RAINBOW

"Memories in Rock II" (Eagle Vision/Universal; 2018)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

For my money, "Memories in Rock II" is better than "Memories in Rock - Live in Germany." Everything about it is better. The production, the performance, the energy level. It's a sprawling live recording that captures everything great about a live rock'n'roll show. And it showcases the mastery of a true rock legend, Mr. Ritchie Blackmore, and this latest incarnation of the mega-band Rainbow.

But it isn't just Rainbow that's featured here. "Memories in Rock II" features some Deep Purple songs, too, most notably the comeback classic "Perfect Strangers" which will give you goosebumps. That weird "Smoke on the Water" performance is still here, too, however. I mean, I get it, everyone's probably sick of playing it the old way and it's probably more exicting to put a new spin on it but it's a classic for a reason, right? The Rainbow version here (and on the first "Memories" CD) is interesting but, sorry, I'd rather hear the original version.

Ronnie Romero sounds better here as well. It isn't easy stepping up to the microphone once held by Ian Gillan, Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdale and others. Romero is more confident and sounds fuller here, belting out these classics with boldness and high energy. Comparisons to Gillan and Dio aren't necessary and they aren't fair. Romero's helping keep Rainbow alive and his voice is the perfect fit between their styles.

The real star here is, of course, Mr. Blackmore himself and his work on this CD is amazing. He's that kinda weird genius who does things the way he wants to because that's the way he thinks they should be done and, for the most part, it works. Listening to this CD is a little like being in his head. It's always interesting to see where he'll go next.

There are nineteen tracks in total here; twenty, if you count the "Over the Rainbow" intro (don't). That's a lot of rock'n'roll -- an entire concert's worth. Track #20 is a brand new Rainbow studio track called "Waiting for a Sign" and it's pretty good. It's not a hard rock classic like "Man on the Silver Mountain" but it's got some teeth and a worthy addition to the Rainbow catalog.

And, look, I know there are many out there who are complaining that "this isn't the real Rainbow" but so what? It's the one-and-only Ritchie Blackmore playing songs he created with a strong band behind him. What the hell's wrong with that? I'll take any Blackmore over no Blackmore any day.

The included DVD features eighty minutes of interviews with band and crew members.

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.  

"Memories in Rock - Live in Germany" (Eagle Vision/Universal; 2016)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

In June of 2016, Ritchie Blackmore did what so many hoped he'd do. He put aside his folk music for a few short moments and returned to rock'n'roll. Rainbow played three concerts in Europe, two in Germany and one in England. The shows consisted of not only classic rock from Rainbow, but also legendary tracks by Deep Purple.

This 2 CD/1 DVD set contains fourteen tracks from the Germany nights, plus four tracks from an "alternative night," which I think probably means the England night, no?

As seems to be its history, Rainbow boasts yet another line-up on this CD. Here, you've got new Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero who may, in fact, be the perfect choice for this particular band. He's got nearly the range of Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan, and he can belt out the Ronnie James Dio tunes, too. For most of the tracks, Romero does the song justice.

The CD begins with a shambling version of the classic Deep Purple tune, "Highway Star," that you kind of wished they had left in its original form and came bursting out of the gate with. It settles into the tune we all know and love after a moment, and serves as a reminder that Ritchie Blackmore is famous for doing his own thing.

Most of the tracks are fairly standard run-throughs of their classic originals. Occasionally, though, Blackmore and crew shake things up. The most notable here being the uber-classic "Smoke on the Water," which starts out not with its iconic three or four notes but with an almost casual clock-like riff. It's weird, but it's Blackmore, and by the time the track's over, you're kinda glad they did things the way they did. The audience singing most of the chorus here can easily give you goose bumps.

The audio quality is amazing, the band sounds great and if there was ever any doubt that Ritchie Blackmore is one of guitar's greatest heroes (there wasn't), it's certainly put to rest here. Blackmore's guitar is the shining star on "Memories in Rock," with his razor-sharp guitar tone and flowing leads.

The included DVD (assuming you buy the CD/DVD combo) features all eighteen tracks from the CD, including the four tracks from the "alternative night." As you might expect, it's exceptionally well-produced, and the opportunity to see these concerts that never made it to the U.S. (at least so far) is well worth the purchase price.

I also should mention the packaging here. Although it's perhaps the last thing that matters with a rock'n'roll release, the pacakaging for this collection is impressive. It's a glorious, full-color fold-out case that opens first to a full shot of the band performing live and then then next to expose the enclosed discs. The CD insert is also worth mentioning with its fascinating liner notes and color photos.

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore - guitar; Ronnie Romero - Vocals; David Keith - drums; Bob Nouveau - bass; Jens Johansson - keyboards; Candice Night - backing vocals; Lady Lynn - backing vocals.

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.

"Boston 1981" (Purple Pyramid Records; 2016)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

And yet another fantastic live recording of the legendary Rainbow, this one apparently from the "Difficult to Cure" tour and featuring Joe Lynn Turner on vocals. Fantastic sound quality, the unmatched fretwork of Ritchie Blackmore (sounding terrific here) and an energy level throughout the band that makes this recording as vibrant as the day it was originally performed.

It's amazing to me that these live Rainbow recordings continue to be released and that they continue to shine with this kind of quality - both in the way the sound and in the performances captured herein.

Yeah, it's a little weird to hear Joe Lynn Turner on songs that Ronnie James Dio originally sang on. "Man on the Silver Mountain," for example, and "Long Live Rock'n'Roll," for example. But Turner is a vocalist with nearly the same legendary status as Dio (I said nearly) and his vocal performance on this CD is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

And, as mentioned briefly above, Blackmore's guitar playing is mind-blowing here, and is captured perfectly. As everyone knows, Blackmore has a trademark tone and sound and it's all here in "Boston 1981."

The CD closes out with an energetic cover(?) of Deep Purple's classic "Smoke on the Water," opening with riffs from other Deep Purple songs, and it rocks hard.

Rainbow fans, especially those of the Joe Lynn Turner era, will be thrilled with "Boston 1981."

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.

"Live in Germany 1976" (Eagle Records; 2011)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

This double live CD should be required listening as much for its incredible music content as for its historic value.

Musically, it's the awesome Cozy Powell on drums, the legendary Ritchie Blackmore on guitar and the immortal Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Not much more really needs be said. Featured are eight live versions of classic Rainbow tracks, including the iconic "Man on the Silver Mountain," "Kill the King," "Stargazer" and "Mistreated," performed in the era's popular free-flow style (we'd probably call it "jam-style" today). Getting to hear these incredible musicians riff and jab live on stage is really worth the purchase price alone and, with an average running time of just over 14 minutes each, I believe these are unedited performances.

Historically, it's a document of what rock'n'roll shows were like in the mid-70s. First, there's the aforementioned free-flow style. The band play classic songs here that we all know and love but these are live performances of these songs and, as such, no two live performances are the same. The bandmembers, especially guitarist Blackmore (of course, it was his band), have the freedom to play and explore the songs, making them something different, something more than their studio versions. There are moments of almost complete silence on these discs, and you can almost hear the cogs of Blackmore's creativity as he muses over what to play next. Then, there's the audience: Unlike the roaring beast that is the live audience on albums like KISS's "Alive!", the audience in the 70s was almost laidback, applauding politely at the appropriate intervals, cheering occasionally, but -- for the most part -- just sitting and enjoying the music. It's a fascinating juxtaposition of then to now.

The sound quality is excellent, although you are aware throughout that you're listening to recordings made almost 35 years ago. There is some argument amongst purists about the apparent re-issue of some tracks here but, two discs with nearly two hours of music is a little hard to complain about.

"Live in Germany 1976" is a fascinating hard rock listen.

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.

"Live in Munich 1977" (Eagle Records; 2006)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

Although may fans argue that, like Deep Purple, Rainbow continue to issue a seemingly endless line of live performances taken from their perhaps unmatchable, extensive career history), "Live in Munich 1977" is perhaps evidence as to why this isn't a bad thing. 

Recorded live at the Munich Olympiahall in Germany on October 20th, 1977, "Live in Munich 1977" is two discs featuring the legendary band with one of its most impressive line-ups. As you might expect, considering his reputation, this CD is mostly about guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Although there are nearly 100 minutes of music here, there are also only eight tracks, once of which runs over 25 minutes alone. Blackmore is famous for turning a 4-minute radio hit into a 20-minute onstage extravaganza and that is certainly the case here. The good news is that it sounds great. Blackmore is truly one of rock's greatest musicians and listening to him do his thing on "Live in Munich 1977" is nothing short of riveting.

Of course, you've also got Ronnie James Dio on vocals, as well as Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley and Dave Stone rounding out the band. That's one killer line-up and they definitely deliver here.

The sound quality is amazing. "Live in Munich 1977" doesn't sound as slickly produced as, say, "Kiss Alive!", but instead has a rawer live sound that puts the listener in the middle of the show.

It's highly unlikely that we'll ever see any new music from Rainbow and it's nigh impossible that we'll ever see this line-up perform again so it's nice to have a record of their brilliance, even if it is almost thirty years old.

Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore; Ronnie James Dio; Cozy Powell; Bob Daisley; Dave Stone.

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.

"Long Live Rock'n'Roll" (Universal Music Group; 1978)

Reviewed by Snidermann

The year is 1983. A friend of mine had a cassette tape of this recording and we proceeded to play the shit out of it. After numerous beers and hours of tape play, I was hooked. I am pretty sure we wore out the cassette and went out to get another one.

I think Richie Blackmore is an underrated guitarist and lyricist. He is solid in everything I have ever heard him in. Together with the late, great Ronnie James Dio and the rest of the band (Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley, David Stone and Tony Carey) you get as good of a well-rounded band that can be expected.

This recording had music that would appear in Dio’s live shows for the rest of his life. The music is tight, loud and in-your-face and it rushes from the recording like a freight train. This album is best played at an extremely loud level.

There were rumors about the recording of this album on how difficult Richie Blackmore was to work with. Well, most geniuses may be difficult to work with. What the hell do I care? As long as the music rocks and delivers a solid performance, I'm good!

This recording has stood the test of time. It sounds just as good today as it did back in '83, when I first heard it. RIP friend Ronnie, you are truly missed.

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.

"Rising" (Oyster/Polydor; 1976)

Reviewed by Snidermann

Chemistry in band lineups is everything. Of course you need talent and a good manager, but if you don’t have a lineup that clicks, those other things really don't do anything. 

Let’s think of a few bands with both: The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr). They're all super-talented musicians, but if they did not click personally they might not have been what they ultimately became.  The Who (Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon).  Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant). The list goes on and o—Kiss, AC/DC, Queen, Black Sabbath—and that is just off the top of my head. 

Now lets go in the opposite direction—bands that had a killer fucking lineup but could not stay together due to personality conflicts: The Eagles, one of the most successful bands of the 70's, who could not stay together due to whatever bullshit conflicts they had. Guns 'n Roses, one of the major acts of the 90s imploded and it sounds like it happened because Axl Rose is a jackass (just what I've read, folks).  Anyway, wow, this concept bullshit is taking why too fucking long to get my point across.  A good lineup that gets along plus outstanding musicianship equals successful music. Man, I think I may take a smoke break after all the heavy lifting of this paragraph and I don’t even smoke. 

Anyway, my current project is Rainbow's "Rising," featuring Ronnie James Dio, Richie Blackmore, Cozy Powell, Jimmy Bain and Tony Carey. Great release, often considered a classic; however, by this time in the cracks in the band’s relationship and personalities had started to widen. In short, Richie Blackmore wanted to get away from the fantasy sword and sorcery material that Dio wanted to explore more (and did to great success with other bands in later releases).  "Rising" was released in 1976, contained six songs 33 minutes—not a lot of material but the material there is simply outstanding. Five dudes doing what they do; writing and recording music that has stood the test of time.

I think I like this recording even better than the band's debut from 1975 and their third effort, "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll" from 1978. I happen to like the rawness and the stripped down attitude here and that has great appeal to me. "Rising" kicks metal ass. It may not have the big hits of the other two, but IMO it is simply a better recording.

For more information, check out http://www.blackmoresnight.com/.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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