release date: Aug. 5, 1975
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]
producer: Ritchie Blackmore, Martin Birch, Ronnie James Dio
label: Oyster / Polydor - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Man on the Silver Mountain" - 3. "Black Sheep of the Family" - 5. "Snake Charmer" - 7. "If You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll" - 8. "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves"
Studio album debut by Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow - later shortened to Rainbow. Blackmore had only just left Deep Purple to record a single, "Black Sheep of the Family" (a cover of a Quatermass song) and "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" with various musicians including Ronnie James Dio whom Blackmore had heard in the band Elf. The solo single then evolved to a project-band and this full-length album for which Blackmore and Dio composed seven tracks together.
Stylistically, it's hard rock and heavy metal based on blues rock and much in a combo of how Deep Purple sounded on In Rock from 1970 and primary styles of Elf, who had played a gentler kind of hard rock, boogie rock, and glam rock. On the album, Rainbow is credited in the following order: Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Ronnie James Dio on lead vocals, Gary Driscoll on drums, Craig Gruber on bass and Micky Lee Soule on piano, mellotron, clavinet and organ.
It's nice and solid blues rock where the obvious strengths are Blackmore's skills as instrumentalist and Ronnie James Dio as vocalist.
I have always felt that the album lacked great songs; however, it's better than what Blackmore's former band, Deep Purple produced after his leave.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, SputnikMusic 5 / 5 stars ]
