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''Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' (sometimes stylised ''Ritchie Blackmore's R-A-I-N-B-O-W'') is the debut studio album by American/British rock band
Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...
, released in 1975.


Recording

During studio sessions in Tampa Bay, Florida on 12 December 1974, Blackmore originally planned to record the solo single "Black Sheep of the Family"- a cover of a track by the band Quatermass from 1970 – and the newly composed "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves", which was to be the B-side. Other musicians involved included singer/lyricist
Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...
and drummer Gary Driscoll of
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
band Elf, and cellist
Hugh McDowell Hugh Alexander McDowell (31 July 1953 – 6 November 2018)ELO and ...
of ELO. Satisfied with the two tracks, Blackmore decided to extend the sessions to a full album. The other members of Elf, keyboardist
Micky Lee Soule Mickey Lee Soule (June 6, 1946 in Cortland, New York) is an American musician. He was the keyboard player for New York hard rock band Elf and a founding member of Rainbow. Soule had a band in the mid-1960s until he was drafted into the army. A ...
and bassist Craig Gruber, were used for the recording of the album in
Musicland Studios Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany. It was established by Italian record producer, songwriter and performer Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s.
in Munich, West Germany during February and March, 1975. Though it was originally planned to be a solo album, the record was billed as ''Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'', and later progressed as a new band project. Blackmore and Dio did promotional work for the album. Shortly after the album was released, Soule quit the band, while Gruber and Driscoll were sacked. This first line-up never performed live, and the live photos used in the album art are of Blackmore while with Deep Purple and of Elf playing live. The last track of the album, "Still I'm Sad", is an instrumental cover of a song by
the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samw ...
from their 1965 album '' Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds''. A version featuring vocals subsequently appeared on Rainbow's live album '' On Stage'' and their 1995 studio album ''
Stranger in Us All ''Stranger in Us All'' is the eighth and most recent studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 1995. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore put together a new line-up of members of little-known musicians in 1994. The album was origin ...
''.


Release

The original vinyl release had a gate fold sleeve, although later budget reissues on Polydor reduced to a single sleeve. On the cassette version of the album Side One features the last five tracks while Side Two plays the first four. On the case insert and on the cassette itself, "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" is written as "Sixteen Century Greensleeves". ''Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' was re-issued on CD in remastered form in the US in April 1999. The European release followed later in the year. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio considered this release his favourite Rainbow album. Despite the title implying the record being a Ritchie Blackmore solo release, in later years Blackmore has jokingly stated that Dio's contributions warranted a re-titling of "Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio's Rainbow".


Reception

The album was praised in British contemporary reviews for its fantasy/heroic-like lyrical content and the innovative rock style. However, the reviewer for the American magazine ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' disparaged the album, describing Blackmore's playing "listless and bored in relation to past performances" and the band "a completely anonymous group." Modern reviews have a similar tenor.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
reviewer wrote that the album have "a few listenable tracks", with young Dio "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'", but remarked how the band became "a true embarrassment when they try to lighten up and boogie down." Canadian journalist
Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionall ...
noticed that on this album Blackmore "confirms the creative vacuum that was much in evidence towards his last years with Purple", offering a "boring, dated, diluted and largely illogical smorgasbord of guitar rock stylings, all inespressively played over". He also criticized
Martin Birch Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac ...
's dull and inexpensive production, "which ruins what is already a limp noodle of a record" and saved only the songs "Man on the Silver Mountain" and "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves", "which approach the worthiness of '' Rising''".


Covers

The album's songs have been performed by subsequent Rainbow line-ups and covered by other bands. * Rainbow included an updated version of "Still I'm Sad" on their 1995 album ''
Stranger in Us All ''Stranger in Us All'' is the eighth and most recent studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 1995. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore put together a new line-up of members of little-known musicians in 1994. The album was origin ...
''. *
Blackmore's Night Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpe, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, ly ...
have released a
folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...
cover version of "Self Portrait" on their second studio album '' Under a Violet Moon'' in 1999, and "Temple of the King" on 2013's '' Dancer and the Moon''. They also performed a live cover of "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" (titled as "16th Century Greensleeves") on their 2002 live album '' Past Times with Good Company''. * German heavy metal band
Angel Dust Angel dust may refer to: Common uses * A common name for the drug phencyclidine (PCP) * Angel dusting, a misleading marketing practice Comics and videos * Angel Dust (comics), a fictional mutant * ''Angel Dust'', a manga by Kouta Hirano * '' ...
covered "The Temple of the King" on the tribute album '' Holy Dio: Tribute to Ronnie James Dio''. * German rock group
Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
covered "The Temple of the King" on the tribute album '' Ronnie James Dio - This Is Your Life''. * Spanish Folk Metal band
Mägo de Oz Mägo de Oz (Spanish for '' Wizard of Oz'', with a metal umlaut) are a Spanish folk metal band from Begoña, Madrid formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus di Fellatio. The band became well known for the strong Celtic feel to their music strengthe ...
covered "The Temple of the King" on their third album ''
La Leyenda de la Mancha ''La Leyenda de La Mancha'' (The Legend of La Mancha) is an album by the Spanish folk metal band Mägo de Oz released in 1998. It is a concept album, specifically a modern-day retelling of the Spanish classic '' Don Quixote''. The song " Molinos ...
'' with lyrics in Spanish and changing the title to "El Templo del Adiós"


Track listing

All songs written by
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guit ...
and
Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...
except where noted.


Personnel

;Rainbow *
Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...
– lead vocals, producer *
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guit ...
– guitar, producer *
Micky Lee Soule Mickey Lee Soule (June 6, 1946 in Cortland, New York) is an American musician. He was the keyboard player for New York hard rock band Elf and a founding member of Rainbow. Soule had a band in the mid-1960s until he was drafted into the army. A ...
– piano,
mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...
, clavinet, organ * Craig Gruber – bass * Gary Driscoll – drums ;Additional musicians *Shoshana – backing vocals on "Catch the Rainbow" and "Still I'm Sad" ;Production *
Martin Birch Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac ...
– producer, engineer, mixing


Charts

;Album


Certifications


References

{{Authority control 1975 debut albums Rainbow (rock band) albums Polydor Records albums Albums produced by Martin Birch