Rainbow/Rising(1976)

 

Man what an awesome Cover! If that doesn’t make a musical statement nothing will!

My Rainbow listening habits started around the time of Rainbow’s 1982 release Straight Between The Eyes. I basically skipped the whole Ronnie James Dio (RIP)period(my bad) until just recently as this album was on iTunes for $3.98 so it was an easy peasey purchase!

Tarot Woman is a whopper of an opening. Tony Carey opens the album with a 1 minute 40 second keyboard intro. Hows that for laying down some Moog Law? The late great Cozy Powell slams the drums into gear while the rest of the chaps Jimmy Bain(RIP) and Mr Happy Rainbow Himself Ritchie Blackmore provide the sonic sizzle while Dio sings the tale of the Tarot Woman.  Blackmore does his deal with the devil during the solo while Powell is lurking int he background slamming the skins!

Run With The Wolf begins with all hands on deck. The band shifts a slower gear but make no mistake this song is still heavy in a Deep Purple like stomp of yesteryear. Not surprising considering Ritchie had a huge hand in those Purple songs. Dig the almost like slide guitar action during the solo. Great tune.

Speaking of Purple Starstruck  begins like a Purple track(You can hear how much Ritchie had a hand in those old Purple tunes). A real cool groove that chugs down Blackmore avenue and say what you want but the real deal on these tunes is Cozy Powell who is all over the place rhythmically and basically lets Richie loose in his rock caboose to do the stuff that the man in black can do on guitar!

Ritchie takes over and opens the song Do You Close Your Eyes and this is an all out Rainbow jam played at a loud volume! Dio drops down a ton of cool lyrics on this album. I guess you could say that this would be as close to a rock radio track you could get from these guys back in 76….

Powell drops down one of the coolest opening drum fills ever at the beginning of Stargazer. 12 seconds of a drum brilliance and Rainbow  will take you through the stratosphere of time changes  and what nots as only they can for oh lets say 8 minutes and 20 seconds! This song is a bonafide classic. It grabs you by the back of the neck and doesn’t let you go through sweeping musical climates yet never dulling out it just goes and goes and before you know it Stargazer is done! Hard to believe its 8 minutes plus…. On the way out of the door say hello to the Wizard will ya!

How about another 8 minute opus! A Light In The Black fits the bill perfectly and it rockets right out of the gate. Dio and crew play this song at a ferocious clip! I betcha once Powell/Bain/Cary hook up and  start rolling Blackmore goes all batty on his guitar for a good 5 minutes of this track! No ending in site for this song as the band is firing on all four’s.

It’s safe to say that if I was a little older back in 76 i would have been all over this album. It’s all here for the taking! You got Dio scripting all the lyrics to Blackmore’s pedal to the metal riffs. Powell slams the drum kit into smithereens  while Bain and Cary (with his keyboards adding not subtracting from Ritchie) add colours to the Rainbow! (ha that was sappy) Ok how about a boot in the ass! Crazy how it took me 41 years to own this!

Blackmore for a while leaves Deep Purple in the rearview mirror and forges a new identity known as Rainbow!

Great album!

Rainbow/Live Japan 1984

Thanks to MR HMO who so graciously got me a copy of this show!

So just before Ritchie Blackmore  ice’s Rainbow. He takes his cast of characters (Roger Glover/Joe Lynn Turner/Chuck Burgi and David Rosenthal)  and High Tails it to the infamous Budokan In Japan(back in 1984)  and plays  for one last time with this lineup before the $$$$$$ lured Ritchie and Roger back to Deep Purple where they ended up cutting the classic Perfect Strangers album which came out late that year.

Here’s the track list for the Last Hurrah For Rainbow…

1 Intro
2 Spotlight Kid
3 Miss Mistreated
4 I Surrender
5 Can’t Happen Here
6 Catch The Rainbow
7 Power / Keyboard Solo
8 Street Of Dreams
9 Fool For The Night
10 Difficult To Cure / Guitar Improvisation
11 Drum Solo / Blues
12 Stranded
13 Death Alley Driver
14 Fire Dance
15 Maybe Next Time
16 All Night Long
17 Lazy
18 Since You’ve Been Gone
19 Smoke On The Water

Basically you get 19 tracks and this album reeks of 80s Rock on a how a show was done back than. You want a Drum Solo? How about a Keyboard solo? How about Guitar Improvisation? Haha…I think that means Guitar Solo but hey it’s Ritchie and he is in my book is the King Of Improvisation!
My spin on Rainbow is the 80s version with Turner handling the mic is my favourite period of the band as this was when I first discovered them.  As Blackmore changed vocalists (Ronnie James Dio/Graham Bonnett) and my first discovery of Rainbow was 1982’s Fantastic Straight Behind The Eyes.  Ritchie amps up on this live album in the form of Death Alley Driver from SBTE’s. All bet’s are off as Ritchie basically rips his start apart and Joe delivers it vocally. Love this tune. Straight Ahead And Through My Noggin!

That video of Death Alley Driver is from the actual show that i’m reviewing and don’t you just love it when Joe throws the old quick fist at the camera at the 1 minute mark! I always laugh back than and today when I see this stuff when Rock Dudes try an act tough! The King Of Tough hands down is David Bryan in the Bon Jovi video Only The Lonely where David and his poodle perm rough up some chap in the video. HAHAHAHA….

Ok let’s get back on track. For all the Zaniness Blackmore Guitar Action he does  deliver along with Joe one of the best kinda Power Ballads in Street Of Dreams. It is a well written Piece of Rock where Burgi keeps his drums moving so the song does not Sap out! Neil Schon and his turned down amp could have used this song in Journey but then again this song would have been wimped out through the piano blender  by Jon Cain!

Blackmore hahaha….has to contain himself from cutting loose like the lunatic he is on guitar but he even though knows the deal! It’s 1984 and you gotta play the tunes like Street Of Dreams.

Of course like any Rainbow show Rich dips into his own back catalogue as well as he does a rocked up sped up jam of Since You’ve Been Gone  and a couple of Deep Purple classics in Lazy and Smoke On The Water.

This was the final show forever for this lineup which is a shame. From Rainbow Joe went/sang for Yngwie Malmsteem and I assume is still solo. Burgi and Rosenthal I think are in Billy Joel’s Band while of course Roger Glover (looking in the video here like an extra from the Miami Vice 80’S Cop Show) and Ritchie cashed in a huge payday later in 1984 when they both rejoined Deep Purple.

Course in 2016 long after Ritchie quit Deep Purple yet again and began dabbling with a ukulele and a flute in some Renaissance Act. (Blackmore’s Night) In 2016 Renaissance Ritchie kicked the ukulele and flute out found his Strat and Marshall and reformed Rainbow and played some shows with yet a whole new lineup with some Ol Geezers(Bass Player needs to get of out his Pajama’s and a new singer who looks quite young and sounds good)and have hit the circuit with more shows to come in 2017! If my memory is correct. Readers Mr 1537 and HMO have Tickets to see this show! Review please boy’s!

Kinda wished Ritchie would have pulled this lineup back out but hey it’s the Man In Blacks call!

This is a Great Live Show……

Deep Purple/Perfect Strangers Live (1984)

Back in 2013 Deep Purple finally and I mean finally released a live document from their 1984 Perfect Strangers Tour! Perfect Stranger’s the studio album is one of my all time favs! There is not a dud track on that studio album as the Purple Boys set aside their differences and smashed out a classic that still resonates today with many!

Perfect Strangers Live Tracklist:

01. Highway Star
02. Nobody’s Home
03. Strange Kind Of Woman
04. A Gypsy’s Kiss
05. Perfect Strangers
06. Under The Gun
07. Knocking At Your Back Door
08. Lazy (including Ian Paice drum solo)
09. Child In Time
10. Difficult To Cure
11. Jon Lord Keyboard Solo
12. Space Truckin’ (with Ritchie Blackmore guitar solo)
13. Black Night
14. Speed King
15. Smoke On The Water

How’s that for a set list?

I will say that the first 7 tracks are awesome as there’s a  mix of old Purple and a great mix from Perfect Strangers (studio album). Considering it was the start of the tour (in Australia) the song’s come across real good and better yet when there are glitches like singer Ian Gillian sounding a little hoarse at times not doing his patented wails. That’s alright as it’s 100% Live!

Ritchie Blackmore is a man possessed on this album. He has to be the King of Live Improvisation as his end of the song soloing is off the rails especially on tracks like Gypsy’s Kiss and Under The Gun. Blackmore lifts off here Folk’s! Speaking of which Gypsy’s Kiss I posted a clip of and Just watch at the end….He’s on a whole other planet! Ritchie man ..hahaha….whoever was his Guitar Tech back than should write a book about the Man In Black!

Course with Purple you get the expected solos. Drummer Ian Paice. Keyboardist Jon Lord(RIP) and of course Ritchie all get there moments in the spotlight. Bassist Roger Glover during the songs keeps it all together with his straight ahead bass lines.

Purple take a stab at Ritchie’s old band Rainbow’s tune Difficult To Cure which I guess Ritchie probably demanded as Purple could have easily done any song in the catalogue but I guess what Ritchie wanted Ritchie got in keeping a happy ship for at least a few years anyways!

This another Warts N All Live Album….what you hear is what you get!

Great Buy!

 

 

 

 

Rainbow/Boston 1981(2016)

 

A few weeks back I read that a new/old Rainbow Live Album would be surfacing and as per protocol around these parts my curiosity level peaked!

Itunes had it.I purchased it! Anyone surprised by that??

Below is the 10 Tracks featured on Boston 1981…..

Spotlight Kid
Love’s No Friend
I Surrender
Man On The Silver Mountain
Catch The Rainbow
Can’t Happen Here
Lost In Hollywood
Difficult To Cure
Long Live Rock N’ Roll
Smoke On The Water

This version of Rainbow features of course founding member Richie Blackmore(guitar) along with  Bobby Rondelli(drums) Don Airey(keys) Roger Glover (bass) and Joe Lynn Turner(vocals)

Joe, man he followed Ronnie James Dio(RIP) and Graham Bonnet in Rainbow and Joe at times got hammered by the press as making Rainbow sound like a British Foreigner. Perhaps, but for my personal listening tastes this is my favourite version of the band as this was the Rainbow I had gotten into.

The Mix on this album is Real Good considering it’s 35 years old and has been Bootlegged numerous times it has a good sound! On the headphones it’s all Richie’s Guitar on the left side! Everything else(vocals,bass,drums,keys and bass) is in the middle on the right! You really get Blasted by Blackmore’s guitar and why not he’s a genius!

Spotlight Kid is a great opener and Turner tosses down a real cool smooth as silk Rock Vocal! Almost a little raspy (road worn?) still it gives you that live feeling like your there! Blackmore is on fire and it’s the opener and the Man In Black doesn’t fool around! I love the interplay between Richie and Don Airey on the keys! Very Deep Purple like. Rainbow rock it out the gate in a quick and orderly fashion!

Love’s No Friend starts off with Ritchie playing a chill riff while Bobby plays his bass drum to keep the beat and full points are awarded here as he smashes the tar out of his Gong(a lost live art!) Love’s No Friend is an interesting second track as it ploughs forward kinda slowly but by the end Ritchie and the Boys ramp it up and it picks up steam as the SS Rainbow heads towards the Rock Dock( yeah that was kinda a lame scenario. It’s all I got!)

Airey begins I Surrender with a throwback keyboard sound and Ritchie joins in and this is awesome stuff as Ritchie plays loose with a  real live feel and with him being totally mixed on the left side when he stops for a second there’s no sound coming out! Ha! So cool gives it a real cool live feel! This song is very catchy and has a pop rock element to it and Turner sings a great track! Actually this whole album Turners voice is real good!

Want to hear a real cool opening riff? Click the video posted above of Man On A Silver Mountain. Even though Dio sang the original Turner sings it well and with respect! This is a wicked awesome track and Rainbow rock this bad boy…Crank it!

Catch The Rainbow is a 14 minute Trippy Prog Rockers Delight! Its like your on a Sonic Rainbow with all of its time changes albeit slow trance like! This must have been a Toker’s Dream at the Rainbow shows of yesteryear! I could picture it now everyone just getting baked out of their minds and drifting elsewhere in a trance like state! Blackmore approved!

Quick! Put the Dope Away as Rainbow rock it to the top with Can’t Happen Here. Love the start of this tune as the drums/bass/keys start it and it sounds like Ritchie’s having technical issues and that’s what I love about actual live albums. Warts N All! Turner and Crew are lock and loaded on this tune and it’s another great straight ahead rock track!

Don Airey  plays a real crazy Keyboard almost spooky like (think the vibe of Ozzy’s Mr Crowley) and Lost In Hollywood (I’m sure there are many a Rainbow tale of Lost Nights Everywhere) The song is another rocker in the Rainbow Arsenal! For good measure toss in a Ritchie guitar solo and from what I listened too it sounds like his Strat took a Shit Kickin that night….

Probably since I work in a Hospital I always dug the Difficult To Cure album cover(Pic of the band in Hospital O.R Gear) and Difficult To Cure is a big epic like Beethoven inspired track. Blackmore and Airey  weave in and out of each others music space and its like Blackmore uses the keys as a second guitar,dual lead solos with the keyboards and such. Man,say what you want about the after show party shenanigans that I’m sure all bands partook in. With Ritchie you had to have your  chops together or he would Fire Yer Ass!

Long Live Rock N Roll is another straight ahead rocker track from the Dio years and Rainbow lay down the law with this song.

Blackmore digs into his previous bands catalogue but teases the crowd with he beginning of Lazy? Ummm nope! Hey there’s the beginning of Woman From Tokyo! Wawazat! So Ritchie messes with the crowd and then launches into the opening riff and its Smoke On The Water and I can see why when Ritchie and Roger were back with Purple they chose Turner to sing for them (1990s Slaves And Masters) . Turner sings Smoke real good and Rainbow pulls it off but like there would be any doubt right?

This is a real good album! Rainbow Boston 1981 is a Live album! No Fixings and Doctering it up in the studio. From What I read this show was a co headline show with Pat Travers and recorded for the King Biscuit Radio Show.

Get This……