Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
WITH A NEW LINE-UP, BLACKMORE STILL KICKS A**!, 4 May 2001
Pop-metal, pop-rock, soft-rock, call it what you like. This is the first Rainbow album I ever heard, back in the late '80s, and although it saw the band taking a different direction away from the Dio era, DOWN TO EARTH certainly lives up to its title by being a meaty rocker. It is perhaps the addition of Ritchie's ex-Purple cohort, bassist Roger Glover which gives the album an air of slickness. 'All Night Long', 'Eyes Of The World', 'No Time To Lose', 'Danger Zone' and 'Lost In Hollywood' are all great, showcasing the brilliant fretwork of Blackmore, while 'Since You Been Gone' is a throwaway top 10 single which paved the way for subsequent hits like 'I Surrender'. This is a must for any Rainbow fan or any other person who likes good '70s metal-rock.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best Rock albums, ever, 14 Nov 1999
By A Customer
You will probably like this CD whether you like Rock music or not. This was from the Rainbow era when Graham Bonnet was the lead singer and what a great front man he was! Songs with real passion and clout. I love every track on this CD; All Night Long, Eyes of the World, Making Love, Danger Zone - I could not pick one overall favourite.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic hard rock from The Man in black, 28 Jun 2005
Down to Earth played a major part in the history of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.It was a transitional album, falling between the classic heavy rock period of albums such as 'Rising' and 'Long Live Rock & Roll';and the later AOR sound of 'Straight Between The Eyes' et al. The departure of original vocalist, Ronnie James Dio,led to Blackmore recruiting ex-Marble Graham Bonnet who added a new dimension to the style and sound of the band.Bonnet's throaty roar and 'James Dean' image allied to the more commercial songs penned for this album (predominantly by Blackmore and Roger Glover)provided Rainbow with two top ten singles in 'All Night Long' and the perrenial 'Since You Been Gone', the latter written by Russ Ballard.Notwithstanding this, the album still rocked hard and classics such as 'Eyes of the World' and 'Lost in Hollywood' would not have been out of place on 'Rising'. Some die-hard fans considered this album to be something of a sell-out and certainly, it did introduce Rainbow to a new sector of fans.In truth, however 'Down to Earth' was a natural progression from it's predecessor 'Long Live Rock & Roll'(the last to feature Dio).Indeed, it has been reported that Dio himself actually liked this album.Following the 1979/80 tour to promote the album, which culminated in a headline spot at the inaugral 'Monsters of Rock' festival at Donington Park,Graham Bonnet and drummer, Cozy Powell left the band.With a new vocalist, Joe Lynn Turner,as well as a revolving door of other musicians, Blackmore's Rainbow subsequently pursued a path of Americanised AOR, in the mode of Foreigner, Journey etc.As a consequence, they would never sound this good again.In a nutshell, this is hard rock at it's very best.Go buy it...and while you're at it, treat yourself to 'Rising' and 'Long Live Rock & Roll' as well!
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