Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

Untitled

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (sometimes stylized Ritchie Blackmore's R-A-I-N-B-O-W) is the first album by English rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's solo band Rainbow, released in July 1975.

Production and release

Two of the songs on the album were cover versions. "Black Sheep of the Family" was a cover of a song recorded by Quatermass, and "Still I'm Sad" was an instrumental cover of a Yardbirds track.

During studio session in Tampa Bay, Florida on 12th December 1974, Blackmore originally planned for his solo single "Black Sheep of the Family" and the B-side "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" with singer/lyricist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Gary Driscoll of the blues-rock band Elf. Other musicians being involved in the early session included keyboardist Matthew Fisher of former Procol Harum, and cellist Hugh McDowell of ELO. Satisfied with the two tracks, Blackmore decided to make his solo album. For the new album, keyboardist and bassist were changed to another Elf members Micky Lee Soule and Craig Gruber. The full album was recorded in Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany in about 3 weeks from February 1975. It was originally thought to be a solo album, but the record was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbw, later progressed to be a new band project. Blackmore and Dio did promotional work for the album. Shortly after the album was released, Blackmore would dismiss all the other Elf musicians and recruit new players for subsequent Rainbow albums. This first line-up never performed live though the live-shots used in the album art are of Blackmore and Elf playing live.

The original vinyl release had a gatefold sleeve, although later reissues on the budget arms of Polydor reduced this to a single sleeve. The album's songs, however, have been performed by subsequent Rainbow lineups.

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow was re-issued on CD in remastered form, in the U.S. in April 1999. The European release followed later in the year.

Lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio called this his favourite Rainbow album.

Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, except where indicated.

Side one

1. "Man on the Silver Mountain" – 4:42
2. "Self Portrait" – 3:17
3. "Black Sheep of the Family" (Steve Hammond) – 3:22
4. "Catch the Rainbow" – 6:27

Side two

1. "Snake Charmer" – 4:33
2. "The Temple of the King" – 4:45
3. "If You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll" – 2:38
4. "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" – 3:31
5. "Still I'm Sad" (Paul Samwell-Smith, Jim McCarty) – 3:51

Note: On the cassette version of the album, Side One features the last five tracks, while Side Two plays the first four. Also, on the case insert and on the cassette itself, "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" is written as "Sixteen Century Greensleeves".

Personnel

• Ronnie James Dio – vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
• Micky Lee Soule – piano, mellotron, clavinet, organ
• Craig Gruber – bass
• Gary Driscoll – drums
• Shoshana - backing vocals

Production notes

• Produced by Ritchie Blackmore, Martin Birch, Ronnie James Dio
• Mixed by Martin Birch
• Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, February 20 - March 14, 1975

Covers

• Blackmore's Night have released a folk rocking cover version of "Self Portrait" on their second studio album Under a Violet Moon in 1999. 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 guitarist Axel Rudi Pell covered the song "Still I'm Sad" on the tribute album "Holy Dio: A Tribute to the Voice of Metal Ronnie James Dio". A cover of The Temple of the King appeared on his career compilation "The Ballads III".
• Opeth played "Catch the Rainbow" live in concert as a tribute to the recently deceased Ronnie James Dio. Jack Starr's Burning Starr also recorded a version on their 2009 album Defiance, which was also featured on the Dio tribute album Magic.
• Mägo de Oz translated into Spanish and covered "The Temple of the King" as "El Templo del Adiós" on their album La Leyenda de la Mancha.