𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
July 28, 1979 — Rainbow released their fourth full-length studio album, “Down to Earth” via Polydor Records on July 28, 1979.
“Down to Earth” is the last Rainbow album to feature drummer Cozy Powell (R.I.P.) and their only album with vocalist Graham Bonnet. Containing Rainbow's first hit single, the Russ Ballard number "Since You Been Gone", the album marks a more commercial direction of the band's sound.
Background, Writing & Recording:
The writing of “Down to Earth” began at Ritchie Blackmore's house in Connecticut in December 1978. By that time, he had dismissed both bassist Bob Daisley and keyboard player David Stone soon after singer Ronnie James Dio quit the band. Blackmore had already recruited his old Deep Purple bandmate Roger Glover as producer and started auditioning musicians for the vacant slots in the band, while songwriting progressed with Blackmore, Cozy Powell and session musician Clive Chaman on bass. The backing tracks were largely written by Blackmore and Glover. "It was a great opportunity for me, and why should I bear a grudge [about being dismissed from Purple in 1973]?" recalled Glover. "I'm a huge Ritchie fan. Some of my biggest influences have come from him."
By the end of 1978, Blackmore had recruited keyboardist Don Airey – a suggestion from Powell – and considered Ian Gillan and Peter Goalby of Trapeze to replace Dio. In April 1979, Jack Green of The Pretty Things was hired as new bass player for the recording sessions at Château Pelly de Cornfeld, in the countryside of Southern France, but he did not stay for long. Producer Glover ended up playing bass on the album and provided lyrics for all songs. While auditions for the new singer proceeded, Glover tracked down ex-The Marbles singer Graham Bonnet, who auditioned in France and was immediately hired.
During song composition, Bonnet composed his vocal melodies, though his contributions remained uncredited. His vocals were not recorded with the other tracks in France, but later at Kingdom Sound Studios in Long Island, when all other recording sessions were completed. “Down to Earth” is the only Rainbow album to feature Bonnet, though he was still part of the band when writing for “Difficult to Cure” began.
Also recorded for the proposed next single, but unreleased due to Bonnet's departure, was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". Bonnet had previously recorded this song for his first, eponymously titled, solo album in 1977. Rainbow's version was recorded in the studio in May 1980, during rehearsals for the Japanese leg of the “Down to Earth” tour. It was subsequently played live throughout that tour.
Touring for Down to Earth:
In 1980, Blackmore's Rainbow headlined the inaugural Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington in England.
Release Information:
In the UK there was a limited edition clear vinyl LP release.
"Bad Girl", an outtake from the album sessions, was used as the B-side to the "Since You Been Gone" single. Similarly, "Weiss Heim", an instrumental recorded in Copenhagen in January 1980, was the B-side to "All Night Long".
A remastered CD reissue was released in May 1999, with packaging duplicating the original vinyl.
In 2011, a Deluxe Edition of the album was released, featuring a bonus disc with previously unreleased songs and instrumental versions of the basic tracks.
Noteworthy:
Songs from “Down to Earth” have been performed by Graham Bonnet at his solo shows, as well as at concerts performed with Don Airey (2001) and Joe Lynn Turner (2007).
Critical Reception:
AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine defines the album "a fine Hard Rock platter", which "might not offer anything unique, but it delivers the goods." He criticizes mostly Bonnet's vocals, but praises "the guitar artistry and mystical sensibility of Ritchie Blackmore", who "sounds invigorated on the album".
PopMatters' Adrien Begrand, reviewing the 2011 Deluxe Edition, remarks how “Down to Earth” "is somewhat underrated compared to the towering Dio discography, but it remains a strong outing 31 years later", even with "the new material sounding so much more stripped-down compared to the overtly epic heavy metal arrangements of Dio-era Rainbow". The songs are "eight searing, hooky Hard Rockers", remarkably rendered by Bonnet's performance and energy.
The album "is perhaps the most divisive record in Rainbow’s catalogue" according to Record Collector reviewer, because of "Blackmore's single-minded pursuit of mainstream success" and the departure from the sound of preceding albums. He adds that this is a "strong" album with many "classic radio" staples, but the second disc of the Deluxe Edition does not add anything essential to the listening experience.
In 2005, “Down to Earth” was ranked number 431 in Rock Hard magazine's book of “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time”.
In an interview with Sounds in 1979, Blackmore said: "I have so much respect for classical musicians that when I listen to myself I think, oh, that's nonsense. I can put down other people's music because the fact is I put down my own music and say it's rubbish. A lot of it is- not all of it- "No Time to Lose" definitely is but "Eyes of the World" is OK. But a good deal of it is a waste of time."
Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:
Click this link to listen to “Down to Earth” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/down-to-earth-deluxe-edition/1509771812
Click this link to listen to “Down to Earth” via Spotify: Down To Earth https://open.spotify.com/album/1xlTRhgWQSEvu9DPHVn8uJ
Click this link to watch the official music video for " Since You’ve Been Gone”: https://youtu.be/1P17ct4e5OE
Click this link to follow Rainbow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044557384264
Click this link to follow Ritchie Blackmore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ritchieblackmore
Click this link to follow Graham Bonnet on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grahambonnetmusic
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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