Rainbow – Difficult to Cure – 1981
So, while the other major metal relics of the 60s (Sabbath, Ozzy) mine dark and exciting territories, Ritchie Blackmore turned Rainbow into the Greg Kihn Band with a dash of Scorpions.
D2C is a toothless record and a weird one. Sel-important and pretentious on songs like the atrocious “Freedom Fighter” and the title track (what the fuck? Beethoven’s 9th? THIS is the reason Spinal Tap and Tenacious D existed) and bizarre, like tossing an irish gig in the middle os “Spotlight”.
If I had purchased this in 81 when I saw it for the first time at the mall (and I almost did, many times. I liked the cover. Metal as doctors? They’re gonna operate! Cool!) I would have never listened to another note Blackmore would have ever put out or had put out. It’s a dull record. And not a lot of fun. Though halfway through the title track it does harken back to the grand ol DP days there’s very little to rescue this album. Once you’ve had to hear the opener, “I Surrender”, which could be seen as a metaphor for the entire band’s credo at this point, the album can’t recover.
Grade: D+
Aside: Difficult to Cure
BlindSide: Spotlight Kid
DownSide: Freedom Fighter, I Surrender, Magic, No Release.
