Released by: Minstrel Hall Music
Release Date: April 6th, 2018
Genre: Classic Rock
Links: https://www.blackmoresnight.com/
Line Up:
Ritchie Blackmore (Guitars)
Ronnie Romero (Vocals)
Jens Johansson (Keyboards)
Bob Nouveau (Bass)
Dave Keith (Drums)
Lady Lynn (Backing Vocals)
Candice Night (Backing Vocals
Tracklist:
CD1:
Over The Rainbow
Spotlight Kid
I Surrender
Mistreated
Since You’ve Been Gone
Man On The Silver Mountain / Woman From Tokyo
16th Century Greensleeves
Soldier Of Fortune
Perfect Strangers
Difficult To Cure
All Night Long
Child In Time
CD2:
Stargazer
Long Live Rock’n’Roll / Lazy
Catch The Rainbow
Black Night
Carry On Jon
Temple Of The King
Smoke On The Water
Waiting For A Sign (brand new song)
It’s been said before that the man in black has remained a Classic Rock mystery for a long time, yes his timeless licks and guitar vibes have paved the ways to so many Classic Rock cuts through the years, and even at the helm in Deep Purple and Rainbow, his image was always one of a very private and enigmatic character. If you have ever seen the older Purple material, on video, you notice how much he tries to avoid the camera. The limelight was always a bit of a conundrum for Mr. Blackmore, but that’s okay the musical legacy he had left behind in that time frame was uncanny, which more then makes up for his solemn personality.
You see that after the success of the comeback Rainbow has had, not just legacy fans have come out of the woodwork to see these shows, but just Rock fans in general. With a new Live release titled “Memories in Rock II,” we get a full gamut of Rainbow in 2018 with a bunch of extra DVD features to let the viewer into what Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow looks like this day in age, and what the comeback has shown longtime disciples.
On two CD’s, the 20 classic tunes reverberate through the package with expertise by all players involved. One of the first things that you notice are the great vocals of Ronnie Romero, is no secret that trying to do justice to the great DIO was going to be a tough task, Ronnie’s vocals have the range to make the Rainbow songs work and not seem over the top. The local Chilean really conveys a marvelous delivery and is not the slightest bit substandard compared to Rainbow’s previous predecessors in the vocal category. With melodies like “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Kid in Time”, “I Surrender”, “Stargazer”, “Long Live Rock’n’Roll”, “Dark Night” or the necessary timeless cut of “Smoke On The Water” obviously, Blackmore conveys a Best Of Show of RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE material. Worth tuning in to. Also wanted to add a note on Keyboards with Jens Johansson, the Stratovarius keys maestro, who does a marvelous job tickling the ivories on these classic songs.
The third Disc is a DVD for this occasion. Here you become more acquainted with the 2017 band directly and backstage. Notwithstanding interviews with all band and even group individuals, there are likewise backstage passes and an elite fan video. While the grandmaster talks for a decent 30 minutes, guitar professional Dave represents two minutes. All things considered, Ronnie Romero gets a decent 10 minutes talk about his Rainbow experience. A nice package overall that will make longtime fans of DP and Rainbow very happy.
“Memories In Rock II” is a trip into the past, an invigorating of old recollections. There are no curve balls or tremendous thoughts here, a little more than two hours of Blackmore’s immortal Hard Rock – and that sounds fresher than at any other time in 2018.
Written by: Shadow Editor
Rating 8/10
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