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 rather pretentious 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." Rainbow become a true embarrassment when they try to lighten up and boogie down.
"If You Don't Like Rock ]n' Roll" is really an abomination, a pale imitation of second-rate radio-rockers like BTO.
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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man on the Silver MountainRitchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio | Rainbow | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | Self PortraitRitchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio | Rainbow | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | Black Sheep of the FamilyRonnie James Dio, Steve Hammond | Rainbow | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | Catch the RainbowRitchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio | Rainbow | Play | 06:39 | 15 MB | 40 MB |
| 5 | Snake CharmerRitchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, Ted Nugent | Rainbow | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | If You Don't Like Rock 'N' RollRitchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio | Rainbow | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | Sixteenth Century GreensleevesRitchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio | Rainbow | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Still I'm SadRonnie James Dio, Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith | Rainbow | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | Temple Of The King | Rainbow | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 37 mins | 85 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 241 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Birch | Mixing, Producer |
| 2 | Ritchie Blackmore | Bass, Composer, Guitar, Producer |
| 3 | Fin Costello | Cover Design |
| 4 | Ronnie James Dio | Composer, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | Dennis M. Drake | Mastering |
| 6 | Gary Driscoll | Drums |
| 7 | Craig Gruber | Bass, Guitar (Bass) |
| 8 | Steve Hammond | Composer |
| 9 | Jim McCarty | Composer |
| 10 | Ted Nugent | Composer |
| 11 | Rainbow | Primary Artist |
| 12 | Paul Samwell-Smith | Composer |
| 13 | Shoshana | Vocals |
| 14 | Micky Lee Soule | Clavinet, Keyboards, Mellotron, Organ, Piano |
| 15 | David Willardson | Cover Design |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |