Rainbow/Netherlands 1977 Huge Master

RAINBOW’s 1977 European tour after the release of “ON STAGE” started with a performance in Stockholm, Sweden on September 25th and ended with a performance in Paris, France on October 27th, with a total of 23 performances over a period of about one month. The eighth performance, the performance in The Hague, Netherlands on October 4th, has long been known for its high-quality audience recording. This time, the performance in The Hague will be released as a 2-CD set that surpasses all previous sound sources released on the same day, using the highest-grade master provided by an overseas taper directly! This sound source is worthy of being positioned as the highest peak of the Hague performance, and will win great support from fans as one of the audience sources representing RAINBOW’s 1977 live! As mentioned above, the sound source of this day was a familiar live performance to enthusiasts because it had a famous audience source from the analog era and had good sound quality to begin with. Even after the collector’s item was released on CD, this analog material has long been popular among fans, but three years ago, when a sound source based on a newly excavated raw generation tape was released as “THE HAGUE 1977”, the outstanding sound quality that could be declared to be in a class of its own from analog recordings immediately became a hot topic, astonishing all RAINBOW fans. Since then, “THE HAGUE 1977”, which has been highly praised in specialist magazines, has been supported by fans as a standard sound source of the ’77 tour, but this time, the master tape of this sound source, brought by a special route from an overseas taper, contains the best sound ever and the longest recording content ever, surpassing even that! Although it is a tape recording from 34 years ago, the sound quality is very clear, and the sound image that naturally captures the atmosphere and sound spread of the venue from the opening will give you an exceptional sense of realism as a material that contains overseas performances at that time. It was noteworthy that there were no noticeable cut points in the previous “THE HAGUE 1977”, but the same is true for this sound source belonging to the same master. Moreover, compared to “THE HAGUE 1977”, the intro part was recorded 20 seconds earlier, and the fact that it is more than 30 seconds longer overall will be a nice point for enthusiasts who want to enjoy the atmosphere of the day as much as possible for as long as possible. The powerful sound that packs the dynamic performance of the band to the vibration of the air is simply amazing. “Kill The King” and “Mistreated”, Ronnie’s superhuman vocals that fill the space, and Cozy’s drums roaring with a deep bass are drawn with more freshness than ever before, and the goodness of its “liveliness” is so youthful that it shines. In particular, Richie’s guitar sound, which resonates plumply with exquisite firmness, is so real that it makes you sigh when you listen to it. The sound with thick distortion is the best listening response as if it was mixed with a line sound source. The sound image filled with wonderful dynamism throughout the whole work is an unparalleled advantage in enjoying the live sound of ’77 RAINBOW, which has unparalleled power and high maturity (although the original master had some randomly out-of-tune pitches, this was also fully repaired during the remastering process, and the performance was reproduced with a normal pitch and tightness). On this day, Richie also gave a great performance with both solo and backing. In “Kill The King”, he showed a play that was pushed through with momentum, and in the following “16th Century Greensleeves” and “Catch The Rainbow”, he used delicacy backed by clear tones and destructive roughness, and the performance that brilliantly highlighted the emotions of stillness and movement was overwhelming (especially the intro of “Catch The Rainbow”, which even exuded elegance). On the other hand, Ronnie also uses both soft and hard expressions, and shows off his best vocals that any listener would bow down to (there is also a rare moment for Ronnie at that time, where he makes a mistake in the lyrics of the second verse of “Catch The Rainbow”). In “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll”, which was featured from this ’77 tour, and “Man On The Silver Mountain”, which includes Ronnie’s vocal improvisation, the bass played by new member Bob Disley and the drums of Cozy give off a wonderful driving feeling, and the dynamism is irresistible! The sound quality of “Blues” in the medley was as high as it could be in “THE HAGUE 1977”, but the clarity of this work is really wonderful like a line sound source. The intro of “Still I’m Sad”, which introduces a spacey keyboard solo that is typical of David Stone, who comes from the progressive rock field, and Richie rushes in while playing a crunchy bass riff, is so cool that you will lose your words. Ronnie’s expansive vocals also add to the dramatic worldview. From the middle of the song, Cozy’s drum solo, which is also reproduced with the best coolness and power, creates the final climax, and the live reaches a grand finale (the tape deterioration seen around 5:30 in the previously released “Still I’m Sad” does not exist in this take)! The new sound source of “GUILLOTINE” (Rising Arrow), which contains the Paris performance on October 27, the final day of the same ’77 European tour, also surprised fans immediately after its release, saying “It’s the best sound of the tour that year.” However, this sound source, which enjoys the best play with the best sound of the sound board class with Richie’s guitar, Ronnie’s vocals, and Cozy’s drums, is undoubtedly one of the best takes of the overseas performances of RAINBOW during the ’77 live, or rather, during the Ronnie era. The best live material ever, which is hard to imagine surpassing this on the same day, is undoubtedly a must-listen for all RAINBOW fans. The definitive version of the ’77 Hague performance is here in the truest sense! Live at Congresgebouw, Den Haag, Netherlands 4th October 1977 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1(45:30) 1. Intro. 2. Over The Rainbow 3. Kill The King 4. Mistreated 5. 16th Century Greensleeves 6. Catch The Rainbow Disc 2(47:06) 1. MC 2. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll 3. Lazy 4. Man On The Silver Mountain 5. Blues 6. Vocal Improvisation 7. Man On The Silver Mountain(Reprise) 8. Keyboard Intro. 9. Still I’m Sad 10. Beethoven 9th11. Keyboard Solo 12. Drum Solo incl. 1812 Overture 13. Still I’m Sad(Reprise) Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar Ronnie James Dio – Vocals Cozy Powell – Drums Bob Daisley – Bass David Stone – Keyboards