Denver 1979
It was a short-lived line-up of RAINBOW that took to the road in 1979, soon after the band’s fourth studio album, “Down To Earth,” had seen the light of day. And it was an interesting one as, fronted by Graham Bonnet, the band hang in there between their old, gloomy romantic material, and new, commercially-inclined songs, with a lot of soloing thrown in for good measure. This era of Ritchie Blackmore’s ensemble is in the focus of forthcoming releases from Purple Pyramid Records. Out now, the first platter in the series is “Denver 1979” which is available on red, green and blue vinyl housed in holographic gatefold sleeve, in a limited run, which should be followed by live documents from Long Island and Chicago dates, and, on August 21st, a deluxe 3CD box “Down To Earth Tour 1979” with all three concerts.
Down To Earth Tour 1979
This soundboard-caught set has been available for some years in a pirate pressing, but now it turns legitimate, as did the label’s releases by RENAISSANCE, such as "Academy Of Music"; more so, now, the packaging is to be loaded with paraphernalia including a button, an embroidered fabric patch, a signature guitar pick and a bottle opener/keychain, and put in a red-velvet lined box. With this attention to packaging, one may only wonder why Blackmore’s photo on the cover comes from 1972. As for the contents, that’s what was played on those nights – interspersed with guitar solos from Ritchie, where Beethoven’s Ninth, soon to be named “Difficult To Cure,” makes an appearance, from Don Airey, and from Cozy Powell who started to perform his take on “1812 Overture” then.
Denver – October 16th, 1979
1. Eyes Of The World
2. Love’s No Friend
3. Since You Been Gone
4. All Night Long
5. Lost In Hollywood
6. Man On The Silver Mountain
7. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
Chicago – October 12th, 1979
1. Eyes Of The World
2. Love’s No Friend
3. All Night Long
4. Lost In Hollywood
5. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll – Kill The King – Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
Long Island – November 30th, 1979
1. Eyes Of The World
2. Love’s No Friend
3. Since You Been Gone
4. All Night Long
5. Lost In Hollywood
6. Lazy
7. Man On The Silver Mountain
8. Blues
9. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
