Stargazer Light In The Dark Blackmore's Rainbow

Stargazer Album: Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising) (1976)
A light in the Black Album: Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising) (1976)
by Blackmore's Rainbow

All animation from Uncle Walt. Fantasia is a 1940 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions, with story direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer and production supervision by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen.

Rainbow Band leader Ritchie Blackmore retained only singer Ronnie James Dio from the previous album line-up, and recruited drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboard player Tony Carey to complete the new roster. Recorded in Munich in less than a month, the album was overseen by rock producer and engineer Martin Birch. The band was originally billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in the US, but was titled simply Rainbow on this release. In 1996 Cozy Powell told Record Collector magazine that much of the album was recorded in one or two takes, with some subsequent overdubs, which explains why no alternate or demo versions exist, just the original or rough mixes.

The album showpiece, the eight-minute-and-26-second track "Stargazer", features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and originally had a keyboard intro as evidenced on the 2011 Deluxe Edition's "Rough Mix" version.

The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, containing a photo of the band inside, with a generic Polydor inner sleeve.
Stargazer and A light in the Black represent the complete side two.

The lyrics of Stargazer, taken literally, are about a wizard who enslaves countless numbers of people and makes them build a stone tower for him. The people hope for the day when their misery comes to an end, as they build the tower in harsh conditions ("In the heat and rain, with whips and chains") just so they can see him fly, which gives them hope. In the end, the wizard falls off the tower and dies ("no sound as he falls instead of rising. Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand."

The lyrics also have a covert meaning, which many people have interpreted as a warning not to believe in false idols or messiahs. It can also mean that one should not give up hope even in harsh circumstances.

According to the book Rainbow Rising by Roy Davies, Ritchie Blackmore wrote this song on a cello.

Running to 8 minutes, 12 seconds, "A Light In The Black" closes the 1976 Rising album. Originally called "Comin' Home" - the title of a Deep Purple song released the previous year - this blistering uptempo track has a definite Deep Purple Mark II feel to it with Tony Carey sounding much like Jon Lord and of course Ritchie Blackmore sounding like Ritchie Blackmore. This is Rainbow at their very best, the album receiving high accolades all round.

Rainbow
Ronnie James Dio – vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Tony Carey – keyboards
Jimmy Bain – bass
Cozy Powell – drums
Additional musicians
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra – strings, horn
Fritz Sonnleitner – concert master
Rainer Pietsch – conductor

Stargazer
Writer/s: RITCHIE BLACKMORE, RONNIE DIO