Friday, March 28, 2008

379. Rainbow / Finyl Vinyl. 1986. 4/5

Released in the mid-80’s at what was considered to be the final incarnation of Rainbow (we probably should have known better given Ritchie Blackmore’s history), this album is a collection of mostly live tracks. Again, most also generate from the Joe Lynn Turner era, with a couple included from previous eras with Graham Bonnet and Ronnie James Dio.
While on the surface it appears a bit uneven, it does at least show all three lead singers in a live environment on the same album. Could it have been done better? Well, no doubt there, but there was an obvious focus on the final band combination, and at least the singers were singing the songs from their own era.

Not many bands give you the chance to ‘compare’ vocalists on the same recording. This does, and I like it, while I acknowledge many may not. Funnily enough, the highlight on the album for me is the live version of “Difficult To Cure”, which has no singer involved.
I would love to have heard more of Bonnet’s era live. But I don’t get to make these choices, do I?

Rating: One for the nostalics amongst us. 4/5.

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