Rainbow – Memories in Rock II
Minstrel Hall Music
https://www.facebook.com/ritchieblackmore/ 
www.blackmoresnight.com.

Rating: B

Release date: April 6, 2018

Ritchie Blackmore performed three live concerts in 2017 as the band Rainbow. They were released separately, but now they have all been culled together in one collection titled Memories in Rock II.

In addition to the concerts, the release will also include a DVD of interviews with the band…including Blackmore. As if this were not cool enough, there will also be one new song called “Waiting for a Sign.” Spoiler Alert: The song is good! It is awesome to hear new Rainbow music.

The three concerts are all different…which is cool.  This makes for no repeats along the way. The track listing is a mix of Rainbow and Deep Purple.

There are some killer tunes here, as one might expect. “Spotlight Kid,” “I Surrender,” “Mistreated,” “Man On The Silver Mountain / Women From Tokyo,” “Perfect Strangers,” “Black Night,” and “Smoke On The Water” all sound good.

Vocalist Ronnie Romero does his best Ronnie Dio impersonation. He actually pulls off the Rainbow tunes extremely well. He holds his own on the Deep Purple tracks, as well. He is a talented vocalist and was hired to impress. One wishes we could get The Man in Black to record an entire new album of songs with Ronnie!

The band Rainbow has had a ton of members over the years. Today’s Rainbow consists of Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie Romero, Jens Johansson (keyboards), Bob Nouveau (bass), Dave Keith (drums), Lady Lynn (backing vocals) and Candice Night (backing vocals). As a treat, the entire band listed here are all interviewed to discuss their Rainbow experiences on the bonus DVD.

At the end of the day, this is Ritchie with a new batch of Rainbow players and they do a fine job. The music is presented well and Blackmore still impresses on guitar.

Oddly, there is no “Stone Cold,” “Street of Dreams” or “Death Alley Driver” on these concerts…those songs would have made this more sought after. As it is, however, is just fine. It is exciting to hear Blackmore on the electric, playing the songs that are the reason we know who he is. One can only hope this will continue to some more new Rainbow material.

Ritchie should be happy with this release. He will make a few bucks…pay off a few bills and then…we will see what happens. He will possibly retreat back to lutes and castles…but…then again, maybe he will bring this to the USA and play a few dates.

We can only hope! Until then, we still have these Memories in Rock to tide us over.

CD 1:
1. Over The Rainbow
2. Spotlight Kid
3. I Surrender
4. Mistreated
5. Since You've Been Gone
6. Man On The Silver Mountain/Woman From Tokyo
7. 16th Century Greensleeves
8. Soldier Of Fortune
9. Perfect Strangers
10. Difficult To Cure
11. All Night Long
12. Child In Time

CD 2:
1. Stargazer
2. Long Live Rock'n'Roll/Lazy
3. Catch The Rainbow
4. Black Night
5. Carry On Jon
6. Temple Of The King
7. Smoke On The Water
8. Waiting For A Sign

(DVD):
1. Ritchie Blackmore Interview
2. Ronnie Romero Interview
3. Jens Johansson Interview
4. Bob Nouveau Interview
5. David Keith Interview
6. Candice Night Interview
7. Lady Lynn Interview
8. Dave David Interview
9. Andreas Bock Interview
10. Michael Bockmühl Interview
11. Bonus Backstage Clip
12. I Surrender 2017 Backstage Clip

By Jeb “Stone Cold” Wright