Chris Rainbow - 1972-1980: The Very Best Of [CD]

Christopher James Harley, known by the stage name Chris Rainbow (18 November 1946 – 22 February 2015), was a Scottish pop rock singer and musician, whose songs “Give Me What I Cry For” and “Solid State Brain” were often played by British radio DJs Kenny Everett and Tony Blackburn in the 1970s.

In 1972 and 1973, Rainbow was involved in a band called Hopestreet, recording two singles, Iron Sky and Wait Until Tomorrow / Ladies (At The Bottom Of A Garden). Following this, he recorded first as Christopher Rainbow with the singles Give Me What I Cry For and Solid State Brain in 1974, then Mr. Man and Gimme Just A Little Beat Of Your Heart in 1975. He then went under the name Chris Rainbow and released three solo albums; Home of the Brave in 1975, Looking Over My Shoulder in 1977, and White Trails in 1979.

In 1979, Rainbow also began his long association with The Alan Parsons Project, recording on many of their albums from Eve through Alan Parsons’ 1999 solo album, The Time Machine. He also appeared on other Alan Parsons’s associated works, such as Panarama’s Can This Be Paradise in 1982 (with Ian Bairnson and German keyboard player Hermann Weindorf), and Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons’s Freudiana in 1990.

In the early 1980s, Rainbow joined Camel, appearing on the albums The Single Factor and Stationary Traveller, and performing with them on their 1984 tour, recordings of which were released as the album Pressure Points. Rainbow would do vocal work on Heart Of The Universe, a solo album by Ton Scherpenzeel (founder of Kayak) who was the keyboardist of Camel in 1984.

Track Listing:

1. Ring Ring (3:04)
2. Don’t Take The Night Away (4:08)
3. Be Like A Woman (3:58)
4. You & I (4:12)
5. Love You Eternally (3:27)
6. In Love With You (5:32)
7. Tarzana Reseda (3:02)
8. Song Of The Earth (3:31)
9. Body Music (6:10)
10. Dear Brian (6:09)
11. All Night (3:02)
12. Blue Bird (4:19)
13. Streetwise (3:36)
14. Give Me What I Cry For (3:25)
15. Iron Sky (2:51)
16. Wait Until Tomorrow (3:33)