Rising (Rainbow album)

Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising)[2] is the second studio album by the British/American rock band Rainbow, released in 1976. In issue 4 of Kerrang! magazine (cover-dated October 1981), Rising was voted the greatest heavy metal album of all time.[3] In 2017, it was ranked 48th at Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[4]

Rising
Cover painting by Ken Kelly
Studio album by Rainbow
Released	17 May 1976
Recorded	Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, February 1976
Genre	Heavy metal hard rock[1] power metal[1]
Length	33:28
Label	Oyster/Polydor
Producer	Martin Birch
Rainbow chronology
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) Rising (1976) Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)

History

Band leader Ritchie Blackmore retained only Ronnie James Dio from the previous album line-up, and recruited drummer Cozy Powell, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboard player Tony Carey to complete the new roster.[5] Recorded in Munich in less than a month, the album was overseen by rock producer and engineer Martin Birch. The band was originally billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in the US,[2] but was titled simply Rainbow on this release. In 1996 Cozy Powell told Record Collector magazine that much of the album was recorded in one or two takes, with some subsequent overdubs, which explains why no alternate or demo versions exist, just the original or rough mixes.

The album showpiece, the 8-minute and 26 second piece "Stargazer", features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The song originally had a keyboard intro, as evidenced on the 2011 Deluxe Edition's "Rough Mix" version.

Few of the album tracks made it into the band's live set: "Stargazer" and "Do You Close Your Eyes", written prior to the inaugural US tour in late 1975, featured in all the 1975 and 1976 shows, while "A Light in the Black" was dropped early in the 1976 tour, although it was reintroduced into the set during the Japanese dates. "Starstruck" was played in shortened form, usually as part of "Man on the Silver Mountain".

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[7]
Sputnikmusic	[8][1]

Rising peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. In the UK it would peak at number 11. The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, containing a photo of the band inside, with a generic Polydor inner sleeve.

The first CD issue had a slightly different mix to that of the original LP, including a longer delay before the band entered after Carey's opening solo in "Tarot Woman", and a longer play-out on "Run with the Wolf". The track "Stargazer" had the vocals mixed without the delay, the extra synthesizer deleted and some of the phased sounds deleted. When remastered in 1999 the original vinyl mix was restored.

According to AllMusic, Rising captured "Blackmore and Dio at the peak of their creative powers...(it) chronicled both the guitarist's neo-classical metal compositions at their most ambitious, and the singer's growing fixation with fantasy lyrical themes – a blueprint he would adopt for his entire career thereafter."[6]

Musicians Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Snowy Shaw have paid tribute to the album in recent years, with Shaw describing it as "a masterpiece and pretty much a milestone" and saying that it "introduced a more Dungeons and Dragons type fantasy heavy rock to the masses."[9][10]

2011 Deluxe Edition

After several reschedulings, the deluxe version of the album was finally released in Japan on 5 April 2011 as a 2 SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) Deluxe Remastered Edition. This limited edition reissue was only be released in a cardboard gatefold sleeve (mini LP-style paper jacket) featuring the "high-fidelity" SHM-CD manufacturing process (compatible with standard CD players) and was part of a two-album Rainbow cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring Rainbow Rising and Down to Earth. Both feature the unique-to-Japan obi strip and an additional insert. The Deluxe Edition subsequently received wider release, and went Silver in 2013 in the UK.[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tarot Woman"	5:58
2.	"Run with the Wolf"	3:48
3.	"Starstruck"	4:06
4.	"Do You Close Your Eyes"	2:58

Side two

No.	Title	Length
5.	"Stargazer"	8:26
6.	"A Light in the Black"	8:12

2011 Deluxe Edition

Disc one – New York Mix

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tarot Woman"	6:01
2.	"Run with the Wolf"	3:41
3.	"Starstruck"	4:06
4.	"Do You Close Your Eyes"	3:00
5.	"Stargazer"	8:26
6.	"A Light in the Black"	8:12

Disc one – Los Angeles Mix

No.	Title	Length
7.	"Tarot Woman"	6:05
8.	"Run with the Wolf"	3:45
9.	"Starstruck"	4:05
10.	"Do You Close Your Eyes"	2:58
11.	"Stargazer"	8:22
12.	"A Light in the Black"	8:11

Disc two – Rough Mix

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tarot Woman"	6:06
2.	"Run with the Wolf"	3:49
3.	"Starstruck"	4:04
4.	"Do You Close Your Eyes"	3:04
5.	"Stargazer" (with keyboard intro)	9:08
6.	"A Light in the Black"	8:12
7.	"Stargazer" (Pirate Sound tour rehearsal)	8:34

Personnel

Rainbow

• Ronnie James Dio – vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
• Tony Carey – keyboards
• Jimmy Bain – bass
• Cozy Powell – drums

with

• Munich Philharmonic Orchestra – strings, horn
• Fritz Sonnleitner – concert master
• Rainer Pietsch – conductor

Production

• Produced and mixed by Martin Birch
• Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, February 1976

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1976	UK Albums Chart[12]	11
	RPM100 Albums (Canada)[13]	17
	Swedish Albums Chart[14]	23
	Australian (Kent Music Report)[15]	33
	New Zealand Albums Charts[16]	36
	German Albums Chart[17]	38
	Billboard 200 (US)[18]	48
2011	Oricon Japanese Albums Charts[19]	67

Certifications

Country	Organization	Album	Year Certification	Sales
UK	BPI	Rising - Original Edition (1976)	1979	Gold (+ 100,000)[20]
UK	BPI	Rising - Deluxe Edition (2011)	2013	Silver (+ 60,000)[21]

Notable cover versions

• Chicago metal band Bible of the Devil covered the song "Starstruck" on a 2004 split EP with The Last Vegas.[22]
• Dream Theater covered the song "Stargazer" on the album Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009).
• Faroese folk metal band Týr covered the song "Stargazer" as well on their album The Lay of Thrym (2011).
• The 2014 tribute album to Ronnie James Dio "This Is Your Life" featured covers from "Starstruck" by Motörhead and Biff Byford and a medley of the songs: "Stargazer", "Tarot Woman", "Kill the King" and "A Light in the Black" called "Ronnie Rising Medley" by Metallica.

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time"	1981	1
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time"[23]	1989	14
Q	United Kingdom	"The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever"[24]	2004	–
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"100 Best British Rock Albums Ever"[25]	2005	74
Classic Rock	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[26]	2006	18

References

1. "Rainbow - Rising". Sputnikmusic. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
2. "Blackmore's Rainbow – Rainbow Rising". Discogs.com. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
3. Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-76074-218-1.
4. Epstein, Dan (21 June 2017). "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
5. Saulnier, Jason (1 June 2010). "Tony Carey Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
6. Ginsberg, Geoff. Album review at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
7. Duncan, Robert (15 July 1976). "Album review: Rainbow - Rainbow Rising". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
8. Arneson, Aaron (12 October 2012). "Rainbow - Rising". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
9. Booth, Alison. "RAINBOW "Rising" At 40: Interview With Snowy Shaw". Metal Shock Finland. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
10. Booth, Alison. "RAINBOW "Rising" At 40: Interview With Rob Halford". Metal Shock Finland. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
11. "Search for Artist Rainbow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
12. "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
13. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 25, No. 21, August 21, 1976". Library and Archives Canada. 21 August 1976. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
14. "Rainbow – Rising (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
15. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 245. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
16. "Rainbow – Rising (album)". charts.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
17. "Album – Rainbow, Rising". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
18. "Top LPs & Tape" (PDF). Billboard. 88 (28): 70. 10 July 1976.
19. レインボー レインボーのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
20. "Search for Artist Ritchie Blackmore". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
21. "Search for Artist Rainbow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
22. Bible of the Devil Starstruck on discogs
23. "Kerrang – 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time – January 1989". Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
24. "Q – The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever – October 2004". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
25. Rock Albums "Kerrang – 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever – February 2005" Check |url= value (help). Kerrang. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
26. "Classic Rock – 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever – April 2006". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.