Rainbow — On Stage (Live)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

46 years ago today, Rainbow released their first live album”!

On this day (July 7) in 1977, Rainbow released their full-length live album, “On Stage” via Oyster/Polydor Records. It was recorded live over several German and Japanese dates in late 1976 during the “Rising World Tour”.

Background:

The recording features the customary introduction to a Rainbow show – the classic quote from The Wizard of Oz, "Toto: I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow!" with the last word repeated as an echo, then the actual band plays a musical phrase from the song "Over the Rainbow" before breaking into "Kill the King".

Many of the tracks were spliced together from different dates by producer Martin Birch, and the running order was changed to more easily fit four sides of vinyl.

Recording Sources:

• Introduction/Kill The King - Nuremberg, September 28, 1976 (first 1:03) - Munich, September 29, 1976 (remainder of the song)

• Man On The Silver Mountain - Tokyo, December 16, 1976 (Afternoon Show)

• Blues - Tokyo, 16 December 16, 1976 (Evening Show)

• Starstruck - Tokyo, December 16, 1976 (Evening Show)

• Man On The Silver Mountain (Reprise) - Tokyo, December 16, 1976 (Afternoon Show)

• Catch The Rainbow - Osaka, December 9, 1976

• Mistreated - Cologne, September 25, 1976

• Sixteenth Century Greensleeves - Tokyo, December 16, 1976 (Evening Show)

• Still I'm Sad - Nuremberg, September 28, 1976

Release & Critical Reception:

Geoff Ginsberg of AllMusic writes:

"On Stage” is full of great songs and playing, but somehow it lacks some of the excitement that existed at those early Ritchie Blackmore concerts. The production is just kind of flat. That doesn't change the fact that there is some great stuff to be found here and nowhere else, such as the side-long version of "Mistreated," from Deep Purple's “Burn”."

The song "Kill the King" appeared on this album before it was recorded for a studio album. A studio version appears on the follow-up release, 1978's “Long Live Rock 'N' Roll”.

The single "Kill the King/Man on the Silver Mountain/Mistreated" was released in the UK in September 1977. This was Rainbow's debut in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 44.

After the commercial success of "Since You Been Gone", "All Night Long" and "I Surrender", "Kill the King" was re-released in 1981 this time climbing to No. 41. Songwriter and lead singer Ronnie James Dio claimed that the violent imagery in the song is actually about a chess game.

What some would call a more representative example of a Rainbow concert of the time was the 1991 release “Live in Germany 1976”, which featured unedited concert performances and includes both tour staple "Stargazer" and the usual encore "Do You Close Your Eyes".

The deluxe edition was released on November 13, 2012 in Europe. The second disc was originally planned to contain tracks from the concert hall at the "Orix Theater" (formerly Osaka Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan) in Osaka, Japan (December 9, 1976). Instead the second disc contains tracks from the final Rainbow gig in Tokyo, Japan at the "Nippon Budokan Hall" on December 16, 1976.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “On Stage” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/on-stage-live/1443924372

Click this link to listen to “On Stage” via Spotify: On Stage https://open.spotify.com/album/2gihXo3xfCBgpiNl0q1JEa

Click this link to follow Rainbow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044557384264

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Rainbow — On Stage (Live)

Background:

Recording Sources:

Release & Critical Reception:

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

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