The Temple Of The King (1975-1976) is the most comprehensive collection of the opening phase of Rainbow‘s career to date, and is the first in a series of anthology sets covering the career of legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. The 9-CD set, newly mastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham, is housed in deluxe 7″ packaging featuring a 24-page booklet featuring memorabilia, photos and sleeve notes by music writer Rich Davenport.
The set spans the band’s first two years and includes their debut album, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow; their breakthrough record, Rising and the extended German concerts that were compiled as part of the double live album On Stage. The final two discs comprise rare recordings, many of which are featured on CD for the first time, including band rehearsals, single edits, and rough mixes.
The full box is:
CD 1: Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
- “Man On The Silver Mountain”
- “Self Portrait”
- “Black Sheep Of The Family”
- “Catch The Rainbow”
- “Snake Charmer”
- “The Temple Of The King”
- “If You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll”
- “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”
- “Still I’m Sad”
CD 2: Rising
- “Tarot Woman”
- “Run With The Wolf”
- “Starstruck”
- “Do You Close Your Eyes”
- “Stargazer”
- “A Light In The Black”
CD 3: Live In Köln 1976 – Kölner Sport Halle 25.9.1976 – Part 1
- “Kill The King”
- “Mistreated”
- “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”
- “Catch The Rainbow”
- “Man On The Silver Mountain”
CD 4: Live In Köln 1976 – Kölner Sport Halle 25.9.1976 – Part 2
- “Stargazer”
- “Still I’m Sad”
- “Do You Close Your Eyes”
CD 5: Live in Düsseldorf 1976 – Düsseldorf Philips Halle 27.9.1976 – Part 1
- “Kill The King”
- “Mistreated”
- “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”
- “Catch The Rainbow”
CD 6: Live in Düsseldorf 1976 – Düsseldorf Philips Halle 27.9.1976 – Part 2
- “Man On The Silver Mountain”
- “Stargazer”
- “Still I’m Sad”
CD 7: Live in Nurnberg 1976 – Nurnberg Messezentrum Halle 28.9.1976 – Part 1
- “Kill The King”
- “Mistreated”
- “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”
- “Catch The Rainbow”
- “Man On The Silver Mountain”
CD 8: Live in Nurnberg 1976 – Nurnberg Messezentrum Halle 28.9.1976 – Part 2 + Rarities
- “Stargazer – Live in Nurnberg 1976”
- “Still I’m Sad – Live in Nurnberg 1976”
- “Do You Close Your Eyes – Live in Nurnberg 1976”
- “Getaway (Kill The King) – Studio Rehearsals for 1976 World Tour” “Mistreated – Studio Rehearsals for 1976 World Tour“
- “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves – Studio Rehearsals for 1976 World Tour“
- “Catch The Rainbow – Studio Rehearsals for 1976 World Tour”
CD 9: Rarities
- “The Temple Of The King – Bolivian Mono Mix”
- “Man On The Silver Mountain – Mono Edit”
- “Man On The Silver Mountain – Stereo Edit”
- “Tarot Woman – Rough Mix”
- “Run With The Wolf – Rough Mix”
- “Starstruck – Rough Mix”
- “Do You Close Your Eyes – Rough Mix”
- “Stargazer – Rough Mix”
- “A Light In The Black – Rough Mix”
- “Stargazer – Pirate Sound Tour Rehearsal”
- “Starstruck – Mono Edit”
- “Starstruck – Stereo Edit”
Rainbow was initially formed as a Ritchie Blackmore solo project in the early months of 1975, after a Deep Purple tour of the previous year. On that tour, they were supported by the American band Elf. The singer of Elf, Ronnie James Dio, left an impression on the already legendary guitarist Blackmore. Blackmore asked him to sing on a cover of the song “Black Sheep Of The Family”. The sessions went so well that a full album began to take shape, with Blackmore and Dio collaborating on original songs.
Blackmore had such foresight in this project, he solely financially funded the work and thus began the mystical musical world of Rainbow. The resulting record, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, was recorded between February and March 1975 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. With Blackmore‘s composing prowess and Dio‘s mystical lyrics, the band was set to take fans to a new level.
The album’s unusual stylistic blend of hard rock and classical music was partly inspired by Blackmore taking up the cello to help him break free of the confines of conventional guitar chord progressions. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow was a top 15 hit in the UK and top 30 in the US, and was such a positive experience that in the Summer of 1975, that Blackmore left Deep Purple to commit himself fully to Rainbow.
Recruiting bassist Jimmy Bain, keyboard player Tony Carey and ex-Jeff Beck Group drummer Cozy Powell, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow undertook their first tour. By 1976, the band’s name had been shortened to Rainbow, and a second album, Rising, was recorded in February of that year once again at Musicland.
Rising, with its iconic sleeve of a fist holding a rainbow in a mystical scene, only features six tracks, including two epic compositions on side two, one of which, “Stargazer”, is widely regarded as a Rainbow classic and a landmark in hard rock. The original musical stylings are often touted as the first neo-classical metal band. It was the perfect melding of Ritchie‘s guitar wizardry and Ronnie‘s soaring powerful vocals.
Taking the album on the road in 1976, the band added Deep Purple‘s “Mistreated” to their setlist, and song lengths were stretched to include improvisational sections. The band recorded shows in Germany and Japan, which were edited and compiled as the live album On Stage, released in the summer of 1977. Three of the German shows from Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Nürnberg are being released together for the first time outside of Japan on The Temple Of The King (1975-1976).
By the end of 1976, Rainbow had established itself as one of the cornerstones of British rock, and, under the leadership of the never-predictable but ever-astonishing guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, would become synonymous with some of the most loved and popular Rock songs of the seventies and eighties.
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