Dan's Metal Memory of the Month: 9/07

While this is more a memory of my older cousin (he started it: handing me his old pile of Zeppelin vinyl one day when I was 12), I did consume all the early Rainbow albums. This was the first incarnation of the band by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, featuring Ronnie Dio on vocals. Looking back, it seems weird... even ballsy... that Blackmore - a British hard rock icon by then who'd just left Deep Purple to David Coverdale and co. - would choose a little known American singer to lead up his new venture. But, Dio's Elf had toured with DP in '74 and Blackmore liked what he heard. A far cry from the funky DP sound, Rainbow was a chance for Blackmore to explore the dormant S&M in him... Sorcery and Magic, that is. This suited little Dio just fine. Ronnie wrote nearly all of the lyrics on the band's first three studio albums, drenched with medieval references from wizards and kings to castles and crossbows. The above video, part one of a live "Catch the Rainbow," represents the lighter side of Dio's range in both writing and voice (and attire). This long-winded tune is the anthem ballad for Blackmore's legion of fans at the time - a hybrid of early metal heads who, at the fork in the hard rock road, took a left towards the Renaissance Fair. If you're one of them, here's part two of the lo-tech jam session (check out the rainbow illuminating on stage, and again... and again)!