Bent Out of Shape

Bent Out of Shape is the seventh studio album released by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It was originally released in August 1983 as an LP and cassette. The cassette featured several longer edits compared to the vinyl version. It was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in about 7 weeks.

Bent Out of Shape
Cover design by Storm Thorgerson
Studio album by
Rainbow
Released24 August 1983
RecordedSweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark, May - June 1983
GenreHard rock
Length40:25
LabelPolydor
Mercury (North America)
ProducerRoger Glover
Rainbow chronology
Straight Between the Eyes
(1982)		 Bent Out of Shape
(1983)		 Stranger in Us All
(1995)
Singles from Bent Out of Shape
  1. "Street of Dreams" / "Anybody There"
    Released: August 1983
  2. "Can't Let You Go" / "All Night Long (live)"
    Released: October 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[2]

History

Bent Out of Shape would be Rainbow's final studio album before their twelve-year hiatus from the studio. It also proved to be the band's final studio album with vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist David Rosenthal, and their only one to feature drummer Chuck Burgi, who replaced Bobby Rondinelli just prior to the album's recording sessions.

The instrumental "Snowman" is based upon Walking in the Air, a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film The Snowman based on Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book of the same name.

Release and legacy

The album's cover was designed by Hipgnosis, and alongside Led Zeppelin's Coda, the artwork was amongst the last to be created by the studio before disbanding in 1983.[3]

This album is generally referred to by critics and fans as a commercial effort,[4][5] with the band attempting to repeat the success of the song "Stone Cold" and the album Straight Between the Eyes. As a result, some of the songs, like the first single released from this album, "Street of Dreams", are usually considered to be more in the adult-oriented rock style, instead of the hard rock sound of earlier Rainbow albums.[4] The album was particularly aimed at the US market: the title is an American idiom rather than a British one. However, the album received positive reviews in the U.K. Howard Johnson of Kerrang! magazine (No.51 – Sept 22-Oct 5, 1983) praised the album as "possibly Rainbow's most complete work to date" and called "Desperate Heart" and "Street of Dreams" "two of this year's finest tunes".

In 1984, "Anybody There" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

A remastered CD reissue was released in May 1999, which restored the artwork of the original release. This has two tracks of a longer duration than on the first US CD issue.

The song "Street of Dreams" has been re-recorded in two versions by Blackmore's Night in 2006 for their fifth studio album, The Village Lanterne. The version featured on a regular album was sung by Candice Night. The other version, a bonus track on a special edition of the album, was performed in a duet by Night and Turner.

Promotion

The music video for "Can't Let You Go", directed by Dominic Orlando, was filmed in New York City (1984) and inspired by the 1920 silent b/w film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Along with "Street of Dreams", directed by Storm Thorgerson, it became a part of Rainbow's home video collection The Final Cut (1985). The music video for "Street of Dreams" was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnotic clip.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore and Joe Lynn Turner, except where indicated.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stranded" 4:25
2."Can't Let You Go"Blackmore, Turner, Intro - David Rosenthal4:19
3."Fool for the Night" 4:03
4."Fire Dance"Blackmore, Turner, Roger Glover, Rosenthal4:27
5."Anybody There" (instrumental)Blackmore2:37
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Desperate Heart" 4:00
7."Street of Dreams" 4:24
8."Drinking with the Devil" 3:41
9."Snowman" (instrumental)Howard Blake, arr. by Blackmore4:30
10."Make Your Move" 3:55

The LP has "Desperate Heart" at 4:00, whilst cassette and remastered CD have this track at 4:36, repeating the verse after the guitar solo. Similarly, "Make Your Move" is 3:56 on the LP, yet 5:25 on cassette and remastered CD, on account of a reprise of a bridge section and a much longer playout. The first US CD edition (Polydor - 815 305-2) uses the LP version.

Personnel
Rainbow
Production

Singles
  • 1983 - "Street of Dreams"/"Anybody There"
  • 1983 - "Street of Dreams"/"Anybody There"/"Power" (live) - 12" release
  • 1983 - "Can't Let You Go"/"All Night Long" (live)
  • 1983 - "Can't Let You Go"/"All Night Long" (live)/"Stranded" (live) - 12" release
  • 1983 - "Can't Let You Go"/"Drinking with the Devil" - Spain

Charts

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rainbow Bent Out of Shape review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  2. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  3. "Bent Out of Shape- album 1983". hipgnosiscovers.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  4. "Rainbow - Bent Out of Shape". RevelationZ.net. 8 November 2004. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  5. "Bent Out of Shape by Rainbow : Reviews and Ratings". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  6. "Blackmore's Night - Ritchie Blackmore Bio". Ritchieblackmore.com. 8 May 1998. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  7. "Rainbow – Bent Out of Shape (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  8. "Rainbow – Bent Out of Shape (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  9. "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  10. "Album – Rainbow, Bent Out of Shape". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  11. "Bent Out of Shape Billboard Albums". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  12. "Rainbow – Bent Out of Shape (album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  13. "RPM Weekly". RPM magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  14. "Bent Out of Shape Billboard Singles". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
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