Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow/Germany 1996

The first day of RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW’s 1996 European tour, the performance in Balingen, Germany (near Stuttgart) on July 21st, is a complete recording based on an excellent audience master provided by an overseas collector. This is the first appearance. The standard live performance of “STRANGER IN US ALL” was the performance in Japan in the fall of 1995, but this ’96 live had a different approach than the previous year, giving fans a wonderful “only for this time” performance. Let’s enjoy live! RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW, who greatly delighted fans with their 1995 release of “STRANGER IN US ALL” and their world tour, will be taking a six-month off after their highly successful Japan tour. During that time, there were rumors of member changes and “band disbandment”, but there were no member changes during the South American tour that began in June 1996. Frontman Dougie White, who was rumored to be leaving the group at one point, and drummer Chuck Bergi, who had session work in addition to RAINBOW, continue to participate. The band’s first South American tour featured eight performances in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. After finishing their shows in South America, the band will begin their first European tour in about a year from late July to mid-August. In this work, you can enjoy the stage performance at the “SWF3 Festival” in Balingen, Germany on July 21st (incidentally, the headliner of the festival was ZZ TOP) with an audience source with excellent realism and power. The opening intro immediately after playing the disc captures the noisy atmosphere typical of a festival. However, you can understand from the cheers when the band was introduced in the venue announcement that many in the audience were looking forward to RAINBOW’s performance. The live begins with “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which is a feature of this ’96 European tour. In addition to good visibility, the open feeling and spacious sound are unique to outdoor live performances. However, the musical sounds feel surprisingly close, and you can hear Richie’s guitar and Dougie’s vocals with a firm outline and direct feel (because the musical sounds are captured in a strong way, you don’t have to worry about the cheers of the audience during the performance). (No) The sound is extremely powerful, allowing listeners to fully enjoy the dynamic live performance typical of a festival. The first day of the tour is a festival in Germany, and Richie’s play is very positive. The band also performed with great force, led by Richie. Dougie in particular is doing well, and you can hear his excellent singing with power and growth from the opening. Among them, the second song “Mistreated” is a big highlight. The same song was occasionally played on the ’95 tour, but the full-fledged set-in began in ’96. The start of using “Lazy” as an intro is unusual for this song, and Richie’s phrasing and solo in the song are also worth listening to. Doogie’s songs, which are an eclectic mix of David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio, are also included, and are sure to please listeners. Due to time constraints, “Wolf To The Moon” and “Difficult To Cure” were not played on this day, and “Still I’m Sad” started with Doogie’s MC (the drum solo was in the second half of the song as usual). included). “Temple Of The King” where Dougie earnestly sings a fantastic song (bassist Greg Smith’s chorus is also wonderful) and the dramatic “Black Masquerade” are the big peaks in the middle of the live performance. In “Ariel”, you can enjoy Richie’s wonderful guitar from the intro that sounds like playing the guitar. In the clear second half, Candice Night’s chorus is also impressive, and it well represents the new direction that Richie was aiming for. The medley of “Since You Been Gone” and “Perfect Strangers” also created an excitement that involved the fans in the venue. “Burn”, which uses “Blues” as an intro, is also a big highlight of this recording. The development from the deep tones of “Blues” to the releasing power of “Burn” is very effective, and the audience at the venue is very excited. For the encore, the long-awaited “Smoke On The Water” appears from “Maybe Next Time” (it seems that Richie is playing from the beginning, not the playback on the tape). The audience was very happy with this, and the live performance ended with “Over The Rainbow” in a fun atmosphere. Recently, live recordings of RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW have been discovered one after another from the 1995 Japan tour and the 1997 American tour. However, the live source of ’96, which is between the two, is still limited compared to the years before and after. This is a must-listen album for fans who will fully enjoy the first day of that precious 1996 live show with excellent audience takes. Live at Messegelande, Balingen, Germany 21st July 1996 TRULY AMAZING SOUND 1. Opening 2. Over The Rainbow 3. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll incl. Black Night 4. Lazy Intro. 5. Mistreated 6. Still I’m Sad 7 . The Temple Of The King 8. Black Masquerade 9. Ariel 10. Since You Been Gone 11. Perfect Strangers 12. Blues 13. Burn 14. Maybe Next Time 15. Smoke On The Water 16. Over The Rainbow Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar Doogie White – Vocal Greg Smith – Bass Paul Morris – Keyboards Chuck Burgi – Drums Candice Night – Vocal