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Tracklist
1. Kill the King
2. Mistreated
3. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
4. Catch the Rainbow
5. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
Disc: 2
1. Man on the Silver Mountain
2. Still I’m Sad
3. Do You Close Your Eyes
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Don't let the cheesy cover art on its first few albums and all the mythical references fool you, Rainbow is one of the pioneering acts of heavy metal music. Progressive, death, black, thrash, name a type of metal and it would not have existed without acts like Rainbow paving the way. Along with Iron Maiden, they helped the radio-friendly dinosaur sound of the 1970's go a heavier and more complex direction, leading to the big metal of the 1980's, and the metal we love today.
Admittedly, the new Rainbow release 'Live in Munich 1977' is almost a reissue of the 'On Stage' live album which was released in 1977. The same songs that are on 'On Stage' are also on 'Live in Munich', and a re-mastered version of 'On Stage' is even still available for purchase. However, the cover art for 'Live in Munich' is much less cheesy and it has been beefed up to two disks thanks to the addition of the songs 'Long Live Rock n' Roll' and 'Do you Close Your Eyes' and a lot less editing of the performances. All the material is taken from Rainbow's early career, a period when they toured extensively. Specifically many of the songs are taken from its first album 'Richie Blackmore's Rainbow' (which featured the mega hit 'Man on the Silver Mountain'), making 'Live in Munich' quintessential progressive metal. Crunchy elements of Blackmore's previous project, the mega huge Deep Purple, combined with grandiose classical influence create the sound that would influence metal bands for the next 30 years.
Mistreated is one of the best songs, and it is not actually found on a regular Rainbow album. Blackmore's fantastic guitar work is the icing on the cake for the heavy, lurching groovy of Bob Daisley's bass and Cozy's Powell's drums, (rivaling the live performances of Led Zeppelin). 'Catch the Rainbow' is an epic journey into the mind's of singer Ronnie James Dio and Blackmore. Heavily instrumental and clocking in at Seventeen minuets thirty one seconds, this is a premier opus of heavy, trippy splendor. Of course there is no denying the fourteen-minuet version of the hit 'Man on the Silver Mountain' complete with intense guitar soloing from Blackmore, of course.
Today especially we are hearing a resurgence of the classic, multi-layered metal sound, thanks to European metal bands reminding us of our roots. Purchase of 'Live in Munich' should be mandatory for young metal fans unaware of Rainbow's influence on their favorite modern metal artists. Long time fans of Rainbow are already buying the European release of 'Live in Munich' because a well-mastered, unedited Rainbow performance was long over due according to them. This should be an indicator to any new fans considering discovering old Rainbow material that this is the release to buy.
Review by: Colette Claire
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