Album
Straight Between the Eyes
Straight Between the Eyes is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Rainbow, following Difficult to Cure in 1981 and coming before Bent Out of Shape in 1983. It sits in the middle of the band's early-eighties run, when their hard rock and heavy metal sound was being sharpened for a wider audience.
It was released in April 1982 on Polydor, with Mercury Records handling the American release on 14 April. A remastered CD reissue followed in May 1999, with packaging that copied the original vinyl sleeve, which is a nice touch for anyone who likes to hold the record as it first appeared. For listeners tracing Rainbow's story beyond the 1970s line-ups, this is a worthwhile stop.
Straight Between the Eyes: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 41:04Tracklist
- 1Death Alley DriverRitchie Blackmore and Joe Lynn Turner4:45
- 2Stone ColdBlackmore, Glover, Turner5:20
- 3Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser)Blackmore, Glover, Turner4:08
- 4Tite SqueezeBlackmore, Glover, Turner3:16
- 5Tearin’ Out My HeartBlackmore, Glover, Turner4:06
- 6PowerBlackmore, Glover, Turner4:27
- 7MISS MistreatedBlackmore, Rosenthal, Turner4:30
- 8Rock FeverRitchie Blackmore and Joe Lynn Turner3:53
- 9Eyes of FireBlackmore, Rondinelli, Turner6:38
- Produced by
- Roger Glover
- Recorded at
- Le Studio, Le Studio (Morin-Heights, Quebec)
- Recorded
- December 1981
- Mixed by
- Nick Blagona, Roger Glover
- Engineered by
- Nick Blagona
- Mastered by
- Greg Calbi
- Labels
- Polydor, Mercury (US)
- Length
- 41:04
Line-up
- Joe Lynn Turner · vocals, lead vocals
- Ritchie Blackmore · guitar
- Roger Glover · bass guitar
- Bob Rondinelli · drums (drum set)
- David Rosenthal · keyboard
Singles
- “Stone Cold” · 26 March 1982
- “Death Alley Driver” · 1982 (Japan)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1982 | 5 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1982 | 30 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1982 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1982 | 7 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1982 | 8 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1982 | 12 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1982 | 17 |
| Dutch Albums · 1982 | 19 |
| German Albums · 1982 | 21 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1982 | 86 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Finland | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1982 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
57.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
67k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.3k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Also released on 14 April
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More from Rainbow
Full discography →
Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
1975
Rising
1976
On Stage
1977
Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll
1978
Down to Earth
1979
Difficult to Cure
1981
The Best of Rainbow
1981
Bent Out of Shape
1983
Finyl Vinyl
1986
Live in Germany 1976
1990
Stranger in Us All
1995
The Very Best of Rainbow
1997
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow
2000
Rainbow Pot of Gold 2002
Pot of Gold
2002
Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology
2003
Deutschland Tournee 1976
2006
Live in Munich 1977
2006
Black Masquerade
2013
Rainbow vorwärts
2019
The best of 1982
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It’s Hard
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1982-04-14 vs 1982-06-10 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | April 1982 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 14 April 1982 | |
| Wikidata | 10 June 1982 | |
| US release | 1982 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | April 1982 | earliest UK or European date |
18 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Polydor | 731454736626 | other |
| — | XW | Polydor | 0602508689246 | other |
| — | JP | Polydor | 4988005249005 | other |
| — | US | Polydor | 042280002824 | other |
| 1982 | DE | Polydor | 042280002824 | other |
| 1982 | US | PolyGram | other | |
| 1982 | DE | Polydor | other | |
| 1982 | JP | Polydor | other | |
| April 1982 | GB | Polydor | original | |
| 1984 | — | Polydor | 3259180002824 | other |
| 1984 | XE | Polydor | 3259180002824 | other |
| 1 August 1988 | JP | Polydor | 4988005037886 | other |
| 1 May 1990 | JP | Polydor | 4988005063908 | other |
| 28 February 1994 | DE | Polydor | 731452170927 | other |
| 16 December 1998 | JP | Polydor | 4988005226587 | other |
| 1999 | XE | Polydor | 731454736626 | other |
| 24 September 2008 | JP | Polydor | 4988005525420 | other |
| 18 January 2012 | JP | Polydor | 4988005688958 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 500×500 | upscaled |