Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)Release ID: 820
Rainbow's Dio trilogy were the albums that show the band's metallic side at its best alongside their usual hard rock. In fact, Rising was pretty much the first ever European-style power metal with 3 songs from that exemplifying what that genre is known for. Sadly, the band would never reach those amazing heights again after Dio left. So long live these albums from the colorful metallic kings while they last...
It was after their strong classic Rising and their live album On Stage. The band planned to make one more album that would have the special delivery of Ritchie Blackmore's guitar and Ronnie James Dio's vocals and maintain the magic of Rising. And did they do it? Yes they did! Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll is another amazing addition to the band's discography and Dio's career. They expand their heavy focus in their songs, while at the same time, continuing the versatile experimentation. And most of the songs have come out as f***ing fantastic, further solidifying the band's status as 70s hard rock/metal heroes.
The title opener has way more energy than just rock 'n' roll. The energy of hard rock/heavy metal! The mid-paced riffing allows the riffing and drumming to bounce through. Dio takes the spotlight once again and has lots of g****mn singing passion. Amazing guitar soloing that isn't so bluesy, but instead full-on metal power! And the final chorus keeps going on, which is quite catchy, but before you can get tired of it, it fades out. "Live! Live!! LIVE!!! LIVE!!!!" The mediocre but OK "Lady of the Lake" has rock riffs rather than metal. It still has potential in live shows though. "L.A. Connection" also has a bit of awkwardness despite having more of Dio's vocal spirit. Let the lyrical metaphors relate to sex and drugs, the slow repetitive riff is what my mind is fixated when I don't want it to be. However, it's still fine, never being totally embarrassing.
"Gates of Babylon" is an epic closer to the first half of the album that makes sure this offering remains another 4.5-star classic. It takes you on a journey through the Middle-East, both musically and lyrically, from the keyboard intro, to the mystical riffing, and the vocal power in the chorus. Although keyboardist Tony Carey was still around for a few other tracks in this album, David Stone stepped in with his own keyboard contributions in this track and a few others, here to provide an exotic atmosphere and get you hooked alongside Blackmore's riffs. I just really love that track! "Kill the King" doesn't explore as globally as that track but, having been heard as early as the band's tour, it's one of Rainbow's most well-loved tracks! It would plant the seed for speedy melodic bands like Heathen and Gamma Ray. Searing soloing, intense vocals, devastating drums, and booming bass make the song another one of the best here, and the only true power metal song here, since the power metal aspects from Rising were greatly reduced.
"The Shed (Subtle)" is also f***ing incredible, opening with beautiful guitar leads before the hellbent verses come in as a headbanging riff stomps through. The drumming by the late Cozy Powell drive through in power, while Bob Daisley's deep bass rumbles through as well. Quite unlike the previous two tracks, but another underrated favorite of mine! Throwing back to the band's debut is "Sensitive to Light", which I like for its melodic bridge. That melody makes sure this song isn't entirely boogie rock. Then it all ends with the unique closing track that is "Rainbow Eyes". It's actually a long quiet medieval folk-inspired tune that would foreshadow Blackmore's later project Blackmore's Night. Lots of emotion in the soft guitars and vocals, Renaissance-esque flute. It's quiet as f*** with barely any climax. Enjoyable, but not the best way to conclude a classic album.
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the final part of Rainbow's amazing trilogy, and is the second-best of the trilogy, with the band's debut in 3rd place and Rising winning the gold medal. Sadly, Blackmore planned to move to a more commercial sound after their 3rd album, and Dio, disapproving of that idea, left the band and joined Black Sabbath. And thus ended Rainbow's era of promising glory. It was an amazing travel through bluesy hard rock, heavy metal, and even the earliest power metal ever, all summarized in this 3rd and last chapter. And all hopes for Dio to reunite with Rainbow are no longer possible. RIP... Long live their music!
Favorites: "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", "Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", "The Shed (Subtle)"
My first Rainbow experience was with 1976’s classic “Rising” album in the late 80’s or early 90’s. The duo of tracks that open & finish the record were unquestionably outstanding efforts & the more epic direction of this material was taking hard rock & heavy metal to places it had never ventured before. While it’s unquestionably a very enjoyable listen I have to admit to feeling that the overall package is a little overrated. There’s a distinct drop in quality in the middle of the album that prevents me from rating it as highly as other people inevitably seem to do but the quality of the rest of the material does manage to carry it to an extent. After I discovered “Rising” I quickly proceeded to check out the other two Dio-fronted Rainbow albums. Strangely I didn’t find either of them anywhere near as appealing & I haven’t returned to them until the last year or so when I decided a revisit was in order.
The production on “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” is pretty thin but that’s not unusual for the time. I definitely think it effects my enjoyment of the album little bit though. I was really hoping to hear Rainbow expanding on the more epic sound they’d started to pursue on “Rising” but there isn’t a lot of that here. It’s a much more traditional hard rock record. I’d definitely like to hear a substantially more expansive performance from Ritchie Blackmore but he really only soars a couple of times during the rare epic moments. Cozy Powell puts in a very professional performance behind the drum kit but it’s no surprise that Ronnie James Dio carries the album. Some of these tracks would simply be generic 70’s hard rock songs without his magical touch but I’m not sure it’s enough to make the album worthy of its status. For some reason Rainbow have decided to drop the keyboards that were such a prominent part of “Rising” & I find that decision to be a strange one. They added a lot to the atmosphere & were one the main elements that made “Rising” sound distinctive.
The album opens with the title track which is a solid enough but fairly generic hard rock tune. It’s kind of fun & has some good energy but it’s certainly nothing special. “Lady Of The Lake”, “LA Connection”, “Kill The King” & “The Shed (Subtle)” are also pretty decent examples of 70’s hard rock & I quite enjoy them but it’s really only the epic “Gates Of Babylon” that sees Rainbow reaching beyond their comfort zones & creating something with both substance & atmosphere. It has a very different feel to the rest of the album & is the clear highlight in my opinion. It’s no surprise that the keyboards have returned on this track & it sounds very much like it could have come for the “Rising” sessions. Sadly the quality of song-writing drops off substantially at the end of the album. “Sensitive To Light” is a generic blues-based rocker that has very little to hold the listeners interest while closing ballad “Rainbow Eyes” is a seriously cheesy piece of disposable garbage that is best forgotten. I’m not sure how the band convinced themselves that it was a good idea to be honest.
“Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” features some decent hard rock songs but it definitely fails to reach the same sort of heights as its predecessor & peters out badly in the back end. In fact “Rainbow Eyes” is bad enough that it's single-handedly caused me to drop my score a bit. That seems like a shame however I honestly think that most of the praise this album receives is based on Dio’s brilliance rather than the overall package. “Gates Of Babylon” is really the only truly great song on display here. Ultimately I find “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” to be a little disappointing & overrated although I do prefer it to Rainbow's similarly overrated debut album.
