Great Rock Albums of 1978: Rainbow- Long Live Rock and Roll
First of all, I have been kicking myself for leaving out Rainbow albums in the past chapter of “Great Rock Albums of the 70s.” I should have at least included the “Rising” album in one of the posts. Not taking anything away from Graham Bonnet or Joe Lynn Turner, I will be visiting their contributions to Rainbow, but I remain convinced that the Ronnie James Dio era was Rainbow’s best, this album is one of the contributors to my belief.
At Bloodstock 2010, there were many tributes to Ronnie James Dio by many acts over the three days. While it could be said that some of the bands should have checked with eachother, it seems fitting that many of them played the title track, “Long Live Rock and Roll” as a tribute to Ronnie. I might be biased here, but it was Twisted Sister’s version of the song I liked the best.
Needless to say, the title track isn’t the only song that does this album justice. Other tracks like “Gates of Babylon,”Kill the King” and the mellow but eeriely appealing “Rainbow Eyes” also combine to make this album what it is, a great album. “Long Live Rock and Roll” is a great hard rocking album and one where metal bands can point to for inspiration.
Track Listing:
1. Long Live Rock and Roll
2. Lady of the Lake
3. L.A. Connection
4. Gates of Babylon
5. Kill the King
6. The Shed (Subtle)
7. Sensitive to Light
8. Rainbow Eyes
Rainbow
Ritchie Blackmore- guitars
Ronnie James Dio- vocals
Cozy Powell- drums, percussion
David Stone- keyboards
Bob Daisley- bass
“Long Live Rock And Roll” would be the last album to feature Ronnie James Dio, who would go on to take over the singing duties for Black Sabbath. Rainbow would continue on and both would achieve greatness. I believe that Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell, who passed away a few years earlier, are jamming together in the after life and continuing to rock on.
Next post: The Who- Who Are You
To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale in Foyles Book Shop in London.
This entry was posted on May 28, 2012 at 7:50 pm and is filed under 1978, Heavy Metal, Music, Uncategorized with tags Classic Rock, hard rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Long Live Rock And Roll, Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, The 1970s. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2 Responses to “Great Rock Albums of 1978: Rainbow- Long Live Rock and Roll”
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May 29, 2012 at 1:24 am
A Metal bravo to you 80’s Metalman for revisiting this ultra-classic from Rainbow!
You named off some gems from this album… and I’ll add “L.A. Connection” to the list too! That bassline is immense in that song!
I like your thinking about Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell jamming together in a better place. \m/\m/
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May 29, 2012 at 7:22 pm
Thanks, I’ll have to listen to that song again to hear the bass line.
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