Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW In Concert 1976 - Live In Koln

Demon [Release date 18.04.26]

This special edition release is exclusive to RSD (Record Store Day) 2026 and catches both the Rainbow and the band at their creative and blistering energetic peak.

The album was originally released a few years back as a one of three double CDs, and more recently as part of the excellent Temple Of The King 9CD set, also by Demon. This is the first time on vinyl and wonderful it is too.

The classic Rainbow line-up of guitarist Blackmore, vocalist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Tony Carey, bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Cozy Powell came together soon after the band’s 1975 debut, and in fact drew Cozy out of attempted retirement. Touring to support the classic (and equally ground breaking) Rainbow Rising album, this live set was well received by an enthusiastic crowd.

‘Kill The King’ opens, the track was already in the repertoire when Carey joined the band, yet oddly didn’t appear on a studio album until 1978. Here the keyboards are up in the mix, pairing with the guitar well; relish, as on the studio version the keyboards were down in the mix, and partly guitar overdubbed. A high energy number and instant classic. Then also on side 1 is a fifteen minute rendition of Deep Purple’s ‘Mistreated’ (from 1974’s Burn), and there’s a lot of improvisation here; a guitar solo intro, lots of noodling, some Dio vocal workouts, and some Dio/Blackmore interplay (albeit more whimsical than the Gillan/Blackmore interplay on Made In Japan). Soft, bluesy, some harder moments, it’s all here.

Onto side two and an eight minute rendition of ‘Sixteenth Century Greensleeves’; some nice atmospheric keyboards over Blackmore’s noodling intro, then crash bang wallop as the main riff blasts off. The whole band on form here. Well, on the whole album really. The extended middle section is some wonderful hard rock, plenty of mead all round. ‘Catch The Rainbow’ follows in similar fashion, here extended to 14 minutes, Another gentle and atmospheric start, and the sound quality is good enough for the minutiae to stand out, for example the keyboards while Blackmore and Powell are thrashing it out. Then it drops down to a more whimsical few bars, and Powell kicks off again. Love it.

Side three is a very extended ‘Man On The Silver Mountain’; the band’s debut seems to get a lot of love given that three of the band at the time were disposed of fairly quickly. Again some great rocking keyboards mixed in well with the drums and guitar. There are breaks in the song to allow for a guitar solo, some noodling and a Dio vocal workout.

A highlight of any live show would have to be Stargazer, an epic, over 15 minutes, a Tony Carey keyboard intro, again the whole band on fire. What’s not to love?

On to the 3rd LP, and ‘Still I’m Sad’; a Yardbirds song played instrumentally on the debut album, but here full vocals, extended to 15 minutes, a Cozy Powell drum solo, well balanced guitar and keyboards, the full monty.

And the last side is a 10 minute rendition of ‘Do You Close Your Eyes’, the performance here is turned up to 11. The instrumental break, well more of a jam, is keyboard and bass led, Bain and Carey really mixing it up with Blackmore’s shred.

In terms of the recording and performance, this is one of the greatest live sets you’ll ever get your mitts on.

Packing – the LPs come on translucent red, yellow and blue vinyl, and printed inner sleeves. But with no notes of any kind, and a wide single sleeve, you could argue it’s stripped down, but given that it goes hand in hand with the Temple Of The King box (most will have that or the original CD, probably both), it’s a minor quibble. Especially when you consider the new mastering and the absolutely fantastic sound of the vinyl.

If there’s ever a reason to treat yourself, this is it. It looks great and sounds ever better. *****

Review by Joe Geesin

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