Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
	Produced by Martin Birch
	Released on April 9, 1978
	UK CHART POSITION #7 . . . US CHART POSITION #89
	Find it at GEMM
PD-1-6143 cover [high resolution scan]

T he testament of Rainbow, book the fourth, wherein the gates of hell are opened a little wider, the images therein made more tantalizing by that brilliant barker, Dio. Upon the release of Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll, Rainbow might have been the best heavy metal band on Earth. Led Zeppelin was losing air, Black Sabbath was graying, and what emerged from their shadow was Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. Like Deep Purple, they were a black hole looming; assimilating and digesting and expelling players, a Shub-Niggurath of metal heroes. Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley, Ronnie James Dio: spare parts and rogue moons. But it was new blood like this that re-energized Rainbow. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll is mystical, melodic English (despite the newdutch Dio) heavy metal at its best, dancing with the dark spirits as only the English can do. It has Arthurian legend (“Lady of the Lake”), demonology (“Gates of Babylon”), medieval intrigue (“Kill The King”) and an affinity for darkness (“Sensitive To Light”). Priest was selling the same sermon, but their star was still rising. Rainbow had risen to its logical height; in the absence of Sabbath and Zeppelin, here was the Devil’s Captain leading the charge. The Sabbath and Dio albums after are equally important battles, since the presence of Dio alone commands respect, but at the moment I prefer this record to any of them. It’s a door leading to dark fantasies, an escape from the dull reality of regular rock ‘n’ roll (BadCo et al). Certainly there’s enough here to fortify the will of the heavy metal faithful until the reinforcements (Priest, Maiden, Motorhead) arrived.

TRACK LISTING

1. LONG LIVE ROCK 'N' ROLL    4:25
2. LADY OF THE LAKE    3:38
3. L.A. CONNECTION    3:35
4. GATES OF BABYLON    6:47
5. KILL THE KING    (Ritchie Blackmore/Ronnie James Dio/Cozy Powell)    4:28
6. THE SHED (SUBTLE)    (Ritchie Blackmore/Ronnie James Dio/Cozy Powell)    4:46
7. SENSITIVE TO LIGHT    3:08
8. RAINBOW EYES    7:31
   
   All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore/Ronnie James Dio unless noted

CREDITS

RITCHIE BLACKMORE -- guitar, bass
BOB DAISLEY -- bass
RONNIE JAMES DIO -- vocals
COZY POWELL -- drums
DAVID STONE -- keyboards
Bavarian String Ensemble -- strings (4)
Carl Heinz Feit -- cello (8)
Max Hecker -- recorder (8)
Ferenc Kiss -- concertmaster, 1st violin (8)
Ottmar Machan -- viola (8)
Nico Nicolic -- 2nd violin (8)
Rainer Pietsch -- scorer, conductor (4,8)
Rudy Risavy -- flute (8)
Bruce Payne -- direction
Debbie Hall -- illustration
Maxi Chan -- design

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DID YOU GIVE A FLYING SWORD?

Ritchie Blackmore plays bass on most of the album tracks. Bob Daisley plays bass on "Gates of Babylon," "Kill the King" and "Sensitive to Light," according to a 2002 interview with The Fuze's Todd Seely.

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