Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (1975) [Japanese SHM-SACD 2014] {SACD ISO + FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz}

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.

Tracklist:
01. Man On The Silver Mountain
02. Self Portrait
03. Black Sheep Of The Family
04. Catch The Rainbow
05. Snake Charmer
06. Temple Of The King
07. If You Don’t Like Rock n’ Roll
08. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
09. Still I’m Sad

DSD flat transferred from UK original analogue master tapes by Mick McKenna and Richard Whittaker at FX Copyroom, London, in 2014.
Edited in DSD by Masaru Takagi (SIProject) at Sunrise Studio, Tokyo in 2014.

SACD ISO

mqs.link_RainbwRitchieBlackmresRainbw1975Japan2014SHMSACDIS.part1.rar
mqs.link_RainbwRitchieBlackmresRainbw1975Japan2014SHMSACDIS.part2.rar

FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz

mqs.link_RainbwRitchieBlackmresRainbw1975Japan2014FLAC2488.2.rar