'Ritchie Blackmore's infamous axe again swung before this album and out went 'Graham Bonnet' and drummer 'Cozy Powell', the latter was replaced by 'Bob Rondinelli'. Respected journeyman 'Joe Lynn Turner' was chosen for the vocal roll and in my opinion was a decent replacement for 'Bonnet', as his bluesy vocals give the band a new facet. Regrettably he isn't used to his full potential on the majority of material, which in general is chart friendly rock and even more removed from the 'Dio' glory days.

'Difficult to Cure' opens with 'Rainbow's' most successful Uk single release (No. 3), a cover of 'Russ Ballard's' 'I Surrender' and while it's a decent rendition of which 'Joe Lynn Turner' shines, It's not the sort of song I like to think of 'Rainbow' covering, I mean could you imagine 'Ronnie James Dio' singing the chorus- I think not. Improvements are quickly made with 'Spotlight Kid' the heaviest rocker present, which thoroughly displays 'Blackmore's' marvellous guitar work and although a tad pretentious, a strong pulsating number which is further enhanced by 'Turner's' crisp melodic vocals. A more bluesy approach is felt on 'No Release', a nice departure for 'Rainbow' as it has an almost 'Whitesnake' feel, there's a few repetitive moments but still an enjoyable cut. Less favourable is 'Magic' a cover penned by 'Brian Morgan', and in all honesty a lifeless, trite chart friendly number that makes you reach for the fast forward button on the remote. Even less inspiring is '…(Maybe Next Time) a dull and boring instrumental and only a treat for insomniacs, is this really the best 'Blackmore' could have come up with? Thankfully improvements are made with the jazzy, pulsating rocker 'Can't Happen Here', a lively number, upheld by a refined rhythm, strong pre chorus instrumentation and sharp vocals. Unfortunately it's back to the chart friendly material again with the terminally average 'Freedom Fighter', while 'Midtown Tunnel Vision' again features a more bluesy feel, but still fails to impress despite some solid all round contributions. Last up is the instrumental title track and while the introduction is pretty lame, picks up throughout, but all said, still fails to live up to past glories.

Despite a fine display from 'Joe Lynn Turner', the material is sadly lacking and 'Difficult to Cure' surely ranks as one of 'Rainbow's' most disappointing releases. Thankfully the impressive 'Turner' was retained for the next release.