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Straight Between the Eyes

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Straight Between the Eyes is the sixth studio album by English rock band Rainbow, released in 1982 by Polydor Records. A remastered CD reissue, with packaging duplicating the original vinyl release, was released in May 1999. It was released on 14 April 1982 in the US by Mercury Records.[6]

Straight Between the Eyes
Cover art by Jeff Cummins and Hipgnosis
Studio album by
Rainbow
ReleasedApril 1982[1]
StudioLe Studio (Morin-Heights, Quebec)
GenreHard rock[2]
Length40:58
LabelPolydor
ProducerRoger Glover
Rainbow chronology
Jealous Lover
(1981) 		Straight Between the Eyes
(1982) 		Bent Out of Shape
(1983)
Singles from Straight Between the Eyes
  1. "Stone Cold"
    Released: 26 March 1982[3]
  2. "Death Alley Driver"
    Released: 1982 (Japan)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

History

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The album was the band's first with keyboardist David Rosenthal replacing Don Airey. The remaining members were the same as on the previous year's Difficult to Cure album.

According to Blackmore, the title came from a meeting with Jeff Beck in 1967, when the two were discussing Jimi Hendrix. Beck told Blackmore that Hendrix's guitar playing hit him "straight between the eyes".[7]

The sleeve-art is by British artist Jeff Cummins and Hipgnosis, though has been described as "one of [Hipgnosis]' very worst; in fact, so bad, it taints the music."[8] The original vinyl issue had the lyrics printed on the inner sleeve.

In an April 1982 interview with British rock magazine Kerrang!, Blackmore stated of "MISS Mistreated", "Well it's to avoid confusion that the 'Miss' is written three times bigger than the 'mistreated' but I expect we'll have someone who shall remain nameless coming up to us saying 'I wrote that song'!"[7] That someone being David Coverdale, with whom Blackmore had co-written "Mistreated" for the 1974 Deep Purple album Burn. Blackmore had this issue with Coverdale previously when a rendition of "Mistreated" was included on the Rainbow live album On Stage.

Videos were shot for the songs "Stone Cold" and "Death Alley Driver", the latter featuring Sega's video game Turbo. Both videos received heavy play on MTV and were later included on Rainbow's The Final Cut home video in 1985.

Tour

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The tour featured a giant pair of moving mechanical eyes as part of the stageset, with spotlights shining from the pupils. This is captured on the video release Live Between the Eyes recorded at the Hemisfair Arena in San Antonio, Texas on August 18, 1982. The tour, although extensive, did not include the UK, which rankled with British fans.

Accolades

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In 2022, Straight Between the Eyes was named #5 of 'The 25 greatest rock guitar albums of 1982' list in Guitar World.[9]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner, and Roger Glover except where indicated

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Death Alley Driver"Blackmore, Turner4:42
2."Stone Cold" 5:17
3."Bring On the Night (Dream Chaser)" 4:06
4."Tite Squeeze" 3:15
5."Tearin' Out My Heart" 4:03
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Power" 4:26
7."Miss Mistreated"Blackmore, Turner, David Rosenthal4:27
8."Rock Fever"Blackmore, Turner3:50
9."Eyes of Fire"Blackmore, Turner, Bobby Rondinelli6:37

Personnel

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Rainbow
Additional musicians
  • François Dompierre – orchestra conductor
  • Raymond Dessaint – orchestra lead
Production
  • Engineered by Nick Blagona (assisted by Robbie Whelan)
  • Recorded at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Canada
  • Digital mixing by Roger Glover and Nick Blagona
  • Digital mastering by Greg Calbi, Sterling Sound, New York

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[23] Gold 25,000[23]
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

In other media

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The song "Stone Cold" was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the radio station Emotion 98.3.

References

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  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 211. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rainbow Straight Between the Eyes review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Merchandising" (PDF). Record Business. 22 March 1982. p. 4. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  5. ^ Considine, J. D. (24 June 1982). "Album Reviews: Rainbow - Straight Between the Eyes". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 May 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  6. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). FMQB. 9 April 1982. p. 30. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  7. ^ a b Bonutto, Dante (22 April 1982). "The Rainbow Story". Kerrang! (14): 21–23. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Top 20 album covers by celebrated design group Hipgnosis - Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia".
  9. ^ Prato, Greg (2 March 2022). "The 25 greatest rock guitar albums of 1982". Guitar World. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  10. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6536". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  16. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  19. ^ "Rainbow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  21. ^ a b c "Straight Between the Eyes Billboard Singles". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  22. ^ "RPM Weekly". RPM magazine. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  23. ^ a b "Rainbow" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  24. ^ "British album certifications – Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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