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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Death Alley DriverRitchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | Stone ColdRitchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 05:19 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 3 | Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser)Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Tite SqueezeRitchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 5 | Tearin' Out My HeartRitchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | PowerRitchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | Miss MistreatedRitchie Blackmore, David Rosenthal, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 04:30 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 8 | Rock FeverRitchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | Eyes of FireRitchie Blackmore, Bob Rondinelli, Joe Lynn Turner | Rainbow | Play | 06:39 | 15 MB | 41 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 254 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don Airey | Keyboards |
| 2 | Ritchie Blackmore | Bass, Composer, Fender Stratocaster, Guitar, Marshall Amplifiers, Orchestra, Orchestral Arrangements |
| 3 | Nick Blagona | Audio Engineer, Digital Mixing, Engineer |
| 4 | Greg Calbi | Digital Mastering |
| 5 | Jeff Cummins | Paintings |
| 6 | François Dompierre | Conductor |
| 7 | Roger Glover | 8-String Bass, Audio Production, Bass, Composer, Digital Mixing, Guitar (Electric), Percussion, Producer |
| 8 | Hipgnosis | Coordination |
| 9 | Jim Houghton | Photography |
| 10 | Tim Kelly | Assistant, Drums |
| 11 | Rainbow | Primary Artist |
| 12 | Bob Rondinelli | Composer, Cymbals, Drums |
| 13 | David Rosenthal | Composer, Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer, Oberheim Synthesizer, Organ (Hammond), Piano (Electric), Roland Synthesizer, Score |
| 14 | Joe Lynn Turner | Composer, Vocals |
| 15 | Robbie Whelan | Assistant, Assistant Engineer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |