Track Listing

1. Kill the King
2. Medley: Man on the Silver Mountain/Blues/Starstruck
3. Catch the Rainbow
4. Mistreated
5. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
6. Still I'm Sad

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24697 in Music
• Brand: Rainbow
• Released on: 1999-04-27
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Live
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
When Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, they barely skipped a beat replacing him. And he barely skipped a beat forming Rainbow, a mirror image of his old band. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio, though, provided Blackmore with a clipped, howl-free voice, hardening Rainbow's sound considerably despite the presence of Mellotron, organ, and other keyboards. By the time it released On Stage, the band had developed its dominion: songs about killing kings, men on silver mountains, and women locked in towers. Subjects were grandiose and the execution heavy, even ponderous. But there's charm in the way Dio intones, "Do you waaant some love? / Well, here we are to give you love," as Blackmore strums in the background. But Dio and Blackmore turn to hard, hard rock with the sprawling "Man on the Silver Mountain" and slow, sad-sack blues with "Mistreated." For gearheads, there's a full accounting of the band's equipment on the back cover. This remastered edition boasts a warmer sound, but who needs warmth with that big guitar spilling over onto your shirt and shoes while the crowd claps along? --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Really good live album!
This is a GREAT live album. The sound quality is excellent, Martin Birch is a producing genius. The playing is equally brilliant, and Blackmore tears it to pieces on the guitar. Dio's voice is powerful as usual, and blows me away.

This album came out after the self-titled "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" and "Rising," and before "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll." That being said, it is quite strange that there is only one song from the very album they were touring for! It is "Starstruck" from the Rising album, and they don't even play the whole song: they do a little bit of it in the middle of "Man on the Silver Mountain." Instead of promoting their newest release, they included 4 songs from their debut, a cover of Deep Purple's "Mistreated," and a song that would later appear on the Long Live Rock 'N' Roll album ("Kill the King").

Basically, for all the songs except for "Kill the King," they jam on the songs for like 10+ minutes each. Need I say that this is awesome? I love listening to Blackmore play the guitar.

However, the best part of the album is at the end of "Man on the Silver Mountain" when Dio goes "You're all the maaan!!!" It's cool. If you are a fan of Rainbow, Dio or Ritchie Blackmore, you will not be disappointed. If you are not, then start with something else (Rainbow Rising, Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell, and Deep Purple's Machine Head, respectively).

Ready for The "Deluxe" Treatment
As I consider this record is worthy of being on many: "Best Of" lists. Best: "Live" album, Best: "Live Album of the 1970's", Best: "Live Hard Rock" Album, Etc,Etc. This double record, had more room on the four sides of those records to fit more songs from the 1976 concert on it. I was lucky enough to see a show from the Summer 1976, "Rainbow Over America" tour at the Berkeley Community Theater. And, as I have always been big about this album, as one of the very greats. But, when it is compared to the concert I attended in Berkeley, here on this CD, you are only getting about HALF the show.

The epic version of: "Stargazer" {with drum solo by Cozy and the big explosion in that solo} is not here. That was by far one of the highlights of this amazing show. "Black Sheep Of The Family" was far better than it's studio counterpart {not included as well}. "Do You Close Your Eyes" {where is that?}. 31 years is indeed a long time, and as I don't remember everything from that night, I do know that the 1976 show was 2 Hours in length, and lot's more of that show could and should be presented here to tell the complete story.

Still, this is one of the very best live recordings ever released, but if there was a CD that needed a: "Deluxe/Expanded Edition", of 2 CD's to be released: "On Stage" should be at the top of that list.
Any fan of: Ritchie, Tony, Cozy, Ronnie James and Jimmy, should already own this monster, but there is more that needs to be heard!
Four Stars !!!

No songs from "Rising"
I have been a Rainbow fan ever since I can remember. I was 10 years old when this LP came out and listened to it over and over and over throughout the years. There is no question that the Dio era is the BEST Rainbow era by far. If you want to simply listen to a great live album and listen to Dio, Powell and Blackmore do their stuff, then this is a great listen. However, there are a couple of disappointments with this.

First! There is not 1 song from their BEST (or even one of the best albums ever for that matter), that being "Rising", on this live effort. Sure you get the short "blurb" of Starstruck during the Man on the Silver Mountain medley, but that only lasts about 20 seconds.

Secondly! Catch the Rainbow is a great ballad but it is WAY too long and took a complete side of an LP when originally released. It also had some long silent moments. I was willing to get by this but then Mistreated was also a complete "side-stealer". That being said, those 2 took too much time and should've left room for songs like "Tarot Woman, Stargazer, the complete Starstruck or even Light in the Black", songs that are certainly worthy of playing live.

The live versions of Kill The King and Still I'm Sad are the best tracks.

I'm still giving this 4 stars simply because it's the classic lineup and it sounds good.