Description
Japan press with OBI-strip, gatefold cover and a 4-page lyric insert The Best of Rainbow compiles 16 of the best tracks from Rainbow's first seven studio albums, wisely avoiding 1977's live On Stage release. The tracks from their debut album, 1975's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, showcases the instant bond that was formed between Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio, especially on "Man on the Silver Mountain." Blackmore changed the band for the following year's Rainbow Rising, with Jimmy Bain replacing bass player Craig Gruber, and Cozy Powell taking percussion duties away from Gary Driscoll. Adding keyboard player Tony Carey helped tracks like ‘Starstruck’ and the lengthy ‘Stargazer’ to sound a little more dimensional and fluent than the group's first effort. All of 1978's Long Live Rock and Roll have Rainbow settling in to a heavier sound with faster guitar riffs, proven on the frantic ‘Kill the King’ and on the string accompanied ‘Gates of Babylon’. With Dio leaving in 1978, Graham Bonnet filled in on vocals for Down to Earth, with Roger Glover playing bass. Although the album gave the band a number 40 hit with ‘Since You've Been Gone’, one of Russ Ballard's creations, Bonnet left thereafter and was replaced by Joe Lynn Turner for the Difficult to Cure album. The album sold on the strength of ‘I Surrender’, one of their best tracks, but the remaining tunes marked the beginning of Rainbow's recession. ‘Jealous Lover’, the B-side to 1981's ‘Can't Happen Here’ is a nice addition to the collection. For a hits package, The Very Best of Rainbow doubles as both a handy sift through the group's changing line-up and as a good place to start for those who are inquisitive. Japanese vinyl releases are premium quality pressings, much sought after by audiophiles and collectors alike. In the 1960s Toshiba pioneered top quality red vinyl pressings using their trademark ‘Ever-Clean’ process this utilised a special ingredient intended to prevent the build-up of static electricity on the vinyl. Japanese pressings are synonymous with quality – the vinyl shines like no other vinyl everything about their releases feels special. When US audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab first released their series of high quality pressings the records were manufactured in Japan. The sonic quality of Japanese pressings is considered to be among the best in the world and, in addition, they are beautifully presented, their covers usually printed on better quality heavy stock paper and often including a bonus lyric insert with dual language Japanese and English text. Nearly all Japanese LPs were issued with an ‘obi’ – literally translated this means ‘sash’ and is derived from the obi (sash) worn around the traditional kimono dress. This delicate paper strip, usually wrapped around the left side of the album cover, often contains marketing information and album content details, all printed in Japanese kanji and kana script. Obi designs can be as varied as the LPs they adorn, and some series of obi designs can be as collectable as the artist’s albums they decorate. Track listing: 1. All Night Long 2. Man On The Silver Mountain 3. Lost In Hollywood 4. Jealous Lover 5. Long Live Rock n Roll 6. Stargazer 7. Kill The King 8. A Light In The Black 9. Since You Been Gone 10. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves 11. Catch The Rainbow 12. The Eyes Of The World 13. I Surrender 14. Gates Of Babylon 15. Cant Happen Here 16. Starstruck