Ritchie Blackmore, (creator of one of the most famous rock riffs - Smoke on the Water) after shuttling between Deep Purple (1965 - 1974, 1984 - 1994) and Rainbow (1975-1984,1994-1997) came up with this brilliant Album during his second stint with Rainbow, featuring vocalist Doogie White of Scottish Origin. Blackmore uses a scalloped fretboard with wood shaved of b/w frets meaning that he plays with a light touch, resulting in a furious pace. This is immediately evident throughout the album, right from the Album opener Wolf to the Moon which starts of with a signature fast paced Blackmore Riff. Doogie White, proves that his recruitment by Blackmore into the band is no stroke of luck.
The entire album has ritchie blackmore's classical influence portrayed in great style with some neat riffs.
With the album of to a great start with the fast paced
Wolf to the Moon, (which would also be a great concert opener), the next song Cold Hearted Woman marks the beginning of the influence of classical theme into the album. Again, White's vocals blend in very well with the feel of the song. Reverb effects added on the song in the right places make it sound very rich and the distinct chord of the keyboards ringing in the background add to the quality of the composition.
The next song Hunting Humans (Insatiable) is a display of how Blackmore can make a lead guitar play second to a vocalist and compose an entire song with just that. Great solo-ing by blackmore, although not fast paced. Stand and Fight is more of a rock and roll number, contrasting the previous song.
Then comes a song which reinforces the classical influence in the Album - 'Ariel' .. The song starts of with the drums, with Blackmore joining in with a simple riff, with reverb. The intro to the song is beautiful, with keyboards blending in as Blackmore makes a transition into a great plucking sequence. The song brings out the depth and variations in White's voice for the first time. Very harmonic Chorus and good twin leads b/w the guitar and keyboards are followed by a melodic lead by Ritchie .. The song ends with a female voice singing 'Ariel' complemented by blackmores guitar .. almost like a twin b/w vocals and guitars. Great ending to a great song.Too Late for Tears is again a typical rock number and as usual, the leads are great.
Then, to me, comes the song of the album - Black Masquerade. The song starts with a dual riff b/w the keyboards and guitars and running bass, followed by a sinister sounding laugh in the background. Great intro to the number as Ritchie flies on another classical lead scale as the Intro Riff goes on. The drumming complements the riff beautifully as does White's vocals. The pace of the song continues into the verse, and into the chorus. Ther are some great Vocal Harmoies during the chorus and the words 'Stranger in Us All' are heard. The leads are simply superb in this song - first there's an acoustic patch on which ritchie plays a lead immediately followed by a great keyboard solo by Paul Morris. You have to hear this to believe it..Again, blackmore takes off on a lead patch always emphasizing the influence of the scale. A superb number that just shows that Blackmore is in a class of his own - showing why Deep Purple were such a huge success.
Silence, which is the next song, is a very groovy number again standing out for the guitar riffs. Hall of the Mountain King has a dark feel to it and is a nice number. Again, blackmore's guitaring is catchy and commendable.
The last song on the album , which is Still i'm Sad is again a masterpiece. The song begins with a nice acoustic patch, with delay and blackmore plays a very melodic lead. The transition from this feel into a fast paced song is done using some cleverly controlled feedback using the guitar.
The album stands out in terms of its uniqueness with scales and riffs. It's an album which people would like the first time they heard it, although a couple of songs might need 2 - 3 listens. But all in all, a great album, for Rainbow / Blackmore Fans. Definitely worth adding to your collection.
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