"Eyes of the World" is sublime songwriting

I first heard this album when I was probably no more than 10 years old, but I'll always remember "Eyes of the World" for its musically authoritative single-mindedness.



Honestly, nothing comes close if you enjoy this style.

Not THAT bad

I just got this cd in the mail even after reading the bad reviews. I'm a big fan of Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow so I got it nevertheless. This album wasn't as bad as it was made out to be by prior reviews I've read. No one can deny the fact that Graham Bonnet is a great vocalist, even if he was only around for this one album. The songs here are not bad. I think if they all had the energy of "All Night Long" the cd would be great. Maybe if Ritchie's riffs were more powerful or crunched harder. Remember, in any lineup, Rainbow was always an all star cast of excellent musicians, and this effort is not different. I think if you're a Rainbow fan, or Blackmore fan, or even a fan of great musicianship, you'll be o.k. buying this.

old leatherlungs Bonnet, he's absolute dynamite!

I really cant believe some of the bad reviews this album gets especially the criticism of Graham Bonnet's vocals, I tell you I havent heard many singers come near to the power and passion this guy has in his voice. A lot of people just cant see past Ronnie Dio who was also a great singer but the wrong kind of singer for the direction which Ritchie Blackmore took with this album. Graham Bonnet was absolutely the perfect choice here, you just cannot imagine how classic tracks such as Since You Been Gone, All Night Long and the awesome Love's No Friend would sound without this guy. Not only that I found him a guy you could Identify more with than the old dungeon master Dio, a bit more down to earth... Anyway, as you can probably tell the guy became an all time hero to me with this album, right up there with Rob Halford of the Priest.



Anyway onto the songs themselves, all the songs on the album are great apart from 1, No Time to Lose, which is just a throwaway filler track. Along with the 3 aforementioned tracks the other standout tracks are Eyes of the World and Danger Zone, dont know how many times ive lost my voice trying to sing those songs when im drunk, not many singers could pull em off like old leatherlungs Bonnet, awesome stuff! so buy this album, buy a few six packs, get out the big shades and the cardboard guitar and play it loud, Bonnet and Blackmore rock, 24 carat gold, absolute dynamite!

The last strong Rainbow album

Rainbow fans are rarely neutral about this album. Some say it provides a different-but-good bridge from the incomparable Dio years to the Americanised Joe Lynn Turner years.

Count me among the former. Yes, it IS different. It's not "Rainbow Rising" or "Long Live Rock 'N Roll". It IS a bit more commercial (in fact, the one star knocked off is for the terrible hit single "Since You Been Gone" - but Rainbow didn't write that anyway). Yes, Graham Bonnett's voice is an acquired taste (suited me just fine with the Michael Schenker Group, too).

But there is strong music here. "Eyes Of The World" is more like older Rainbow than anything else on the disc. The songs are more concise, and though Ritchie displays less of his amazing solo wizardry, he still does quite well within the song styles here (even sounding a little like Tony Iommi on "Love's No Friend").

And, of course, there is the incomparable Cozy Powell. No-one, for my money, has ever topped this British skinbasher (it's odd that Rainbow were generally thought of as a British band, though they never had an all-UK lineup - well, this album lineup comes close since Aussie Graham Bonnett comes from a British Commonwealth country!) and he provides his always rock-solid, no-frills pounding here. Rest in peace, Cozy.

Get this album, plus anything with Dio on it, and that will be all the Rainbow you really need, though there are good tracks here and there on the Joe Lynn Turner albums.

the one timer

only 1 studio album with bonnet,but the best album rainbow ever put out,bonnets style is in a class of his own,the harsh yet distinct vocal style is awesome,blackmores riffs are perfect for every song,memorable rythms,precise leads with his signature tone,and the backbone is intense,as powell and glover prove once again they are among the best force in hard rock.a must have rainbow cd.my first copy was vinyl,i saw this version of rainbow live with blue oyster cult at memorial aud.in buffalo they were fantastic...........

Watched the rehearsal for this tour

In my Hempstead Long Island studio (SRS) Ritchie & the band rehearsed for this albumn tour.



First song they played after they checked in ?



Purple Haze.....Jimi Hendrix



Those were great times !



I have the Down to Earth LP signed by all the band members.



Doug