For the past three years, ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's band known as Rainbow made some great albums. With lead singer Ronnie James Dio, he was able to make the albums more progressive and darker than anything he ever did, and he frequently changed members with each suceeding album. Blackmore's Rainbow (1975), their debut LP, had more of the Deep Purple sound, while Rising (1976), was out-and-out progressive metal. After cutting a live album in 1977, he then changed personnel. Keyboardist Tony Carey and bassist Jimmy Bain were soon replaced by Dave Stone and Bob Daisley. With drummer Cozy Powell in tow, the band then went into the studio with producer Martin Birch, and they cut another classic album.

Originally released by Polydor Records in 1978, "Long Live Rock And Roll" combines the straight ahead rock of the first album and the muscular progressive metal of "Rising".

The first side starts off with the title track, "Long Live Rock And Roll". This is an anthem to keep the flames of rock alive. As Ronnie sings,"In a different time/When the words didn't rhyme/You could never quite be sure/Then On With The Change/It was simple but strange/And you knew the feeling seemed to say it all/It cries for you/It's the least that you can do/Like A spiral in the wind/I can hear it screaming in my mind/Long live rock and roll (3 times)", it sounds like he's attacking disco in an intelligent way, but more subtle. Music-wise, this a straight bluesy shuffle, with Ritchie providing an interesting pentatonic solo over Cozy's thunderous drums. Now that's the best rock anthem I've ever heard!

"Lady Of The Lake" is a song about a warrior's obsession of the Arthurian character of the same name, and how she guides him with swords and battles. Music-wise, this is another straight-ahead rocker, with Ritchie providing some excellent slide guitar passages. Dave also does a great job providing fills with his keyboards, and Bob does some great complex bass work on this track, keeping from sounding stale.

Next, there's the track, "L.A. Connection". No, this is not about a drug or business dealers contacts in Los Angeles, but how a person who travels a lot, and his homesick for the City Of Angels. As Ronnie sings, "Carry me home my broken bones/40 days of cries and moans I guess I failed to pass the test/I've been sent away not a thing to say/I'm banished from the fold/I'm a fallen angel who's lost his wings/And left out in the cold/Ooooh, L.A. Connection", he sounds like a solider who's been unjustifiably discharged from the service. Music-wise, this is another straight ahead rocker. Ritchie does another great slide guitar solo, while Dave provides some great honky-tonk piano. Cozy also provides some great John Bonham style drumming, but it seems the band (for all intents and purposes) seems to have themselves one foot in the blues. Go figure.

Closing out the first side is another progressive metal masterpiece, entitled "Gates Of Babylon".
On this track, Ronnie tells us in his narrative way about Babylon, with all its magic and decadence. What I like about this track is its complex time changes, plus using an orchestra to fill out the sound. Ritchie plays some great shredding guitar, and Dave does a great Moog synthesizer into too. This is the best track on this LP, and it ranks up there with "Starstruck", Catch The Rainbow", and "Tarot Woman", from their previous albums.

Side two begins with the track, "Kill The King". Written by Ritchie, Ronnie, and Cozy, this is a song about executing a king who commits treason among his people. As Ronnie sings, Treason, Treason/The Spectre Looms Again/Treason, Treason/The Realm is Safe and then/Oh no, move away from harm/I need a spell and a charm/Fly like the rainbow/I'm no pawn/So be gone/Speed on and on/Kill The King/Tear him down/Kill the King/Got to take his crown", he sounds like one of the people who got fed up with King Charles I or King Louis XVI (both kings were snuffed out by the way when people rose up against them). Music wise, this is hard, loud, and fast. Here Ritchie does another great solo at breakneck speed, which would give Eddie Van Halen a run for his money. Cozy also does some great double-bass drumming on this track too, showing he's got chops. This was also a live favorite for the band too.

Next, there's "The Shed(Subtle)". Written by Ronnie, Cozy, and Ritchie, this is a song about the ultimate, streetwise tough guy. As Ronnie sings,"No reputation/You better quick run/Cause I got no time/I'll climb all over you/You need a strong hand/To be a mean man/You've got to think fast/I'll last longer than you could know/I'm steel/So won't you come and try to bend me/If you can/Before you know it's over/Out of my way/I'm street walking", he sounds more like a Marvel Comic book character than a tough guy. The music is good on here though, with Cozy's thunderous drumming and Bob's fat-bottomed bass work supporting Ritchie's chunky guitar lines are what saves it from being mere filler.

"Sensitive To Light" is a song about a man's fling with a loose woman. How it relates being light-sensitive, I don't know. However, this is hard boogie-rock, and Ritchie and Cozy play off each other, creating some of the most pummeling hard rock I've ever heard.

Closing out side two(and the album for that matter) is the track, "Rainbow Eyes". This is a track about a man who found love at a Renissance fair, but lost it later on and is indifferent to it. What I like about the track is that a string quartet is used along with a flute and recorder player on this track. Only Ritchie (who plays clean electric guitar similar to Hendrix's "The Wind Cries Mary") and Ronnie appear on this track, but it's good that it sets off the balance of heavy rock on this album.

Sadly, this was the last album that featured Ronnie James Dio on this LP. As soon as they were done touring in support of this LP, Ritchie decided that he wanted the band to be more commercial in order to bust into the American market. He wanted Ronnie to sing more love songs and stuff, and Ronnie wasn't having it. Dio left to join Black Sabbath soon after, and he later went on to have a successful solo career. Dave and Bob were also given their walking papers as well. Bob later played with Ozzy Osborne, while Dave joined Max Webster and later Prism.

Long Live Rock And Roll was one of Rainbow's best albums, and it showed the great work of Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, and the late great Cozy Powell. The band has not had that fire ever since.

Editor's Note:All songs composed by Ritchie Blackmore or Ronnie James Dio unless otherwise noted.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving