posted by all-musicrecords
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the third studio album by the British heavy metal band Rainbow, released on 14 April 1978 and the last to feature original lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio.
Recording of the album commenced in April 1977 at a studio in Château d'Hérouville, France, featuring Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell.
Keyboards were initially played on a session basis by former Rainbow member Tony Carey, while bass parts were started by Mark Clarke.
Clarke was soon dismissed, however, and the bass parts were recorded by Blackmore himself.
By July 1977 seven tracks that ended on the album were in demo form.
Recording was suspended while the band recruited Bob Daisley and David Stone and thereafter commenced extensive touring of Europe in the summer and autumn of 1977.
A return to the Château d'Hérouville studio in December saw the band finish the album and also yielded a final track, "Gates of Babylon".
Although Daisley and Stone are listed on the album credits for their contributions, they joined the band partway through the recording sessions and only appear on three and four songs, respectively.
Stone wrote parts of "Gates of Babylon", the middle 8 section during the guitar solo. He was paid for the work, but not credited on the album.
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll may be singer Ronnie James Dio's last album with Rainbow, but at least he went out on a high note.
While the material is not quite as strong as on the previous studio effort, Rising, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll maintains the momentum the band had built up.
"Kill the King" had been previously heard on the live On Stage record, but here it sounds more fully realized. Also, the title track from the album stands as one of the best songs the band did, not to mention a noble sentiment.
The chugging "L.A. Connection" is another highlight. As with all of their first four albums, this one was produced by Martin Birch (who produced everyone from Blue Öyster Cult to Wayne County), and he really knows how to get the best out of the band by this point.
The result is that the songs couldn't sound any better, so even if some of the material isn't quite up to their best, the album is still very cohesive, steady, and, ultimately, satisfying.
This would turn out to be the last great album Rainbow would ever make, although they did enjoy a great deal of chart success in the post-Dio era.
Tracklist
1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll - 4:24
2. Lady of the Lake - 3:39
3. L.A. Connection - 5:02
4. Gates of Babylon - 6:49
5. Kill the King (Blackmore, Dio, Cozy Powell) - 4:29
6. The Shed (Subtle) (Blackmore, Dio, Powell) - 4:47
7. Sensitive to Light - 3:07
8. Rainbow Eyes - 7:31
All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio except where noted. All lyrics by Dio
- Rainbow
- Ritchie Blackmore – guitar, bass on tracks 1–3, 6 (also bass on rough mix tracks 1–6, 2012 Deluxe Edition)
- Ronnie James Dio – vocals
- Cozy Powell – drums
- Bob Daisley – bass on tracks 4, 5, and 7
- David Stone – keyboards on tracks 4, 5, and 6, piano outro on track 3
- Tony Carey – keyboards on tracks 1, 2, and 8
- Additional musicians
- Rainer Pietsch - scoring and conducting on "Gates of Babylon" and "Rainbow Eyes"
- Bavarian String Ensemble - strings on "Gates of Babylon"
- Rudi Risavy – flute on "Rainbow Eyes"
- Max Hecker – recorder on "Rainbow Eyes"
"'Rainbow Eyes' String Quartet":
- Ferenc Kiss - first violin, concert master
- Nico Nicolic – second violin
- Ottmar Machan – viola
- Karl Heinz Feit – cello
- Production
- Martin Birch – producer and engineer
- Max Hecker – classical instruments recording engineer
- Bruce Payne – direction
- Recorded at The Strawberry Studio at Château d'Hérouville, France, May–July and December 1977
Notes
Released: 14 April 1978
Recorded: May–July and December 1977 Studio The Strawberry Studio, Château d'Hérouville, France
Genre: Heavy metal
Length: 39:48
Producer: Martin Birch
Label - Polydor Records
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