I was a big RAINBOW fan in the late 70's and I was quite dis-
appointed when I heard RONNIE JAMES DIO had left. Looking back,
I really think DIO was at his best with RAINBOW and he also did
a great job on BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL and KERRY LIVGRIN'S
solo album SEEDS OF CHANGE. I was not very pleased, at first,
when I heard DOWN TO EARTH.Even tho' he has a very powerful voice, GRAHAM BONNET seemed to be an odd choice as a replacement
for DIO, tho his voice perfectly suited BLACKMORE's more rock-n-
roll, commercial music. I was also saddened by the lyrics, which
mainly dealt with making love and missing yer woman. The lyrics
were penned by bassist ROGER GLOVER, who had recorded the wonder-
ful concept album ELEMENTS( which I highly recommend) the year
before.
  In retrospect, getting rid of DIO and moving away from the
medieval lyrics was a smart move by BLACKMORE, as alot of metal
bands in the 80'S ( and DIO himself) would make these type of
lyrics seem cartoonish. The popularity of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS,
which I never got into but my brothers loved, also didn't help.
  As for the album itself, there are some catchy, likable songs
here and I now think DOWN TO EARTH is a very good, but not great
album. My favorite songs are EYES OF THE WORLD, which is the most
progressive song here, has the most dangerous lyrics and also
sports a wonderful synthesizer intro by DON AIREY, which is simi-
lar to DAVE STONE'S intro for GATES OF BABYLON and TONY CAREY's
synth intro for TAROT WOMAN; the RUSS BALLARD cover SINCE YOU'VE
BEEN GONE,which has some very typical sad guitar playing from
BLACKIE and LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, which has a very fast drum intro
from COZY POWELL and which, as a hand drummer, I've never been
able to do! LOST is also one of the album's most progressive
tunes here. Elsewhere, BONNET sings his powerful lungs out and
RAINBOW rock-n-roll their buns off and a good time is had by all.
 NOT BAD....
I was a big RAINBOW fan in the late 70's and I was quite dis-
appointed when I heard RONNIE JAMES DIO had left. Looking back,
I really think DIO was at his best with RAINBOW and he also did
a great job on BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL and KERRY LIVGRIN'S
solo album SEEDS OF CHANGE. I was not very pleased, at first,
when I heard DOWN TO EARTH. Even tho' he has a very powerful voice, GRAHAM BONNET seemed to be an odd choice as a replacement
for DIO, tho his voice perfectly suited BLACKMORE's more rock-n-
roll, commercial music. I was also saddened by the lyrics, which
mainly dealt with making love and missing yer woman. The lyrics
were penned by bassist ROGER GLOVER, who had recorded the wonder-
ful concept album ELEMENTS( which I highly recommend) the year
before. In retrospect, getting rid of DIO and moving away from the
medieval lyrics was a smart move by BLACKMORE, as alot of metal
bands in the 80'S ( and DIO himself) would make these type of
lyrics seem cartoonish. The popularity of DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS,
which I never got into but my brothers loved, also didn't help. As for the album itself, there are some catchy, likable songs
here and I now think DOWN TO EARTH is a very good, but not great
album. My favorite songs are EYES OF THE WORLD, which is the most
progressive song here, has the most dangerous lyrics and also
sports a wonderful synthesizer intro by DON AIREY, which is simi-
lar to DAVE STONE'S intro for GATES OF BABYLON and TONY CAREY's
synth intro for TAROT WOMAN; the RUSS BALLARD cover SINCE YOU'VE
BEEN GONE,which has some very typical sad guitar playing from
BLACKIE and LOST IN HOLLYWOOD, which has a very fast drum intro
from COZY POWELL and which, as a hand drummer, I've never been
able to do! LOST is also one of the album's most progressive
tunes here. Elsewhere, BONNET sings his powerful lungs out and
RAINBOW rock-n-roll their buns off and a good time is had by all. NOT BAD....