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Episode 40 Rainbow An Independent Critcal Review Pt1

This entry in the "Inside" rockumentary DVD series focuses on Rainbow's golden years from 1975-1979. As such, it covers just three studio albums and one live album. A flurry of generally fawning rock critics and musicians begin by telling us at length what a wonderful guitar player Ritchie Blackmore was/is. Fortunately these experts are subsequently afforded space to justify their assertions through anecdotes, recollections and analysis. Whether we actually need someone to tell us that Ritchie can be "moody at times" or that his relationship with the other members of his bands could be difficult is far from certain though. Coverage of Rainbow as such only starts 12 minutes into the 55 minute programme, the scene setting focusing on Ritchie's past lives.

As usual with this series of documentaries, the narrative is interspersed with "previously unseen" archive footage of the band in concert. Most of this is sourced from a WDR (German) TV recording, (probably "Rockpalast") of the band in 1977. It is these clips which are the real meat of the programme. Being an independent and unauthorised production, the DVD seeks to avoid potential copyright issues by keeping the video clips brief. To those unfamiliar with this series, and even those who have already experienced other editions, this can be rather frustrating. The extracts simply act as teasers, leaving the viewer wanting to see at least one complete track. In an early touch of irony, the opening video extract is of the band performing Deep Purple's "Mistreated".

On the narrative side, there really is nothing here we did not already know. There's no spilling of the beans, and the vast majority of the input simply seeks to say how wonderful it all is. Among the musicians who add their thoughts are several members of Mostly Autumn, presumably due to their tenuous link with Rainbow through vocalist Dougie White who sang with the band in the 1990's. Producer Pip Williams probably offers the best in the way of analysis, and I am not saying that just because he is wearing a Uriah Heep cap throughout!

Starting with the debut album, actually by Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (as opposed to just Rainbow), the first three studio albums are discussed and analysed. The general agreement is that "Rising" is the best of the bunch, and that the track "Stargazer" from that album is the band's best song. When discussing "Long live rock and roll", the feature track "Gates of Babylon" presents a problem for the programme producers, as it was never performed live. Instead, we get some random scenic footage to accompany the music. The live album "On stage" divides opinions most, with some feeling it is a classic live album while others see it as a missed opportunity.

The only other band member apart from Ritchie get individual attention is Cozy Powell, whose "1812 overture (Over the top)" solo spot is briefly featured.

In all, a decent entry in the "Inside (the band)" series, which, while suffering from the usual all too brief clips of the band performing, offers a reasonable summary of Rainbow's early years.

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