The song Stargazer was released in the year 1976. It is considered by most heavy metal fans to be a pinnacle in the career of its creators, Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, and the definitive peak of their band, Rainbow. Whether its creators were conscious of it or not, the song's employment of involved literary techniques, existential philosophy, virtuosic musicianship, and intensely elaborated dramaticisms underscores its link to Richard Wagner's art.

Rainbow began in 1975 when Deep Purple founder, songwriter, and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore began writing baroque and renaissance influenced heavy metal with former Elf singer Ronnie James Dio. Blackmore had originally wanted Deep Purple to play heavier music with fantastical lyrics  (songs like "Burn" and "Stormbringer"), but Purple at the time were more interested in soul music and funk. Dio proved to be willing to cater to Blackmore's medieval fetish, and, after having released a representive single called "16th Century Greensleeves", Blackmore left his former band to form Rainbow.

Rainbow were in some ways were like a heavier Mark of Deep Purple. But where Purple had been concerned with exploring Jazz, Baroque, Classical, and Blues elements as well as Rock and Metal, Rainbow focused mostly on Metal and Baroque, with a new Renaissance flavor added. Ronnie James Dio extensively employed a neo-operatic vocal style to much of Rainbow's early material, combining it with the most intense of blues-derived gusts. As intimated earlier, Blackmore had been adding Baroque-influenced progressions in his leads for years ("Highway Star", "Burn"). But his work in Rainbow showcased that predilection more, resulting in a unique sound that was profoundly influential to what was later called the "neo-classical" guitar movement in the 1980's.

When forming Rainbow, the two had an unspoken agreement that they would only work with the absolute cream of the crop for other musicians. Their vision demanded subjugation from their paid musicians, resulting in ego rages and numerous line up changes.

Rainbow released their 2nd album, Rainbow Rising, in early 1976. The album is regarded in most circles as a heavy metal classic: musicians like Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Roger Glover, and Yngwie Malmsteen refer to the album as an influence.

Stargazer opened up the second side of Rising. It was the first of a two part story, the second being Light in the Black on the same side. As mentioned earlier, these songs employed the literary device of allegory, most especially the former. A definition of allegory is "The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form."

Stargazer tells the story of a wizard who convinced himself and the people around him that he could take them to the stars. The wizard himself is like a representation of the "cult of personality" phenomenon, i.e. the figurehead that utilizes cinematic and charismatic techniques to attract devotees. Whether by intention or not, this wizard ended up making slaves of his believers: they erect a "tower of stone" with their "flesh and bone".

One could see this story as being an allegorical statement concerning belief itself; the believer is "enchanted" by a person or idea, begins erecting monuments to reinforce his or her belief, uses repetitive and fanciful self-talk and inner mind imagery to help motivate actions, etc. The music of Stargazer is overall very repetitive, enhancing the rote effect...and the irony.

One of the more existential qualities of the Stargazer lyrics is the believers' repetition/chant "I believe, we believe". When the wizard climbs up to the top of the monument built for his take off, he falls off, leaving "blood on the sand". Even then, the believers have a hard time being convinced of the wizard's humanity; they still believe that he was taking him to the stars ("when did we leave?"). At this point, the believers are devastated by the fall of their hero, much like the state of a person(s) after seeing a delusion shattered.

As intimated earlier, the music of Stargazer takes part in the narration, framing the repetitive self-talk of the believer.The end of Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo (in the midsection) describes the fall of the wizard, and the song then proceeds into Ronnie James Dio's vocal narration of the event. This could be seen as very Wagnerian, as Wagner (particularly in the Ring cycle) utilised this technique quite often. The entire guitar solo and Dio narration-after-the-fact portion of the song is fecund with artistic ramifications, as well as potential for mind-movie imagery, but I'm going to leave the reader to ponder on these him or herself. I can't have all the fun.

The ending vamp is similarly brilliant, not only for the involved orchestral interplay and Dio's outstanding vocals (the best performance of his career), but for its documentation of the believers' spiritual journey back to belief. Again employed are repetitive and fanciful self-talk and inner mind imagery ("I see a rainbow rising"), making the listener wonder whether the the narrator was now (or always was) the "wizard": continually enchanting himself with belief-perpetuative devices, only seeing what he/they wanted to see, struggling to keep seeing even when proof is immutably to the contrary.

- Andy DiGelsomina © 2010 (All Rights Reserved)

In Loving Memory of Ronnie James Dio 1942-2010