There’s no denying that Graham Bonnet was easily the sharpest looking singer Rainbow ever had.
To this day, he still looks like the ghost of a young Elvis and, judging by some of the pictures on this latest box set, rarely buttoned up a shirt in his life.
Solo Albums 1974–1982 charts Bonnet’s rise and fall from the early 70s up to (regardless of this collection’s title) 2015 for two tracks from the Graham Bonnet Band’s My Kingdom Come EP.
Like the curate’s egg, it’s good in parts, although that’s more down to Bonnet’s material reflecting the era he’s working in than to any of his performances: blues standards, rock’n’ roll, hard rock, the dizzying 12-inch long disco version of Warm Ride that goes on longer than Brexit.
There’s no denying the flashes of brilliance though: Night Game, 1987’s Tonite I Fly, the thundering Dead Man Walking, Bonnet riding high and hard, his vocals clear and strong.
