Rainbow - Bent Out of Shape

Instantly became my favorite CD with either Blackmore or Turner

It stays intense, song after song, but not by relying on sheer guitar power so much like you find with, say, Rainbow's previous Straight Between the Eyes album. Turner can't really scream it out as much as other vocalists Blackmore has recorded with, so Turner's screaming it out on some places in SBTE was pushing it a bit. The vocals and adjusted heavier sound there may have come as overcompensation for the distinctly pop-sounding "Difficult To Cure" album before it. But here, the vocals and intrumentals finally come together beautifully, and for the whole disk, not just a song or two. The creative use of keyboards rounds out the music really nicely and doesn't date it - no more than it dates Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers" - as overuse of keyboards has often done with music from the 80s (hence the term "80s Butt Rock"?!).
Not only is this much too intense to be written off as pop (and too awesome to be "written off" as anything) you get all the great style and influence that you've come to expect with Ritchie Blackmore and the great musicians he has worked with over the years. I usually go after staight forward hard rock and roll (AC/DC, VAN HALEN, UFO, etc.). While some might say this disk may have a "softer" approach in some ways, it definitely isn't missing anything for pace or intensity, and each song brings something new to the table: VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for anyone with even just a casual interest in Deep Purple, Rainbow, or Joe Lynn Turner. September 19, 2007

Production a bit too polished but a worthy release by the master...

Early Rainbow fans go as far to say that after Dio and Bonnet left on vocals, Joe Lynn Turner era was no longer Rainbow. This is not really fair. Ritchie knew what he wanted and he did it. If you look back and analyze the history of Ritchie Blacmore's project, Rainbow, you have to conclude that Blackmore was a musical genius and has had more influence on pop music than any other person. He also had a very keen sense of timing, knowing what to release and when to release it.

Not even the Beatles or the Stones or whoever have been able to go from relatively non-commercial hard rock (ie-Rainbow Rising) appealing to fans of heavy metal only, to appealing to a completely different segment of the American Adult Oriented (AOR) pop market, while at the same time adding bits and pieces of classical music along with it, to the tune of Beethoven. This is what Ritchie did with the band Rainbow. This was the last of the Turner era studio releases, and while it's not quite as good as "Straight Between the Eyes", it's still very good.

It is a bit too polished and poppy at times (very 80's sounding), which makes the songs seem a bit generic now. It is quite evident that Ritchie's guitar playing was taking a sideline to a certain degree, to the favoring of a strong melody and the smooth high voice of Joe Lynn Turner. This is typical of Ritchie's contrasting personality, while on the one hand he wants a top ten hit, of which he had several in the UK (and close to it in the U.S. with "Stone Cold" and "Street of Dreams") and then on the other hand, he doesn't want the spotlight for himself. His unwillingness to do interviews and his disappearances and constant line-up changes have made Rainbow one of the biggest "sleepers" of all time. How many times have I played a Rainbow song and someone says "that's awesome; who is it"? I say it's Rainbow and they reply "Who"? Unfortunate, but Ritchie is still laughing because he did what he set out to do. He found enough success, but effectively kept himself away from the media hounds and the trappings of personal limelight. The stellar tracks on this CD are: Stranded, Can't Let You Go, Street of Dreams (not really a rock song, but like a Michael Bolton song), and Fire Dance. Overall a bit overproduced with the guitar kind of buried in the mix, but a four star record, for sure.

What Rainbow management should do is re-release Japan Live 84, which is now an out-of-print VHS release. It should be released on CD. This is the last and likely the best concert that Rainbow played with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals. This epitomized what Ritchie had set out to do with the band August 9, 2006

Can one song make the CD?

Yes, when that song is "Street of Dreams." It is the best ever by Blackmore et al. "Can't Let You Go" is some righteous powerful vocals; dessert if you will to the main dish and another reason to grab this CD. The best part is neither song has anything to do with the Knights, Wizards or Dragons. That little banjo player (thanx Ian) really had gotten quite bent, but with this collection was bent back INTO shape. Cheers. April 26, 2006

Bent Out of Shape ~ Rainbow

Again a good album by rainbow, after this album Blackmore goes back to deep purple, I rather see Ritchie in rainbow. That is because I think Ian Gillan isn't such a good singer as Joe Lynn Turner. This is the third album with Joe Lynn Turner, and it is very good. Ritchie plays good, but at some songs I think the guitar may be a bit louder. Fire Dance is a song that needs louder guitars, it rocks, but I almost can't here the guitarplay during the stanza. There are two instrumental songs on this album: Anybody there and Snowman. Anybody there is nice to hear, but Snowman is boring. Well, the rest is kinda good, below you can see how I rate the songs:

1. Stranded (7/10)
2. Can't Let You go (10/10) --> my favorite song of the album.
3. Fool For The Night (10/10)
4. Fire Dance (10/10)
5. Anybody There (8/10)
6. Desperate Heart (10/10)
7. Street Of Dreams (10/10)
8. Drinking With the Devil (9/10)
9. Snowman (6/10)
10. Make Your Move (7/10)

As you can see, there are no bad songs on this album, some average songs, but the rest is very good. I recommend this to you! December 14, 2005

Rainbow's best Turner era album!

This has 2 of Blackmore's best instrumentals and plenty of classic songs Including the hits Can't Let You Go and Street Of Dreams. Turner's vocals are brilliant and Blackmore's playing has never been better.

1.Stranded- 10/10 An excellent fast paced song with a great subtle riff at the beginning. This song has an excellent chorus where Joe Lynn Turner shows off his vocal power. The yells of "Stranded" are awesome too. A great solo by Blackmore who throws in some whammy bar dives and some cool fast lines. The ending of the song sounds great with the yells of "Stranded" and Blackmore's great riff. A great hard rocking classic.

2.Can't Let You Go- 10/10 This song starts out with a great scary organ intro similar to the Ozzy song Mr. Crowley. The riff is great too. The song is very melodic and Joe Lynn Turner's vocal performance is incredible. This is a very commercial song but it's still great. Blackmore's solo is excellent and has a lot of feeling. This song kind of reminds me of Journey actually.

3.Fool For The Night- 9/10 A great melodic rocker. This song has a catchy riff and great soaring vocals. The song has a nice fast tempo to it and excellent drum and bass work. Blackmore's solo is brilliant again and very lyrical.

4.Fire Dance- 9/10 A great fast paced melodic rocker with a great riff. The drumming is amazing too. The keyboard solo is incredible too and Blackmore's solo is as amazing. The trade off works very well in this song and Turner's vocals soar. Turner's amazing high pitched screams att he end remind me of classic Deep Purple. Another classic!

5.Anybody There- 10/10 A beautiful instrumental with some of Ritchie Blackmore's best playing ever. Blackmore plays some of the emotional guitar playing I've ever heard. The backround music is great too.

6.Desperate Heart- 9/10 A great melodic song with an excellent vocal performance from Joe Lynn Turner. The melodic riff is excellent and the drums are great. Blackmore's solo is brilliant again too.

7.Street of Dreams- 10/10 Another Rainbow classic. This starts off with a great melodic intro which a lot of keyboards. Joe Lynn Turner's vocals and lyrics are excellent too. The chorus is very strong and the drum and bass sound is great. Blackmore's solo has a lot of feeling and is very lyrical. This was one of Rainbow's biggest hits too. Blackmore's second solo has a lot of feeling too. This is one of the best songs on the album.

8.Drinking With the Devil- 9/10 A great fast paced rocker with an excellent riff. Turner's vocals are excellent and Blackmore's blazing solo is amazing. Very solid drum and bass work on this fast song.

9.Snowman- 9/10 A great instrumental with an excellent keyboard arrangement and great playing by Blackmore. Blackmore's playing is both emotional and technical. A great instrumental but maybe a little too long.

10.Make Your Move- 9/10 A good fast paced song with excellent drumming. More great high pitched screams by Joe Lynn Turner too. Turner's vocals soar and Blackmore's riff is great again. Blackmore's solo is excellent too.

If you like melodic rock, 80's music, great guitar playing or great singing than this album is for you. The band is

Joe Lynn Turner- Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore- Guitar
Chuck Burgi- Drums
Roger Glover- Bass, Percussion
David Rosenthal- Keyboards December 2, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...