Biography
Rainbow (also known as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow or Blackmore’s Rainbow) are a British rock band led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, active from 1975 to 1984, from 1993 to 1997, and from 2015 to the present. They were originally established with Ronnie James Dio’s American rock band Elf, but after their first album, Blackmore fired the backing members and continued with Dio until 1979. Three British musicians joined in 1979—singer Graham Bonnet, keyboardist Don Airey and then-former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover—and this line-up gave the band their commercial breakthrough with the single “Since You Been Gone”. Over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up. Other lead singers Joe Lynn Turner and Doogie White would follow, and the project consisted of numerous backing musicians. A pioneer to power metal, the band’s early work primarily featured mystical lyrics with a neoclassical metal style, but went in a more streamlined, commercial direction following Dio’s departure from the group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_(rock_band)
Album & Cover
This is a Best Of… double album of Rainbow hits and other songs from previous albums up to 1981.
According to Aubrey Powell this is a typical piece of Hipgnosis graphic photography. Two sharp paper darts with the ice lake in the background gives an eerie feel to the image. Peter Christopherson is the runner on the ice, Aubrey Powell took the photograph and Storm Thorgerson did the collage…an Hipgnosis cover made by all.
Cover Location: Photographed on an ice lake in Holland at dusk.
Who Did What: Photography – A. Powell/C. Christopherson. Collage – Storm Thorgerson.
Label: Polydor PODV 2(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell
Tracklist
| Side One All Night Long Man On The Silver Mountain Lost In Hollywood Jealous Lover Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll |
Side Two Stargazer Kill The King A Light In The Black |
Side Three |
Side Four I Surrender Gates Of Babylon Can’t Happen Here Starstruck |
Credits
Engineer – Gary Edwards (tracks: A1, A3, C1, C4), Martin Birch (tracks: A2, A5, B1 to B3, C2, C3, D2, D4)
Mixed By – Martin Birch (tracks: A2, C2, C3)
Producer – Martin Birch (tracks: A2, A5, B1 to B3, C2, C3, D2, D4), Ritchie Blackmore (tracks: A2, C2, C3), Roger Glover (tracks: A1, A3, A4, C1, C4, D1, D3),
Ronnie James Dio (tracks: A2, C2, C3).
