RAY FENWICK – Playing Through The Changes: The Anthology 1964-2020

The 1960’s spawned a generation of guitarists who paved their way to stardom through vast amount of session work. Arguably the most celebrated of these players are Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page, but for these genuine megastars, there were a legion of other six string heroes who worked every bit as hard – or harder – but never reached “household name” status. Unless you’re the kind of fan who devours sleeve notes and credits with as much enthusiasm as the music itself, names like Clem Clempson, Geoff Whitehorn and Jim Sullivan, for example, might not be too familiar, and yet, if you love 60s, 70s and 80s rock, chances are you own a record or two featuring those guys.

Ray Fenwick is another musician who has maintained a presence for several decades, but has never seemed to get his full due. Beginning as a session man in the 60s, he’s played with some of the greats. ‘Playing Through The Changes’ – a three disc anthology from 2021 – shows off a chunk of his legacy more than admirably, pulling tracks from a very busy career. What it may lack in consistency it makes up for with variety, and unlike so many rock-based anthologies devoted to a singular talent, it doesn’t rely on too many really obvious recordings you’ll own elsewhere – purely because the nature of Fenwick’s work means there aren’t any obvious compilation filling hits and standards. There are a lot of oddities – which aren’t all good, naturally – but, in the main, it’s an enjoyable musical adventure.

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RAINBOW – Down To Earth

RainbowWith the seventies drawing to a close and with three successful albums released under the Rainbow moniker, the ever-restless Ritchie Blackmore looked to make changes.  In a quest to push Rainbow towards a more commercial and radio-friendly direction a big shake up occurred, resulting in the departure of three of the band’s five members.  While Cozy Powell retained his position on drums, a quest for a new bassist saw the appointment of Blackmore’s old Deep Purple mate Roger Glover, while the role of keyboard player was filled by future Ten/Deep Purple member Don Airey.  Certainly the most devastating loss was that of Ronnie James Dio, who supposedly had no interest in Blackmore’s new vision for the band.  Since a talent like Dio’s comes along once in a lifetime, perhaps other musicians would have fought to reach a compromise; but in any band featuring Ritchie Blackmore, Blackmore’s decision is final.

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