Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Japanese Release featuring Digital Remastering and LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing Only. Album Details

3.5 Stars

An interesting moment in rock/metal history, when links back to Deep Purple and forward to the masters, Black Sabbath, converged with the presence of both Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow. A lot of talent, for certain, though this first effort isn't their finest. While they do some interesting things on "Catch the Rainbow" and the raucous "If You Don't Life Rock 'n' Roll," the album is a little more tame than would be expected, given its pedigree. Not bad, but the band doesn't seem to have challenged itself to write truly great songs. February 3, 2008

"Catch The Rainbow" but get a remastered copy!

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.

Sometimes after a rock and roll fan endures, a horrifying storm there can still be a Rainbow when the last drop falls from the sky.

Ritchie Blackmore's departure from Deep Purple after the 1974 "Stormbringer" record was devastating to millions (To this day I wish it were a dream) but when he resurfaced with the debut Rainbow album "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" he afforded us thirty-seven minutes of a mystical journey that was brilliant from the first note to the last crackle on the LP.

You heard the story of him joining forces with ex-Elf member Ronnie Dio, but what is often left out of the equation was Blackmore's ability to foresee Dio handling the challenging role of singing in a formulated (Mythical) project and not simply straight ahead rock and roll.

The opening track many to this day consider Ritchie's premier post Purple tune "Man On The Silver Mountain." The riff became one of the most recognizable in the last thirty plus years. The energy level is exhausting (I mean for the listener, never mind the band). "Self Portrait" is an oxymoron. It is haunting in its shear beauty. "Draw me away to the night from the day" is a lyric of superlative intellect. "Black Sheep Of The Family "is a fun tune and Dio delivers a different way of expressing a rockers success with the ladies- "You get a little black book and it grows and it grows." Up next, "Catch The Rainbow" is magnificent. The words seem to freeze us in our tracks as we lean on every word. "Snake Charmer" brings back the rock and roll and the band clicks on all cylinders. "The Temple Of The King" is mesmerizing. To fully digest the vocals "One day in the year of the fox" several plays are required. To the critics that enjoyed panning Blackmore since 1968 you can tell them "If You Don't Like Rock & Roll It's Too Late Now." The sound of Blackmore's Stratocaster as the story unfolds during "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" is a blowtorch. It comes out of the speakers with such fury it decapitates all in its path. To end the journey one of the finest rock and roll covers and as an instrumental! Rainbow takes the Yardbirds gem "Still I'm Sad" and Blackmore cuts loose for some of the best four minutes the ears will ever encompass.

The numerous haters of Blackmore have little to no knowledge of his musical history. His solos and riffs aren't about how many notes per second he can achieve but the tasteful craftsmanship the guitar can bring to a song. If they would listen, learn, and read on they would actually appreciate his superlative ability to often blend classical with rock and how deep the colors become.


Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"
August 17, 2007

Classic debut

Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had his work cut out for him trying to put together a project that would do justice to the work he had done in Deep Purple. Miraculously he managed it with Rainbow, recruiting singer Ronnie James Dio from Elf, a band that had been opening for Purple for several years. With Dio as a songwriting partner and using the other members of Elf (except for the guitarist) as session musicians he recorded Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Released in 1975, this powerful debut is at least as good as anything Deep Purple ever recorded and a springboard for even greater things to come.

First the performances. Maestro Ritchie Blackmore whips out his patented guitar histrionics while displaying a level of subtlety and finesse only hinted at in his previous work. Ronnie James Dio proves immediately that he is one of the two or three finest rock vocalists ever, letting loose in a captivating and powerful way. Dio's former Elf bandmates deliver here as well. Drummer Gary Driscoll and bassist Craig Gruber make for a funky and grooving rhythm section, and pianist Micky Lee Soule comports himself well, although he seems a bit restricted by the guitar-oriented sound Blackmore was trying to acheive with Rainbow. The album is reasonably well recorded, but not spectacularly so. This is suprising considering that it's the legendary Martin Birch in the producer's chair. One assumes that deadlines and budgetary restrictions compromised his efforts somewhat.

The songwriting team of Blackmore and Dio is immediately a winner, producing some of the finest rock music in the history of the genre. Dio's melodic sense and sword-and-sorcery lyricism works very well with Blackmore's trademark classically-inspired heavy riffage. Some of the songs here are amongst either man's best, with highlights including "Man On The Silver Mountain" (a staple of Dio concerts to this day), "Catch The Rainbow" (a gorgeous ballad), "16th Century Greensleeves" (melodic yet brutal), and the introspective "Self-Portrait". Most of the other tunes are also very good, and there's a very cool instrumental cover of the Yarbirds classic "Still I'm Sad". It should be pointed out that Rainbow was still trying to feel out their direction, and there are are obvious leftover elements of both Elf and Deep Purple that make this Rainbow's most interesting and varied release.

So with all these good things to say, why only four stars? Two reasons. Firstly there's a couple of stinkers here. "If You Don't Like Rock'n'Roll" can only be described as generic filler, and the cover of "Black Sheep Of The Family" isn't any better (it wasn't a great song to begin with). Secondly the band isn't very well suited to the material; the obvious jazz and blues influences of the previous members of Elf don't always work in this context. Fortunately these men would soon be replaced by the world-class lineup that appeared on the follow-up release "Rising".

Don't let these reservations throw you. I reserve five-star ratings for albums that are perfect or very close to it, and if I give something four stars that means I like it a lot.

The bottom line: Dio, Blackmore, and "Man On The Silver Mountain". This is an album no rock fan should be without. May 11, 2007

solid hard rock

Rainbow's debut is a great thrill if you're a big fan of Deep Purple's classic lineup (Machine Head in particular). Blackmore continues his melodically soothing guitar sound on this album. "catch the rainbow" is probably the best song here because it will remind you of a sunset in Louisiana and hearing crickets. "man on the silver mountain" is another highlight, and was even a big hit for a brief period in the mid 70's. If you like "smoke on the water" you will like this song too, no doubt.

"temple of the king" is probably the song to stand out the most because it's a really good adventurous-fantasy type song. It reminds me of that early 80's movie called The Neverending Story. No, not the theme song, I mean the movie itself. Remember that movie? It was about a boy who goes on a magical journey using his imagination. This movie and that song are so similar to each other it's not even funny.

Despite that, this album is mostly about having fun and rocking out with lots of guitars and a really good classic rock sound. Perhaps the best sound a rock record can have found right here. This is mostly a guitar-driven album, with the guitar being the main feature. Worth a purchase? Absolutely. April 10, 2007

The Old Stuff

I'm sure I am not the only one trying to convert all of my old albums to CD. It is great to hear a clean crisp recording of this classic Rainbow line up. I have to get used to hearing certain songs without the scratches and popping, but I will enjoy it. Another great album changed over, this one has always been a favorite with Dio and Blackmore together, the ballads and the heavy riffs blend perfectly.
March 15, 2007

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