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Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

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For the Kraljevski Apartman album, see Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (Kraljevski Apartman album).

Untitled

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album released by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 1978, and the last to feature original lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio.

History

Recording of the album commenced in April 1977 at a studio in Château d'Hérouville, France, featuring Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell. Keyboards were initially played on a session basis by former Rainbow member Tony Carey, while bass parts were started by Mark Clarke.[1] Clarke was soon dismissed, however, and the bass parts were recorded by Blackmore himself. By July 1977 seven tracks that ended on the album were in demo form. Recording was suspended while the band recruited Bob Daisley and David Stone and thereafter commenced extensive touring of Europe in the summer and fall of 1977. A return to the Château d'Hérouville studio in December saw the band finish the album and also yielded a final track, "Gates of Babylon."

Although Daisley and Stone are listed on the album credits for their contributions, they joined the band partway through the recording sessions and only appear on three and four songs, respectively. Stone wrote parts of "Gates of Babylon" but was never credited. Blackmore played most of the bass parts on the album.

"Kill the King" was already a staple part of the tour setlists, opening Rainbow concerts since mid-1976. It first appeared on the live album On Stage in 1977. In the 1977–78 concerts the title track and "Kill the King" were the only songs performed, although "L.A. Connection" did get a few airings on the US tour before being dropped from the set. From 2004 to his death in 2010, Dio's solo shows featured a live version of "Gates of Babylon."

Artwork

The original vinyl release was in a gatefold-sleeve, with a lyric-sheet insert. The crowd picture is actually from a Rush concert, with the wording on the banner the fans were actually holding replaced by the Rainbow album title and the visible Rush T-shirts airbrushed to black. [2]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Sputnikmusic[4]

Geoff Ginsberg of AllMusic wrote that Long Live Rock 'n' Roll "would turn out to be the last great album Rainbow would ever make, although they did enjoy a great deal of chart success in the post-Dio era."[3]

Notable reissues

1999
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll was remastered on CD for the US market in April 1999, with the European version following later. The US version had a matte booklet/insert, which matched the original vinyl sleeve for all markets, whereas the European issue was the standard glossy type.
2009
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Story, an album and a book about the making of the LP was released in June 2009 in the "Rock Landmarks" series. The inlay story was written by Jerry Bloom, author of Black Knight, a Ritchie Blackmore's biography.
2012
On 12 April 2012 a picture disc album version of Long Live Rock 'n' Roll was released in the US as part of Record Store Day 2012.
A deluxe edition version was released on 13 November in Europe, featuring rough demos of the album tracks from July 1977, with the exception of "Gates of Babylon" which was written later.

Cover versions

  • In 2016 "Lady of the Lake" was recorded by a metal band Lords of Black fronted by Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero. The song was released as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their album II.

Track listings

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio except where noted. All lyrics by Dio.[5]

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Long Live Rock 'n' Roll"4:21
2."Lady of the Lake"3:39
3."L.A. Connection"5:02
4."Gates of Babylon"6:49
Side two
No.TitleMusicLength
5."Kill the King"Blackmore, Dio, Cozy Powell4:29
6."The Shed (Subtle)"Blackmore, Dio, Powell4:47
7."Sensitive to Light" 3:07
8."Rainbow Eyes" 7:11

2012 Deluxe Edition

Disc one contains the original album with no bonus tracks

Disc two
No.TitleOriginal sourceLength
1."Lady of the Lake"Rough mix, 4 July 19773:50
2."Sensitive to Light"Rough mix, 4 July 19773:03
3."L.A. Connection"Rough mix, 4 July 19775:33
4."Kill the King"Rough mix, 4 July 19774:27
5."The Shed (Subtle)"Rough mix, 4 July 19773:36
6."Long Live Rock 'n' Roll"Rough mix, 4 July 19774:19
7."Rainbow Eyes"Rough mix, 4 July 19776:55
8."Long Live Rock 'n' Roll"Shepperton Film Studios rehearsal, August 19776:56
9."Kill the King"Shepperton Film Studios rehearsal, August 19774:42
10."Long Live Rock 'n' Roll"Live on the Don Kirschner Show, May 19783:31
11."L.A. Connection"Live on the Don Kirschner Show, May 19785:10
12."Gates of Babylon"Live on the Don Kirschner Show, May 19786:35
13."L.A. Connection"Outtake from the Don Kirschner Show, May 19785:11
14."Gates of Babylon"Outtake from the Don Kirschner Show, May 19786:43

Personnel

Rainbow
  • Ronnie James Dio – lead vocals
  • Ritchie Blackmore – guitars, bass (also bass on rough mix tracks 1–6, 2012 Deluxe Edition)
  • Cozy Powell – drums, percussion
  • Bob Daisley – bass on "Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", and "Sensitive to Light"
  • David Stone – keyboards on "Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", "The Shed". Piano outro on "L.A. Connection"
  • Tony Carey – keyboards on "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", "Lady of the Lake", and "Rainbow Eyes" (2012 Deluxe Edition rough mix only)
Additional musicians
  • Bavarian String Ensemble conducted by Rainer Pietsch on "Gates of Babylon"
  • Ferenc Kiss, Nico Nicolic – violins on "Rainbow Eyes"
  • Ottmar Machan - viola on "Rainbow Eyes"
  • Karl Heinz Feit – cello on "Rainbow Eyes"
  • Rudi Risavy – flute on "Rainbow Eyes"
Production
  • Martin Birch - producer and engineer
  • Max Hecker - classical instruments recording engineer
  • Bruce Payne - direction
  • Recorded at The Strawberry Studio at Château d'Hérouville, France, May–July and December 1977

Singles

  • 1978 – "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll / Sensitive to Light"
  • 1978 – "L.A. Connection / Lady of the Lake"

These two singles were also re-released in the UK in July 1981. "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" was also used for many years as a jingle by the British radio DJ Alan Freeman.

Charts

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
UK BPI 1978 Silver (+ 60,000)[14]

Covers

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Record Collector United Kingdom "Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century"[16] 2000 No order
Classic Rock United Kingdom "The 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Times"[17] 2001 29
Rock Hard Germany "Top 300 Albums"[17] 2001 105

References

  1. ^ Saulnier, Jason (1 June 2010). "Tony Carey Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. ^ Classic Rock magazine, September 2002. [1]
  3. ^ a b Ginsberg, Geoff. "Rainbow Long Live Rock 'n' Roll review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  4. ^ Diver, Holy. "Rainbow Long Live Rock 'n' Roll review". Sputnikmusic. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  5. ^ Ritchie Blackmore Book Review
  6. ^ a b "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Rainbow – Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Rainbow – Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (album)". Norwegiancharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Rainbow – Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  10. ^ "Album – Rainbow, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  11. ^ "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 29, No. 16, July 15, 1978". Library and Archives Canada. 15 July 1978. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  13. ^ レインボー レインボーのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Search for Artist Rainbow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  15. ^ Secret Voyage @ SPV
  16. ^ "Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century". Record Collector (245). January 2000. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll". Acclaimed Music.net. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
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