Stargazer (Rainbow song)

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"Stargazer"
Song by Rainbow
from the album Rising
Released17 May 1976
RecordedFebruary 1976
Genre
Length8:26
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Martin Birch
Audio
"Stargazer" on YouTube

"Stargazer" is a song by the British-American rock supergroup Rainbow, released as fifth track from the band's second studio album Rising (1976). It is an epic song narrating the story of a powerful wizard whose attempt to fly by constructing a mystical tower to the stars leads to the enslavement of vast numbers of people. "Stargazer" is notable for its musical complexity, with the guitar, lyrics, and drum intro cited as significant examples of the talents of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ronnie James Dio, and drummer Cozy Powell.

Contents

Description

The epic-length rock track, with symphonic influences, starts with a short drum solo by Cozy Powell, a "great drumming moment" [2] frequently cited as an example of his skills. [3] [4] It features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, a Vako Orchestron, and what Ritchie Blackmore called "a string thing all playing this half-Turkish Scale". [5]

"We went into the studio with a 28-piece orchestra…" recalled Blackmore. "But the backing was too flowery, so we kept taking out parts and making it less and less complicated. The orchestra was getting angry for having to play it so many times. And there was a very fine gypsy violinist who decided to play after the orchestra had finished, but the tape spool ended. The poor guy was frantically playing and we weren't recording him, which was very frustrating for all involved." [6]

Blackmore's solo, after the second verse, is in B Phrygian dominant scale, and is cited as "one of his best". [7]

The song has been called a "morality tale", [8] from – according to lyricist Ronnie James Dio – the standpoint of a "slave in Egyptian times". They relate the story of the Wizard, an astronomer who becomes "obsessed with the idea of flying" and enslaves a vast army to build a tower from which he can take off and fly. [5] : 70  Building the tower in harsh conditions ("In the heat and rain, with whips and chains; /just to see him fly, so many die"), the people hope for the day when their misery ends. In the end, the wizard climbs to the top of the tower but, instead of flying, falls and dies: "No sound as he falls instead of rising / Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand." According to Dio, the next song, "A Light in the Black", continues the story of the people, who have lost all purpose after the Wizard's death "until they see the light in the dark". [5]

"Stargazer" was the first song to be played by different bands at the UK's Monsters of Rock festival: by Rainbow in 1980 and – in abbreviated form – by Dio in 1983. [9]

Critical legacy

AllMusic [10] and MusicHound [11] describe the song as one of Rainbow's classics, AllMusic calling it a "bombastic, strings-enriched epic". [10] Vincent DeMasi, transcribing part of Blackmore's solo as an example of his taste for "classical drama" with a "Middle Eastern flavor", calls the song an "operatic blockbuster". [12] Jeff Perkins argues that the "incredible epic", one of the band's highlights, derives its strength from Blackmore's guitar playing, Dio's lyrics and vocals, and Powell's drumming. [5] : 23–24  Andy DiGelsomina, composer for the neo-operatic metal project Lyraka, argued for both Wagnerian and existentialist interpretations of the lyrics. A poll held by Gibson ranked the song the 17th greatest heavy metal song of all time. [13]

Alternate versions

"Stargazer (Rough Mix)", an early mix from the 2011 Deluxe Edition of Rising, starts with a keyboard intro played by Tony Carey and has a length of 9:08.

Personnel

Rainbow

Additional personnel

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References

  1. ↑ High Fidelity News and Record Review. Link House Publications. 2006. p. 162. UK hard-rock outfit Rainbow went all metaphysical with the world's first ever power-metal record, 'Stargazer'.
  2. ↑ Litten, Robert (26 August 2021). Famous DRUM FILLS, Licks & Solos!. www.DrumsTheWord.com. p. 372.
  3. ↑ The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power and Invention. Modern Drummer. 2010. p. 112. ISBN   9781476855899.
  4. ↑ Elflein, Dietmar (2010). Schwermetallanalysen: die musikalische Sprache des Heavy Metal. transcript Verlag. p. 129. ISBN   9783837615760.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Perkins, Jeff. Rainbow - Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books. ISBN   9781908538574.
  6. ↑ "Ready Steady Go!". Classic Rock (158): 7. June 2011.
  7. ↑ Maloof, Rich; Prown, Pete (2006). Shred!: The Ultimate Guide to Warp-speed Guitar. Backbeat Books. pp. 32–33. ISBN   9780879308773.
  8. ↑ Earl, Benjamin (2013). "Metal Goes 'Pop': The Explosion of Heavy Metal into the Mainstream". In Bayer, Gerd (ed.). Heavy Metal Music in Britain. Ashgate. p. 56. ISBN   9781409493853.
  9. ↑ from a fax sent by concert promoters MCP to Guinness Publishing on 18 April 1997, providing background information for the publisher's book Rockopedia
  10. 1 2 Woodstra, Chris; Bush, John; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2007). All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock. Backbeat Books. p. 171. ISBN   9780879309176.
  11. ↑ Graff, Gary (1996). MusicHound rock: the essential album guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN   9780787610371.
  12. ↑ Mike Molenda, ed. (2007). The Guitar Player Book: 40 Years of Interviews, Gear, and Lessons from the World's Most Celebrated Guitar Magazine. Backbeat Books. p. 163. ISBN   9780879307820.
  13. ↑ "Full Top 50 Metal Songs List". Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
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