Although Elf was basically a bar-room boogie band, both Ritchie and Ronnie envisioned Rainbow to be more of a progressive metal outfit with lyrics concentrating on mystical, medieval, and occult themes. This is why Rainbow's first record has both of these styles represented on it.

It begins with what might be the greatest Rainbow song ever (certainly one of their greatest anyway, as well as one of THE best songs from 1975), a 4 1/2-minute song called "Man On The Silver Mountain." This is the original song that defined Rainbow's music: it starts with a good basic electric guitar riff, then the bass, drums and keyboards join in for support, and when Ronnie James Dio starts to sing, it quickly begins to take shape as the progressive heavy metal song it is. And it has one amazing guitar solo by Ritchie Blackmore!

"Self Portrait" is also a dynamic prog-metal tune, but "Black Sheep Of The Family" is a straight-ahead, slightly bluesy hard rock tune with some great slide guitar work by Blackmore, and is obviously one of the Elf-penned contributions to this record. It is also quite infectious; once you hear it, you can't get it out of your mind for hours.

"Catch The Rainbow," at six and a half minutes long, is the only long song on this album, and is also the most progressive-sounding. It's the one that really paved the way for their next album "Rising," as it sounds more similar to the songs on that record than anything on this one. It's a nice, introspective tune. "Snake Charmer" is almost the opposite; it is a short, loud, brash song that contains a lot of Dio-screaming on it. "The Temple Of The King" gets Rainbow back into fine progressive form, with lyrics conjuring up the medieval. The, they do a sudden roots-rock-about-face with the VERY Elf-sounding, piano-and-bass-driven, ultra-infectious "If You Don't Like Rock 'N' Roll," which some reviewers have dismissed on here, but I think it provides a neat departure for Rainbow on this album. Besides, it shows all of us where Ronnie James Dio really came from (no, not Hell): He came from rock's early days. That's right, he formed his very first band all the way back in 1958, called Ronnie and The Rumblers, so you can tell that he still had some of that influence left in him by the time this album was made. I think it's pretty cool. :)

The CD winds down with "Sixteenth-Century Greensleeves" and "Still I'm Sad." The former is probably the most medieval-sounding track on here, about a revolt against a tyrant, with some evil-sounding singing by Dio. The latter is simply one of the greatest heavy metal instumentals ever, with fast time-changes on bass and drums, and absolutely amazing guitar fretwork by The Man In Black.

If you know only a couple of their later hit songs, then give early Rainbow a try, especially if you already like Deep Purple. Some of these songs are very Deep Purple-ish. If you also like Ronnie James Dio's 80's stuff, then this CD is for you! And...If you don't like rock 'n' roll, THEN YOU'RE TOO LATE NOW! :)


8 classic tunes... 1 stinker   May 18, 2003
J. Wesley Townsend (new york)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful

The "stinker" is "If You Don't Like Rock 'N' Roll," but the other cuts on the album make up for it... this album still deserves five stars.

That aside, this is a classic fantasy metal album (maybe even the first...?) that rocks me to my core. Kicking it off is "Man On The Silver Mountain," which is one of the best songs on the album. It is built off of a signature Ritchie Blackmore guitar riff, and Dio's melody is awesome... it is immediately apparent that this record will be a great rock statement. Dio's melodic, but ferocious roar and dungeons-and-dragons lyrics perfectly match Blackmore's baroque musical stylings. The next song, "Self Portrait," is one of my favorite Rainbow songs. It is a slow, bluesy number with an incredible, soulful guitar solo from Blackmore. "Catch the Rainbow" is the closest this album comes to an epic, at about six-and-a-half minutes. It has obvious influence from Pink Floyd, and this is a good thing! It is a very mellow, psychedelic song. "The Temple of the King" is probably the most mystical song on the album, with really weird but awesome lyrics from Ronnie James Dio.

My favorite song is the instrumental "Still I'm Sad," which is a cover of the Yardbirds. I've never heard the Yardbirds' version, but it can't possibly come close to this, because this version blows me away. It is so dreamy and ethereal, but hard-rocking at the same time. Blackmore's soloing is incredible... maybe even his best on the album.

Blackmore's playing and Dio's singing are consistently awesome throughout the song, and they save songs like "Snake Charmer" and the Quatermass cover "Black Sheep of the Family," which, based on songwriting alone, would fail in the hands of almost any other band. The other 3 musicians (bass, drums, keys) are fine, but certainly not exceptional. Blackmore and Dio are the real stars of the show.

People say this album has a stupid album cover... I completely disagree! I think it is one of the coolest album covers of all time! It tells you a little about what the music will be like... the castle represents the baroque, medieval themes, and the guitar shape represents the awesome hard rock that the music is based on. Rainbow's self-titled album, while not up to the standards of their next two studio efforts "Rising" and "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll," is still one of the best metal releases of the 70's.


New throat for Blackmore   September 12, 1999
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

It was pretty obvious that Deep Purple was getting tired and a little over ripe by '75, so Ritchie Blackmore decided he needed a new vechcle to showcase his soloing and riffing talents. What better vocalist to compliment him than one dimunitive Ronnie James Dio. Though Ronnie was little-known at the time, in fact only known as lead honky-tonker of rollicking band Elf, Ritchie could hear the startling talent that was sure to blossom into something mighty fine. Anyway, this album pretty much sounds like Elf's previous "Trying to Burn the Sun" with Ritchie on leads and a little mysticism. The sound here is considerably more down to earth than the grand sound they would acheive (with a new band) on "Rising." I really like this album for the old world warmth is displays. The tempos are often slow to mid, and the solos usually more delicate and restrained. Songs like "Man on the SIlver Mountain," "Temple of the KIng" and "Sixteenth Century Greensleves" are as good as Rainbow ever put out. Though "Snake Charmer" and "Black Sheep..." are a couple of missteps. Dig those cowbells on "Still I'm Sad."


One of the great guitar albums of all time   November 19, 1999
Jeff. D (jeffcone9@aol.com) (Phoenix Arizona)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is one of the most amazing guitar oriented albums of all time. Every guitar solo is an absolute masterpiece. Each solo is a song within itself, brilliantly done with incredible feeling and restraint. None of this pointless rambling up and down, and all over scales, that we hear so much of today. So melodic and so well done. Dio is amazing as well! I even like the bass playing by Craig Gruber. This album is one of those few albums that have a real "feel" that carries through every tune. I remember back in 1975 and how it never left my turntable for an entire summer. This is Blackmore's best effort in the heavy genre. Try "Rainbow Rising" as well. If your a real fan of his playing check out the acoustic "Shadow of the Moon". The album is quite unique and again projects a certian kind of "feel"consistent with those albums that will be remembered.


Blackmore in transition   March 3, 2000
curbach@sbcglobal.net (Dallas, TX United States)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Given the Dio/Blackmore combination (and the sound of the other Rainbow records of this era), you would expect this to be a really heavy hard rock album, but its not. I think Blackmore was still suffering a funk hangover from the last two Purple records which infects some of this, keeping it from rocking as hard as it ought to (and making this the weakest of the albums with Ronnie James Dio). Actually, if you listen to "Stormbringer" and "Rainbow Rising", its easy to see this as a transitional record between the two.

That said, Blackmore is in great form here and the songs are generally pretty good. The only complete stinker is "If You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll". This is a good record, just lacking the expected heaviness and aggression. "Man On The Silver Mountain" and "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" are great songs, but these original versions barely hint at the power they would have live.

I read somewhere that Blackmore originally wanted Purple to cover "Black Sheep Of The Family", but the rest of the band refused. Apparently, they were more interested in playing garbage like "High Ball Shooter" and "Holy Man". Not that "Black Sheep" is all that great, but it is better than most everything on "Stormbringer".