| Rising | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover painting by Ken Kelly | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 17 May 1976 [1] | |||
| Recorded | February 1976 | |||
| Studio | Musicland Studios, Munich | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:28 | |||
| Label | Oyster/Polydor | |||
| Producer | Martin Birch | |||
| Rainbow chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rising | ||||
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Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising) [4] is the second studio album by the British-American rock band Rainbow. It was released on 17 May 1976.
Band leader Ritchie Blackmore retained only singer Ronnie James Dio from the previous album line-up, and recruited drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboard player Tony Carey to complete the new roster. [5] Recorded in Munich in less than a month, the album was overseen by rock producer and engineer Martin Birch. The band was originally billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in the US, [4] but was titled simply Rainbow on this release. In 1996 Cozy Powell told Record Collector magazine that much of the album was recorded in one or two takes, with some subsequent overdubs, which explains why no alternate or demo versions exist, just the original or rough mixes.[ citation needed ]
The album showpiece,[ according to whom? ] the eight-minute-and-26-second track "Stargazer", features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and originally had a keyboard intro as evidenced on the 2011 Deluxe Edition's "Rough Mix" version.[ citation needed ]
Few of the album tracks made it into the band's live set: "Stargazer" and "Do You Close Your Eyes", written prior to the inaugural US tour in late 1975, featured in all the 1975 and 1976 shows, while "A Light in the Black" was dropped early in the 1976 tour, although it was reintroduced into the set during the Japanese dates. "Starstruck" was played in shortened form, usually as part of "Man on the Silver Mountain".[ citation needed ]
The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, containing a photo of the band inside, with a generic Polydor inner sleeve. Rising peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. [6] In the UK it peaked at number 11. [7]
The first CD issue had a slightly different mix to that of the original LP, including a longer delay before the band entered after Carey's opening solo in "Tarot Woman", and a longer play-out on "Run with the Wolf". The track "Stargazer" had the vocals mixed without the delay, the extra synthesizer deleted and some of the phased sounds deleted. When remastered in 1999 the original vinyl mix was restored.[ original research? ]
After several reschedulings, the deluxe version of the album was finally released in Japan on 5 April 2011 as a three-SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) Deluxe Remastered Edition. This limited edition reissue was released in a cardboard gatefold sleeve (mini LP-style paper jacket), featuring the "high-fidelity" SHM-CD manufacturing process (compatible with standard CD players) and was part of a two-album Rainbow cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring Rainbow Rising and Down to Earth. Both feature the unique-to-Japan obi strip and an additional insert. The Deluxe Edition subsequently received wider release, and went Silver in 2013 in the UK. [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 9/10 [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed) [12] |
| Sputnikmusic | [13] [2] |
According to AllMusic, Rising captured "Blackmore and Dio at the peak of their creative powers...(it) chronicled both the guitarist's neo-classical metal compositions at their most ambitious, and the singer's growing fixation with fantasy lyrical themes – a blueprint he would adopt for his entire career thereafter." [9]
Musicians Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Snowy Shaw have paid tribute to the album in recent years, with Shaw describing it as "a masterpiece and pretty much a milestone" and saying that it "introduced a more Dungeons and Dragons type fantasy heavy rock to the masses." [14] [15]
In Issue 4 of Kerrang! magazine (cover-dated October 1981), Rising was voted the greatest heavy metal album of all time. [16] [17] In 2017, it was ranked 48th at Rolling Stone 's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". [18]
All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tarot Woman" | 5:58 |
| 2. | "Run with the Wolf" | 3:48 |
| 3. | "Starstruck" | 4:06 |
| 4. | "Do You Close Your Eyes" | 2:58 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Stargazer" | 8:26 |
| 6. | "A Light in the Black" | 8:12 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tarot Woman" | 6:01 |
| 2. | "Run with the Wolf" | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Starstruck" | 4:06 |
| 4. | "Do You Close Your Eyes" | 3:00 |
| 5. | "Stargazer" | 8:26 |
| 6. | "A Light in the Black" | 8:12 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Tarot Woman" | 6:05 |
| 8. | "Run with the Wolf" | 3:45 |
| 9. | "Starstruck" | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Do You Close Your Eyes" | 2:58 |
| 11. | "Stargazer" | 8:22 |
| 12. | "A Light in the Black" | 8:11 |
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [20] | 33 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [21] | 17 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22] | 38 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) [23] | 12 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [24] | 36 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [25] | 23 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [26] | 11 |
| US Billboard 200 [27] | 48 |
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Oricon Japanese Albums Charts [28] | 67 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [29] | 7 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [20] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| France (SNEP) [30] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ) [31] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [32] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) [33] 2011 Deluxe Edition | Silver | 60,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time" [16] | 1981 | 1 |
| Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time" [34] | 1989 | 14 |
| Q | United Kingdom | "The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever" [35] | 2004 | – |
| Kerrang! | United Kingdom | "100 Best British Rock Albums Ever" [36] | 2005 | 74 |
| Classic Rock | United Kingdom | "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever" [37] | 2006 | 18 |
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Rainbow are a British rock band formed in Hertford in 1975 by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from Deep Purple, they originally featured four members of the American rock band Elf, including their singer Ronnie James Dio, but after their self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired these members, except Dio, recruiting drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain, and keyboardist Tony Carey. This line-up recorded the band's second album Rising (1976), while Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978) saw Bob Daisley and David Stone replace Bain and Carey, respectively. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll was also the last album with Dio before he left the band to join Black Sabbath in 1979.
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is the debut studio album by American/British rock band Rainbow, released in 1975.
On Stage is a double live album originally released by the British hard rock band Rainbow in 1977. It was recorded live over several German and Japanese dates in late 1976 during the Rising world tour. The album was released first in the US on 7 July 1977, before being released a week later on 15 July in the UK.
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album by the British heavy metal band Rainbow, released on 14 April 1978 and the last to feature original lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio.
Down to Earth is the fourth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It is their last album to feature drummer Cozy Powell, their first with bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey and their only album with vocalist Graham Bonnet. Released in 1979, it contains Rainbow's first hit single "Since You Been Gone", marking a more commercial direction of the band's sound.
Holy Diver is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. The album was acclaimed by the music press and is the band's most successful album.
Difficult to Cure is the fifth studio album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, and it was released in 1981. It was the first album to feature Bobby Rondinelli on drums and Joe Lynn Turner on lead vocals after the departures of Cozy Powell and Graham Bonnet respectively, following the release of Down to Earth. The album marked the continuing commercialization of the band's sound, with Ritchie Blackmore once describing at the time his appreciation of the band Foreigner. It became the band's highest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number three.
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Live in Germany 1976 is a live album released by Rainbow in 1990. The tracks are cherry-picked from a series of German dates during their world tour in September 1976. It was re-released two years later in the USA as Live in Europe on a different label. The content is the same for both although sleeve notes differ.
Richard Hugh Blackmore is an English guitarist. He was a founding member and the lead guitarist of Deep Purple, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar riffs and has been known for playing both classically influenced and blues-based solos.
The Very Best of Rainbow is a greatest hits compilation album by the British hard rock band Rainbow. It was released in 1997 and features material ranging from 1975's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow to 1983's Bent Out of Shape.
Pot of Gold is a budget-priced compilation album by the British hard rock band Rainbow, released in 2002.
The Best of Rainbow is the first compilation album from British hard rock group Rainbow, released in 1981.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow is a compilation album released by Rainbow. Released on 3 October 2000. The tracks were recorded between 1975–1983, before Rainbow disbanded in 1984.
Cozy Powell Forever is a tribute album dedicated to the British rock drummer Cozy Powell, who died a few months before the album release. The album was produced by Japanese drummer Munetaka Higuchi, with the contribution of many prominent Japanese rock and metal musicians and of the western musicians Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin. The songs covered in the album span from the early career of Powell in the Jeff Beck Group, to his membership in Rainbow, Whitesnake and Michael Schenker Group, to his solo production. Higuchi brought the songs of this album on tour in Japan and in 1999 released a live album with recordings of a show held in Tokyo.
"Stargazer" is a song by the British-American rock supergroup Rainbow, released as fifth track from the band's second studio album Rising (1976). It is an epic song narrating the story of a powerful wizard whose attempt to fly by constructing a mystical tower to the stars leads to the enslavement of vast numbers of people. "Stargazer" is notable for its musical complexity, with the guitar, lyrics, and drum intro cited as significant examples of the talents of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ronnie James Dio, and drummer Cozy Powell.
Deutschland Tournee 1976 is a 6-CD box-set released by the British hard rock band Rainbow in 2006, featuring live material from 3 concerts of the band's German tour of 1976, being Cologne on 25 September 1976, Düsseldorf on 27 September 1976, and Nürnberg on 28 September 1976. The complete set of 6 CDs was released only in Japan as a box-set. In Europe all three concerts would be released subsequently as separate double-CD sets, in jewel-cases, with the same track listings and CD timings.
