Rainbow/Germany 1.30.1980

Graham Bonnet’s time with RAINBOW, which was sandwiched between the Ronnie era and the Joe Lynn Turner era, which lasted more than three years, is often seen as a transitional period in RAINBOW’s career from the “medieval fantasy line” to the “catchy popular line”. . However, the charm of the live performance, in which the five outstanding members demonstrated their respective abilities, was so great that the maniac fans praised them as “the strongest RAINBOW” and enjoyed their wonderful performances. Another characteristic of this era is that there are many items with excellent sound quality. The works featured here are must-listen items for fans, as they embody the characteristics of the Graham era. This “LOST IN BREMEN” was performed on January 30th at the “Stad Hall” in Bremen, Germany, which was the 10th performance from the 1980 European tour after the release of “DOWN TO EARTH”, with an ultra-high-quality audience who appeared for the first time. A complete recording of about 100 minutes from the master. There are excellent recordings such as “DEFINITIVE GRAHAM” and “LOST IN EUROPE”, both of which have been released from the same period, but this work is an amazing audience source that surpasses them. The penetrating clear sound captures Richie’s guitar and Cozy’s drums with the directness of a line sound source, and Graham’s vocals are so powerful that they seem to attack the listener. Of course, you can enjoy Roger Glover’s bass and Don Airey’s keyboard with an excellent sense of separation, and from the opening songs “Eyes Of The World” and “Love’s No Friend”, the audience was able to enjoy a masterpiece worthy of the name “The Strongest RAINBOW”. With recording, you can enjoy the sound quality that is unimaginable. Because the overall sound is “on”, the audience’s voices and handclaps are clearly recorded, but the sound pressure and dynamic musical tones of the performance keep even these to a moderate level of realism, making it a great way to liven up the live performance. It makes you feel the spice. Following the opening two songs, they also played a medley of “Since You Been Gone” and “All Night Long” from their new album. Although the Brandenburg Concerto and band arrangement “Over The Rainbow” are inserted before and after “Since You Been Gone,” the set that completely unifies the first half of the live with new songs is a masterpiece. Considering that RAINBOW had been running with almost the same setlist up until 1978, this drastic change was refreshing, and the band, which started anew with new members, now has a distinct presence from the Ronnie era. It seems to be emphasizing that he has been reborn. Armed with an incredible voice, Graham has a voice as superhuman as his predecessor Ronnie, but his personality is the complete opposite. The straight vocal lines and shouts are at their true potential in “All Night Long.” Furthermore, Ronnie’s signature song “Catch The Rainbow” can be heard as an urban and dandy love song that reflects his personality. Richie also listens to a delicate and gentle wonderful solo, and “Catch The Rainbow” on this day can be said to be one of the best takes. The highlight of this recording is the approximately 30-minute “Lost In Hollywood” medley! There are no words for Graham’s powerful vocals and Richie’s sharp guitar. Cozy’s solo is considered to be the best sound quality of the audience recording even including the sound source that came to Japan in the same year, and we fans are happy to be able to listen to this masterpiece with a sound comparable to a line recording. The encore starts with “Man On The Silver Mountain” led by Richie’s solo and “Lazy”. The fans at the venue cheered the band with enthusiastic applause, and it seemed like everyone was enjoying the live performance. Furthermore, Richie’s wonderful guitar tone that can be heard in “Blues” and “Will You Still Love Me Tommorow?”, which clearly shows Graham’s singing skill, create a dramatic climax. This moving scene is sure to warm the hearts of listeners! At the end, “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” and Richie’s guitar crash explode, ending the 100 minutes of enthusiasm! And the last song “Over The Rainbow” cools down the excitement moderately and leaves the best aftertaste in the listener’s heart. There are many live recordings that RAINBOW left on their 1980 European tour, but it is hard to imagine anything that can surpass this work, and it is truly a definitive piece. RAINBOW had a completely different personality from Ronnie and Joe, and built an era, albeit for a short time, during Graham Bonnet’s tenure. This item, which records their famous performance with the best audience sound, is a must-listen for all RAINBOW fans. Live at Stadthalle, Bremen, Germany 30th January 1980 TRULY AMAZING/PERFECT SOUND Disc 1 1. Land Of Hope And Glory 2. Countdown/Over The Rainbow 3. Eyes Of The World 4. Love’s No Friend 5. Brandenburg Concerto 6. Since You Been Gone 7. All Night Long 8. Catch The Rainbow Disc 2 1. Keyboard Intro. 2. Lost In Hollywood 3. Beethoven 9th 4. Keyboard Solo 5. Drum Solo feat. 1812 Overture 6. Lost In Hollywood (reprise) 7. Guitar Solo 8. Lazy 9. Man On The Silver Mountain 10. Blues 11. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow 12. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll 13. Guitar Solo incl. Kill The King 14. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (reprise) 15. Over The Rainbow Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar Graham Bonnet – Vocal Roger Glover – Bass Don Airey – Keyboard Cozy Powell – Drums