Live In Cologne or Koln is a live album by Rainbow.
It was recorded at the Kölner Sporthalle in Germany on 25 September 1976.
Average Amazon Customer Rating – %%AVERAGERATING%% Stars Continue reading Rainbow Live In Cologne 1976
Live Albums By Rainbow
If heavy rock fans were upset when Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, they were both pleased and relieved when he formed Rainbow (originally called Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow).
He joined forces with Ronnie James Dio and his band called Elf but, after recording their first studio album, every except Dio was fired.
Keyboard player Tony Carey, bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Cozy Powell were recruited and this band recorded the great rainbow Rising studio album and the 1976 live albums.
Out went Carey and Bain and in came David Stone (keyboards) and first Mark Clarke and then Bob Daisley on bass. This group recorded Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll and the 1977 live albums.
Blackmore and Dio argued about the future direction of the band as Blackmore wanted to move to a more commercial AOR sound. Dio left in 1979 and Graham Bonnet joined. Roger Glover replaced Daisley on bass and Don Airey replaced Stone on keyboards.
In 1980 Bonnet left and Joe Lynn Turner joined. Powell left and was replaced on drums by Bobby Rondinelli.
More personnel changes happened before their 1982 and 1983 studio albums.
The group broke up in 1984 but by 1993 Blackmore was ready to recruit a new band with Doogie White on vocals.
Rainbow Studio Albums
1975 Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
1976 Rising
1978 Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
1979 Down to Earth
1981 Difficult to Cure
1982 Straight Between the Eyes
1983 Bent Out of Shape
1995 Stranger in Us All
Rainbow Live Albums
1976 On Stage released in 1977
1978 to 1984 Finyl Vinyl released in 1986
1976 Live in Germany 1976 released in 1990
1976 Deutschland Tournee (Cologne, Dusseldorf and Nurnberg concerts) released in 2006 in Japan
1976 Live Cologne Sporthalle 25.9.76 released in 2007
1976 Live Dusseldorf Phillipshalle 27.9.76 released in 2007
1976 Live Nuremberg Messezentrum 28.9.76 released in 2007
1977 Live in Munich 1977 released in 2006
1995 Black Masquerade released in 2013
These live albums by Rainbow appear in two of the polls depending on whether your interest is in Blackmore or Dio.
Best live albums by former members of Deep Purple:
Best live albums by Ronnie James Dio:
Get These Best Rainbow Albums
You can buy these albums from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
What Are The Best Live Albums Of All Time
If you like early Rainbow, you’ll be interested in the polls to find the best hard rock and heavy metal live albums.
If you prefer the later Rainbow, you’ll be interested in the poll to find the best AOR live albums.
Live In Cologne or Koln is a live album by Rainbow.
It was recorded at the Kölner Sporthalle in Germany on 25 September 1976.
Average Amazon Customer Rating – %%AVERAGERATING%% Stars Continue reading Rainbow Live In Cologne 1976
Denver 1979 is a live album by Rainbow. It has been released on vinyl and as an mp3 download by Cleopatra Records (UK) and Purple Pyramid Records (USA).
It was recorded on the Down To Earth tour and catches Rainbow in the transition phase between the hard rock band they were with Ronnie James Dio and the AOR band they became.
This features Graham Bonnett on vocals.
Average Amazon Customer Rating – %%AVERAGERATING%% Continue reading Rainbow Denver 1979
Live In Munich 1977 is a live album and DVD by Rainbow.
It was recorded at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany on 20th October 1977.
Live In Germany 1976 is an archive released live album by hard rock band Rainbow.
This was recorded in 1976 on the Rainbow Raising world tour and was released in 1990.
This pulls the best from four concerts in Germany:
Cologne on 25 September 1976
Düsseldorf 27 September 1976
Nuremberg 28 September 1976
Munich 29 September 1976
The full recordings of three of these concerts – Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich – have since been bundled together and released in Japan as Deutschland Tournee. The three concerts have been released separately elsewhere.
Final Vinyl is a compilation album from Rainbow that mainly features live tracks focusing on the time when the group moved into pop-rock in the 80s.
The Rainbow of Since You’ve Been Gone and I Surrender is very different from the hard rock group that Ritchie Blackmore formed straight after leaving Deep Purple.
As well as live versions of the popular Rainbow songs, there are also a few studio rarities.
On Stage is the first live album by Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow featuring Ronnie James Dio’s singing and Cozy Powell on drums recorded in December 1976 in Germany & Japan.
For me, the Rainbow of Rainbow Rising is the classic line up and are a worthy follow on band to Deep Purple.