Very Best of Rainbow [Original recording remastered]

Very Best of Rainbow [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Founded by Deep Purple's founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and originally called Blackmore's Rainbow, Rainbow was a revolving-door supergroup, in which artists like Ronnie James Dio, Cozy Powell, Joe Lynn Turner, and Tony Carey entered just long enough to establish themselves and bolster their resumes. Considering the band's instability, Rainbow created a number of surprisingly strong tunes over its 10-year career. The first half of The Best of Rainbow features Dio's inimitable vocals on such Deep Purple-styled stormers as "Man on the Silver Mountain," "Stargazer," and "Kill the King." The second part of the disc is from the later and more commercially oriented part of the band's career, and contains the Turner classic "Since You've Been Gone" as well as "Stone Cold" and "Power." If nothing else, The Best of Rainbow is loaded with the kind of mind-bending solos that earned Blackmore and Rainbow their stripes. --Jon Wiederhorn

Product Description
16 Remastered Tracks on One CD. Tracklisting Includes: Man on the Silver, Catch the Rainbow, Since You Been Gone, Street of Dreams.

Tracks:

Man On The Silver Mountain
Catch The Rainbow
Starstruck
Stargazer
Kill The King
Long Live Rock 'N'Roll
Gates Of Babylon
Since You Been Gone
All Night Long
I Surrender
Can't Happen Here
Jealous Lover
Stone Cold
Power
Can't Let You Go
Street Of Dreams

Amazon.com

Founded by Deep Purple's founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and originally called Blackmore's Rainbow, Rainbow was a revolving-door supergroup, in which artists like Ronnie James Dio, Cozy Powell, Joe Lynn Turner, and Tony Carey entered just long enough to establish themselves and bolster their resumes. Considering the band's instability, Rainbow created a number of surprisingly strong tunes over its 10-year career. The first half of The Best of Rainbow features Dio's inimitable vocals on such Deep Purple-styled stormers as "Man on the Silver Mountain," "Stargazer," and "Kill the King." The second part of the disc is from the later and more commercially oriented part of the band's career, and contains the Turner classic "Since You've Been Gone" as well as "Stone Cold" and "Power." If nothing else, The Best of Rainbow is loaded with the kind of mind-bending solos that earned Blackmore and Rainbow their stripes. --Jon Wiederhorn

Album Details

16 Remastered Tracks on One CD. Tracklisting Includes: Man on the Silver, Catch the Rainbow, Since You Been Gone, Street of Dreams.

Customer Reviews:

it doesn't GET any better than this.......2007-04-10

This is my vote for one of the best greatest hits, best ofs, very best ofs (what EVER you want to call it) collections out there. Maybe some of the song choices here will raise questions (such as "jealous lover"- a short Clapton-like rocker) but the thing is, we're talking about a disc that has almost 80 minutes of music here, and I'm not let down at ALL by the choices. What a flawless collection!

"street of dreams" was the reason I wanted this CD in the first place. Little did I know at the time that Rainbow was capable of so much more. I had no idea they were almost a heavy metal band in the 70's, or more specifically, a SPEED rock band. Those early songs are fast and provide lots of satisfaction for people craving good old-fashioned rock music. The first half of this collection is dominated with songs like that.

However, the second half of the album is more like "street of dreams". It's early 80's rock with a much lighter tone and not NEARLY as rockin' and heavy as the first half of this album. What matters here is if these songs are actually good. Are they? Yes, I think so. You probably remember "I surrender". It was a big hit back in the day. You also probably remember "since you've been gone" which is another highlight.

I love every song here, and totally agree with the selection of songs. Get ready to rock out for the first half of the disc, and just enjoy melodic commercially-appealing songs for the second half.

The Best and the Worst of Rainbow.......2007-03-13

This compilation album is a decent representation of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. As a greatest hits collection, it has all the standard tunes. I will start out with the best. "Man on the Silver Mountain" of course opens this disc and rightfully so because it is probably Rainbow's most known song. It is also a good solid tune to entice the listener to more of the world of Ritchie Blackmore. He is one of the countless performers who has influenced many people to pick up the guitar. "Man on the Silver Mountain" portrays just about everything that Rainbow is about. Myths, magic, wizards, and medieval themes. And, lest we forget, Ronnie James Dio provides the vocals on the first 7 tracks on this cd. Next up is "Catch the Rainbow" which is a decent soft song. Personally, I prefer a live recording of this tune over the studio version. Unfortunatley, those 2 songs are the only ones off the first album that made it to this comp. Where is "16th Century Greensleeves, Self Portrait, and Temple of the King". We next move onto songs from the seminal album "Rainbow Rising". "Starstruck" is a great track with a good hook and great guitar work. Next is "Stargazer". This is a truly monumental song complete with some of the greatest singing that Ronnie James has ever done. The guitar solo by Ritchie is awesome and truly one of his best. "Stargazer is one of the best heavy metal epics ever concieved. But, where is "Tarot Woman, Do You Close Your Eyes", and another legendary track called "A Light in the Black"? We then move onto songs from the album "Long Live Rock and Roll". The records title track is featured on this disc as well as "Babylon" and "Kill the King". Those are the last tunes that have Dio on the mic. Now, we move into the 1980's version of Rainbow which was wracked with numerous line-up changes which in my opinion, kills most bands or really hurts the quality of the group. Grahm Bonnett took over the microphone for one album and thank god for that. 2 songs from the album "Down to Earth" are offered. Gone are the renniasance themed songs. Instead, Rainbow moves into the 80's with sex soaked lyrics and modern topics that were barely touched in the band's previous incarnations. The music also makes a 360 degree turn into a more poppy style and radio friendly sound. Grahm Bonnett's vocals are flat and he has no range. You could compare it to when Bruce Dickison left Iron Maiden and Blaze Bayley stepped in. We then move onto the Joe Lynn Turner era of Ritchie's band. Turner is definitly a better singer than Bonnett was but, again the band strayed to far from it's roots as far as Rainbow goes. Also, Roger Glover of Deep Purple fame took over bass duties. This in turn made Rainbow, in my opinion sound a little like Deep Purple. Some of these songs are o.k. but again are too poppy for my tastes. These later songs also contain too much piano and keyboards. I'm more into bands that make the guitar, bass, and drums carry the tune. If keyboards are used sparingly I don't mind them too much. A little salt and pepper is good sometimes. When keyboards are served up as the main course, I get a bad taste in my mouth. As I mentioned earlier in my review, this is a good taste of all of Rainbow's material and is a good intoduction to thier work. You get all the aspects of Blackmore's post Deep Purple band. If you only own all the Dio era stuff like I do, with the exception of this greatest hits comp, you will see that the Dio era was the best version of Rainbow. But, don't take my word for it. Some of you may like the stuff after Ronnie James left. If you do, then god help you.

A very good career summary.......2007-01-10

Anybody who has been into HR/HM for more than five minutes has heard about the progenitors of the genre such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. And once you know of them you start hearing of Dio, Judas Priest and Rainbow, as bands in the second wave, so to speak. So because of his salient role in the building of the hard rock beast over the years there is more than just corporate cash in reasons for a release such as this look back at the career of Mr Blackmores solo vehicle as it allows subsequent generations of heavy rockers to explore the finest that Rainbow marque has given us over the years.

As far as the overall package is concerned this getns marks even before the disc hits your stereo. A neat band family tree, band history blurb and discography helps put the listener in the right grame of mind. Also the notations as to what album each track came from and the songs being in chronological order is a big plus.

You also get to see how the very 70's rock concerns of early albums (D'n'D imagery etc) gave way to the more everyman lyrical interests of the later tracks. Both parts of the bands career are worthy additions to your collection and the vocalists here are all top drawer.

Now with all these type of projects there will always be those that quibble over the inclusion of this track or that song, but whoever compiled this has done a decent enough job. In fact the casual fan may choose to just buy this and be done with it. After all it has stuff like Man on the Silver Mountain, Starstruck, Kill the King, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Gates of Babylon and the big radio hits of Since You've Been Gone and All Night Long. Really, what more do you want?

My advice is that this is a very good buy. I'm not a huge fan of 70's rock/metal but have certainly never regretted picking this up. Blackmore and assorted vox masters are in full flight, blazing away from a place in time when a stack of marshalls and talent were the main consideration. And this disc deserves yours.

A great example of musical schizophrenia........2006-12-08

Ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore recorded the 1st self title Rainbow album in 1975 while he was still (unhappily) at that time in Deep Purple. His backing band on this album was the American band Elf which happened to be fronted by a then unknown Ronnie James Dio.

Dio and Blackmore hit it off great and in 1976 Blackmore had quit Deep Purple and released their 2nd album (Rainbow Rising)followed by more Dio helmed album in 1978 (Long Live Rock 'n' Roll) before Dio would quit to join Black Sabbath.

1979 saw Rainbow with a new singer in the form of Graham Bonnet and a new album called Down to Earth that was a total 180 for the most part from the sound that Ritchie had cultivated with Dio. The new Rainbow sound was much more commercial and more in line with late 70's rock like Bad Company and Foreigner(!) but with Ritchie's trademark guitar bringing the sound forth.

In 1981 through 1983, Rainbow would have another singer in the form of Joe Lynn Turner before Ritchie disbanded the group and he re-formed Deep Purple in 1984.

From 1979 to 1983, the band would experience more commercial/mainstream success in the form of the top 40 singles like I Surrender and Stone Cold.

There are many hard rock fans that only swear by the 1st 3 albums with Dio at the helm. and there are the other group of people that swear by the more commercial stuff, especially from 1981 to 1983. You won't be likely to find people who like both equally.

So, this split makes this 16 track compilation that covers 1976 to 1983 kind of jarring to listen to, even though it's all great music.

The 1st 7 tracks have Dio at the helm and the remaining 9 tracks are the much more commercial/mainstream stuff.

I'll have to admit that I prefer the Dio stuff as I'm a huge fan of him as a vocalist/songwriter, especially his stuff with Rainbow and Sabbath. The 79 to 83 stuff is good music, but there's not much there to differentiate it from other similar type rock that was being churned out in droves at that point.

There's a later 2 disc anthology that came out a few years back that devotes an entire 1st disc to just the Dio stuff and the 2nd disc to the 79 to 83 stuff. Some people might be more inclined to pick that one up instead, but I recommend that collection for only the super hardcore fans.

This single disc compilation from 1997 is perfect for the most passive or inquisitive fan wanting to see what Rainbow was all about. The liner notes feature a great brief biography of the group as well as individual credits for each track and a great rock family tree that covers all of the members in both Deep Purple and Rainbow, past and present.
All of the tracks have also been remastered to crystal clear clarity.

While I can't give this a full 5 star rating due to how jarring it is going from track 7 (Dio) to 8 (post Dio), I guess that the band really can't be faulted.

but overall, this is a great deal for people wanting to get a quick Rainbow fix without buying all of the individual albums or paying double for the more pricey 2 disc anthology.

If you just want to have some Rainbow material.......2006-09-12

This collection is enough for somebody that wants some Rainbow material on each of their stages. The collection is good, but for a Rainbow fan, it would be kind of simple and commercial.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful Victor Herbert
Beautiful Victor Herbert
Beautiful Victor Herbert

Victor Herbert: The American Girl

Manufacturer: Arabesque Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
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When I Grow Too Old to Dream
Victor Herbert: Columbus Suite/ Irish Rhapsody/ Auditorium Festival March
Herbert: L'encore
Victor Herbert: Souvenir
Victor Herbert: Beloved Songs and Classic Miniatures

ASIN: B000000T6L
Release Date: 1992-10-26

Tracks:

The American Girl Two-Step
The Princess Pat (Sels)
The Dream Girl (Sels)
Natoma (Sels)
A Kiss In The Dark from Orange Blossoms
A Love Sonnet
Inauguration March

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful Victor Herbert.......1999-05-19

This recording (Arabesque Z6561) is one of three CD recordings of Victor Herbert's music by Don Hunsberger and the Eastman School of music produced in the early 1980's. (The others are Arabesque Z6529 and Z6547) All are superbly recorded using the original orchestra arrangements from a composer who was gifted in the art of orchestration. We get a sampling of marches, selections from operettas, humor songs, and a selection from his opera Natoma. Teresa Ringholt sings with the orchestra on a few songs and her sweet soprano voice is perfect for the part. We need more of Victor Herbert's beautiful music to be discovered and performed in the way Herbert intended it to be performed. The authenic Victor Herbert may be the next discovery in the same way the authenic Scott Joplin has been discovered by the public.

Beautiful Victor Herbert.......1999-05-19

This (Arabesque Z6561) is one of three CD recordings of Victor Herbert's music by Don Hunsberger and the Eastman School of music produced in the early 1980's. (The others are Arabesque Z6529 and Z6547) All are superbly recorded using the original orchestra arrangements from a composer who was gifted in the art of orchestration. We get a sampling of marches, selections from operettas, humor songs, and a selection from his opera Natoma. Teresa Ringholt sings with the orchestra on a few songs and her sweet soprano voice is perfect for the part. We need more of Victor Herbert's beautiful music to be discoivered and performed in the way Herbert intended it to be performed. The authenic Victor Herbert may be the next discovery in the same way the authenic Scott Joplin has been discovered by the public.

Beautiful Victor Herbert.......1999-05-19

Purple Rainbows: The Very Best Of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake And Gillan

Average customer rating:

redundancy compilation!
Purple Rainbows

Purple Rainbows: The Very Best Of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake And Gillan
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Umvd Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

British Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Arena Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00029R5MU
Release Date: 2004-06-14

Tracks:

Black Night - Deep Purple
Strange Kind of Women - Deep Purple
Fireball - Deep Purple
Speed King - Deep Purple
Long Live Rock & Roll - Rainbow
Since You've Been Gone - Rainbow
Fool for Your Loving - Whitesnake
Rock 'N' Roll Children - Dio
Restless - Ian Gillan
Child in Time - Deep Purple
Highway Star - Deep Purple
M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) - Ian Gillan
We Rock - Dio
Kill the King
Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
Women from Tokyo - Deep Purple

Tracks:

Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
Burn - Deep Purple
I Surrender - Rainbow
All Night Long - Rainbow
Night Games - Graham Bonnet
Don't Break My Heart Again - Whitesnake
Love Hunter - Whitesnake
Trouble - Gillan
New Orleans - Gillan
Hungry for Heaven - Dio
You Keep on Moving - Deep Purple
Man on the Silver Mountain - Rainbow
Stargazeer - Rainbow
Knocking at Your Back Door - Deep Purple
Perfect Strangers - Deep Purple
Hush [1988 Hook End Version] - Deep Purple

Customer Reviews:

redundancy compilation!.......2004-08-13

This one is not dedicated to any die hard deep purple or rainbow fans, but only for youngsters who love them for the very first time. The songs are remaining the same like the other one which had been appeared in the old LP's for 20 years ago.
If you love DP and its relatives bands, pls buy the original albums. Keep away from this redundancy cd compilation. Deep Purple Dramatician O. Jon

Purple Rainbows.......2004-07-03

I just got it delivered. It is brilliant easily the best album I have bought this year. I must for all Deep Purple/Rainbow fans.

Over the Rainbow: The Very Best of Judy Garland

Average customer rating:

Some of the very best of Judy Garland
Very Best Of Judy Is Just That!!
Excellent anthology of the Decca years

Over the Rainbow: The Very Best of Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

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Very Best of Judy Garland
Judy Garland In Hollywood: Her Greatest Movie Hits - Original Soundtrack Performances 1936-1963
20th Century Masters: The Best Of Judy Garland (Millennium Collection)
Judy At Carnegie Hall: Fortieth Anniversary Edition
A Star Is Born

ASIN: B00005O6K0
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

Over The Rainbow
Dear Mr. Gable: You Made Me Love You
Zing! Went The String Of My Heart
Our Love Affair
I'm Nobody's Baby
Friendship
It's A Great Day For The Irish
How About You?
F.D.R. Jones
Blues In The Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)
For Me And My Gal
Embraceable You
But Not For Me
I Got Rhythm
The Boy Next Door
The Trolley Song
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Alternate Take)
On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe
Yah-Ta-Ta, Yah-Ta-Ta (Talk, Talk, Talk) (Alternate Take)
Love

Customer Reviews:

Some of the very best of Judy Garland.......2007-03-05

This CD offers an excellent collection of some--not all--of the best of Judy Garland's work for Decca Records when she was an actress at MGM. Judy's voice is in excellent form on this CD although there is a fair amount of surface noise on the initial two or three tracks. In addition, just so you know, these recordings are mostly, if not all, the ones she recorded for Decca Records--they are NOT the recordings from the soundtracks of her movies. That having been said, however, this CD does add some splendid bonuses that we would not have heard were it not for Decca Records: Judy's duet with Bing Crosby on "Yah-Ta-Ta, Yah-Ta-Ta (Talk, Talk, Talk);" and her duet with The Merry Macs on "The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe."

To state that Judy Garland "had the pipes" to be Hollywood's undisputed Queen Of The Musical would be a crass understatement. Judy's voice sensed and invariably expressed every little nuance of every word and phrase she ever sang. Her voice sounded much, much better than any female recording artist or actress I've ever heard. She could sing like a woman whose heart had been so irreparably broken that even the hardest of hearts would be deeply moved. She could also perform a rousing number that would make you want to jump up and dance with joy from the very moment she began to sing.

On this CD just one listen proves it: Once you've heard Garland, there are no other female singers. She delivers a charming performance of "Over The Rainbow" and this is followed by "Dear Mr. Gable: You Made Me Love You." Her "Friendship" duet with Johnny Mercer charms you and she sings "Blues In The Night (My Mama Done Tol' Me)" in such a way that your heart feels everything she sings. Judy also performs great numbers by George and Ira Gershwin with grand aplomb; her renditions of "Embraceable You;" "But Not For Me" and "I Got Rhythm" stun you with the total synchronicity of the finest Gershwin tune and Judy Garland's magnificent voice.

This CD also contains alternate takes of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Yah-Ta-Ta, Yah-Ta-Ta (Talk, Talk, Talk)." Wonderful!

The liner notes include an extensive essay about Judy, MGM and Decca Records by Ron O'Brien; and the notes include several lovely photos of Judy as well. You get the song credits, too.

I sing the praises of many vocalists when I write reviews of CDs I have in my collection; but there is no one I can think of who deserves praise more than the unparalleled Judy Garland. Indeed, I doubt we'll ever see another quite like her. She was not only a natural talent; she became so polished and sophisticated in her presentations that others could merely aspire to be like her. She remains the greatest American entertainer ever; and she is very possibly the world's greatest entertainer as well. Judy's immeasurable contributions to the arts could never be overlooked or forgotten; and she remains fondly remembered and loved by old fans and new to this day.

Thank you, Judy.

Very Best Of Judy Is Just That!!.......2002-11-01

The Very Best Of Judy Garland (Over The Rainbow)is Just what the album title says. This CD features recordings Garland made in the 40s at Decca Records. All of her classic standards are here and sound brilliant. "Dear Mr. Gable" is here from her early years as well as "Over The Rainbow" and her romantic ballads of "Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart" and "Our Love Affair" you as a listener also will here her version "Blues In The Night", "Embraceable You" and "I Got Rhythm" Both from (Girl Crazy) are here Plus duets with Bing Crosby, Johnny Mercer and Gene Kelly are a must for any music lover. Since Christmas Is coming you will also get to enjoy Judy's Classic carol of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" This album is definately a must for Judy and or Music fans. The Very Best of...also includes one of the very best photo's of Judy on the cover!!

Excellent anthology of the Decca years.......2001-11-08

Smart and well-done compilation of Judy Garland's best-known Decca hit studio recordings (not the film soundtrack versions). The film recordings tend to be better recorded (and are available on a recommended compilation on Rhino), but the sound here is quite good and the performances are classic. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" features the rarely-anthologized original wartime lyrics that make the song more poignant in my estimation. Booklet includes track-by-track notes with recording dates and context. Nicely done.