It’s long been my opinion that those first 3 Rainbow albums were the best thing Blackmore ever put his name to and the best thing Dio ever put his name to. Sabbath, Deep Purple, the solo stuff is all superb, don’t get me wrong, but those 3 and especially Rising, had something magical about them.
1. Rising and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll 2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow Long Live Rock'n'Roll was the first album I bought by Rainbow, actually on cassette. I was a fan of the band Dio, but I didn't know he had been in any other bands. This was before the internet and I was just a kid. I ordered the cassette from a magazine because I thought the title was cool. I was really surprised when I heard that mighty familiar vocal coming out of my little grey 80's cassette player. Kill The King is still my Rainbow favourite. Magnificent stuff🤘
I saw Rainbow mid seventies when they highlighted what was then a state of the art stage prop.....the multicoloured Rainbow backdrop. We were all mesmerised by it! Ronnie James Dio also mesmerised us, a pint size vocalist with the roar of a Lion. Halcyon days.
Tiny margins between them 🔬 3. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, 9.95/10 (Just brilliant) 2. Rising, 9.96/10 (Stunning, but only 34 mins. And the 4th track should be called "Can You Close Your Ears") 1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, 9.97/10 (Superb. More consistent than Rising and a decent length. Its weakest track, "Sensitive to Light" is still rather good)
I was too young to have seen Rainbow circa ‘76-‘78. I first got to see and hear Ronnie James Dio sing Rainbow songs at Castle Donington in August 1983 with the Dio band.The Rainbow debut still has some Funky residue courtesy of Craig Gruber’s excellent Bass playing. I used to fill up a C90 cassette with the best of the first three studio albums. The only fillers for me where ‘If You Don’t Like Rock’n’Roll’ & ‘Do You Close Your Eyes’. I hope that Rainbow’s debut gets an expanded-remixed edition.
Rising and Long Live Rock n Roll are two of my favorite albums with the triumvirate of Cozy Powell, Blackmore and Dio. I often watch RUclipsrs react to hearing Stargazer for the first time.
Richie Blackmore's Rainbow, is song for song the greatest Rainbow album for me, much like AC/DC's Let There Be Rock, more classic songs crammed on to one album, more than any of the others.
I'm with you word for word on this one. Then, how about... On Stage!? INCREDIBLE live album, easily one of the best IMHO, easily one of my top live albums of all time.
Rising by far a classic of the era. I too love the wizards, dragons mystique themes. Right up my street. Although my favourite track Temple of the King is on the first album.
Ronnie blew hot and cold about Rising. I met Ronnie many times over the years, and he always remembered my name and what I'd been doing. He once spoke to me for over an hour and said himself that he had periods of love and hate for Stargazer and Light in the black.
Nice one! Good to see you quoting Mr. Popoff. I'd put Rising at #1, LLRR at 2 and the debut (impressive and occasionally brilliant but still not fully formed) at 3.
About what Dio said on the second part of Rising? If you watch that whole interview where he does discuss many albums. He seem to rank them more on how happy he was with the band compared to the quality of the music. Just like actors care more about their experience making a movie rather than the quality of the movie.
This is tough, because all 3 are fantastic, but if I was forced to rank them, your order is the correct order. I was fortunate to discover Rainbow during the pandemic and have since become one of my top ten bands of all time. They are just so good and incredibly underrated. I’m a ‘80s & ‘90s kid and to discover this great band this late sucks, but at least I found them. Rising to me had their best line up and I think Ritchie messed up on pissing off Tony Carey with his dumb pranks causing him to leave. I loved his keyboard playing. To me he was their best they’d had. Dio & Cozy were fantastic and wished they all stayed together longer. It’s a shame Ritchie’s ego and perfectionism can get in the way. I have listened to Rainbow after Dio and they are still pretty damn good, but much different. The songs that stand out to me the most are “All Night Long”, “Danger Zone” & “Death Alley Driver”. Those are fantastic. The instrumentals “Snowman” & “Difficult to Cure” are also great. Their rendition of “Hall of the Mountain King” is incredible. Despite his attitude, Blackmore seems to do no wrong. He’s phenomenal.
I just starting to listen to RainBow about 15 years ago, And I always wonder where I have I been to miss out on this amazing Group. I had friends in high school listening to them and I never gave them a chance Man I was wrong
Nice succinct summary of the Dio-era Rainbow albums. My own personal ranking puts Long Live Rock n’ Roll on almost level pegging with Rising. A lot of factors feed in to how we view these albums, nostalgia being an important one. LLRR is perhaps a punchier album than Rising, and the studio rendition of Kill the King benefits from the band having played it for at least a year before they recorded this version. This was much in the same vein as Pink Floyd trialling out the Dark side of the Moon tracks for many months before recording their classic album. I’ll pick you up on one point: Dio recalls that the first song he and Blackmore penned was, in fact, 16th Century Greensleeves (see/listen to online interviews). And, yes, Catch the Rainbow came hot on the heels of it. Interesting additional fact about Stargazer - Blackmore has said that Dio contributed to the descending melody link between the verse and the chorus - something he had never quite encountered before in his songwriting partnerships. The riffs were usually Blackmore’s territory. Any way you look at it, these albums are all must-buys for anyone wanting to understand the roots of what came to be known as neoclassical rock; some have called it ‘Castle rock.’ Not mentioned here, of course is the wonderful Live on Stage album, which saw many of the songs from the first studio album taken to new heights. Once again, thanks for this revisiting of yesteryear.
For me? 3. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow 2. Long Live Rock N' Roll 1. Rising All strong albums. If you are new to the band.. None of these is a bad first buy!
1. Rising 2. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow 3. Long Live Rock n Roll Several songs from the debut album rank amongst my all time favourites, I think Self Portrait is one of the most underrated songs from dio and blackmore’s entire discography, but rising tops the list just because of the sheer epic musicianship on display.
Rising is obviously the best Dio era album and I'd rank LLR&R second as it has better musicians and more power in the perfomances than the debut. I think Dio not being at the centre of things and the band showing off its instrumental prowess is the reason for him not liking all the second side of Rising. I love the proggy flourishes on A Light in the Black and Cozy Powell gives a drumming tour de force on both that and Stargazer.
Kill the king and Rainbow eyes as standout tracks on LLRR would have been worth being mentioned. The hint to Uriah Heep as being there in the Fantasy Rock field is smart. Maybe they invented the genre? Thanks Barry for the great work, as always.
Dio years definitely the best Rainbow era IMO. Down to Earth is also great. It's not that the JLT albums aren't good, they are, but it was very different by then and I rarely seem to go back to those albums. Stranger in Us All is underrated and has some good stuff on it not least Black Masquerade which is a corker!
I loved them all. I was heart broken by the split and found Heaven and Hell to me to be a fourth. I know it doesn’t make sense: Iommi did a great job sitting in for Ritchie . lol. 1 Long Live Rock and Roll 2 Heaven and He’ll 3 Richie’s Rainbow 4 Rising. Rising has been growing on me over the years. They are all wonderful. Great stuff. lol
Yes I’d agree with that ranking , but I see all three as a springboard to both Ronnie and Richie’s subsequent albums. All Dio’ s albums are great obviously including his Black Sabbath albums, and the later Rainbow are excellent hard rock imho . Happy Christmas CAR.
Rising is for me clearly the stand out album but the other two are good also. I'd have a slight preference for Blackmore's Rainbow because it has two very special tracks in Man on the Silver Mountain and 16th Century Greensleeves. Self Portrait is good, too.
Albums... I don't listen to them much. However, the live shows they did can bring tears to my eyes. I even watch reaction videos if young people listening to Rainbow 🌈 for tfe first time. Re: Stargazer, you should visit Chichen Itza and watch Apocalypto. It's the perfect setting and makes less gothic, more end of the world Maya.
I love Dio, but I can’t help but think his dismissal of Stargazer and Light in the Black was because Blackmore had as it were out-Dioed him on the songwriting. If Dio had come up with those songs all by himself they would have had pride of place on his solo albums. \m/
I would put Rising and LLRR at equal status though the first had my favourite song MOTSM. I thought for the most part the musicianship was lacking on the first.
1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll 2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow 3. Rising. I love Tarot Woman, Stargazer, and Light In The Black, but the rest is pure filler to my ears.
I remember buying the first album(in the 90's at Borders bookstore!), and it was great. Then I bought the second one and it was amazing. Then I found out there was a third album....and it was just ok. I can't figure out why i don't like that third album! The first 2 I put on all the time....And Stargazer is my favorite Rainbow song, bytheway
It seemed that as time went on Dio became more bitter and ambiguous towards Rising. In some respects you can’t blame him. Tony Carey however was treated in a most abhorrent way by Blackmore and Powell, sad really.
Great stuff.( I entered your room and cant make a negative comment) I must not be feeling myself?Dio was great with Sabbath for me aswell and when he went on his own with Holy Diver and such.I will go and lie down for agreeing with you.Is it 111 to call for medical help?
I saw a real rainbow in the dark at Kenilworth castle 2018 . 5.30am a slight increase in the first rays of the morning 98 percent dark a rainbow complete 😎
Agree with your ranking! Rising is the only really classic album of these three, that shouldn't be missing in any decent rock record collection. The other two are very good records, but never got the status of a "classic".
a few wise heads below pointing out that Rising is Stargazer, Tarot Woman and filler - and that it can't really be seen as the best album - i mean come on Light in the Black has to be the weakest most banal riff Blackmore ever wrote - spinning it out to over 8min is taking the piss - and do you close your eyes is just risible Long Live Rock Roll is a much much better record - a diverse/varied collection of songs -showcases the talent, power and capability of the musicians - some of the best solos RB played on record - CP's drumming may not be as flamboyant as on rising, but is beautifully integrated and through composed into the songs - keyboards not foregrounded in the mix but again integral part of each song's composition/conception - Dio at his imperious best - it's a real gem and doesn't receive the accolades it deserves - imo
As much as I love Ronnie, I like Down To Earth better than any of the albums he did with Rainbow. I have troubles staying awake through the slow parts of Rising.
I think Rising, Long Live Rock & Roll and Down to Earth are all great and the best three Rainbow albums. It's not a coincidence to me that Cozy Powell is on drums on all three to power them along. It was a big loss when he and Graham Bonnet left and they blanded out into AOR.
![Dio - Rainbow In The Dark (Official Music Video) [HD]](/img/1.gif)
1. Rising
2. Long Live R 'n 'R
3. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
Long live is my favourite rainbow album
It’s long been my opinion that those first 3 Rainbow albums were the best thing Blackmore ever put his name to and the best thing Dio ever put his name to. Sabbath, Deep Purple, the solo stuff is all superb, don’t get me wrong, but those 3 and especially Rising, had something magical about them.
Excellent time in rock history, good time to be alive as an impressionable artist🤳🏼
1. Rising and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
Long Live Rock'n'Roll was the first album I bought by Rainbow, actually on cassette. I was a fan of the band Dio, but I didn't know he had been in any other bands. This was before the internet and I was just a kid. I ordered the cassette from a magazine because I thought the title was cool. I was really surprised when I heard that mighty familiar vocal coming out of my little grey 80's cassette player. Kill The King is still my Rainbow favourite. Magnificent stuff🤘
Exactly Equally good
Gates of B and Tarot W. Favorites
My rankings
1. Rising
2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
3. Long Live Rock n Roll
1. Rising
2. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
3. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
Same criteria list: 1) Rising 2) Long live rock and roll 3) Rainbow
Full Dio/Rainbow list: 1) Rising 2) On Stage 3) Long live rock and roll 4) Rainbow
Wonderful memories of the Dio Rainbow! From the late 70's I just love the 3 albums and the live one!
I saw Rainbow mid seventies when they highlighted what was then a state of the art stage prop.....the multicoloured Rainbow backdrop. We were all mesmerised by it! Ronnie James Dio also mesmerised us, a pint size vocalist with the roar of a Lion. Halcyon days.
Tiny margins between them 🔬
3. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, 9.95/10 (Just brilliant)
2. Rising, 9.96/10 (Stunning, but only 34 mins. And the 4th track should be called "Can You Close Your Ears")
1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, 9.97/10 (Superb. More consistent than Rising and a decent length. Its weakest track, "Sensitive to Light" is still rather good)
The debut will always be my favorite, same as Dio's favorite.
I was too young to have seen Rainbow circa ‘76-‘78. I first got to see and hear Ronnie James Dio sing Rainbow songs at Castle Donington in August 1983 with the Dio band.The Rainbow debut still has some Funky residue courtesy of Craig Gruber’s excellent Bass playing. I used to fill up a C90 cassette with the best of the first three studio albums. The only fillers for me where ‘If You Don’t Like Rock’n’Roll’ & ‘Do You Close Your Eyes’. I hope that Rainbow’s debut gets an expanded-remixed edition.
Rising and Long Live Rock n Roll are two of my favorite albums with the triumvirate of Cozy Powell, Blackmore and Dio. I often watch RUclipsrs react to hearing Stargazer for the first time.
Richie Blackmore's Rainbow, is song for song the greatest Rainbow album for me, much like AC/DC's Let There Be Rock, more classic songs crammed on to one album, more than any of the others.
I'm with you word for word on this one. Then, how about... On Stage!? INCREDIBLE live album, easily one of the best IMHO, easily one of my top live albums of all time.
I love all three of those albums, you know a band is a legend when you place such a high quality album that is Long Live Rock and Roll last .
Rising by far a classic of the era. I too love the wizards, dragons mystique themes. Right up my street. Although my favourite track Temple of the King is on the first album.
Ronnie blew hot and cold about Rising. I met Ronnie many times over the years, and he always remembered my name and what I'd been doing. He once spoke to me for over an hour and said himself that he had periods of love and hate for Stargazer and Light in the black.
Nice one! Good to see you quoting Mr. Popoff. I'd put Rising at #1, LLRR at 2 and the debut (impressive and occasionally brilliant but still not fully formed) at 3.
About what Dio said on the second part of Rising? If you watch that whole interview where he does discuss many albums. He seem to rank them more on how happy he was with the band compared to the quality of the music. Just like actors care more about their experience making a movie rather than the quality of the movie.
This is tough, because all 3 are fantastic, but if I was forced to rank them, your order is the correct order.
I was fortunate to discover Rainbow during the pandemic and have since become one of my top ten bands of all time. They are just so good and incredibly underrated. I’m a ‘80s & ‘90s kid and to discover this great band this late sucks, but at least I found them.
Rising to me had their best line up and I think Ritchie messed up on pissing off Tony Carey with his dumb pranks causing him to leave. I loved his keyboard playing. To me he was their best they’d had. Dio & Cozy were fantastic and wished they all stayed together longer. It’s a shame Ritchie’s ego and perfectionism can get in the way.
I have listened to Rainbow after Dio and they are still pretty damn good, but much different. The songs that stand out to me the most are “All Night Long”, “Danger Zone” & “Death Alley Driver”. Those are fantastic. The instrumentals “Snowman” & “Difficult to Cure” are also great. Their rendition of “Hall of the Mountain King” is incredible. Despite his attitude, Blackmore seems to do no wrong. He’s phenomenal.
1. Rising
2. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
3. Long Live Rock n Rol
I just starting to listen to RainBow about 15 years ago, And I always wonder where I have I been to miss out on this amazing Group. I had friends in high school listening to them and I never gave them a chance Man I was wrong
Nice succinct summary of the Dio-era Rainbow albums. My own personal ranking puts Long Live Rock n’ Roll on almost level pegging with Rising. A lot of factors feed in to how we view these albums, nostalgia being an important one. LLRR is perhaps a punchier album than Rising, and the studio rendition of Kill the King benefits from the band having played it for at least a year before they recorded this version. This was much in the same vein as Pink Floyd trialling out the Dark side of the Moon tracks for many months before recording their classic album. I’ll pick you up on one point: Dio recalls that the first song he and Blackmore penned was, in fact, 16th Century Greensleeves (see/listen to online interviews). And, yes, Catch the Rainbow came hot on the heels of it. Interesting additional fact about Stargazer - Blackmore has said that Dio contributed to the descending melody link between the verse and the chorus - something he had never quite encountered before in his songwriting partnerships. The riffs were usually Blackmore’s territory. Any way you look at it, these albums are all must-buys for anyone wanting to understand the roots of what came to be known as neoclassical rock; some have called it ‘Castle rock.’ Not mentioned here, of course is the wonderful Live on Stage album, which saw many of the songs from the first studio album taken to new heights. Once again, thanks for this revisiting of yesteryear.
'Catch the Rainbow' is a straight rip of Little Wing.
For me?
3. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
2. Long Live Rock N' Roll
1. Rising
All strong albums. If you are new to the band.. None of these is a bad first buy!
1. Rising
2. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
3. Long Live Rock n Roll
Several songs from the debut album rank amongst my all time favourites, I think Self Portrait is one of the most underrated songs from dio and blackmore’s entire discography, but rising tops the list just because of the sheer epic musicianship on display.
That's also my ranking.
Rising is obviously the best Dio era album and I'd rank LLR&R second as it has better musicians and more power in the perfomances than the debut. I think Dio not being at the centre of things and the band showing off its instrumental prowess is the reason for him not liking all the second side of Rising. I love the proggy flourishes on A Light in the Black and Cozy Powell gives a drumming tour de force on both that and Stargazer.
Kill the king and Rainbow eyes as standout tracks on LLRR would have been worth being mentioned. The hint to Uriah Heep as being there in the Fantasy Rock field is smart. Maybe they invented the genre? Thanks Barry for the great work, as always.
I remember sounds review of this album and the great headline, Thermo nuclear rock and roll, It is one of the finest rock albums ever made.
Congrats on the 50K subs
Thank you!
Dio years definitely the best Rainbow era IMO. Down to Earth is also great. It's not that the JLT albums aren't good, they are, but it was very different by then and I rarely seem to go back to those albums. Stranger in Us All is underrated and has some good stuff on it not least Black Masquerade which is a corker!
Oh yeah Dio! I’ll enjoy the good video. Thank you sir.
I loved them all. I was heart broken by the split and found Heaven and Hell to me to be a fourth. I know it doesn’t make sense: Iommi did a great job sitting in for Ritchie . lol. 1 Long Live Rock and Roll 2 Heaven and He’ll 3 Richie’s Rainbow 4 Rising. Rising has been growing on me over the years. They are all wonderful. Great stuff. lol
Yes I’d agree with that ranking , but I see all three as a springboard to both Ronnie and Richie’s subsequent albums. All Dio’ s albums are great obviously including his Black Sabbath albums, and the later Rainbow are excellent hard rock imho . Happy Christmas CAR.
My own rankings are (1) Rising, (2) Long Live, and (3) debut. The issue I have with the debut is too many cover songs.
Rising is for me clearly the stand out album but the other two are good also. I'd have a slight preference for Blackmore's Rainbow because it has two very special tracks in Man on the Silver Mountain and 16th Century Greensleeves. Self Portrait is good, too.
Albums... I don't listen to them much. However, the live shows they did can bring tears to my eyes. I even watch reaction videos if young people listening to Rainbow 🌈 for tfe first time. Re: Stargazer, you should visit Chichen Itza and watch Apocalypto. It's the perfect setting and makes less gothic, more end of the world Maya.
Ronnie Dio’s 2nd albums were always the best… song and sound wise..
Rising, Mob Rules and Last In Line.
That's an interesting comment. They are certainly my fave Dio albums. Sound-wise I do wish that Rising were not so bass light.
@@colinwoods4435 true about Rising, but through decent headphones it’s all there 👌
I love Dio, but I can’t help but think his dismissal of Stargazer and Light in the Black was because Blackmore had as it were out-Dioed him on the songwriting. If Dio had come up with those songs all by himself they would have had pride of place on his solo albums. \m/
I would put Rising and LLRR at equal status though the first had my favourite song MOTSM. I thought for the most part the musicianship was lacking on the first.
1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
3. Rising. I love Tarot Woman, Stargazer, and Light In The Black, but the rest is pure filler to my ears.
I'm not convinced about the Rush gig photo story - there's a girl in the front row.
That's Geddy crowd surfing. I'm kidding, of course. :)
😂@@gwts1171
I remember buying the first album(in the 90's at Borders bookstore!), and it was great. Then I bought the second one and it was amazing. Then I found out there was a third album....and it was just ok. I can't figure out why i don't like that third album! The first 2 I put on all the time....And Stargazer is my favorite Rainbow song, bytheway
It seemed that as time went on Dio became more bitter and ambiguous towards Rising. In some respects you can’t blame him. Tony Carey however was treated in a most abhorrent way by Blackmore and Powell, sad really.
Great stuff.( I entered your room and cant make a negative comment) I must not be feeling myself?Dio was great with Sabbath for me aswell and when he went on his own with Holy Diver and such.I will go and lie down for agreeing with you.Is it 111 to call for medical help?
I saw a real rainbow in the dark at Kenilworth castle 2018 . 5.30am a slight increase in the first rays of the morning 98 percent dark a rainbow complete 😎
Never really got into Rainbow. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
1 LLRR / R
3 RBR
Hey guys totally off sub, wanna give dream theater ago, any recommendations for first album?✌️🇬🇧
Always covering one eye aren't they
Agree with your ranking! Rising is the only really classic album of these three, that shouldn't be missing in any decent rock record collection. The other two are very good records, but never got the status of a "classic".
Rising has two classic tracks, Tarot Woman and Stargazer, the others are pretty mediocre.
That's a first, no love for A Light in the Black.
@@pronabol It's basically just a jam. OK, but a great song?
Ranking?
@@FuturePast2019 Personally, 1 LLRNR 2 RB's Rainbow 3 Rising.
Of the 3 I've played LLRR far and away the most. Take away Stargazer and Rising is very weak
Long live
Risin
rb
a few wise heads below pointing out that Rising is Stargazer, Tarot Woman and filler - and that it can't really be seen as the best album - i mean come on Light in the Black has to be the weakest most banal riff Blackmore ever wrote - spinning it out to over 8min is taking the piss - and do you close your eyes is just risible
Long Live Rock Roll is a much much better record - a diverse/varied collection of songs -showcases the talent, power and capability of the musicians - some of the best solos RB played on record - CP's drumming may not be as flamboyant as on rising, but is beautifully integrated and through composed into the songs - keyboards not foregrounded in the mix but again integral part of each song's composition/conception - Dio at his imperious best - it's a real gem and doesn't receive the accolades it deserves - imo
Side B of Rising. Masterpiece of the genre. Side A not so much to my taste.
Talk with your hands much?
Indeed... my dad was the same.
As much as I love Ronnie, I like Down To Earth better than any of the albums he did with Rainbow. I have troubles staying awake through the slow parts of Rising.
agreed 👍 down to earth is much better than those 3 imo
I think Rising, Long Live Rock & Roll and Down to Earth are all great and the best three Rainbow albums. It's not a coincidence to me that Cozy Powell is on drums on all three to power them along. It was a big loss when he and Graham Bonnet left and they blanded out into AOR.
@robertmac9057 absolutely correct 👏
i never got into Elf or Rainbow although i should.