LONG LIVE ROCK & ROLL

You will hardly find a better, more complete and more compelling rock album; There really are a few, I believe. 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll' is Rainbow's third studio album, release on April 9, 1978, and for some, including me, it is the band's best work. Heavy-hitting and enticing from start to finish, the record is packed with classics; Led by Ritchie Blackmore, of course, the band for this album also features Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Cozy Powell on drums, Bob Daisley handling some bass duties, and David Stone and Tony Carey splitting the keyboards contributions. A difficult album for Blackmore, however, we have to mention, as he fired the entire band except Powell after it, and Dio left to join Black Sabbath. This one was recorded without a prober bassist as a band member, too, and had to follow up the all-time classic 'Rising'. The end result given all these factors is beyond exceptional!

Thumping bass riffs, majestic guitar playing from Blackmore, whose signature style is penetrating every song, injecting it its infectious hard rock power and mystical brilliance, tremendous vocal performance from Dio, and powerful drumming are present all throughout this perfect album - take the title track or the underrated 'Lady of the Lake', with its magnificent metallic riff, the fast-paced killer 'Kill the King' or the quite exceptional 'The Shed (Subtle)', the last two co-written with Powell (alongside Blackmore and Dio). The mystical explorations of the legendary 'Gates of Babylon' are always a more than welcome ear candy, the glorious folky and medieval mood of the closing track 'Rainbow Eyes' is perhaps the best song on the album, and one of the most impactful songs in Rainbow's entire catalogue, and this is one of the most mellow and emotive compositions of Blackmore. 'Sensitive to Light' is no less brilliant than anything else on this album, which is a pure classic and a model hard rock album, ranking as high as 'Machine Head', 'Led Zeppelin IV', 'Salisbury', or 'Paranoid' in the pantheon of rock music. Legendary release from a very significant band.