Difficult to Cure

Difficult to Cure is Rainbow's fifth album, on which they advanced toward melodic hard rock with Joe Lynn Turner's voice and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar. For Turner, who joined in place of Graham Bonnet, it was his first full album. The band steered toward a clearer, more melodic direction that could also succeed commercially. Bobby Rondinelli sat on drums, while Roger Glover handled bass and production. Cozy Powell, long a linchpin, had left before this. Powerful songs like "I Surrender," "Can't Happen Here" and "Spotlight Kid" line up. "I Surrender," written by Russ Ballard, became a big hit in the UK. The title track "Difficult to Cure" is an instrumental that boldly incorporates Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Don Airey's keyboards also shine. An accomplished record showing a new side of Blackmore. "I Surrender" rose to No. 3 on the UK singles chart, becoming one of the band's biggest hits.