Rainbow - "Rising" Deluxe Edition CD Review (Universal)

On March 22nd, Polydor will issue a 2CD deluxe edition of Rainbow's second album Rising (1976). Rising is phenomenal album but, unfortunately, this deluxe edition adds little to its legacy.

I've got a friend who is a huge Beatles fan and he was ecstatic after finding a bootleg at a street fair with 30+ takes of "Strawberry Fields". I listened to the disc once with him and, for the most part, the takes all sounded very similar yet my friend "studied" this disc and could tell you which take had an extra second of guitar solo, where there was an extra drum beat and where Ringo was passing gas (only kidding on this last one). I feel like the Deluxe Edition of Rising offers similar fare as you have three complete takes of the Rising album and they all sound similar.

Disc One contains the "New York mix" and the "Los Angeles mix" of the album and they sound almost exactly the same. Between the two versions, the tracks differ only a few seconds in length so I couldn't hear any differences when playing each mix through sequentially. In comparing the individual tracks, you can hear that different instruments are brighter in each of the mixes but it still appears to be the same take of the song. As an aside, I've heard for years about the longer keyboard intro in "Tarot Woman" on the UK version of Rising. If all that everyone had been talking about is the ~8 second difference between where the guitars kick on on the "Los Angeles mix" vs. the "New York mix", you are missing little.

Disc Two contains the "Rough Mix" of Rising along with one live rehearsal track. I'm assuming that the "Rough Mix" tracks are the same Cozy Powell tracks that have been floating around as a bootleg for the last few years. There are some notably difference in the "Rough Mix" which include a keyboard into to "Stargazer" and a longer outro to "Run With The Wolf". All-in-all, the total running time is about a minute longer than either of the two mixes on Disc One. The last track is a live rehearsal of "Stargazer". While of bootleg quality (though decent sounding), it would have been nice to have included more tracks from this rehearsal as Disc Two is only 43 minutes. (Note: when the Rising Deluxe Edition was originally announced, a tour rehearsal version of a "A Light in the Black" was planned for inclusion but was obviously dropped from the final release).

Given the large volume of quality bootlegs (both live and tour rehearsals) from this era, I had hoped for better from this Deluxe Edition. Newcomers are better off sticking with the single disc version (which is available new for under $5 on Amazon) and there is no compelling reason for long-time fans to upgrade.



Links:
Ritchie Blackmore

Rainbow - "Down to Earth" Deluxe Edition CD Review

This Tuesday, Polydor is reissuing Rainbow's fourth disc Down to Earth (originally released in 1979) in a two-CD deluxe edition.

For anyone not familiar with this disc, this was a transitional album for Rainbow as the only hold-over from the Dio-era was drummer Cozy Powell. Replacing Ronnie James Dio as Ritchie Blackmore's songwriting partner was x-Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and Graham Bonnet took over on vocals. This disc finds the band abandoning the sword & sorcery epic rock of the Dio-era and moving in a more commercial direction. The eight songs on the original disc show the band fitting into the British blues-based, FM-radio sound that was popular at this time and a good point of comparison is Bad Company's Desolation Angels. This disc spawned two singles "Since You Been Gone" and "All Night Long" which were consistent staples in Rainbow's setlist in the years that followed.

Jumping into the reissue, the original album (Disc 1) is fleshed out by two b-sides: "Bad Girl" (b-side of "Since You Been Gone") and "Weiss Heim" (a stellar instrumental which is the b-side of "All Night Long"). Disc 2 is comprised of twelve tracks (~60 minutes) of instrumental versions and outtakes from Down to Earth. The instrumentals are somewhat of a mixed bag for me as, while some of the instruments are higher in the mix than on the finished songs, there aren't any significant differences other than the lack of vocals. The two outtakes "Spark Don't Mean a Fire" and "Ain't A Lot of Love in the Heart of Me" are interesting as they are, respectively, early versions of "No Time To Lose" and "Love's No Friend" with different lyrics. The Cozy Powell mix of "All Night Long" is somewhat of a throw-away as it sounds like a monitor-mix of the song with loud drums and backing vocals and muted lead vocals.

While this set seems a labor of love, I'm hard pressed to say that this reissue is worth its $24.20 price point (current price on Amazon). New copies of the original disc are selling for less than $5.00 on Amazon so one is essentially paying the balance for the fourteen bonus tracks. The "problem" is that the instrumentals are likely of interest only to die-hard fans but these same fans more than likely have eight of these tracks on the "Down to Earth Rough Mixes" bootleg that has been in circulation for years. What's left are just the two b-sides, the two early versions, and a "new" instrumental version of "Ain't A Lot of Love in the Heart of Me" (which sounds like just like the completed version). I would have been happier if the Castle Donington show (where Rainbow headlined the first Monsters of Rock festival) or the soundboard recording of the Denver, CO show from Nov. '79 had been included as bonus tracks. At minimum, "Set Me Free" (from the "Down to Earth Rough Mixes" bootleg) could have easily been included as part of this set.

Links:
Ritchie Blackmore

Blackmore's Night - Secret Voyage CD Review

Blackmore's Night has now been together for an uninterrupted 11 years, which is longer than Ritchie's original tenure in either Deep Purple or Rainbow. Secret Voyage is the group's 7th studio album and it was released on the SPV record label last month.

Secret Voyages follows in the spirit of the band's 2006 release The Village Lanterne as the tracks are a combination of the medieval renaissance music that Blackmore's Night started out with in 1997 crossed with Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow. As on old Rainbow fan, it is nice to hear Ritchie bring a heavier sound back into his music.

For anyone who has been keeping up with Blackmore's Night, there are no real surprises on this disc. On the rock side, "Locked Within The Crystal Ball" is a strong first single. This disc also includes covers of Rainbow's "Rainbow Eyes" (originally sung by Ronnie James Dio) and Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love". On the renaissance side, Ritchie and Candice rework traditional folk melodies from France (“Gilded Cage”), Russia (“Toast To Tomorrow”), Germany (“Prince Waldeck’s Galliard”) and England (“Peasant’s Promise”).

While this disc doesn't stray far from the established Blackmore's Night sound, Ritchie's guitar work continues to be stupendous and the heavier sound that has been drifting into the last few BN releases may start converting a few Rainbow fans.

Links:
Blackmore's Night Website

Joe Lynn Turner Makes Rare Area Appearance with Shows in NJ and NY

Former frontman for Rainbow and Deep Purple makes a rare area appearance this month with a show on September 14th at Dingbatz (in Clifton, NJ) and a show on September 20th at Crazy Donkey (in Long Island).

Joe's most recent solo CD "Second Hand Life" was just released in the US and is also available on iTunes. You can also purchase an autographed copy directly from Joe through his website (link).

Joe was just on Rockline and his voice still sounds great -- check out an acoustic version of Rainbow's "Street of Dreams" from the Rockline performance.

Links:
Joe Lynn Turner's Website

Joe Lynn Turner (x-Rainbow and Deep Purple) Performing Live on Manhattan Cable Access Tonight (Dec. 17)

Joe Lynn Turner (best known as vocalist for both Rainbow and Deep Purple) makes a rare "appearance" in the area with a live broadcast on Manhattan cable access tonight at 2AM. This show was taped Thursday night in Staten Island as part of the New York Rocks TV series and will be broadcast on Time Warner Channel 56.

I understand Joe lives in Queens but he plays very infrequently in the area so be sure to catch this rare appearance. (As Brooklyn cable doesn't carry New York Rocks, please drop me an email if anyone records this show to DVD)

Joe's latest CD Sunstorm was just released in the US on Locomotive Records. Joe also announced that he is entering the studio this week to record a follow up to Sunstorm.