Description

Us pressed music cassette. Grey cassette with black text. Ritchie is misspelled Richie on cassette

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.

Track listing:
1. Snake Charmer
2. The Temple Of The King
3. If You Dont Like Rock N Roll
4. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
5. Still Im Sad
6. Man On The Silver Mountain
7. Self Portrait
8. Black Sheep Of The Family
9. Catch The Rainbow