From: jonc@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu (Jonathan Joseph Cordani) Subject: Guitar World Review Date: 6 Dec 1995 07:17:24 GMT Message-ID: <4a3g24$pqm@cronkite.seas.gwu.edu>
So you're thinking, "Oh no! Not another lame-ass comeback attempt by a Seventies rock band." Well, think again. This Rainbow rules! Backed by a great new lineup, Ritchie Blackmore rekindles the classic Dio-era Rainbow sound in all its medieval metal majesty and kicks some serious ass on the guitar in the process.
Slick-but-heavy production, tight, muscular musicianship and the manly pipes of vocalist Doogie White help make Stranger in s All a real aural treat. But the songs are the real clincher. "Wolf to the Moon," with its off-with-their-heads guitar riff and rollicking, kill-the-infidels chorus is a headbanger every bit as good as the bands signature "Kill the King." There's also a terrific heavy-metal reworking of Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King," which may inspire you to go and pull a sword out of a rock or something equally chivalrous.
And then of course, there's Ritchie's epic Strat-O-Spherc, Hendrix-meets-Bach virtuosity. My only complaint is that the lead beaks on this album are too short. Blackmore never gets the elbow room to really let loose. Still, SIUA is a worthy addition to the Rainbow legacy and will surely have Blackmore-ites screaming for more. Welcome back, Ritchie. Long may you shine.
Well, Since I don't have the album yet, I live in the US, so it's not easily accessible, I really can't pass any judgement. But, the last paragraph is almost identicle to the one that closed their review of TBRO a couple years back.
--
Jonathan Cordani
jonc@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu