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Posts tagged Ritchie Blackmore
Deep Purple – Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969) (@256)
05 Jul 2011
Request of OzOz.
(Review from allmusic, wikipedia)
Back in the early 70s, it seemed as though any British group that could was starting to utilize classical elements in their work — for some, like ELP, that meant quoting from the classics as often and loudly as possible, while for others, like Yes, it meant incorporating classical structures into their albums and songs.
In 1969, Deep Purple fell briefly into the camp of this offshoot of early progressive rock with the concerto Jon Lord composed: “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”.
It was performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on September 24th. The release was the first Deep Purple album to feature Ian Gillan on vocals and Roger Glover on bass.
For most fans, the album represented the nadir of the classic line-up of the band: minutes of orchestral meandering lead into some perfectly good hard rock jamming by the band. Ritchie Blackmore sounds great and plays his heart out, and you can tell this band is going to go somewhere, just by virtue of the energy that they put into these extended pieces.
The classical influences mostly seem drawn from movie music composers Dimitri Tiomkin and Franz Waxman (and Elmer Bernstein), with some nods to Rachmaninoff, Sibelius, and Mahler.
As a bonus, there are a pair of hard rock numbers by the group alone, “Wring That Neck” and “Child in Time” that were played at the same concert.
Line-up:
- Jon Lord / keyboards
- Ritchie Blackmore / guitar
- Ian Gillan / vocals
- Roger Glover / bass
- Ian Paice / drums
with
- Royal Philarmonic Orchestra
Track List:
01. Wring That Neck (Bonus) – 12:50
02. Child In Time (Bonus) – 12:27
03. First Movement: Moderato – Allegro – 19:05
04. Second Movement: Andante – 19:00
05. Third Movement: Vivace – Presto – 15:24
Link in comments.
Green Bullfrog – Green Bullfrog Sessions (1970) (@256)
10 Jun 2010
(Review from allmusic, wikipedia)
Carved firmly in the mold of the superstar jam sessions that fascinated the rock cognoscenti during the late ’60s/early ’70s, Green Bullfrog was an album resulting from a one-off studio project and recorded between February and May 1970. The album was the idea of producer Derek Lawrence who assembled a group of musicians with whom he had worked in the 1960s. For contractual reasons, the musicians were billed under pseudonyms.
A few originals (penned by Lawrence) were played, as well as many blues-inflected covers of rock songs. With Blackmore, Sullivan, and Lee involved, it is naturally a guitar-heavy event, and there’s certainly some searing playing to be found amid the good-time grooves and loose-limbed energies; the seven-minute title track is a particular tour de force.
Line-up:
- Rod Alexander (Vicar) / Guitar
- Tony Ashton (Bevy) / Keyboards
- Ritchie Blackmore (Boots) / Guitar
- Matthew Fisher (Sorry) / Keyboards
- Charles “Chas” Hodges (Sleepy) / Bass
- Earl Jordan (Jordan) / Vocals
- Albert Lee (Pinta) / Guitar
- Ian Paice (Speedy) / Drums
- Big Jim Sullivan (Boss) / Guitar
Track List:
01. Ain’t Nobody Home – 4:17
02. Bullfrog – 7:13
03. Walk A Mile In My Shoes – 3:47
04. My Baby Left Me – 3:18
05. Makin’ Time – 3:00
06. Lawdy Miss Clawdy – 3:18
07. I’m A Free Man – 4:37
08. Lovin’ You Is Good For Me Baby – 4:53
09. I Want You – 3:52
10. Louisiana Man – 4:10
11. Who Do You Love – 3:59
Link in comments.
Deep Purple – Nobody's Perfect (Live 1987-88) (@256)
11 Jul 2008
(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)
Deep Purple’s 80s live album was recorded on their “House of Blue Light” tour during 1987/88. Recorded live on 6th September 1987 in Verona Italy, 22nd August 1987 in Oslo Norway, 23rd May 1987 in Irvine Meadows, 30th May 1987 in Phoenix and 26th February 1988 at Hook End Manor in England.
“Nobody’s Perfect” features the classic line-up with all the energy and virtuosity, not to mention personality clashes, all back in full form.
The track list borrows heavily from the legendary “Made in Japan”. “Strange kind of woman” here is adapted to include a call and response duet between Gillan and Blackmore, which leads to a burst of “Superstar” from Rice/Lloyd-Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”. The performances of the other tracks are faithful, perhaps with hints that this line up has played them so often that they do not now require any real effort, “Lazy” being a little too close to the truth. For some reason, Blackmore’s guitar solo on “Child in time” lacks the impact of the original, sounding rather ordinary here.
The new songs are introduced by a spirited rendition of the title track from “Perfect strangers”. This wonderful Zeppelinesque song which transfers well to a live environment, concludes with a blink and you’ll miss it coda of “Gethsemene” from the aforementioned “Jesus Christ Superstar”. “Knocking At Your Back Door” had made the “Perfect Strangers” album such a pleasing return to form. The extended intro to the song here, includes some classical and ragtime piano.
It’s good to hear “Woman from Tokyo”, getting an airing, although it does end with a rather strange Buddy Holly interlude. The album concludes with a “live jam” in the studio of Joe South’s Hush, a cover of which appeared on Deep Purple’s first album. The rendition of the verses here sounds surprisingly like Aerosmith’s “Walk this way” until the familiar “Na na na” chorus cuts in.
Unfortunately the track transitions in this live album are marked by fades, much to the annoyance of many fans. Nevertheless this is an accurate live album reflecting the 80s Deep Purple. It may have its shortcomings in terms of both the tracks performed and sometimes in the performances themselves, but hey, “nobody’s perfect”.
Line-up:
- Ritchie Blackmore / Guitars
- Jon Lord / Keyboards
- Ian Paice / Drums
- Roger Glover / Bass
- Ian Gillan / Vocals, Congas, Harmonica
Track List:
01. Highway Star – 6:10
02. Strange Kind Of Woman – 7:35
03. Perfect Strangers – 6:25
04. Hard Lovin’ Woman – 5:04
05. Knocking At Your Back Door – 11:24
06. Child In Time – 10:36
07. Lazy – 5:15
08. Black Night – 6:07
09. Woman From Tokyo – 4:00
10. Smoke On The Water – 7:46
11. Hush – 3:32
Links in comments.
Deep Purple – Live in Japan (1972) (@256)
30 Oct 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
An unadulterated masterpiece, loud, proud and technically amazing, “Made in Japan” is the mother of all live albums. When it was recorded, Deep Purple were at their height of their musical form, stunning audiences into submission at every live performance. However, in their case it was no mere, dumb bludgeoning in the style of many later heavy metal bands, which thought sheer volume was the only answer. Each of the members of Deep Purple was a master of his instrument (even the underrated, but always reliable bassist Roger Glover), and Ian Gillan was the voice that launched a thousand screamers. Last but not least… they had the songwriting skills to back up their musical proficiency – something in which many modern-day bands are sadly lacking.
The songs are no simple renditions of the studio tracks, but rather an excuse for the band to flex their collective muscles and showcase their individual talents. Ritchie Blackmore plays like a demon, wringing all kind of weird noises and sublime sounds from his Fender Stratocaster. Jon Lord, the Hammond god, is his perfect foil, sometimes providing a solid background for Blackmore’s improvisations, sometimes pulling out all the stops and showing that he was more than a match for the Emersons and Wakemans of this world. Ian Paice’s drumming is metronomical in its precision, and his spot on “The Mule” is a good example of a drum solo that avoids being boring. Glover pounds his bass stoically in the background: no Chris Squire- style “lead bassist”, but a perfect partner for the impeccable Paice. Then we have Ian Gillan, handsome and wild, competing with Blackmore’s guitar for the highest note on “Strange Kind of Woman”, screaming his heart out on the legendary, dramatic “Child in Time”.
All of the tracks are extended, dilated, chock-full of improvisation and creativity. The closing “Space Truckin’” clocks in at almost 20 minutes, a lengthy jam session including pieces of other tracks, underpinned by Jon Lord’s trademark buzzsaw Hammond.
This boxed set includes the full 3 concerts played on that 3 consecutive nights in the Japan tour from which the tracks on “Made in Japan” were selected. Not only do you get the tracks which constituted “Made In Japan” but you get alternative (and equally brilliant) takes of those tracks from the other nights they performed on that tour with the addition of “Black Night” and “Speed King” which weren’t in the original selection set.
Line-up:
* Ian Gillan – vocals, harmonica, percussion
* Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
* Roger Glover – bass
* Jon Lord – organ, keyboards
* Ian Paice – drums, percussion
Track List:
CD1 (Osaka, 1972-08-15)
01. Highway Star (7:37)
02. Child In Time (11:51)
03. Mule (9:36)
04. Strange Kind Of Woman (8:50)
05. Lazy (10:26)
06. Space Truckin’ (21:35)
07. Black Night (6:25)
CD2 (Osaka, 1972-08-16)
01. Highway Star (7:08)
02. Smoke On The Water (7:25)
03. Child In Time (12:30)
04. Mule (10:21)
05. Strange Kind Of Woman (10:35)
06. Lazy (10:21)
07. Space Truckin’ (20:13)
CD3 (Tokyo, 1972-08-17)
01. Highway Star (7:15)
02. Smoke On The Water (7:06)
03. Child In Time (11:32)
04. Strange Kind Of Woman (11:26)
05. Lazy (11:16)
06. Space Truckin’ (19:19)
07. Speed King (7:55)
Links in comments.
Rainbow – Live in Munich (1977) (@Video)
01 Aug 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
This concert was recorded in Munich on October 20, 1977, at Rainbow’s 1977 European tour, a few months prior to the release of their third studio album, “Long Live Rock n’ Roll”. It was originally filmed to air on the German TV “Rockpalast” show.
This video captures the mindblowing spirit of Rainbow in those days: the powerful voice and enthousiastic performance by Ronnie James Dio (the ultimate hardrock singer), the great and varied guitarwork by the former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, the powerhouse rhythm-section and the exciting extra dimension to Rainbow their sound by David Stone on his wide range of vintage keyboards, the sensational huge illuminated rainbow on stage and the filming of the band and the members, very tasteful and captivating. We can watch a lot of exciting shots on Ritchie Blackmore playing on his Fender Stratocaster, often near his huge Marshall amplifier, sometimes with soft blue light, at other moments in a sea of coloured lights. The highlights on the video include: great vocals and a long and compelling solo with subtle use of the tremolo-arm in the bluesy “Mistreated”, fragile Bach-inspired guitarplay during the intro of “Sixteenth Century Greenslaves”, a bluesy guitar solo in the final part of “Man On The Silver Mountain” (close to the early Deep Purple sound), a sensational drumsolo by Cozy Powell, in the closing section accompanied by bombastic classical orchestrations in “Still I’m Sad” and a biting guitarsolo in the final concert track “Do You Close Your Eyes”. But one gets really carried away by keyboard player David Stone’s performance during Still I’m Sad: the intro delivers stunning work on Hammond (church organ sound) and Mellotron (majestic choir-section), halfway this composition he got a solo spot in which he plays sensational pitchbend-driven flights on two Minimoogs, it sounds like ‘Seventies’ Rick Wakeman meets ‘Pulstar’ Vangelis, goose bumps!
This video is close to the heavy magic of 70s Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, what a power and skills, a 70s rock document!
Video : Xvid, 704×480, 29.97 fps
Audio : AC3, Stereo, 48000 Hz, 256.0 kbit/s
Total Runtime : 113 min
Line-up:
* Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
* Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
* Cozy Powell – Drums
* Bob Daisley – Bass
* David Stone – Keyboards
Track List:
01. Intro – 1:44
02. Kill the King – 4:42
03. Mistreated – 11:49
04. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves – 8:52
05. Catch the Rainbow – 18:44
06. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll – 8:01
07. Man on the Silver Mountain – 16:25
08. Still I’m Sad – 27:33
09. Do You Close Your Eyes? – 15:40
Links in comments.
Rainbow – Stranger In Us All (1995) (@256)
01 Aug 2007
(Review from wikipedia)
Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1993 and formed a new Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. The band released Stranger in Us All in 1995 and embarked on a lengthy world tour.
With a style comfortably sitting somewhere between the dungeons and dragons approach of the Ronnie James Dio era and the radio friendly commerciality of the Joe Lynn Turner era; Stranger In Us All had a sound dissimilar to any Rainbow of old. The superb vocal flexibility of Doogie White proved once again Blackmore’s knack of finding relatively unknown talent and giving them a vehicle to further success.
However, fed up with stadium rock, Blackmore turned his attention to Renaissance and medieval music, a lifelong interest of his. Rainbow was put on hold once again and played its final concert in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1997. Blackmore, together with his partner Candice Night as vocalist, then formed the renaissance-influenced Blackmore’s Night who are still recording albums, and performing small intimate tours, completely in contrast to Rainbow’s mammoth stadium shows.
In late 1997, Cozy Powell approached Ritchie Blackmore to see if he would be interested in reforming the Rising line-up of Rainbow. Due to everyone’s prior commitments, this proposed re-union was not meant to last more than one tour, both Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore had almost given the project the green light. However Cozy Powell’s death in April 1998, also brought about the demise of the long awaited re-union. In the decade since, many other rumours have been announced from various sources, of a future Dio/Blackmore Rainbow project, but both men have always been quick in dispelling these rumours as having no basis in fact.
Line-up:
* Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
* Doogie White – Vocals
* John O’Reilly – Drums
* Greg Smith – Bass
* Paul Morris – Keyboards
Track List:
01. Wolf to the Moon – 4:16
02. Cold Hearted Woman – 4:31
03. Hunting Humans (Insatiable) – 5:45
04. Stand and Fight – 5:22
05. Ariel – 5:39
06. Too Late for Tears – 4:50
07. Black Masquerade – 5:35
08. Silence – 4:04
09. Hall of the Mountain King – 5:34
10. Still I’m Sad – 5:22
Link in comments.
Rainbow – Finyl Vinyl (1978-84) (@256)
30 Jul 2007
(Review from wikipedia, amazon)
By April 1984, Blackmore and Glover had reformed the Deep Purple “Mark II” line-up and Rainbow was disbanded. A final Rainbow album, Finyl Vinyl, was pieced together from live tracks and B-sides of singles. The album contained the instrumental Weiss Heim, widely available for the first time.
Primarily culled from the Joe Lynn Turner era but also featuring selections with Ronnie James Dio and Graham Bonnet, Finyl Vinyl offers a haphazard alternate history designed for hardcore fans. For those fans, the album is actually quite a treat. Rainbow always sounded better on stage than they did on the studio — rawer, harder, alive — and songs that sounded half-baked in the studio, such as selections from Difficult to Cure, sound right here. That’s not to say that it’s a perfect album — the outtakes are interesting, but not particularly remarkable, the sequencing doesn’t make sense. But it rocks harder and more convincingly than many latter-day Rainbow releases. For the devoted, it’s a welcome addition to the band’s canon and it’s a nice way to close a career.
Line-up:
* Vocals: Joe Lynn Turner (1-5,9,10) , Graham Bonnet (6,7), Ronnie James Dio (11,12)
* Guitar: Ritchie Blackmore
* Bass: Roger Glover (all except 11,12), Bob Daisley (11,12)
* Drums: Chuck Burgi (1,2,3,8), Bobby Rondinelli (4,5,9,10), Cozy Powell (6,7,11,12,13)
* Keyboards: David Rosenthal (1,2,3,8,9,10), Don Airey (4,5,6,7,13), David Stone (11,12)
Track List:
01. Spotlight Kid (Live Tokyo 1984)
02. I Surrender (Live Tokyo 1984)
03. Miss Mistreated (Live Tokyo 1984)
04. Jealous Lover (1981/B-side of Can’t Happen Here Single)
05. Can’t Happen Here (Live Boston 1981)
06. Since You’ve Been Gone (Live Monsters Of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England 1980)
07. Bad Girl (Outtake/B-side of Since You’ve Been Gone Single)
08. Difficult to Cure (Live Tokyo 1984)
09. Stone Cold (Live San Antonio 1982)
10. Power (Live San Antonio 1982)
11. Man on the Silver Mountain (Live Atlanta 1978)
12. Long Live Rock’n'Roll (Live Atlanta 1978)
13. Weiss Heim (Outtake/B-side of All Night Long Single)
Links in comments.
Rainbow – Bent Out of Shape (1983) (@256)
29 Jul 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
With Joe Lynn Turner on board, Rainbow tried one crossover record and one no-frills hard rock record — which meant that Bent out of Shape, their third album with Turner, provided a fine opportunity to get a little arty. Not that the band has turned into Genesis or even returned to the mystical pretensions of its early work; they have merely broadened their horizons. Ironically, that means that they’ve retreated, at least partially, to the radio-ready sound of Difficult to Cure, but this time, they aren’t just trying for a crossover hit. As producer, Roger Glover has widened their sonic horizon without losing sonic muscle, making sure that the album is, at its core, hard rock. His production works, since the record hits pretty hard even when it gets a little fruity, which it does quite often — the stately, silly church organs that “Can’t Let You Go”, the fugue-like cadences of “Fire Dance”, the mock-classical instrumental “Anybody There”. Those instrumental flourishes highlight Bent out of Shape’s true strength, which is its sonics — the record sounds good and the music flows well.
However, beneath that surface, there’s not much there — the songs don’t have strong hooks, or are memorable in and of themselves. It sounds good and has some prime Ritchie Blackmore performances, plus it rocks pretty hard — all essential ingredients for a good Rainbow record, even if this time it adds up to a record that’s merely solid, not remarkable.
Line-up:
* Joe Lynn Turner – vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
* David Rosenthal – keyboard
* Roger Glover – bass
* Chuck Burgi – drums
Track List:
01. Stranded – 4:29
02. Can’t Let You Go – 4:24
03. Fool for the Night – 4:04
04. Fire Dance – 4:30
05. Anybody There – 2:44
06. Desperate Heart – 4:37
07. Street Of Dreams – 4:28
08. Drinking With The Devil – 3:44
09. Snowman – 4:33
10. Make Your Move – 5:25
Link in comments.
Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes (1982) (@256)
29 Jul 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
By 1982, Rainbow had abandoned any pretences of making challenging music, and opted for a straight (between the eyes?) forward heavy rock approach. The line up showed relative stability from the previous album, the only change being David Rosenthal’s installation on keyboards in place of Don Airey.
Most if not all of the tracks here are simply vehicles for Joe Lynn Turner’s fine vocals, and Blackmore’s irresistible guitar work. The opening “Death alley driver” for example is an extremely ordinary rock song, brought to life by some superb guitar. “Bring on the night” is similarly prosaic in composition, but has some good old fashioned phasing.
There are a couple of notable deviations from the guitar rock which dominates the album. “Stone cold” is a fine organ based rock ballad which affords Turner the opportunity to display his vocal dexterity. The songs has the distinct sound of “Perfect strangers” era Deep Purple, not surprising given that 40% of that line up are here. “Tearing out my heart” has a similar style, very much in the mould of some of Magnum’s power rock. The final track, “Eyes of fire” sees the band finally reverting to the style and sound of “Stargazer” and “Eyes of the world”. This 6½ minute piece has a distinct eastern feel, and a hint of “Kashmir” perhaps. While Blackmore’s guitar work is been reasonably strong throughout the album, he finds an extra gear here.
Line-up:
- Joe Lynn Turner / vocals
- Ritchie Blackmore / guitar
- Bobby Rondinelli / drums
- David Rosenthal / keyboard
- Roger Glover / bass
Track List:
01. Death Alley Driver (4:45)
02. Stone Cold (5:19)
03. Bring on the Night (Dream Chaser) (4:08)
04. Tite Squeeze (3:16)
05. Tearin’ Out My Heart (4:06)
06. Power (4:27)
07. Miss Mistreated (4:30)
08. Rock Fever (3:52)
09. Eyes of Fire (6:36)
Link in comments.
Rainbow – Down to Earth (1979) (@256)
27 Jul 2007
(Review from wikipedia, amazon, allmusic.com)
Blackmore attempted to replace Dio with Ian Gillan, but Gillan turned him down, so after a series of auditions ex-Marbles vocalist Graham Bonnet was recruited instead. Cozy Powell stayed but Daisley and Stone were both fired, replaced by keyboardist Don Airey and bassist Roger Glover. It is somewhat ironic as Blackmore had instigated the sacking of Glover from Deep Purple in 1973.
The departure of Ronnie James Dio gave Ritchie Blackmore a chance to reinvent Rainbow, which he does to a certain extent on “Down to Earth”. Blackmore tones down some of the excess of the Dio years, particularly in terms of fantastical lyrics, and turns to straight-ahead hard rock, only occasionally adorned by prominent synthesizers.
Rainbow has a distinct idea, primarily through the guitar artistry and mystical sensibility of Ritchie Blackmore. He sounds invigorated on the album, turning in muscular performances and strong solos on each cut; clearly, the reunion has revitalized him.
The album is kicked off by the awesome opening rocker, “All Night Long”. The stylings in this track are strongly reminiscent of seventies Kiss. Bonnet even sounds like he’s mimicking Paul Stanley in places. “Eyes Of The World”, is one that rightfully gets a lot of praise. A keyboard/organ solo kicks off the track, and backs the rest of the hard-rocking song. The song is similar to Gates Of Babylon from the band’s album that came immediately before this one. Next up “No Time To Lose”. Of all the tracks on this album, this is probably the one that sounds the most like David Coverdale-era Deep Purple. The fourth song the album serves up is the classic “Makin’ Love”. On this song, the band slows down the pace of the music dramatically, but still rocks hard. Track five is the big hit on the album, “Since You’ve Been Gone”. Interestingly, this isn’t a Rainbow original, but rather a cover of a Russ Ballard song. Next comes “Love’s No Friend”. This is more straight-up classic hard rock, this one featuring an awesome backing organ pattern paired up with Blackmore’s guitar mastery. We get more straight-up hard rock in the next track, the Ufo-esque Danger Zone. Back when Blackmore rocked hard, he rocked with the best of them, and perhaps no track epitomizes that the way this one does. And closing things out is “Lost In Hollywood”. The fast-paced guitar riffs and fast vocals from Bonnet make this an excellent rocker. In the middle of the track, we even get some keyboard usage not unlike that of Electric Light Orchestra! The closing track on an album should be one that will leave a lasting impression on the listener, and this one does just that.
After this album; Cozy Powell quit, disliking Blackmore’s increasingly pop metal direction. Bonnet subsequently became disgruntled at the domination of Blackmore and Glover and also left to go solo. Once again strapped for a vocalist, Blackmore found his man in American singer Joe Lynn Turner, who along with new drummer Bobby Rondinelli signaled a true career rebirth for Rainbow.
Line-up:
* Graham Bonnet – vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
* Don Airey – keyboard
* Roger Glover – bass
* Cozy Powell – drums
Track List:
01. All Night Long – 3:53
02. Eyes of the World – 6:42
03. No Time to Lose – 3:45
04. Makin’ Love – 4:38
05. Since You Been Gone – 3:25
06. Love’s No Friend – 4:55
07. Danger Zone – 4:31
08. Lost in Hollywood – 4:51
Link in comments.
Rainbow – Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) (@256)
27 Jul 2007
(Review from amazon, wikipedia)
The line-up for Rainbow was never a stable one, with Ritchie Blackmore being the one constant. After firing Bain and Carey, Blackmore had difficulty finding replacements he liked. Blackmore originally chose Mark Clarke from the band Tempest, but once in the studio Blackmore disliked his playing so much that he fired Clarke on the spot and played bass himself on all but three songs on this album. For these tracks he finally settled on Australian Bob Daisley (of later Ozzy fame).
The title track is a fan favourite and one of the strongest tunes from this era–a heavy rock tune written for arenas. As for Lady Of The Lake – here the band goes for an ultra-melodic rock assault on the senses, which speaks of the devil being personified as a woman. L.A. Connection is more of a straight-up kind of rock and roll song, featuring the piano tinglings of keyboardist David Stone. “Gates of Babylon” is a mammoth track featuring the Bavarian String Ensemble,as synthesizer and strings combine for a symphonic big-rocksound.
The second side kicks off with “Kill The King”, which was already a staple part of the tour setlists, opening Rainbow concerts since mid-1976. It first appeared on the live album On Stage in 1977, this was the first time it was done in the studio. Blackmore opens the thunderous “The Shed (Subtle)” with a fluid, effects-laden bluesy solo. With this track the band gives us a mid-fast hard rocker with a slightly more “raw” sound than the other tracks featured here. “Sensitive To Light” is one of the most interesting tracks on the album because, while it is obviously a straight-up power rocker, Dio’s vocal style hints back at the work he did in Elf, this fusion of styles only makes this track better. The album closes with “Rainbow Eyes” — a seven-minute epic that features a string quartet, flute, and Dio’s euphonic balladry.
After the release and extensive world tour in 1977–78, Blackmore decided that he wanted to take the band in a new commercial direction away from the “sword and sorcery” theme. Dio did not agree with this change and left Rainbow. He would go to replace Ozzy Osbourne as the lead singer in Black Sabbath. Dio would later form his own self-titled band.
Line-up:
* Ronnie James Dio – vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – guitar/bass
* David Stone – keyboard
* Bob Daisley – bass
* Cozy Powell – drums
Track List:
01. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll – 4:21
02. Lady of the Lake – 3:39
03. L.A. Connection – 5:02
04. Gates of Babylon – 6:49
05. Kill the King – 4:29
06. The Shed (Subtle) – 4:47
07. Sensitive to Light – 3:07
08. Rainbow Eyes – 7:11
Link in comments.
Rainbow – Live in Germany (1976) (@256)
26 Jul 2007
(Review from seaoftranquility.org, amazon)
For most die-hard Rainbow fans, “On Stage” is the definitive live Rainbow album. “Live in Germany” album is a great companion piece to the “On Stage” record recorded from the same tour, although that recording was taken mostly from shows in Japan.
The set lists from the two albums are fairly similar, but this one is more complete, and contains lengthier jams. Many thought the omission of the legendary “Stargazer” from the On Stage album to be sheer blasphemy, but thankfully this set has it, as well as “Do You Close Your Eyes”. The rest of the set list is the same. Here, songs like “Mistreated”, “Catch the Rainbow”, and “Man on a Silver Mountain” take on even more epic proportions (take one look at the bloated song lengths below!) , with lengthy guitar jams from Blackmore, lots of keyboard noodling from Carey, as well as pyrotechnic drum explorations from Powell. Dio of course, was the man back then as well no matter how you look at it.
So, if you want to hear a band just discovering the peak of their powers, definitely check this set out, even if you already have Rainbow’s On Stage. The only downside is that this live album isn’t as well produced as “On Stage”. Sadly, this line-up would change after this tour, with both Carey and Bain getting the boot from the band.
Line-up:
* Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
* Tony Carey – Keyboards
* Jimmy Bain – Bass
* Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
* Cozy Powell – Drums
Track List:
CD1
01. Kill the King – 5:25
02. Mistreated – 16:00
03. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves – 7:50
04. Catch the Rainbow – 14:50
CD2
01. Man on the Silver Mountain – 13:37
02. Stargazer – 17:10
03. Still I’m Sad – 15:00
04. Do You Close Your Eyes – 9:45
Links in comments.
Rainbow – On Stage (1976) (@256)
25 Jul 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
This is how a live album, indeed a live performance should be. It was perhaps a fortunate quirk of fate that with an at the time very limited repertoire to chose from, Blackmore and his new colleagues decided to significantly elongate the tracks they selected for live rendition.
Most of the material here is taken from the first album when the band was called Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. Once the marketing people had ensured their public was aware of the legendary guitarist’s prime place in the band, the name was quickly abbreviated.
The highlight of the set is the 15+ minute version of “Catch the Rainbow”, which affords Blackmore space to extend his input to the track significantly. To his credit, he does not attempt to add blistering licks, but maintains the integrity of this beautifully melodic piece. Ronnie James Dio takes to opportunity to encourage some crowd participation, but even this is done tastefully.
Blackmore also lays claim to the Coverdale/Hughes era Deep Purple song “Mistreated” from the “Burn” album. Once again, the song is significantly extended to 13 minutes. The piece suits Dio’s vocal style well, while Blackmore develops what was in any case one of his finest solos while a member of DP.
Both “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves” and the cover of Jeff Beck and the Yardbirds’ “Still I’m sad” are considerably longer than their studio counterparts. The latter also regains the vocal refrain omitted from the first Rainbow album.
There have been further live offerings from Rainbow since this early release, and while they are of a consistently high standard, none has managed to recapture the power and excitement of “On Stage”.
Line-up:
* Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
* Tony Carey – Keyboards
* Jimmy Bain – Bass
* Cozy Powell – Drums
Track List:
01. Kill the King – 5:32
02. Medley: Man On The Silver Mountain/Blues/Starstruck – 11:12
03. Catch The Rainbow – 15:35
04. Mistreated – 13:03
05. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves – 7:36
06. Still I’m Sad – 11:01
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Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) (@256)
24 Jul 2007
(Review from wikipedia, amazon)
In 1974 Blackmore became infuriated at the funk/soul elements being introduced to Deep Purple by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes as well as with the rejection from his bandmates of his suggestion to record a cover for inclusion in Stormbringer, and originally intended to record “Black Sheep of the Family”, a song written and recorded by the band Quatermass, as a solo single to express his ideas that were being suppressed in Deep Purple.
During recent US tours, Deep Purple’s support band had been Elf and Blackmore had been impressed by Elf’s singer, one Ronnie James Dio. Blackmore and Dio found they had such a creative rapport that a full album’s worth of music was soon composed and they recorded it with Elf as a session band. Emboldened by the experience, Blackmore decided to leave Deep Purple and form his own band around Elf, effectively taking it over minus their guitarist and renaming it Rainbow. The name of the band was inspired by the Hollywood Bar and Grill called the Rainbow which catered to rock stars, groupies and rock enthusiasts.
Rainbow’s music was different from Deep Purple’s. The music was more directly inspired by classical music and Dio wrote lyrics about medieval themes. Dio possessed a versatile vocal range capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads. Although Dio never played a musical instrument on any Rainbow album, he is credited with writing and arranging the music with Blackmore in addition to writing all the lyrics himself.
While a classic rock power album, their debut’s much more bluesy than their later material. This is because this is essentialy “an Elf album with Blackmore”.
The opener, Man On The Silver Mountain, is a solid classic hard rocker that would go on to become one of the band’s biggest hits, as well as a fan favorite. “If You Don’t Like Rock ‘N’ Roll” is the most bluesy track on the album. Another one of the excellent bluesy tunes here is “Black Sheep Of The Family”. And, of course, who could forget the gloomy yet melodic stylings of songs like “Self Portrait” and “Catch The Rainbow”? These are underrated classic rock masterpieces. “The Temple Of The King” and “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves” hint at a medieval sound, something that fascinated Blackmore. A short but sweet instrumental Yardbirds cover, “Still I’m Sad” finishes off the album.
Line-up:
- Ronnie James Dio – vocals
- Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
- Micky Lee Soule – keyboard
- Craig Gruber – bass
- Gary Driscoll – drums
Track List:
01. Man on the Silver Mountain – 4:42
02. Self Portrait – 3:17
03. Black Sheep of the Family (Steve Hammond) – 3:22
04. Catch the Rainbow – 6:27
05. Snake Charmer – 4:33
06. The Temple of the King – 4:45
07. If You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll – 2:38
08. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves – 3:31
09. Still I’m Sad – 3:51
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Deep Purple – Book of Taliesyn (1968) (@256)
27 Apr 2007
(Review from progarchives.com)
It was 1968, Deep Purple was far from the success they would achieve in the early seventies. Deep Purple´s first line included Rod Evans and Nick Simper, who would participate in the great Captain Beyond and Warhorse, respectively. The band was trying to pursue a career as a psychedelic/progressive rock band. Led by the classical arrangements made by Jon Lord and Blackmore’s psychedelic guitar, besides the Evans’ lyrics, they made one of the finest progressive rock works from the late sixties, being “Book of Taliesyn” their masterpiece.
The first song is Listen, Learn, Read On, with great guitar and organ riff, along with good drumming by Paice and some spoken lyrics by Evans and a commom psychedelic chorus. There is a cosmic organ interlude and then a great distorted guitar solo. The song is very psychedelic. Some chorus in the vocals and distorted guitar noises.
The second song is Wring That Neck, which has a great organ arrangement, along with good percussion, and bass. There are different organ solos and then an extense and good slow guitar solo. Then alternates guitar and organ solos until the end of this great instrumental.
Next song is a good rocker version to Kentucky Woman, with a very psychedelic feel. Good guitar, organ riff and bass riff, along with a tambourine and good drums, mainly the combination of organ and drums in the chorus. Then a sequence of psychedelic solos, first of the guitar, then of the organ, which is the highlight of the song, a frenetic organ solo with percussion. Then the verse and chorus and some short solos in the end.
The next song is a medley: First part is Exposition, with pompous organ, drum, guitar and bass arrangement. The song is an instrumental with some classical structure. A sequence of variations over a theme, mainly in the organ. The drum orchestra-percussion-like is only impaired by B. J. Thomas from Procol Harum. The second part is a great psychedelic version to the Beatles´ We can Work it Out. This version is very good, with good guitar solo and bass riff in the main verses and a very inspired interpretation in the part “Life is very short” with organ and good singing. There is a short organ solo.
The second side of the original album is much more progressive, while the first one was more psychedelic. The psychedelic influences are evident in this side as the progressive ones are in the first side, but it is almost like a division (not on purpose).
The Shield is has a dark mood, with a great piano and bass riff, and the highlight of the song is the percussive work, including a good percussive solo after a guitar solo, that returns in the middle of the percussive solo. After some soloes, returns the main verse and chorus, and the percussive solo at the end, along with guitar and then another percussive solo with bass.
The next song is the most progressive, Anthem, which is my favourite Deep Purple´s song. The organ intro is very beautiful, along with the acoustic guitar riff and bass riff. Rod Evans singing is very beautiful. The lyrics are sad. In the bridge and chorus there are great drumming and organ chords. Then in the second verse there is a great string arrangement along with the other instruments, which is as beautiful as Beatles orchestral arrangements. After the second chorus, there is an exceptional instrumental interlude, that starts with a very beautiful organ solo, then followed by a single violin solo, then joined by others, progressively. Then the organ starts again with the strings, which accompains the guitar solo. Then returns the song with a great riff and doubled slow guitar solo connecting to the bridge and chorus again, along with the strings. In the end there is a great organ outro like the organ intro until the end.
The last song is Deep Purple´s 10-minute-version to River Deep, Mountain High. The intro is the fantastic to every symphonic progressive rock fan, with beautiful organ and orchestral-like percussion. Then a good bass and organ riff that starts slow and increases the speed, along with the drums and end with a distorted guitar solo that turns to a eastern-like solo with the bass and then the organ and orchestral-like percussion. Some organ solo until everything stops. Then Evans enters with a very pompous singing. Then the song turns to a more psychedelic rocker, with great bass and drums in the verses and a psychedelic chorus, with backing vocal chorus, organ and strong drums. Then alternates verses, chorus and there is a psychedelic guitar solo in the middle. Then the songs continues with chorus till the end.
This album, along with their first (Shades of), the next (eponymous) and the Concert for Group and Orchestra were clearly progressive rock outputs of the best quality from the late sixties.
Line-up:
* Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, vocals
* Ritchie Blackmore – lead guitar
* Ian Paice – drums
* Rod Evans – vocals
* Nick Simper – bass guitar, vocals
Track List:
01. Listen, Learn, Read On – 04:04
02. Wring That Neck – 05:13
03. Kentucky Woman – 04:44
04. Exposition / We Can Work It Out – 07:07
05. Shield – 06:06
06. Anthem – 06:31
07. River Deep, Mountain High – 10:12
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Rainbow – Rising (1976) (@256)
11 Jan 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
The brainchild of former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, Rainbow quickly developed into one of the ’70s most successful heavy metal bands behind charismatic front man Ronnie James Dio. Together, the duo would produce a string of acclaimed albums which are still considered classics of the genre.
On their second release, Rainbow not only avoid the sophomore jinx; they hit a home run. After replacing the entire band (except Ronnie James Dio) immediately following the recording of the first album, Ritchie Blackmore and the Rising lineup (Blackmore; Dio; Tony Carey, keys; Jimmy Bain, Bass; and the late, great Cozy Powell, drums) had plenty of time on the road touring the first album to get the chops and material together for their second. In particular, “Stargazer” really came together on the 1975 tour and featured stunning keyboard work from Carey. The material is uniformly strong, with “Starstruck” and “A Light in the Black” standing out in particular. Ronnie Dio turns in a great vocal on the stunningly direct (under three minutes!) “Do You Close Your Eyes.” All six songs on the album are up there with anything the band has done, before or since. The playing has a very tight, colorful feel to it, which was lacking a bit on the first record. This album can legitimately be mentioned in the same breath as classic Deep Purple.
Line-up:
* Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
* Ronnie James Dio – vocals
* Jimmy Bain – bass
* Tony Carey – keyboards
* Cozy Powell – drums
Track List:
01. Tarot Woman (5:58)
02. Run With the Wolf (3:48)
03. Starstruck (4:06)
04. Do You Close Your Eyes (2:58)
05. Stargazer (8:26)
06. A Light in the Black (8:12)
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