There's no question that when Ritchie Blackmore replaced Graham Bonnett with Joe Lynn Turner that Ritchie was seeking the breakthrough success in the U.S. market that had been eluding him. While the earliest Dio-era Rainbow albums were definitely hard rock and the one Bonnett-sung disc showed more commercial tendencies, this first Turner disc shows definite radio-friendly touches (dare one call it "pop-rock"?)

With that said, one thing that has always impressed me about Blackmore is his ability to craft great parts for the songs he plays on. While Ritchie isn't normally thought of as a great rhythm guitarist, his rhythm parts usually fit very nicely. And his solos? Well, Ritchie is definitely one of the best soloists in rock. Even if he only gets 8 bars for a solo, he'll make a memorable statement.

While a lot of knocks are made against this record for its pop leanings, some people seem to forget the two instrumentals contained on DTC. First is "Vielleicht Das Nachter Zeit" which is a superb piece featuring some great slide playing (for which Ritchie doesn't get enough credit). The melodies so perfectly fit the mood of the piece, given the title. When I first started playing guitar, I thought that this piece really demonstrated what "speaking through a guitar" really meant. The second instrumental is a take on Beethoven's 9th symphony called, "Difficult to Cure". It's really a great instrumental and would be a long-time feature of Rainbow's live shows. In fact, a version recorded with the Tokyo symphony appears on "Finyl Vinyl".

In all, it's a poppier Rainbow but Ritchie still shines. There's a lesson there, I believe.