Rainbow - Rising

"Rising" was probably Ritchie Blackmore's finest creation. But Ronnie James Dio's contribution to this album cannot be denied, with his extraordinary power and range demonstrated at it's best on tracks such "A Light In The Black" and "Tarot Woman". And if there is a better 15 minutes or so of heavy rock ever recorded that the "Stargazer"/"Light in the Black" combination I have yet to hear it. "Rising" is six tracks of classics never again to be matched by post-Dio lineups. Despite the hit singles with Bonnet and Turner, every true Rainbow fan knows the power this mark 2 lineup had and if there ever is a reunion of Rainbow this (with the exception of Cozy Powell - RIP) can be the only line-up of Rainbow we want to see. My cat jumped onto my turntable when "Tarot Woman" was playing after I came home from school one day, making a scratch across the keyboard intro. The CD version does not sound complete without the regular 'crack' sound that this created!

10/10