Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

Old skool hard rock

Many people come to the end of the Deep Purple and Black Sabbath catalogs and ask themselves a profound and frightening question, "is this all there is of awesome '70s hard rock?" While Dio's later work in the 80's is okay and certainly good hard rock continues to be made, there was just something special about gut wrenching Blackmore riffs and devil references that actually made you a little scared (not the cartoon devil of Ozzy- this devil had horns!).

And so we arrive at this small window in time where a guitarist needed a voice and a voice needed 130 decibels of power chords and two supporting guys named Ian that rock harder than any 'rage rocker' of today.

The themes are simple. Rock and roll should live forever, rock and roll is king, the devil is mean and mysterious and medieval ladies were hot and well mysterious. Throw in a raunchy song about LA and moody sappy ballad for the chicks (sorry ladies) and we have ourselves one great album.

A note of thanks to a good friend of mine from Mendoza Argentina who turned me on to this hidden gem. It rocked 30 years ago (holy cow) and it rocks today.
October 3, 2007

If your old LP is "Sensitive To Light" pick up a fresh CD copy!

"Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" from 1978 was the third studio album from Blackmore & company and the first following the live "On Stage" release.

Over the years critics have taken the greatest pleasure in their often biased descriptions of "Heavy Metal" music. Unfortunately either from the critics lack of knowledge or a mind too closed for thought the consumer is often left to sought out the good from the obnoxious.

There are certain bands that produce metal sounding music if you like the term, but it is imperative that the word "Intelligent" is placed before the word heavy. The Black Sabbath records with Ozzy, the first 5 Blue Oyster Cult, the one and only Armageddon with Keith Relf, the Deep Purple records during Blackmore's tenure, and the Rainbow with Dio at the vocal helm. There are more obviously but this was simply to make a point.

While the first two studio Rainbow went more for the mystical sound, "Long Live Rock `n' Roll has enough metal around the edges to produce carnage if anything enters its path. The opening track (The title) is not only perfect for its placement as the first notes the listener experiences but is relentless in the pure energy and brilliance. Many a Blackmore fan wouldn't let the turntable go to the second cut before they were inundated with the sonic explosions from the first song a myriad of times. "Lady Of The Lake" mixes nicely the pure rock and roll with the Dio mystical vocal. He made it a calling card and reminds us he is the man. "L.A. Connection" is straight ahead in your face and perfectly crafted for the five minute range. "Gates Of Babylon" should have a footnote in Blackmore's musical history. It isn't only the brilliance of the composition but many rock fans that never gave him a fair shake (Not so bright on their part) were impressed with this specific tune for his approach to the six string. "Kill The King" and the opening number are equally impressive for the sheer aggression of the music but also lyrics that are intelligent and a perfect compliment to Blackmore, Powell, Daisley, and Stone. "The Shed (Subtle)" lets Richie do his thing but notice how the songs don't expand to overkill. The longest track clocks in at seven and one-half minutes (Last one). "Sensitive To Light" is a terrific rock and roll number with Dio giving a perfect vocal. Speaking of perfect. The final track "Rainbow Eyes" allows Dio to shine and was a fitting end for his studio time with the band. If only the Blackmore/Dio combination continued there would have been many more special Rainbows.

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

September 1, 2007

Dio's swansong, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll indeed

When anyone looks back at the time Ronnie James Dio sang with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, the album Rising is the one mentioned as the masterpiece. I have to admit that the 6 track album or CD is definitely on my top 100 list, but the group's follow-up effort, Long Live Rock `n' Roll is a very good to great album in its own way. The opening title track announces what is in store and the following songs with Blackmore's riffing, Cozy Powell's imaginative drum beats and of course Dio's vocals just drive home the 8 songs contained within this release home. The Gates of Babylon happens to be my favorite track with the moody and atmospheric keyboard opening to the memorable guitar riffs throughout. Hell, even Yngwie Malmsteen covered this song a few years back. Kill the King was the opening song for oh so many Rainbow shows, even though the opening guitar riff sounds very much like an early Rush riff. Great song though and always announced the band with power and might. The album closer, Rainbow Eyes is just a Dio vocal with orchestral backup, kind of the direction of Blackmore's Night has gone 3 decades later. The song does take some getting used and I have to admit that I usually skip it after the onslaught of the other guitar/drum heavy tracks. Check out a few snippets of the songs online and I am sure that you will want to here each one in their entirety! I recommend this album highly and this will add to the ever increasing back catalogue of Ronnie James Dio's career. July 18, 2007

Medieval Rock in Renaissance times...

What an odd album to put out at the height of disco and punk and the dawn of New Wave; a classic hard rock album with Camelot-like themes. The title track frankly has not aged well but was probably one of the more timely tracks, as it has a sort of boogie arena rock feel to it. The rest the album though has many great moments, continuing on in the mode set by "Rising"; solid hard rock that sits somewhere between "Who Do We Think We Are" Deep Purple and "Physical Graffitti" Led Zeppelin, but with medieval themes. Wildly unfashionable at the time I am sure. But that makes it that much more endearing, as perhaps it was ahead of the game, foreshadowing the NWONHM wave that came only a year or two after. Fans of Dio , Purple and Rainbow must have this record. On it's own merits it is really a great album. "Kill The King" abosolutely rocks. And I always thought Blackmore was brave to use such a relatively clean tone playing the riffs he did. I think you have to be a guitar player to appreciate the less saturated metal tones that sound so powerful but ultimately generic. This record has class and some truly memorable songs. May 28, 2007

Not Rising but still good...

Rainbow's third album, 1978's Long Live Rock'n'Roll, would be the last to feature original singer Ronnie James Dio. Guitarist and bandleader Ritchie Blackmore's penchant for constantly replacing band members for no good reason and sudden desire to take Rainbow in a more pop-rock direction would soon drive Dio from the group.

A couple of lineup changes took place just prior to the recording of this album. Keyboardist Tony Carey and bassist Jimmy Bain were both ousted, and Rainbow went into the studio without permanent repacements. David Stone was eventually called in to take over the keyboard duties, but how much of the album he actually played on is unclear. What is clear is that none of the keyboard playing on this album is comparable to the stellar work that Carey did on Rainbow's second album, Rising. Bassist Bob Daisley was brought in but only played on a couple of tracks, most of the bass on the album having already been played (very well) by Ritchie Blackmore. Drummer Cozy Powell plays every bit as powerfully as he did on Rising, and both Blackmore and Dio deliver the goods with their customary aplomb. Martin Birch is once again the producer, although this album is recorded in a rawer fashion than Rising, probably on purpose.

Despite the internal problems Rainbow managed to turn in a killer album. While lacking the sheer brilliance of Rising this album has the advantage of being the hardest rocking piece of work in the Rainbow catalog. It kicks like an angry mule, yet still retains flashes of the subtley of their previous efforts. It's not as progressive or experimental as the first two albums and seems to focus more on straight-ahead hard rock. Some great tracks include the Zeppelin-esque "Lady Of The Lake", the fast-paced concert opener "Kill The King", and the plaintive ballad "Rainbow Eyes". Then there's the mighty "Gates Of Babylon", an eastern-tinged epic that ranks right up there with Rainbow's best. Most of the other tunes are quite enjoyable as well, if not on the same level as the ones I've mentioned. However the title track, which provided the band with a minor hit, seems forced and generic to my ears.

Of the first three Rainbow albums this is my least favorite, but for all that it's still a great album. After this Ritchie Blackmore threw out everybody except Cozy Powell and formed a new lineup that produced generic mainstream pop-rock. Get this album; it's full of great music and well worth the price. May 11, 2007

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