Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

Perhaps the first example of "dragon-rock" — a style perfected by bands like Iron Maiden and Dio in the early-to-mid-'80s — was this rather pretentious 1975 collection from guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's first post-Deep Purple project. Fittingly enough, a young Ronnie James Dio provides the goblin-like frontman presence required by the increasingly baroque Blackmore. The young Dio is at his best when he fully gives in to his own and Blackmore's medieval fantasy leanings, in hard-rocking tracks like "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" and "Man on the Silver Mountain." The dark, trudging doom-rock of "Self-Portrait" most clearly showcases what they were capable of. The album's ponderous lyrics are occasionally punctuated by poetic phrases such as "crossbows in the firelight." Rainbow becomes a true embarrassment when they try to lighten up and boogie down. "If You Don't Like Rock and Roll" is really an abomination, a pale imitation of second-rate radio-rockers like BTO. Although Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow provides a few listenable tracks, its primary value is historical. Look to Rainbow's next album, Rising (1976), to grasp the heavy metal potential that is only hinted at here. — David Kent-Abbott.