Rainbow Ends Explained

Rainbow Ends
Type:Studio
Artist:Emitt Rhodes
Cover:File:EmittRhodesRainbowEnds.jpg
Released:26 February 2016
Genre:Soft rock, pop rock
Label:Omnivore Recordings
Producer:Chris Price
Prev Title:Farewell to Paradise
Prev Year:1973

Rainbow Ends is the fifth and final studio album by Emitt Rhodes. It was released on 26 February 2016, some 43 years after his previous album, Farewell to Paradise.[1]

Background

Album produced by Chris Price.[2] It features contributions from Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., Jason Falkner, Nels Cline, Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Richard Thompson, Susanna Hoffs, Bleu and members of Brian Wilson’s band.[1]

The first single, "Dog on a Chain", featuring harmonies by Mann and a solo by Brion was premiered by The Wall Street Journal's blog Speakeasy in November 2015.[3]

Track listing

All songs composed by Emitt Rhodes except when otherwise indicated.

Release and reception

Rainbow Ends has received positive reviews. On the aggregate website Metacritic, the album has received a score of 81 out of a possible 100 with five reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4] Mark Deming of AllMusic says it is "a mature, introspective work from a man looking for answers to the questions of life and love, and it's a brave and genuinely impressive return to the spotlight from a major talent." Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter wrote that the songs on the album are "just a notch below Rhodes’ earlier work and may yet become as well-regarded as those songs."[5] In a 7 out of 10 review for Uncut, Rob Hughes writes that the album "Rainbow Ends is an intensely personal vision. Indeed, it feels more like a companion piece to his great ’70s work than it does a postscript ..... if it occasionally lapses into self-pity, there’s also a confessional aspect that feels unnervingly candid."[6]

Rainbow Ends debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 150 for the week of March 19, 2016. It also placed at number 27 on the Independent Albums chart and number 46 on the Top Internet Albums chart. It is Rhodes' first charting album since 1971's Mirror, as his following album, 1973's Farewell To Paradise, never charted.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Press Release: Emitt Rhodes Rainbow Ends . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311142439/http://omnivorerecordings.com/press-release-emitt-rhodes-rainbow-ends/ . March 11, 2016 . Omnivore Recordings . 12 November 2015 . February 16, 2021 . dead.
  2. Web site: Emitt Rhodes. Mojo4music.com. August 22, 2015.
  3. Web site: Emitt Rhodes Returns After Four Decades With 'Dog on a Chain' (Exclusive Song). Blogs.wsj.com. 2015-11-12. 2015-11-13.
  4. Web site: Rainbow Ends by Emitt Rhodes. 31 December 2021. Metacritic.com.
  5. Web site: Emitt Rhodes: Rainbow Ends. Americansongwriter.com. 31 December 2021.
  6. Web site: Emitt Rhodes – Rainbow Ends – Uncut . 2016-03-11 . 2016-03-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311125644/http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/emitt-rhodes-rainbow-ends . dead .
  7. Rainbow Ends | Billboard . . 2016-03-11 . 2016-05-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160503083615/http://www.billboard.com/album/6900217/rainbow-ends . dead .