tune. November 12, 2006

One of the better Rainbow Albums

This was the second Rainbow album that I purchased (the first was Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow). The songs "Stone Cold" and "MISS Mistreated" are two songs I never tire of. Just about any guy can relate some of their own experiences to these songs. Power is good, so is Eyes of Fire.

If you don't have this album, BUY IT! September 10, 2006

Straight Between the Eyes ~ Rainbow

This album is great. Joe Lynn Turner is in very good vocal form. Ritchie Blackmore plays the guitar very well. His solo's are fantastic! Ritchie Blackmore is the best guitarist of the world when it comes up to solo's! The rest of the band is doing a very good job too. So, every musician plays his instrument well, now the songs. The songs are good. Death Ally Driver is a very good rockin' opener of the album. The guitarsolo here is one of the best and the riff...just fantastic! Stone Cold was a very popular hit that time, and it's a very good song. The rest of the songs are all good, nothing special to say about it. My favorite track of this album is: Death Ally Driver. Power, Bring On the Night and Stone Cold come close, but Death Ally Driver defeats them. It's a pitty that rainbow didn't go on longer then 1983. Their last album came out in 1983(Bent Out Of Shape). That was also a very good album. Ritchie Blackmore should have went on with Rainbow instead of joining Deep Purple again. Joe Lynn Turner is a much better singer then Ian Gillan! In my view Rainbow is much better then Deep Purple, so I think Ritchie Blackmore should have went on with rainbow. But that's how things go in life. About this album again, it's a great album. If you like rock, then this is something for you. I hope this review was helpful for you... December 14, 2005

Another great album from Rainbow

This is the follow up to the masterpeice Difficult To Cure. It's a little heavier than Difficult To Cure and has a few songs that sound like Dio era songs.

1.Death Alley Driver- 10/10 A great fast song with a great riff. This sounds like classic Deep Purple with Joe Lynn Turner singing. The drums are very loud and sound excellent. The solo is brilliant as it's very classically influenced and has 2 great harmony part.

2.Stone Cold- 10/10 An excellent soft melodic song. This is the biggest hit on the album and one of Rainbow's 5 biggest hits. Great drum and bass work and excellent lyrics. This song has an excellent chorus too. Blackmore's solo is great and has a lot of feeling. A great song and one of the best on the album.

3.Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser)- 10/10 An excellent fast paced song. This has a commercial feel to it. Turner's vocals sound excellent and the drumming is great. Blackmore's solo is great too.

4.Tite Squeeze- 8/10 A good song but not really anything special. A very bluesy song with cheesy lyrics but the vocals are good. Blackmore's solo is good though.

5.Tearin' Out My Heart- 10/10 Another bluesy song. This starts with an excellent soft section before going into a song that sounds like a more commercial version of the Deep Purple classic Mistreated. Joe Lynn Turner's vocals are excellent and Blackmore's solo is great too.

6.Power- 6/10 A poppy filler with terrible lyrics and a generic riff. Not much to this track execpt a good solo from Ritchie Blackmore.

7.Miss Mistreated- 10/10 A great bluesy song. This song reminds me of early Whitesnake. Turner's vocals are excellent and Blackmore's riff is great too. Ritchie Blackmore's solo is excellent as always. Blackmore matches Turner's scream with a great bend shortly after the solo.

8.Rock Fever- 8/10 A good fast upbeat song that sounds similar to the Dio era songs Sensitive To The Light and If You Don't Like Rock N Roll. Blackmore's solo is excellent and Joe Lynn Turner's vocals are good too.

9.Eyes of Fire- 10/10 An excellent song with some arabic influences. This sounds like a song that would fit on Long Live Rock N Roll or Rising execpt with Turner singing. Excellent lyrics and amazing vocals from Joe Lynn Turner. Blackmore's solo is amazing too. A real masterpeice. This is the best song on the album. Blackmore's second solo is better than his first.

This album is excellent and has one of Rainbow's best songs ever in Eyes Of Fire. I think that any fan of Melodic Rock, Classic Metal or just Hard Rock should get this. The abnd is

Joe Lynn Turner- Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore- Guitar
Bobby Rondinelli- Drums
Roger Glover- Bass
David Rosenthal- Keyboards November 26, 2005

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