Customer Reviews

Long Live Rock & Roll

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Long Live Rock and Roll is an album every bit as good as its predecessors and in some ways better. While Rising contained two masterpieces in Stargazer and Light In The Black, some of the shorter songs had an "outtake" feel to them. The 1975 debut suffered from Elf playing workmanlike behind the two obvious stars, Blackmore and Dio. Long Live Rock and Roll, however, rocks from start to finish. The title track has been criticized by some, but never was there a better bluesy shuffle. Lady of The Lake crushes you with its powerful, Zeppelin-ish riff, mystical lyrics, and a slide guitar solo so smooth that one reviwer thought it was a synthesizer. On to LA Connection, another bluesy number telling the tale of why Tony Carey left the band. Then Gates of Babylon, with one of Blackmore's finest solos, full of texture changes and exotic scale-use. Kill The King is one off-with-their-heads stomper, right to its "Ah! Kill! Ah!" ending. The Shed (Subtle) is heaviness personfied, Dio's voice menacing yet enticing all at once. Sensitive To Light would have sounded great on Rising, its quick tempo causing one to bang one's head until...yes...the grand finale, the soft and romantic Rainbow Eyes. One of Dio's finest vocal performances, the tune is only enhanced by Blackmore's Hendrix-like backing. By the end of 1978, the original Rainbow was history--and legendary. Dio went on to Sabbath, and Blackmore started getting more commercial. But the most enduring image of the guitarist will always be the '70s one, pilgrim hat, dressed all in black save his white boots, sliding his pick hand down the neck of a Stratocaster sure to be smashed at show's end. Yeah, I guess he da man!

This album marks the last of the "classic" Rainbow sound which included medieval, rock and metal styles meshing into a signature Blackmore/Dio led form. This album is also much heavier than the two previous Rainbow studio LP's. Thanks to the re-mastering, the production sounds a little better on this version. Ritchie's guitar playing is stellar on this album, especially the solo to "Gates of Babylon". There are several highlights of the album. "Gates of Babylon" with it's hard driving middle eastern influences mixed with strings for great effect. "The Shed (subtle)", a bruising, stomp-in-your-face metal tune. "Lady of the Lake" is a traditional Dio metal tune and of course, the title track. Also, "Rainbow Eyes" is a beautiful medieval-sounding ballad that showcases Ritchie's diverse songwriting skills as well as Ronnie James Dio's voice. All in all, this is a great album and would be the last truly great Rainbow album due to Dio's departure after the tour to support this album. Anyone who likes melodic hard rock/metal should buy this cd.

When anyone looks back at the time Ronnie James Dio sang with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, the album Rising is the one mentioned as the masterpiece. I have to admit that the 6 track album or CD is definitely on my top 100 list, but the group's follow-up effort, Long Live Rock `n' Roll is a very good to great album in its own way. The opening title track announces what is in store and the following songs with Blackmore's riffing, Cozy Powell's imaginative drum beats and of course Dio's vocals just drive home the 8 songs contained within this release home. The Gates of Babylon happens to be my favorite track with the moody and atmospheric keyboard opening to the memorable guitar riffs throughout. Hell, even Yngwie Malmsteen covered this song a few years back. Kill the King was the opening song for oh so many Rainbow shows, even though the opening guitar riff sounds very much like an early Rush riff. Great song though and always announced the band with power and might. The album closer, Rainbow Eyes is just a Dio vocal with orchestral backup, kind of the direction of Blackmore's Night has gone 3 decades later. The song does take some getting used and I have to admit that I usually skip it after the onslaught of the other guitar/drum heavy tracks. Check out a few snippets of the songs online and I am sure that you will want to here each one in their entirety! I recommend this album highly and this will add to the ever increasing back catalogue of Ronnie James Dio's career.

This album is essential. Rainbow was the best rockband ever. I mean the Rainbow with Ronnie James Dio ofcours. You see, the best singer ever together with one of the best guitarists ever should be good, and it is very good. After Rising I didn't expect another masterpiece like that, but it happened, this album is as good as Rising and that says something! Rising and Long Live Rock 'n Roll are two of my favorite albums of all time! All the songs of this album are classics. The song Gates Of Babylon has one of the best guitarsolo's ever! The song Rainbow Eyes is one of the best ballads ever! If you want to pick up a good rock album, then this is what you should buy! After this Rainbow album, there were no albums anymore that were this great. Because Dio left the band I think. The albums after this one aren't bad at all, just not so good as the first three. If you liked the Rainbow with Dio, then you should buy Black Sabbath's Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules. Dio sings on those album, they are very good too! After that you can buy music of Dio's own band called DIO!
But about this album again, BUY IT! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
LONG LIVE RONNIE 'N' RITCHIE!

This is is a absolutely brilliant album that now would be called power metal or classic metal, but back in the day was just called metal or hard rock.

I played this many, many times back in 1985-86, and I think it is a phenomenol album throughout, consistently great in every song. Rainbow Rising seems to be regarded nowadays by many people and fans as the best and most famous Rainbow album, and a lot of people foolishly and wrongly disregard this one. In fact it is very hard to even find a cd copy, and I don't have one. Some second hand shops have 12 inch LP versions.

Long Live Rock and Roll itself is a fantastic power anthem about rock and roll. True, the lyrics aren't very deep, but it really rocks. Fantastic tune. My favorite song ever about rock and roll, along with ACDC's For Those About To Rock (We Salute You). On this song, Ronnie Dio's vocals are very good as usual, strong and powerful, and perfectly complimenting the music. I certainly can't imagine another singer doing this song better.

The lyrics are also (slightly) less mystical and more realistic on this album than on Rising. I don't mind that at all. It works here. For example, the lyrics to The Shed sound more akin to ACDC. Its about a night prowler (no talking/ Street Walking). You can read the complete lyrics at www.darklyrics.com. Those that like the mystical lyrics will especially enjoy Lady of the Lake and Gates of Babylon.

Dio is at his absolute best on this album, full of power, strength and with a little tongue in cheek humor as well, which has always been characteristically his style, and something which has always endeared him to the fans. Love to hear Dio deliver those lines in The Shed such as "I'm a wildcat, Don't need to prove that" and "It takes a strong hand to be a mean man". Sure it sounds macho, but you can feel he is also trying to hide a laugh as well.

My other favorite tracks are Kill The King and LA Connection. Absolutely Fantastic. No singer could rival Dio on these tracks. I think Kill The King is based on a bible story in the Old Testament where a jealous queen tries to kill a young boy king in a power struggle, but I'm not sure on this.

This album features the classic line up of Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jimmy Bain (bass) and Cozy Powell (drums), and what a line up of heavy metal jouneymen and great musicians that is. Bain later joined Dio on his 1980s albums such as Sacred Heart. Overall, I can't recommend this album highly enough. It is under-rated, sadly ignored and deserves much more credit than it ever gets. Ronnie Dio's vocals here are stamped with authority and class, and he really makes each and every song uniquely his very own. While Rising kinda feels like Blackmore's album, LLRR certainly feels like Dio's. PS. Loved the ballad Rainbow Eyes as well.

FOOTNOTE (added 9 June 2006): Two other reviewers state that the bass player on this album was Bob Daisley. I had always thought that it was Jimmy Bain - if wrong, I stand corrected. It's a great album regardless.

This, my friends, is without a doubt, my favorite Rainbow album and one of my top-ten records EVER! It was the first Rainbow album I got, and I picked it randomly after reading for sooooo many years about this great band where Dio and Blackmore teamed before Ronnie joined Sabbath. Being a MAJOR Dio-era Sabbath fan, I was intrigued, and finally I caved in. Of course, I had to order the damn thing because record stores in my country wouldn't carry anything but mainstream acts at the time. So without ever hearing a single note of the band's music, I ordered "Long Live Rock n' Roll". A few weeks later, after finally getting my hands on it and listening to it, I was speechless: IT IS SO AWESOME! Recorded in France at different times during 1977, the album features in addition to Ritchie Blackmore on guitars and Ronnie James Dio on vocals, the inimitable talents of Cozy Powell on drums. The lineup was completed by keyboardist Dave Stone and bassist Bob Daisley (who only played on a few songs) and while neither one has earned too much praise or many accolades for their contributions, the fact remains that without them the album wouldn't have been completed at all.

The title track is simply great, you can definitely tell that Blackmore is the one playing, but it doesn't sound like Deep Purple at all, which was a big surprise for me, as I am also a big Purple fan. Dio is simply monstrous, and at the risk of having my life threatened by some diehards, I believe he sings even better than he would eventually do on "Heaven and Hell". It's heavy, yet catchy and melodic; "Lady of the lake" conjures up images of Knights, dungeons, dragons and magic that would become a Dio trademark and a primordial element of Euro-metal for decades to come (to this day, actually...) and rocks big time with some terrific slide guitar from Ritchie; "LA Connection" is another gem, slower than the previous tunes, but very intense and heavy; "Gates of Babylon" needs no further comment: simply put, a masterpiece, from the keyboard intro through its powerful lyrics to its awe inspiring guitar work.

"Kill the King" is fast and furious, yet catchy and melodic, a true classic and one of my favorite songs ever. Unlikely as it might seem, I think that the studio version is even MORE potent than the live versions of the song that are available, a rare occurence when talking about this band, which was absolutely killer onstage. At this point I'm compelled to state the obvious: hearing this album and this song in particular you understand perfectly where Iron Maiden got their inspiration. Don't believe me? Well, just so you know, Steve Harris is a MAJOR Rainbow fan (he has said so on more than one occasion); "The Shed" builds up nice and slow and then it slams you in the face, driven by the power of the great, late Cozy Powell. "Sensitive to Light" is probably the only song that sounds a little out of place, sounding a little reminiscent to "If you don't like rock n' roll" from their debut album, but ultimately it's a great track too.

And last but certainly not least, "Rainbow Eyes" is all subtlety, all fragility, all intensity and passion in one, without a doubt, the best Rainbow ballad (sorry Joe Lynn Turner freaks), built upon a beautiful guitar melody which is emphasized by a string and flute ensemble that is simply gorgeous.

Too bad that this record would prove to be the last release from the Dio-era, as Blackmore would (once again!!!) change his mind about the musical direction he wanted for the band shortly after the completion of the supporting tour. While I might agree with most Rainbow diehards and scholars that "Rising" is probably their best album (it was in fact the last one I got from the Dio-era), this is the one that ultimately had the biggest impact on me and the one which will always hold the fondest musical memories for me. If you're new to Rainbow (Dio-era or otherwise), I suggest that you start your collection with either this or the debut album before digging into "Rising", which is far more complex and quite a bit harder to absorb at first. This should allow you to enter a comfort zone and gradually dig in deeper. This record is a masterpiece and no fan of 70's hard rock should do without it. Forgive me for the play on words, but it's too bad that this incarnation of the band didn't, in fact, "live long..."

The Blackmore/Dio/Powell axis ended on a high note with this 1978 album featuring a great band drawing for the cover. It continues in the hard rock/early metal vein of the previous one with a few surprises as well. In addition to Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), and Cozy Powell (drums), two new members came in for the recording with Bob Daisley on bass and David Stone on keyboards. In charge of the production was the great Martin Birch just like the last two albums. The challenge in Rainbow is try to pay attention to what the keyboard is doing on each song as it tends to get pushed back in favor of the guitar!

The first song "Long Live Rock And Roll" displays their bluesy hard rock with excellent vocals by Dio, and a killer solo by Blackmore. One of the few songs from this album to be played regularly in concert. Note the fine keyboard playing that accompanies throughout the song. Too bad it's kind of buried in the mix.
The second cut is "Lady Of The Lake". A mean riff by Blackmore is repeated for the verses but the chorus ends up being the real highlight of the song. Unlike the previous track, the keyboard work here is very prominent with that choir-aah sound that I really like! Also notice that for the second and final verses, Blackmore adds a slide guitar overdub that really enhances the song.
For the next song, the album goes back to more bluesy hard rock in "LA Connection" where the guitar seems to be filtered through a phasing effect. But my favorite part comes at the end where Stone steps in to add some cool piano runs.
However the best is yet to come with the epic eastern-tinged fourth number "Gates Of Babylon". This got to be one of Rainbow's best songs ever! A stunning keyboard intro opens this masterpiece. Then the main part of the song appears with a haunting eastern riff, stellar vocals by Dio, the choir-aah keyboard for the chorus, and one of the best solos Blackmore ever did! This is definitely among his top five!
The rebellious "Kill The King" comes next and it's an excellent early speed metal number that drummer Powell co-wrote with Dio and Blackmore. Check out Liege Lord's great cover on their album "Master Control".
Blackmore's bluesy soloing introduces the next number called "The Shed (Subtle)" that also includes a songwriting credit to Powell. A catchy riff is repeated throughout that sounds slightly reminiscent of the Deep Purple song "Stormbringer". No keyboard here? Of course there is. Listen carefully towards the end for that thick Hammond organ sound.
The fast-paced "Sensitive To Light" is the shortest song on the album at only three minutes. Sounds kind of poppy but I like it a lot, especially the melodic instrumental bridge that pops up in the middle.
But there's still one more highlight to come with the ballad "Rainbow Eyes". Easily one of the best ballads the group ever wrote! Dio has a nice gentle voice here while Blackmore plays some seemingly Hendrix inspired rhythm guitar. But don't overlook it's marvelous string arrangement that includes a flute player as well! I really like the ending too, when that melody keeps repeating until the fade out. A great way of finishing this awesome album!

Fans of hard rock should definitely consider adding this hard rock masterpiece to their respective collections as soon as possible! You won't be disappointed!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later...

Rainbow's third album, 1978's Long Live Rock'n'Roll, would be the last to feature original singer Ronnie James Dio. Guitarist and bandleader Ritchie Blackmore's penchant for constantly replacing band members for no good reason and sudden desire to take Rainbow in a more pop-rock direction would soon drive Dio from the group.

A couple of lineup changes took place just prior to the recording of this album. Keyboardist Tony Carey and bassist Jimmy Bain were both ousted, and Rainbow went into the studio without permanent repacements. David Stone was eventually called in to take over the keyboard duties, but how much of the album he actually played on is unclear. What is clear is that none of the keyboard playing on this album is comparable to the stellar work that Carey did on Rainbow's second album, Rising. Bassist Bob Daisley was brought in but only played on a couple of tracks, most of the bass on the album having already been played (very well) by Ritchie Blackmore. Drummer Cozy Powell plays every bit as powerfully as he did on Rising, and both Blackmore and Dio deliver the goods with their customary aplomb. Martin Birch is once again the producer, although this album is recorded in a rawer fashion than Rising, probably on purpose.

Despite the internal problems Rainbow managed to turn in a killer album. While lacking the sheer brilliance of Rising this album has the advantage of being the hardest rocking piece of work in the Rainbow catalog. It kicks like an angry mule, yet still retains flashes of the subtley of their previous efforts. It's not as progressive or experimental as the first two albums and seems to focus more on straight-ahead hard rock. Some great tracks include the Zeppelin-esque "Lady Of The Lake", the fast-paced concert opener "Kill The King", and the plaintive ballad "Rainbow Eyes". Then there's the mighty "Gates Of Babylon", an eastern-tinged epic that ranks right up there with Rainbow's best. Most of the other tunes are quite enjoyable as well, if not on the same level as the ones I've mentioned. However the title track, which provided the band with a minor hit, seems forced and generic to my ears.

Of the first three Rainbow albums this is my least favorite, but for all that it's still a great album. After this Ritchie Blackmore threw out everybody except Cozy Powell and formed a new lineup that produced generic mainstream pop-rock. Get this album; it's full of great music and well worth the price.

I've received my fair share of criticism allegedly being a person who only wants to listen to hard rock. Although that's not true, I certainly listen to my share of hard rock and heavy metal including Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, and my favorite band, Black Sabbath. Rainbow is also a hard rock band and also one of my favorites. When I heard this album, Long Live Rock & Roll, I couldn't have agreed more! It's rock and roll at its best, and the tracks Lady of the Lake, Gates of Babylon, The Shed (Subtle) along with the title track are some of the best hard rock songs I've heard.

What a surprise when I heard the bewitching Rainbow Eyes! This song is musical magic. It's been more than twenty years since I first heard this song, and I still believe it's the finest piece of music I've ever heard. You don't get any anvil-chorus drums or screaming guitars on this song. What you do get is a kind of time warp in which a modern-day rock band somehow finds itself in medieval England playing as troubadours for a noble knight who has lost his lady love. At least that's what it says to me. It can say something else to you, I suppose, but the flute, guitar, violin, and Dio's vocals can really make you fall in love with this song. Check it out. If you're anything like me, you won't find anything better!

"Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" from 1978 was the third studio album from Blackmore & company and the first following the live "On Stage" release.

Over the years critics have taken the greatest pleasure in their often biased descriptions of "Heavy Metal" music. Unfortunately either from the critics lack of knowledge or a mind too closed for thought the consumer is often left to sought out the good from the obnoxious.

There are certain bands that produce metal sounding music if you like the term, but it is imperative that the word "Intelligent is placed before the word heavy. The Black Sabbath records with Ozzy, the first 5 Blue Oyster Cult, the one and only Armageddon with Keith Relf, the Deep Purple records during Blackmore's tenure, and the Rainbow with Dio at the vocal helm.

While the first two studio Rainbow went more for the mystical sound, "Long Live Rock `n' Roll has enough metal around the edges to produce carnage if anything enters its path. The opening track (The title) is not only perfect for its placement as the first notes the listener experiences but is relentless in the pure energy and brilliance. Many a Blackmore fan wouldn't let the turntable go to the second cut before they were inundated with the sonic explosions from the first song a myriad of times. "Lady Of The Lake" mixes nicely the pure rock and roll with the Dio mystical vocal. He made it a calling card and reminds us he is the man. "L.A. Connection" is straight ahead in your face and perfectly crafted for the five minute range. "Gates Of Babylon" should have a footnote in Blackmore's musical history. It isn't only the brilliance of the composition but many rock fans that never gave him a fair shake (Not so bright on their part) were impressed with this specific tune for his approach to the six string. "Kill The King" and the opening number are equally impressive for the sheer aggression of the music but lyrics that are intelligent and a perfect compliment to Blackmore, Powell, Daisley, and Stone. "The Shed (Subtle)" lets Richie do his thing but notice how the songs don't expand to overkill. The longest track clocks in at seven and one-half minutes (Last one). "Sensitive To Light" is a terrific rock and roll number with Dio giving a perfect vocal. Speaking of perfect. The final track "Rainbow Eyes" allows Dio to shine and was a fitting end for his studio time with the band. If only the Blackmore/Dio combination continued there would have been many more special Rainbows.

Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"