The Ronnie James DIO album-by-album thread

it's called stalking, good on him. Talking of Lennon, remember that wierd chubby fan who hung around?

(just messing with ya PC, that's one of the the few posts where it has been easy to decipher that you are female..my wife would have said the same thing too)

 

As someone who was born in celebrity family and spent years in show-biz I can only state that female stalkers are psycho dangerous and better be kept in long, long distance.

 

Great pics!

 

Muriel had a remarkably unfortunate choice in stalkees!

 

where's the "raise one eyebrow" smilie?

okay, i see your point about Chapman, but i was referring to what Dio would've done as opposed to how Blackmore handled it... of course, i'm speculating... and i have to admit, i might've reacted the same way

you know that if he found her attractive, she would've been called a "groupie" instead of a "lump"..... you'd never know it by the song lyrics that pay tribute to her...

 

Blackmore strikes me as the kind of guy who would have set the dogs on her even if she looked like Candice Night. I mean, can you imagine, hiding in Blackmore's bushes? She's lucky he didn't toss a Strat at her.

 

yup

 

Nope!

Yup!

"Lump" is Blackmore-speak for "girl"

 

misogynists! alla yas!!

 

"It's going to be a long, hard, silly tour." This was Ritchie Blackmore's deadpan take on Rainbow's first world tour while the band rehearsed for it in Spring 1976: "The bad thing about these tours is that after about ten gigs, all the equipment is broken, everybody's got to work twice as hard just to compensate for the technical problems, and you've still got thirty cities to play."

The 1976 Rising world tour started on June 6th in Idaho, and its first leg would go on across America and Canada until August. The setlist was basically the same as on their debut tour minus Self Portrait and If You Don't Like Rock 'N' Roll, with the biggest change affecting the opening song, Do You Close Your Eyes, which wound up as the encore (optional, depending on Ritchie's feelings) from now on. It was felt the song wasn't an effective opener, so just like Deep Purple had done with Speed King back in 1969, Rainbow tried to come up with a suitable track with which to take audiences by storm. The result was Kill The King, a blistering song that Blackmore described thus: "The riff was just a very fast one, which is my typical type of block chord in G, and it's just a very frantic, up-front, no-nonsense number." Another addition to the show was Deep Purple's Mistreated, a personal favourite of Ritchie's that he wanted to keep exploring, only he wasn't very sure how the suggestion would be received, as Ronnie recalls: "When he wanted us to do it he came up and said 'Eh, Ronnie, would you mind... if we played Mistreated?' Ritchie was so meek about it, as if he didn't want to hurt my feelings." Dio had no misgivings about it whatsoever: "Ritchie wrote the song and the melody; Dave Coverdale just put baby-baby-baby on it." The earlier live staples like Man On The Silver Mountain, Catch The Rainbow and Sixteenth Century Greensleeves remained in the set, and so did Stargazer and A Light In The Black, played back to back as they'd been on the 1975 tour, before the finale of Still I'm Sad.

During the American leg of the tour, Rainbow still played as headliner on most dates, but also went on as support act to bands like Blue Öyster Cult or Jethro Tull on bigger arenas, as the financial aspects of the production were still a big concern. The tour proved disappointing for the band as they had trouble filling up venues sometimes, with slow ticket sales and two albums that, although well received by critics, were not particularly setting the charts on fire. Deep Purple had been huge only two years prior, but it seemed like any member going it alone would have to be prepared to work their way up all over again.

 

Javimulder, I have to say your posts are more entertaining and informative than the Blackmore biography I read (written by the head of his fan club--forget the name offhand). Thanks for taking the time

 

I agree. They're very nicely done. They sound like excerpts from a well written book.

 

Thanks, Curbach... posts and PMs like yours make it worth my while, I'm glad some people are enjoying them

Thanks! From next album on, I'll start charging

 

Moving on...


Late August 1976 saw the Rainbow entourage move to Europe, and the first two weeks of September were devoted to presenting the band to the eager UK fanbase, who embraced Blackmore's ensemble as the second coming. The concerts were extremely successful and the rave reviews in the press along with word of mouth ensured that Rainbow soon became the band to see, with rock stars and celebrities often in attendance at packed halls and theatres like London's Hammersmith Odeon, where old mates Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Roger Glover saw Blackmore's new band in action and were suitably impressed. Glover even went backstage to congratulate Ritchie, who surprised him by expressing an interest in Roger becoming involved with Rainbow in a writing capacity.

But while on the music front things seemed to be only getting better, on the personal front the cracks had begun to appear. Blackmore started expressing his dissatisfaction with keyboardist Tony Carey's allegedly long solos, and was peeved at some of his on stage contributions, which Ritchie saw as interfering with his solos. Always fond of a good prank, Ritchie took to making Carey the butt of his practical jokes until the young keyboard player had enough and left (or was sacked, depending on who you ask) in the middle of the UK tour. Manager Bruce Payne managed to catch him on his way to the airport and calmed things down so the European tour could continue.

The second half of September saw the band visiting Sweden, Denmark and Germany, while France, Belgium and Holland would follow in October. By the time Rainbow had made it to England the set had been cut short by one song, A Light In The Black, apparently due to Cozy Powell's complaints that the stringing together of Stargazer, A Light In The Black and Still I'm Sad (which included his drum solo) left him exhausted and unable to perform properly. This did nothing to diminish the European fans' reaction to the shows, however, and the tour proved a big success which, for Ronnie at least, made for an annoying contrast to the luck they'd had in the States: "I am sick of getting slapped in the face by audiences over there and, frankly, I wouldn't care if we never played the US again. Right now we're butting our heads against Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles. American audiences appear to be interested in nothing else."

Rainbow's concerts were getting praised by critics and fans alike with superlatives very often used to describe the performances and so, with the band at a musical peak and audiences in the palm of their hands, the decision was made to record some of the shows with the intention of putting out a live album in the near future. To this end, the German shows in late September were chosen.

 

RAINBOW - Live In Germany 1976 (1990)




- Kill The King (++++)
- Mistreated (++++)
- Sixteenth Century Greensleeves (+)
- Catch The Rainbow (++)
- Man On The Silver Mountain (+++)
- Stargazer (+)
- Still I'm Sad (+)
- Do You Close Your Eyes (++++)


(+) Cologne Sporthalle, 25th September 1976
(++) Dusseldorf Philipshalle, 27th September 1976
(+++) Nuremberg Messezentrum, 28th September 1976
(++++) Munich Circus Krone, 29th September 1976


RITCHIE BLACKMORE - guitar
RONNIE JAMES DIO - vocals
JIMMY BAIN - bass
TONY CAREY - keyboards
COZY POWELL - drums




Released in 1990 on the Connoisseur Collection label at the instigation of the Deep Purple Appreciation Society and sanctioned by Ritchie Blackmore and manager Bruce Payne, Live In Germany is a collection of recordings from four concerts in late September 1976, sequenced to recreate the setlist of a regular show from Rainbow's first European tour. While the sound leaves a bit to be desired with the mix being muddy in places, the quality of the performances shine through and the energy, dynamics and sheer power of the band more than make up for any sound quality concerns.

After the brief Over The Rainbow intro, the band storms into action with Kill The King, Blackmore producing a dirty tone for the riff and some frantic shred for the solo, with Dio soaring and growling his way through the song. The band runs through it fast and it's over quick but it's an all-out assault on the senses when played loud.

Next on the menu is Mistreated, introduced by Ronnie as written "by Ritchie and David" and with a long guitar solo that features very quiet and gentle playing from all concerned, Blackmore clearly enjoying himself before plunging into the emotional line that announces the return to the song proper. Dio gives it his all as he starts the last verse after the solo; that long, sustained shout has to be heard to be believed. Ritchie and Ronnie have a little fun duet before the end of the song that, although not as entertaining as the Blackmore/Gillan ones of yesteryear, still shows the pair in good spirits.

What follows is Blackmore's gentle reading of the Greensleeves classic with Tony Carey providing some synth pads under the guitar, both of them alone until Ritchie blasts the heavy riff to Sixteenth Century Greensleeves and the whole band joins. Ritchie's riffage sounds beautifully abrasive, and combined with two excellent solos and the great backing of Hammond organ, fat bass and pummeling drums (check out Cozy putting his double kick to the test), the live version sounds like everything the studio version wanted to be but couldn't. The band sounds massive in spite of the recording, and one can only be amazed imagining what this must've sounded like at the concert venue.

Ronnie introduces the electronic illuminated rainbow, the band's beautiful and effective stage prop, and we're about to be immersed in the mellow waters of Catch The Rainbow, led by Blackmore's clean, leslie-effected guitar. This is a particularly great performance, the band sounds totally into it providing extreme dynamics under Ritchie's versatile and varied soloing. Dio's voice seems to know no limits and he simply excels on this one, as do Bain and Carey on backing vocals. The song eventually takes off and develops into a real tour de force thanks to Carey's dramatic keyboard work while Blackmore plays like a man possessed during the last solo. Simply awesome.

After such an intense trip it's back to head-banging fun, and Ritchie teases the band with some improvised riff that they jam to for a while before teasing the audience with a snippet of the fastest Lazy you're ever likely to hear. Then he noodles quietly a little bit before turning the volume on his guitar full up and letting his scorching distortion fry the crowd's ears with The Man On The Silver Mountain. Carey's Hammond organ sings behind as it should while Cozy sets a fast pace for this one. Ritchie is very much into it with a great solo before the band stops and leaves him alone to assault his Strat some more. He then quickly leads the band into a slow blues that sees him have a little fun as he trades licks with Carey, to which Dio follows with a little vocal solo that prompts the band to jam along. Real nice stuff, everyone seems to have fun on this track. I love Ronnie's finale with his shout of "the MAAAAN!"; this man's voice is just amazing.

We're approaching the end of the show and so it's time for the ultimate epic, Stargazer. Tony Carey takes center stage for an extended solo that puts his array of keyboards to good use, until a roll on the snare gradually builds up to cue the band into the song proper. They sound terrific as they unleash one majestic riff after another, and once more the recording doesn't do justice to the band's power. Dio steals the spotlight here as much as he did on the studio version, attacking the verses with emotion and fearlessly giving it his all as the song reaches its final stage. Blackmore is inspired for this one as well, and alternates picking and slide for a solo that gets positively manic at times, adding echo for some effective long glissandos before the band begins the build up towards the guitar's climax. The band does a fantastic job of pulling off this demanding track live, especially Bain with his huge bass presence, but, as the song gets near the end, one can't help feeling that it needs a bit more "oomph" and it never comes. It's as if they put in all they had since the beginning to make the song sound as big as it needs to, but when they reach the final verses and the song demands that little extra something to make it truly epic, they have nothing left to give. That feeling is reinforced by the quick way in which the song is ended, which doesn't make it justice. It's a really strong performance nevertheless, but it just doesn't scale the heights that the studio version does and, whereas the rest of the performances here are arguably bigger and better than their studio counterparts, the live Stargazer falls a bit short of the expectations one may have after listening to it on Rising.

The show closes with Still I'm Sad, a showcase for every member of the band with solos aplenty and Blackmore pulling out all the stops. It also features Cozy Powell's drum solo, the central part of which used to be his accompaniment to Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture, but on this recording the solo is cut short as there must have been a problem with the tapes that night.

That would normally be all, but depending on the crowd's response (or on whether Blackmore felt the band was doing a good gig) an encore of Do You Close Your Eyes would be played. One such occurrence is included in this album, and we get to witness how Ritchie comes back on stage before the rest of the band and plays a few fast licks to the crowd's delight. He then pounces onto the riff and the band quickly joins, forsaking the tightness of the preceding set with an attitude that's more a celebration of that night's triumph than any serious attempt at a professional performance. The studio version of this track had no solos, but this live performance includes a little organ solo in the middle that gives way to a guitar solo, and this finds Blackmore in a playful mood because it quickly turns into a whammy-bar fest, before degenerating into a barrage of noise that signals the guitar is about to be sacrificed. The band keeps going full tilt while all hell breaks loose on Ritchie's side of the stage and eventually the guitar signal goes away completely. Listen carefully to the background and you can hear the Strat's body getting smashed! Once Blackmore straps on a substitute the song can continue, but if things were loose before, by now it sounds like they might fall apart any moment and even Dio makes a mess of his entrance. A few repeats of the chorus mark the song's end and Ritchie is once again abusing his instrument before the very last crashing chords.

Like I said before, I don't like the album's overall sound quality and, for the life of me, I can't understand why any two consecutive songs taken from the same concert should have a fade out and fade in between them since they're presented in the same sequence as they were played on the night, but those are admittedly minor quibbles and the truth is the music and performances within this double set are of the highest standard, especially in the case of Catch The Rainbow and Stargazer, and I can't think of any reason why a fan of heavy rock music shouldn't enjoy this album from top to bottom. With Dio at his best and Blackmore never failing to impress, this is Rainbow at the very top of their game.

 

I am very much enjoying this thread. I'm learning a lot. I'm sure this is taking a lot of time on your part. Thanks!

Uh oh! The praise is going to your head!

 

I passed on this album at that time... the sound of the 6 CD set "Deutschland Tournee 76" is slightly better.

 

check out Javimulder's location... i know i couldn't come up with stuff this good in Spanish, that's for sure...

 

I bought Live in Germany '96 mail-order from an ad in the back of Goldmine magazine I think it was probably not long after in came out in 1990. It's still to this day one of my favourite cds. 'Catch the Rainbow' from this is one of my favourite musical performances of all time. I couldn't begin to guess how many times I've listened to it: hundreds? certainly. thousands? possibly. I initially found the roughess of the vocal performances on this version compared to On Stage tough to deal with but I've long since gotten used to them. The difference maker for me is the guitar solo and the mix; I find the keyboards in the On Stage version too high and they distract me from Blackmore's guitar.

There is definitely something about those 1976 Rainbow shows. Special stuff.

I too have learned lots from this thread. Keep it up, Javimulder!

 

Live In Germany had its artwork changed in some territories, and it was even retitled for the American market:

Japan:




USA:

 

Great pics!

 

In 1991, two more selections from the 1976 German concerts were released on "Ritchie Blackmore - Rock Profile Volume 2" on the Connoisseur Collection label:



The two tracks in question are Man On The Silver Mountain (recorded at the show in Cologne, 25th September) and Sixteenth Century Greensleeves (from Munich, 29th September). Both come from different shows than the versions found on Live In Germany, and are also superior performances, in my opinion. Man On The Silver Mountain features the rare occurrence of Ronnie going for the high notes in the chorus, as well as an extra long guitar blitz after the main body of the song. Also interesting to hear is Ritchie coming back after the regular solo and proceeding to play his rhythm part with the slide still in his left hand. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves is worth listening to for Ritchie's frantic first solo break alone, and is an overall better version than the one on Live In Germany.

 

What is everyones opinion on Live At Munich 1977? Its on sale tonight at CDWOW for about $6 shipped. Is it brickwalled? Thanks mates

 

Three of the September 1976 German shows were newly mixed in 2006, and they were released in full in May of that year, but only in Japan. The shows were Cologne (25th), Dusseldorf (27th) and Nuremberg (28th), and each 2 CD set came in a gatefold miniature-LP style cover, all housed inside a neat box that also included a mousepad:


(box and mousepad)

They were later released separetely for the European market with Cologne coming out first in July 2006, followed by Dusseldorf and Nuremberg in February and December 2007, respectively:


(l to r: Cologne, Dusseldorf, Nuremberg)

The setlists are identical for all three shows (Kill The King; Mistreated; Sixteenth Century Greensleeves; Catch The Rainbow; Man On The Silver Mountain; Stargazer; Still I'm Sad; encore - Do You Close Your Eyes) except for Dusseldorf, where the encore wasn't played. Here's a little rundown of what each one has to offer:

COLOGNE
=======
- SUMMARY:
100 minutes. The band's performance is good, Dio has assorted brilliant moments, Ritchie is consistently great. Ronnie introduces the rainbow after the song Catch The Rainbow as opposed to before it, which is when he always used to. Cozy's solo is shorter than usual and doesn't feature 1812 Overture. Encore is mayhem and Ritchie's guitar goes way out of tune for his solo. Includes guitar destruction. Overall very good.
- HIGHLIGHTS:
Mistreated (inspired intro guitar, excellent vocals), Man On The Silver Mountain (Dio goes for the high notes in the chorus, great Ritchie), Stargazer (great both Ritchie and Ronnie).

DUSSELDORF
==========
- SUMMARY:
90 minutes. Uneven show with some truly great performances and a couple "meh" ones. Dio is in top form throughout. Ritchie is consistently great. Great drum solo with 1812. No encore, crowd complains. Overall good.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Catch The Rainbow (awesome), Man On The Silver Mountain (great both Ritchie and Ronnie, the whole band is into it), Still I'm Sad (Cozy nails it).
- LOWLIGHTS: Mistreated (average), Stargazer (keyboard intro not good, Dio botches the lyrics, meandering and overlong slide guitar climax completely defeats the purpose).

NUREMBERG
=========
- SUMMARY:
92 minutes. Great band performance with some awesome moments. Dio is again in top form and Ritchie simply excellent with great soloing on every single track, the man is "on" for the duration. Another great drum solo with 1812 and you can hear the pyro going off. Encore, but no guitar destruction. Overall great.
- HIGHLIGHTS: Kill The King (they go all-out for this one), Mistreated (perfect rendition), Sixteenth Century Greensleeves (energy levels to the max, great vocals and guitar), Stargazer (great keyboard intro, great vocals and perfect Ritchie), Still I'm Sad (blistering guitar).

The mixes on these 2 CD sets are notably better than those on Live In Germany, but I reckon these complete shows will only appeal to the hardcore who just can't get enough of this band. Casual fans might be satisfied just sticking with the old Live In Germany.

Now, Live In Germany was compiled from these 3 concerts mentioned above as well as from the Munich show (the night after Nuremberg). Why hasn't it been released too? All we have available from Munich are 3 tracks on Live In Germany, plus an additional one found on Blackmore's Rock Profile Vol. 2, and the parts they used for On Stage. A shame since the Munich performances released so far are hot.

Incidentally, Live In Germany originally claimed to have stuff from Mannheim, but that was just a mistake; the show in question was Nuremberg.

 

Sounds like Nuremberg might be the one to get if you only want to buy one of these.