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Straight Between the Eyes

 
Album Review: Straight Between the Eyes

  • Artist: Rainbow
  • Rating: StarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1982
  • Total Time: 40:40
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Straight Between the Eyes undoubtedly has one of the worst album covers in rock history, but the record is an unexpected return to form from the journeyman hard rockers. Just a record before, Rainbow sounded as if they were verging on Billy Squier territory, but here, they reverse course and deliver a solid, no-frills hard rock record. It isn't just that the material is stronger, though it certainly is, it's that Roger Glover abandoned his smoothed-out, radio-ready production that marred Difficult to Cure. That's not to say that Straight Between the Eyes doesn't sound dated -- Rainbow was a band that was forever tied to its era -- but the album does have a harder-hitting, muscular sound that is more appropriate for the band. Similarly, vocalist Joe Lynn Turner sounds more comfortable with the group, and the entire band just seems to gel, turning even the generic numbers on the album into enjoyable, straight-ahead hard rock. There may not be any specific showcases for Ritchie Blackmore, but his playing is better heard in this setting, where he's not only soloing, he's propelling the band with his powerful riffs. As always, he's the driving force behind the band, but this is truly a band effort, which is one of the reasons why Straight Between the Eyes is one of the strongest albums the group ever cut. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Death Alley Driver (Lyrics) Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow (4:45)
Stone Cold Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow (5:19)
Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser) Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner Rainbow (4:08)
Tite Squeeze Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover Rainbow (3:15)
Tearin' Out My Heart Joe Lynn Turner, Roger Glover, Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow (4:05)
Power (Lyrics) Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner, Roger Glover Rainbow (4:27)
Miss Mistreated (Lyrics) Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner, David Rosenthal Rainbow (4:30)
Rock Fever Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow (3:52)
Eyes of Fire Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore, Bob Rondinelli Rainbow (6:39)

Credits

Ritchie Blackmore (Fender Stratocaster), Roger Glover (Percussion), Greg Calbi (Digital Mastering), Tim Kelly (Assistant), Jeff Cummins (Paintings), Ritchie Blackmore (Guitar), Hipgnosis [Design Group] (Coordination), David Rosenthal (Keyboards), Ritchie Blackmore (Orchestra), Ritchie Blackmore (Marshall Amplifiers), Ritchie Blackmore (Orchestral Arrangements), Ritchie Blackmore (Bass), David Rosenthal (Organ (Hammond)), Roger Glover (Bass), David Rosenthal (Score), Bob Rondinelli (Cymbals), Robbie Whelan (Assistant), Roger Glover (Producer), David Rosenthal (Oberheim), Don Airey (Keyboards), Bob Rondinelli (?), Nick Blagona (Digital Mixing), Roger Glover (Audio Production), Roger Glover (Digital Mixing), Bob Rondinelli (Drums), Roger Glover (Guitar (Electric)), David Rosenthal (Roland Synthesizer), Nick Blagona (Engineer), Tim Kelly (Drums), François Dompierre (Conductor), Joe Lynn Turner (Vocals), Roger Glover (8-String Bass), Jim Houghton (Photography), Nick Blagona (Audio Engineer), David Rosenthal (Piano (Electric)), Robbie Whelan (Assistant Engineer), David Rosenthal (Moog Synthesizer)
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Wikipedia: Straight Between the Eyes
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Straight Between the Eyes
Studio album by Rainbow
Released June 10, 1982
Recorded December 1981 at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec
Genre heavy metal , Hard Rock
Length 40:58
Label Polydor
Mercury Records (original US)
Producer Roger Glover
Professional reviews
Rainbow chronology
Jealous Lover EP
(1981)
Straight Between The Eyes
(1982)
Bent Out Of Shape
(1983)

Straight Between the Eyes is the sixth LP released by Rainbow, released in 1982. A remastered CD reissue, with packaging duplicating the original vinyl release, was released in May 1999.

The band line-up was the same as had recorded the previous year's Difficult to Cure album, with the exception of David Rosenthal, who replaced Don Airey on keyboards.

The title allegedly came from a phrase from Jeff Beck, describing Jimi Hendrix to Blackmore.

In an April 1982 interview with British Rock magazine Kerrang!, Blackmore stated of "MISS Mistreated", "Well, it's to avoid confusion that the 'Miss' is written three times bigger than the 'mistreated' but I expect we'll have someone who shall remain nameless coming up to us saying, 'I wrote that song'!" (That someone being David Coverdale, with whom Blackmore had co-written "Mistreated" for the 1974 Deep Purple album Burn.)

The tour would feature a giant pair of moving mechanical eyes as part of the stageset, with spotlights shining from the pupils. This is captured on the video, laserdisc and now DVD release Live Between the Eyes.

The tour, although extensive, did not include the UK, which rankled with British fans.

The original vinyl issue had the lyrics printed on the inner sleeve.

The song "Stone Cold" was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the radio station Emotion 98.3.

A video was made for Death Alley Driver which featured Sega's Turbo (video game). It is still occasionally aired on VH1's Metal Mania program.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore, and Roger Glover except where indicated.

  1. "Death Alley Driver" (Turner, Blackmore) – 4:42
  2. "Stone Cold" – 5:17
  3. "Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser)" – 4:06
  4. "Tite Squeeze" – 3:15
  5. "Tearin' Out My Heart" – 4:03
  6. "Power" – 4:26
  7. "MISS Mistreated" (Turner, Blackmore, David Rosenthal) – 4:27
  8. "Rock Fever" (Turner, Blackmore) – 3:50
  9. "Eyes of Fire" (Turner, Blackmore, Bobby Rondinelli) – 6:37

Personnel

Additional infos

  • Engineered by Nick Blagona (assisted by Robbie Whelan)
  • Recorded at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Canada
  • Digital mixing by Roger Glover and Nick Blagona
  • Digital mastering by Greg Calbi, Sterling Studios, New York

Singles

  • 1982 - Stone Cold/Rock Fever
  • 1982 - Death Alley Driver/Power (Japan)

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Straight Between the Eyes" Read more