Rainbow
On Stage

THE REVIEW

Toto...I've the feeling that we aren't in Kansas anymore...We must be over the Rainbow!.
With this quote from the film THE WIZARD OF OZ, the concerts of Ritchie Blackmore's magical Rainbow began during the period with R.J. Dio as the singer, with the band thus always dedicated to a typical mystical-medieval sound. The scenography was very sparse; everything was focused on the musicians and their performances, performances immortalized in this great Live Album: ON STAGE.

The record starts with the furious assault of KILL THE KING, a speed song characterized by a devastating double bass drum pattern by Cozy Powell and the continuous duels between keyboard and guitar. Dio immediately shows that he is in great shape, as does Ritchie, who flaunts a very engaging and theatrical solo. The historic riff of Man On The Silver Mountain opens a medley where MAN ON THE SILVER MOUNTAIN will find space followed by a blues diversion by Blackmore and a hint of STARSTRUCK. Man On The Silver Mountain maintains its original structure (although the tempo is quite accelerated) driven by Blackmore's riff and Dio's singing. At the song's close, Ritchie improvises a very captivating and dreamy blues, followed by the rest of the band. After the blues ends, Dio starts with a brief hint at STARSTRUCK, which is reconnected to MAN ON THE SILVER MOUNTAIN, excellently closing the medley.
The third track features CATCH THE RAINBOW, the central focus of the entire album. The version here is very long and extended (15 minutes) and, in my opinion, better than the studio version. Introduced by a soft intro from Blackmore, the song retains all its evocative and dreamlike aura that it had in the studio (thanks again to an excellent performance by Ronnie on vocals) but is characterized by two wonderful guitar solos, played with mastery and taste by Ritchie. With all these changes in atmosphere and crescendos, the song turns out to be very engaging.
Presented by Ronnie as a piece written by Blackmore during his time with Deep Purple, the band plays an excellent live version of MISTRATED. Dio's singing is very different from Coverdale's, much more powerful and clear, and less tormented. Here too, we find an excellent central break where Blackmore enjoys caressing his guitar, demonstrating great taste and class. Powell's performance behind the drums is also excellent (he respects Paice's original drumming very well). XVI CENTURY GREENSLEEVES is a very engaging song that focuses entirely on the physicality of its riff (again, featuring a wonderful intro). Dio's singing is masterful, warm, and powerful. It closes with a cover of the Yardbirds' STILL I'M SAD, presented here in a splendid sung version characterized by a great keyboard solo by Carey and very decisive drumming.
Also noteworthy in this album is the great production by Martin Birch, truly impeccable.

A true masterpiece.