On Stage

Rainbow

When Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, they barely skipped a beat replacing him. And he barely skipped a beat forming Rainbow, a mirror image of his old band. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio, though, provided Blackmore with a clipped, howl-free voice, hardening Rainbow's sound considerably despite the presence of Mellotron, organ, and other keyboards. By the time it released On Stage, the band had developed its dominion: songs about killing kings, men on silver mountains, and women locked in towers. Subjects were grandiose and the execution heavy, even ponderous. But there's charm in the way Dio intones, "Do you waaant some love? / Well, here we are to give you love," as Blackmore strums in the background. But Dio and Blackmore turn to hard, hard rock with the sprawling "Man on the Silver Mountain" and slow, sad-sack blues with "Mistreated." For gearheads, there's a full accounting of the band's equipment on the back cover. This remastered edition boasts a warmer sound, but who needs warmth with that big guitar spilling over onto your shirt and shoes while the crowd claps along? --Andrew Bartlett

On Stage Album: