The Great Rainbow Debate (Part 2): A Boost For Bonnet
It’s the triple-header everyone is talking about (well, almost): Ronnie vs. Graham vs. Joe.
Yesterday, Dave Ling stoutly stood up for Ronnie James Dio as the pre-eminent Rainbow vocalist.
Today, Malcolm Dome takes an 007 route in putting the case for Graham Bonnet.
Tomorrow (Saturday, October 10) Geoff Barton flies the flag for Joe Lynn Turner.
No disrespect, but Doogie White is currently lying fourth in a three-horse race.
Right, seconds out, round two…
The forgotten one. The man who was sandwiched between the eras of Ronnie James Dio and Joe Lynn Turner. Yes, it’s all too easy to dismiss Graham Bonnet as someone who kept the seat warm while Ritchie Blackmore moved Rainbow cunningly out of the 1970s, and into the more commercial zones of the next decade.
However, it’s for this very reason that Bonnet should be acclaimed, hailed and generally applauded. For me, he’s the George Lazenby of Rainbow. Think about it. Lazenby was the man called upon to take on the mantle of the irreplaceable Sean Connery, as James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. He lasted just the one film. His performance was decried and slaughtered almost universally. Lazenby was perceived as ill-equipped and inconsequential when compared to his predecessor. And OHMSS was consigned to the scrap heap as bilge. Eventually Roger Moore rescued the franchise, and for years hardly anyone talked about the man with the one movie Bond portfolio.
But time has made us all realise that Lazenby was actually quite good, and OHMSS is one of the best Bond movies. The same can be said of Bonnet and his one Rainbow album, Down To Earth (1979).
Yes, he wore horribly overcoloured Hawaiian shirts, and had a distinctly non-rock ‘n’ roll bouffant. But if we all agree that Dio’s time had run out with the Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll album, then Bonnet proved the perfect replacement. And it’s because he took on the impossible task that his part in the Rainbow saga deserves to be massively lauded right now.
Impossible task? Well, how do you take over from Ronnie James Dio, the man whose contribution to shaping heavy rock in the latter half of the 1970s was titanic? Nobody, except Geoff Barton, can surely argue with what he achieved over three studio records. Ronnie had become an all-time great, and would himself go on to take on the herculean task of replacing Ozzy in Black Sabbath.
So, when Blackmore turned to the comparatively unknown Graham Bonnet (admittedly, only after Ian Gillan had rejected overtures from his one-time Purple pal), eyebrows were raised to Roger Moore-esque heights. But the Man In Black knew what he was doing. It was time to revamp the Rainbow sound, to take the lyricism and the music away from the medieval preoccupations which had hitherto littered their records. Yet, also to retain some connection to the past.
The result? A quite brilliant album. Down To Earth was dynamic, forthright, full of astounding riffs, and featured Bonnet proving himself to be an inspired choice. Here was an English hard rock singer who could belt out the power, yet also had the smoothness to offer light and shade.
Eyes Of The World and Lost In Hollywood gave him the chance to let rip, while All Night Long and Since You Been Gone showcased a more melodic awareness.
Bonnet even got to front Rainbow at the inaugural Monsters Of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in 1980. But sadly, his tenure was short-lived. He was fired the night drummer Cozy Powell played his last gig with the band before quitting.
Of course, the reason Bonnet only did one album with Rainbow is, at least, partially his own fault. He had an alcohol problem, and his image just did not fit. But the job he did in taking Rainbow forward cannot be underestimated. Down To Earth was as successful as Rising in the UK, and got the band back on the right track in America. And the charting power of the singles All Night Long and Since You Been Gone gave Blackmore the springboard for what was to follow.
One can only wonder what might have happened had Bonnet stayed with Rainbow. His short time there had seen the man prove he had the weighty demeanour to be heavy, while also the tuneful application to appeal to a wider market. With due respect to both of them, neither Dio nor Turner could combine these extremes.
Nobody, except Geoff Barton (again), can question Ronnie Dio’s rightful status as a master vocalist, and his era with Rainbow probably remains the one most fans would love to see recreated should a reunion ever happen. And Joe Lynn Turner was a major factor in taking the band to bigger stuff in America. But don’t make the mistake of simply brushing aside Bonnet. Like George Lazenby, he deserves a lot more respect than that.
– Malcolm Dome
Here here! This is pretty much my take on the situation. Bonnet got a lot of stick for his clothes, hair and the dodgy whistling at Donington, but there was not much wrong with his voice or the one album he made with Rainbow (which isn’t as poppy as most people seem to think). Remember seeing Rainbow AT the Rainbow Theatre on the 1980 tour and it, and he, were spectacular. Thinking about the “Eyes of The World” opener is giving me chills right now. Shame that he had his personal demons, but the guy deserves some respect.
This line up will always be a bit special to me; I got into Rainbow in this era. And DTE remains a favourite to this day; can you really argue with the quality of All Night Long, Eyes Of The World, Since you Been Gone, Lost In HollyWood and the fabulous Love’s No Friend?
I have picked up a few boots over the years from the DTE tour, and Bonnet’s voice is top notch gritty crunching HARD ROCK….
Pip Pip
Mr M(o)(o)N
I think Ronnie was great, as were Joe and Doogie later but the Bonnet line up, like Mr Moon, was my entre to Rainbow and Down to Earth is still my favourite Rainbow album. I thought the singles really cut through the rubbish that was in the charts then and the image, particularly Bonnet, set them aside from the traditional jeans, leathers, t shirt and long lanky hair of other rock bands. This line up took them to the next level and set the template for bands such as Def Leppard and Bon Jovi who would break through years later with their cross over rock/pop music. Brillaint and should have been even bigger than they were.
No Doogie White??!!
What the f*ck is that all about? Has Doogie been shagging all the wives and girlfriends of the scribes at CR? cos you certainly seem to have a grudge with him.
Starnger In Us All is a great album and the band were rocking on those tours. Doogie sang the material of the three previous Rainbow singers to great acclaim and became a fans favourite. He coped with anything that Blackmore put his way.
As for Bonnet….oh puleeeze! He’s a shouter and has no vocal control. Next you’ll be saying that Candice Night is the next Ann Wilson or that Carole Stevens is Peter Grant reincarnated.
Graham Bonnet is a friend of mine on Facebook and one of the best most powerful rock voices ever. All the Rainbow line ups have strengths but i would say DTE is the most consistent Rainbow album.
have to say dte has had a big effect on me; it was one of only two cassetes i would listen to with my dad (all i would listen to) along with jeff waynes war of the worlds. this was the album incidently my dad got into rainbow with.
Eyes of the world is the one Dio era song Dio didn’t sing; to me it would have fitted nicely on any of his rainbow albums.
I agree that Doogie White should NOT be overlooked. He was and still is as great vocalist and the Stranger In Us All album is a mighty fine hard rock record. It’s no Rising or Long Live RnR, but it stands up well to Rainbow’s 80s output. Especially songs like Ariel and Black Masquerade are overlooked classics in my book.
Down to Earth is a great album, seriously underrated.
Stranger in us All was poor, and, i believe a last fling effort.
Had wondered if too much silverwing had finally done for the deaf one when I read his article. GB (Bonnet not Barton) is an outstanding vocalist – live and on record.
DTE sits in my top 10 albums, and if you liked it try Taz Taylor’s Welcome to America, where GB turns in another stellar performance.
There’s enough people who love taking shots at rock music without us (rockers) doing it ourselves.I like all the lineups of rainbow,they all had something to offer.The name may have stayed the same but the styles and sounds have something that appeal to everyone.Rockers of the world unite!!!!
[...] Yesterday, Malcolm Dome took an 007 route in putting the case for Graham Bonnet. [...]
After Ronnie James Dio, Graham Bonnet was always going to be the Andrew Ridgley of Rainbow.
Or to put it another way,
Graham Bonnet was A singer from Rainbow, while
Ronnie James Dio is THE singer from Rainbow
FACT!
For anyone that’s heard any of Graham Bonnets pre-Rainbow music, (especially the hits he had in Australia & New Zealand in ‘77/78), I would argue that Rainbow moved more towards Bonnett’s style rather than Bonnett trying to fit in with the sound that they had with Dio. When JLT joined tthe band, Rainbow had to make the shift again as Turner just doesn’t have the power that GB has.
Gotta agree with BAY, though. Each of the 3 singers turned out some great preformances, that the other 2 probably couldn’t have bettered
Bonnet doesen`t belong to the HR/HM genre of music, it`s common sense.
He cannot sing especially live, strained and struggles with shouting and screaming.
PowerKnight.
If you heard the commemorative Donington Monster’s of Rock 1980 live album and Graham Bonnet’s extending ‘All Night Long’. This cat has one powerful voice that would put many so called HM vocalists to shame – the only thing they have more is hair. I agree with many of the above comments, e.g. it may only have been OK for 1 album and I’d have ditched the Hawaiian shirts.
Irrespective of all of this I disagree totally with Geoff Barton’s evalaution of Ronnie Dio’s Rainbow work.
MD makes very good points here, and Bonnet really excelled on three lesser-known songs – Danger Zone, No Time to Lose (which could’ve been hit single #3), and Bad Girl (b-side). For my money, though, GB REALLY made his mark on the MSG Assault Attack album. Schenker coaxed him to write, and the results were spectacular. One listen to Samurai or AA itself should do the trick. Ironically, MSG fans laud AA as much as the classic first album. (No boozy AA jokes, please!)
Grahem bonnet omg should never have in Rainbow, if anyone has seen his version of stargazer live in glasgow would have to agree. he`s had he`s fifteen minutes now do us all a favour and retire.
How can Stargazer be explained on The Monsters Of Rock album featuring Stargazer live with Bonnet!!!
He didn`t just kill it, he strangled it, contrary to popular belief here was the acid test and it turned out to be a complete disaster.
Where are these unusual octaves we are told he has, there isn`t any. PowerKnight.
[...] Or was it Graham Bonnet? [...]
was not aware that blackmore approached gillan to join rainbow after dio had gone glad he didnt cuz bonnet does afine job on this classic album not as good as the dio era but still up there
I don’t know what it means to other people, but what song are most widely know from Rainbow. Since You’ve Been Gone and All night Long. Put it this way, if I went to a random person and played Rainbow songs, as well as the ones mentioned. Which are the most likely to be recognised???
Don’t get me wrong, my favourite is Rising, but I think you might agree that, it has the more recognised songs on it!!
‘ he cannot sing ‘??- powerknight. Are you serious mate ? have a listen to him pre rainbow…..i’ll rest my case there..and if anything…listen to ‘assault attack’ again…dont think rjd would be able to handle the vocals ?
Graham Bonnet was the last Rainbow singer. He was much like a higher pitched, belting version of Dio. Joe Lynn Turner and Doogie White never had the same aggression.
It stopped being Metal when Bonnet left. Eyes of the World. Danger Zone, and Lost in Hollywood are some of the best music Blackmore has ever been involved in.
I’m a bit biased, due to my association with Graham, but I have loved Down to Earth ever since receiving it for Christmas as a kid. I remember having gotten In Through the Our Door as well that Christmas, but I sold the Dead Zeppelin and just cranked away Down to Earth like crazy. I really love that album, everything went downhill for Rainbow after that.
The Doogie White era was great in concert, but the studio album they put out was way overdone. In fact, Rainbow for me should have packed it in after Down to Earth.
Eyes of the World, Danger Zone, Love’s No Friend, and Lost in Hollywood were the last real Rainbow songs.