Friday 15 September 2023

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow - RAINBOW****

Man On The Silver Mountain/Self Portrait/Black Sheep Of The Family/Catch The Rainbow/Snake Charmer/The Temple Of The King/If You Don't Like Rock & Roll/Sixteenth Century Greensleeves/Still I'm Sad

Debut album from the heavy rock group Rainbow established by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Ronnie James Dio was recruited as vocalist to deliver a dynamic sound. (US:30 UK:11)

“The birth of Rainbow was brought about by Ritchie Blackmore's dislike of the funkier, bluesier direction that David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were taking Deep Purple. At this stage of his career Ritchie was still very much into playing the type of neo-classical hard rock/metal with medieval/historic imagery that had made him, and Deep Purple famous worldwide. For this he found the perfect foil in vocalist Ronnie James Dio with whom Blackmore recorded Rainbow's debut, which is a truly amazing album full of hard rock gems made vibrant by Dio's mythological imagery and lyrics.”

“Opening track Man On The Silver Mountain boasts an instantly recognisable riff and remained a live favourite throughout the Dio years. It remains one of Blackmore's best compositions. Catch The Rainbow also became a live favourite and once again allowed Blackmore and Dio to shine both individually and together with its laid back bluesy melodic feel.”

“Much better than the album released by Deep Purple after Ritchie Blackmore's departure, this was an auspicious debut album for a new band on the hard rock scene.”

“Definitely still a hard rock band, Rainbow's debut is marginally inconsistent but has more than its fair share of gems. Their early heavy metal sound hadn't quite coalesced yet and there are a few tracks that aren't up to par.”

“Blackmore leaves Deep Purple and gives birth to a new hard rock/heavy metal band Rainbow. This is their debut album and it's a very strong record. Ronnie James Dio's vocals are unbelievable as always. Take a look at the track listing, so many well known songs which have a legendary status today."

“Blackmore's first post-Purple effort is a winner, featuring great guitar work from the master and an excellent performance by Dio on vocals.”

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