Catch The Rainbow - A Tribute To Rainbow

There aren't many who should be bold enough to try to reinterpret one of the all-time greats as Rainbow once were and continue to be to this day, but this latest assembly of fine German musicians have brought forth a spirited attempt that goes beyond doing justice to the original.

Banded together from already known classic lineups featuring members of Helloween, Gamma Ray, Gravedigger, Primal Fear. though I don't quite get why bassist Jens Becker's connection to Kingdom Come should take precedence over his stellar years with Running Wild, but nonetheless, he's here to lend the lines to opener "Kill the King."

The core of the contributing artists feature such "freelancers" as Markus Glossner doing the keyboard work-no small task considering-Guido Bungenstock and Frank Hellmuth on guitar and bass respectively and current Helloween drummer Uli Kusch-a busy man fresh off his recent Shock Machine stint with Marcus Groskopf, filling the role of producer and mixer quite admirably.

The biggest moment early on would be how they'd handle the majestic "Stargazer," with its Zeppelin-esque aura and musical posture that makes it a handful all its own. Proudly, the performers come through with. shining colors!

The brunt of the vocal chores fall upon Henne Basse, another of the less prominent featured here who happens to sound nothing like Dio or any of those who followed.

On "I Surrender" imagine Graham Bonnet having held on to the notes just a tad longer, not to mention his voice and this one's a real showstopper made out of a relatively basic song.

Their version of the classic "Man on the Silver Mountain" is drum heavy while for some reason Basse's vocals get lost somewhere in the mix but overall, a decent job on another of those songs that take a great deal of care and concern to make it sound right. The guys bring it home with the Ralf Scheepers led closure "Still I'm Sad" which boasts some brilliant guitar work that even Blackmore himself might have to step back and nod his head in agreement.

The finest in melodic power metal who have long entertained listeners with their own dignified artistry for a number of years now have really captured the power and brilliance of one of the true rock and roll supergroups-in this case, one to another!

Released by Sanctuary Records.

Review by Vinnie Apicella.

When Deep Purple disbanded and from its ashes arose the glowing star that first became Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, then Blackmore's Rainbow and finally just Rainbow, the world had gained another grade A act. With undeniable talent in the form of Ronnie James Dio's voice and Blackmore's guitar playing and songwriting, they have created many a memorable tune. After several albums that went far beyond mere excellence, Ronnie James Dio was kicked out of the band. In came Graham Bonnett. Out went Bonnett. In came Joe Lynn Turner. Rainbow stopped, and reunited several years later.

None questions the fact that Rainbow's finest albums were all made when Ronnie was still in the fold. That is probably the reason that 8 of the 12 tracks on "Catch the Rainbow - a Tribute to Rainbow" in fact stem from those efforts. A good choice, even though it does mean that vocalists will inevitably fail to attain Dio's incredible voice and instantly recognizable style.

The album is played by a variety of musicians, though most vocals are done by Henne Basse (of Metalium fame) and most guitars are played by Guido Bungenstock (who doesn't seem to be in a band). Now Henne Basse is a power metal vocalist and he's my main gripe with the album: He just isn't fit to sing Ronnie James Dio's style. On "Lost in Hollywood" he outsings the originally atrocious Graham Bonnett and on the Japanese bonus track "Lady of the Lake" he really shines, but on the other seven tracks he contributes to he just doesn't quite cut it. In general, the tracks on this tribute album sound pretty faithful to the originals, with especially the guitarists doing very capable jobs. Production-wise, the rather 'fatter' Martin Birch approach might have been used a bit more here and there, but otherwise this is a really good album. There's a fine version of "Stargazer", a cool "Spotlight Kid" (though the keyboards aren't too inspired) and "Man on the Silver Mountain", a sensitive "Rainbow Eyes", a musically well executed "Eyes of the World" (where the vocalist - Uli "Helloween" Kusch - is a lot like Graham Bonnett, i.e. mediocre) and a nice "Still I'm Sad" (though vocalist Ralf "Primal Fear" Scheepers doesn't contribute positively).

On the whole, "Catch the Rainbow - a Tribute to Rainbow" is an album made by a bunch of good musicians who really love Rainbow. It shows. Vocalists aren't always good, but musically it's all, as we may sometimes be heard to say in Holland, "fat in order". The Jap version has "Lady of the Lake" which is, apart from the less subtle guitar work, one of the climaxes of the album. Worth getting.