Difficult to Cure

Difficult to Cure is the fifth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, and it was released in 1981. It was the first album to feature Bobby Rondinelli on drums and Joe Lynn Turner on lead vocals after the departures of Cozy Powell and Graham Bonnet respectively, following the release of Down to Earth. The album marked the continuing commercialization of the band's sound, with Ritchie Blackmore once describing at the time his appreciation of the band Foreigner.[5] It became the band's highest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number three.

Difficult to Cure
Cover design by Hipgnosis
Studio album by
Rainbow
Released9 February 1981[1]
Studio
GenreHard rock
Length42:53
LabelPolydor
ProducerRoger Glover
Rainbow chronology
Down to Earth
(1979)		 Difficult to Cure
(1981)		 Jealous Lover
(1981)
Singles from Difficult to Cure
  1. "I Surrender"
    Released: 23 January 1981 (1981-01-23) [2]
  2. "Can't Happen Here"
    Released: June 1981
  3. "Magic"
    Released: 1981 (Japan)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[4]

Recording

Writing of the album's material was begun with singer Graham Bonnet still in the band, progressing as far as recording an early version of "I Surrender", before Bonnet left the band due to his dissatisfaction over the material, and numerous fallouts with Blackmore. American singer Joe Lynn Turner, formerly of Fandango was recruited and sang over already completed musical tracks. Turner stated that, because of this, he was singing in higher keys than he would do normally (and would do subsequently).[6]

Release

Allegedly, the album's cover (designed by Hipgnosis) had originally been proposed for use on Black Sabbath's 1978 release Never Say Die!.[7] "I Surrender" would be the band's highest charting single in the UK, reaching No. 3.[8]

The original 1981 LP and cassette releases had the title of the fifth track as "Vielleicht Das Nachster Zeit (Maybe Next Time)". This was a mis-translation from the German, which was corrected on later releases. However, the "corrected" version still is not perfectly grammatical, as the correct German for "Maybe Next Time" is "Vielleicht nächstes Mal".

The laughter at the end of the last track is a sample of Oliver Hardy. On the original LP, the laughter is an endless loop as it plays in the run-out groove, while on CD it loops a few times before fading out.

A remastered CD reissue was released in May 1999, with packaging duplicating the original vinyl release.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Surrender"Russ Ballard4:01
2."Spotlight Kid"Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover4:54
3."No Release"Blackmore, Glover, Don Airey5:33
4."Magic"Brian Moran4:07
5."Vielleicht Das Nächste Mal (Maybe Next Time)" (instrumental)Blackmore, Airey3:17
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Can't Happen Here"Blackmore, Glover4:57
7."Freedom Fighter"Blackmore, Glover, Joe Lynn Turner4:21
8."Midtown Tunnel Vision"Blackmore, Glover, Turner4:31
9."Difficult to Cure (Beethoven's Ninth)" (instrumental)Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. by Blackmore, Glover, Airey5:57

Personnel
Rainbow
Production
  • Flemming Rasmussen – engineer
  • Thomas Brekling, Clay Hutchinson – assistant engineers
  • Greg Calbi – mastering

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] Gold 25,000[19]
Japan (RIAJ)[20] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "News" (PDF). Record Mirror. 17 January 1981. p. 2. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. "News". Record Mirror: 2. 17 January 1981. Retrieved 14 December 2020 – via flickr.com.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Rainbow Difficult to Cure review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  4. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  5. Makowski, Pete (25 July 1981). "Hotter Than July". Sounds: 14, 15, 48. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  6. Bonutto, Dante (6 May 1982). "The Rainbow Story Pt. 2". Kerrang! (15): 22. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  7. "Ozzy – The Real Story: The Album Covers (Mojo 2005)". gilmourdesign.co.uk/. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  8. "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  13. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  17. "Rainbow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  18. "Down to Earth Billboard Singles". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  19. "Rainbow" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  20. "Rainbow presented with a gold disk in Tokyo, Japan for Difficult to Cure (3rd February 1981)". Facebook. 20 December 2020.
  21. "British album certifications – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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