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Perhaps the first example of "dragon rock" -- a style perfected by bands like Iron Maiden and Dio in the early to mid-'80s -- was Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, a 1975 collection from the guitarist's first post-Deep Purple project. Fittingly enough, a young Ronnie James Dio provides the goblin-like frontman presence required by the increasingly Baroque Blackmore. The young Dio is at his best when he fully gives in to his own and Blackmore's medieval fantasy leanings in hard-rocking tracks like "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" and "Man on the Silver Mountain." The dark, trudging doom rock of "Self Portrait" most clearly showcases what they were capable of. The album's ponderous lyrics are occasionally punctuated by poetic phrases such as "crossbows in the firelight." Although Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow provides a few listenable tracks, its primary value is historical. Look to Rainbow's next album, Rainbow Rising (1976), to grasp the heavy metal potential that is only hinted at here.
© David Kent-Abbott /TiVo
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Gary Driscoll, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ritchie Blackmore, Producer, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer - Jimmy Bain, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Cozy Powell, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Rainbow, MainArtist - Micky Lee Soule, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Carey, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Craig Gruber, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Ritchie Blackmore, Composer, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer - Rainbow, MainArtist
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Ritchie Blackmore, Producer - Ronnie James Dio, Producer - Martin Birch, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rainbow, MainArtist - Steve Hammond, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Ritchie Blackmore, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer - Rainbow, MainArtist
℗ 1975 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Mickey Soule, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Gary Driscoll, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ritchie Blackmore, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rainbow, MainArtist - Craig Gruber, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Gary Driscoll, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ritchie Blackmore, Producer, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer - Rainbow, MainArtist - Micky Lee Soule, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Craig Gruber, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Mickey Soule, Organ, Piano, Clavichord, Mellotron, AssociatedPerformer - Gary Driscoll, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ritchie Blackmore, Composer, Producer, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rainbow, MainArtist - Craig Gruber, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Gary Driscoll, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ritchie Blackmore, Producer, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Martin Birch, Producer - Rainbow, MainArtist - Micky Lee Soule, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Craig Gruber, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Paul Samwell-Smith, ComposerLyricist - James McCarty, ComposerLyricist - Gary Driscoll, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ritchie Blackmore, Producer, Guitar, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Ronnie James Dio, Producer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Martin Birch, Producer - Rainbow, MainArtist - Micky Lee Soule, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Craig Gruber, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1975 Universal Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
Perhaps the first example of "dragon rock" -- a style perfected by bands like Iron Maiden and Dio in the early to mid-'80s -- was Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, a 1975 collection from the guitarist's first post-Deep Purple project. Fittingly enough, a young Ronnie James Dio provides the goblin-like frontman presence required by the increasingly Baroque Blackmore. The young Dio is at his best when he fully gives in to his own and Blackmore's medieval fantasy leanings in hard-rocking tracks like "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" and "Man on the Silver Mountain." The dark, trudging doom rock of "Self Portrait" most clearly showcases what they were capable of. The album's ponderous lyrics are occasionally punctuated by poetic phrases such as "crossbows in the firelight." Although Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow provides a few listenable tracks, its primary value is historical. Look to Rainbow's next album, Rainbow Rising (1976), to grasp the heavy metal potential that is only hinted at here.
© David Kent-Abbott /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:36:53
- Main artists: Rainbow
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Polydor Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 1975 Polydor Ltd. (UK) ℗ 1975 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
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