Rising (Rainbow album)

Rising (also known as Rainbow Rising)^[4] is the second studio album by the British-American rock band Rainbow. It was released on 17 May 1976.

Rising
Cover painting by Ken Kelly
Studio album by Rainbow
Released	17 May 1976[1]
Recorded	February 1976
Studio	Musicland Studios, Munich
Genre	Heavy metal hard rock[2]
Length	33:28
Label	Oyster/Polydor
Producer	Martin Birch
Rainbow chronology
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) Rising (1976) Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (1978)
Singles from Rising
"Starstruck" Released: August 1976[3]

History

Band leader Ritchie Blackmore retained only singer 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,^[4] 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.^{[citation needed]}

The album showpiece,^{[according to whom?]} the eight-minute-and-26-second track "Stargazer", features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and originally had a keyboard intro as evidenced on the 2011 Deluxe Edition's "Rough Mix" version.^{[citation needed]}

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".^{[citation needed]}

Release

The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, containing a photo of the band inside, with a generic Polydor inner sleeve. Rising peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.^[6] In the UK it peaked at number 11.^[7]

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.^{[original research?]}

2011 Deluxe Edition

After several reschedulings, the deluxe version of the album was finally released in Japan on 5 April 2011 as a three-SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) Deluxe Remastered Edition. This limited edition reissue was 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.^[8]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	9/10[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[12]
Sputnikmusic	[13][2]

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."^[9]

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."^[14][15]

In Issue 4 of Kerrang! magazine (cover-dated October 1981), Rising was voted the greatest heavy metal album of all time.^[16][17] In 2017, it was ranked 48th at Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".^[18]

Notable cover versions

• Italian power metal band Domine covered the song "Stargazer" and released it as a Japanese bonus track on their 2002 album Stormbringer Ruler.
• Chicago metal band Bible of the Devil covered the song "Starstruck" on a 2004 split EP with The Last Vegas.^[19]
• Dream Theater also 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.

Track listing

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

All tracks are written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio

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 two – 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 three – 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

Additional musicians

• 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

Chart (1976)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[20]	33
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[21]	17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22]	38
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23]	12
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24]	36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25]	23
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	11
US Billboard 200[27]	48

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Oricon Japanese Albums Charts[28]	67
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[29]	7

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[20]	Gold	20,000^
France (SNEP)[30]	Gold	100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[31]	Gold	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Gold	100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] 2011 Deluxe Edition	Silver	60,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time"[16]	1981	1
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time"[34]	1989	14
Q	United Kingdom	"The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever"[35]	2004	–
Kerrang!	United Kingdom	"100 Best British Rock Albums Ever"[36]	2005	74
Classic Rock	United Kingdom	"100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[37]	2006	18

References

1. Popoff, Martin (2020). Sensitive to Light (second ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 305. ISBN 978-1-912782-40-6.
2. "Rainbow – Rising". Sputnikmusic. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
3. "Rainbow singles".
4. "Blackmore's Rainbow – Rainbow Rising". Discogs. 1984. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
5. Saulnier, Jason (1 June 2010). "Tony Carey Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
6. "Top LPs & Tape" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 28. 10 July 1976. p. 70.
7. "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
8. "Search for Artist Rainbow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
9. Ginsberg, Geoff. Album review at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
10. Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 226. ISBN 978-1894959025.
11. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 3960. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
12. Duncan, Robert (15 July 1976). "Album review: Rainbow – Rainbow Rising". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
13. Arneson, Aaron (12 October 2012). "Rainbow – Rising". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
14. Booth, Alison (20 May 2016). "RAINBOW "Rising" At 40: Interview With Snowy Shaw". Metal Shock Finland. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
15. Booth, Alison (18 May 2016). "RAINBOW "Rising" At 40: Interview With Rob Halford". Metal Shock Finland. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
16. "All-time Top 100 HM Albums". Kerrang!. No. 4. October 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
17. Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-76074-218-1.
18. Epstein, Dan (21 June 2017). "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
19. Bible of the Devil Starstruck on discogs
20. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
21. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4292a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rainbow – Rising" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
23. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
24. "Charts.nz – Rainbow – Rising". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
25. "Swedishcharts.com – Rainbow – Rising". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
27. "Rainbow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
28. 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.
29. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
30. "French album certifications – Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow – Rainbow Rising" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 20 March 2024. Select RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW and click OK. 
31. "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow Earns Gold in Japan, Australia" (PDF). Billboard. 13 October 1984. p. 9. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
32. "British album certifications – Rainbow – Rising". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
33. "British album certifications – Rainvow – Rising". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
34. "Kerrang – 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time – January 1989". Kerrang!. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
35. "Q – The 30 Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever – October 2004". Q. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
36. "Kerrang – 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever". Kerrang!. February 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
37. "Classic Rock – 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever – April 2006". Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 February 2009.