Rainbow – Live In Germany 1976

Details : 2001, 2CD, Spitfire/Connoisseur

Much debate during recent GTFM Rock Show broadcasts on the merits of Ritchie Blackmore’s current musical project has lead me personally back to the classic period of early Rainbow and specifically to this album which I think first surfaced back in the early 90s.

A set that collects together the (alleged) best performances from Rainbow’s 1976 German tour it captures the band just two albums in, although opening their concerts with the rip-roaring “Kill The King” from the then forthcoming “Long Live Rock ‘n Roll” release.  Unburdened by the limitations of vinyl this two disc set therefore avoids the kind of editing that marred the official live document of the ‘classic’ Ronnie James Dio fronted line-up “On Stage”, a set recorded on the same ‘76 tour but mostly on the Japanese dates. Consequently the listener is treated to a similar songs but specifically more Blackmore in all his self-important glory tinkering away at times seemingly absorbed in his own world, blazing away at others with the kind of intensity few guitarists can create and indeed make interesting when listened to in the home many years later.  Some sixty minutes of live music on vinyl gets stretched to nearly one hundred minutes in compact disc format.

“Mistreated“, a song originally recorded on Deep Purple’s “Burn” album is elongated to the sixteen minute mark and challenges co-writer David Coverdale’s own live version on Whitesnake’s “Live In The Heart Of The City” or Purple’s own live stab at it on “Live In London”.  The often gentle, although at one point quite explosive “Catch The Rainbow” too nearly touches fifteen minutes resulting in just four tracks, a marvellous rendition of “Sixteen Century Greensleeves” being the other, filling the first disc.

The second disc of this collection is particularly special.  “Man On The Silver Mountain” finally emerges from a sequence of guitarist lead jams, the first of which seems to briefly hint at the solo from “Smoke On The Water” for a second as Blackmore indulges.  A short bluesy section towards the end of the song is none too shabby either.  The wonderful “Stargazer” clocks in at a mammoth seventeen minutes thanks in part to the spotlight hitting keyboard player Tony Carey for a superbly grandiose intro.  Never for a second does the track get boring though.  Truly a classic, you hear this song and realise it’s truly a travesty that radio chooses to recognise later, more AOR oriented versions of Rainbow for modern day airplay.  From the same Cologne date comes the lengthy, multi-sectioned piece based around the band’s interpretation of The Yardbirds’ “Still I’m Sad” which allows amongst other things drummer Cozy Powell to bask in the spotlight for a while.  Finally a Blackmore dominated “Do You Close Your Eyes” from the bands pinnacle “Rising” brings to an end a fine collection that although long and indulgent is chock full of intensity and raw energy.

It appears that each of the concerts from which these selections were drawn have now had their own full releases.  I’ve not yet amassed the funds to check each concert out therefore I’m unaware if any date individually matches the quality compiled here.  Until I get around to purchasing and hearing each of those recordings this, not “On Stage” and certainly not the latter Rainbow-era mostly live set “Final Vinyl” will be my choice when wanting to hear this celebrated era of the band in concert.

Highlight: Stargazer

Score: 4/5

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An edited clip of “Stargazer” performed live in 1976 with occasional interview segments…

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BL

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