Rainbow's
Live in Europe is a double album recorded in Germany in 1976. The Rising and
On Stage lineup of vocalist
Ronnie James Dio, guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist
Tony Carey, bassist
Jimmy Bain, and drummer
Cozy Powell is featured here. The liner notes incorrectly describe this as
Rainbow's original lineup (it's actually the second), and the listed running times of the songs aren't always accurate either. Just eight songs -- ranging from 5 1/2 minutes to 17 minutes -- are featured. This means lots of guitar workouts for
Blackmore, although he shares some of the solo spotlight with
Carey and Powell. The bluesy "Mistreated" comes from
Deep Purple's
David Coverdale era, and
Dio embraces it with a melodic growl. (
Dio still even sang it with his solo band two decades later.) A whimsical call-and-response portion between
Dio's scat singing and
Blackmore's guitar blips stands out. "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" is a powerful song, but
Dio's stinging vocals don't settle in until the end. The studio version of "Catch the Rainbow" is gorgeous, and
Rainbow does a pretty decent job of recreating it live; the backing vocals are shaky, but
Blackmore's varied guitar work carries the load. "Man on the Silver Mountain" is performed a bit too fast -- especially
Dio's vocals -- but
Blackmore's slow blues riffing in the middle is a treat since he's not a blues-based guitarist. "Stargazer" -- arguably
Rainbow's best overall song -- is marvelous.
Live in Europe and
On Stage are nearly identical in their song choices -- not surprising since they were both recorded on the same tour -- but the former adds "Stargazer" and "Do You Close Your Eyes" while the latter includes "Starstruck." Fans of
Blackmore and electric guitar soloing will adore
Live in Europe.