An die Fieude (Tarantura TCDRAINBOW-7-1, 2)
Tuesday 17 Jan 1978 Koseinenkin-Kaikan, (Wel City Osaka) Osaka, Japan
(60:54) Opening, SE/ Over The Rainbow, Intro, Kill The King, Mistreated, Greensleeves (traditional), 16th Century Greensleeves, Improvisation, Catch The Rainbow, Improvisation, Catch The Rainbow (reprise), Long Live Rock And Roll
(59:07)Intro, Lazy, Man On The Silver Mountain, Guitar Solo, Blues, Bass Solo-The Silver Mountain, Starstruck, Man On The Silver Mountain (reprise), Keyboard Solo, Improvisation, Still I’m Sad, Beethoven Sinfonie Nr. 9 d-moll op. 125 , Keyboard Solo, Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture (finale) / Cozy Powell Drum solo, Still I’m Sad (reprise), Guitar Improvisation, Do You Close Your Eyes, SE / Over The Rainbow
With majority of the recent Rainbow releases from Tarantura being audience recordings by Mr. Peach or Aquarius here is an overlooked title that claims to be a soundboard recording. The sound is indeed fantastic, well balanced instruments and vocals not sounding like a typical soundboard with separation between music and audience here the audience is mixed well with the music giving the recording incredible atmosphere.
The playing is top notch, after listening to quit a few of the releases from both the 1976 and 1978 tours I marvel at the consistent high caliber of musicianship that was displayed. I never tire of hearing Dorothy’s introduction and band launching into the instrumental intro that leads into the ferocious Kill The King, high drama indeed. Again the crowd is almost like the sixth member of the group as the follow the music intensively, they clap continuously during Ritchie’s slow solo in Mistreated, the beauty in this recording is they do not drown out the music and give a great cheer as the band leads back into the main parts.
Except for a few shouts of “Ritchie” you can here a pin drop as he plays a beautiful and delicate version of Greensleeves and is plowed by 16th Century Greensleeves, Blackmore’s solo sounds like he is playing a slight to great effect, I love the 1978 versions of this track with the heavy endings. Catch The Rainbow is warmly greeted by the audience and is a typical version, typical from 1978 meaning incredible. I say it almost every review but Dio sang this track so passionately, with his lyric of “Straw against the lace” beautiful and haunting at the same time before Blackmore bowls you over with intensity.
The crowd goes crazy as Blackmore plays the opening riff of Lazy as a prelude to Man On The silver Mountain, again a aggressive version with a great guitar solo that leads into a great blues section and Bob Daisley bass solo. The Still I’m Sad solo and improvisation is what we have come to expect and again appreciated by the audience who are rewarded with a encore, something they did not do every night. Some great improvisation from the band provides a great introduction to the song and from the sounds a display on how to dismantle your start from one Mr. Blackmore.
The packaging is a full color gatefold sleeve with Ritchie on the front, Cozy on the back and individual band member on the inside. Dated November 2009 this title is another great addition to the Tarantura catalog of Rainbow titles and if the casual collector is looking for a fantastic sounding show here is a “sleeper” that should not be ignored.
2 Comments
Wow. Finally tracked down a copy, on the strength of this review (thanks), which arrived today. It didn’t come cheaply, but, I say again, wow. Is it a SB? Well, it may well be: no-one in the crowd shouts out close to the mic, but the clapping, whilst far from intrusive, may indicate an audience source. However, I’m not sure, and it doesn’t really matter, not with a recording of this quality. I previously got this concert 5-6 years ago, as the 2CDR set ‘Destroyer’ (Langley-108): that has horrible SQ, being so faint and muffled as to be unlistenable for me. Listening closely to the two, I suspect ‘Destroyer’ uses the same tape as ‘An Die Freude’, but MANY generations removed from the source. ‘ADF’ is so good it could have been an official release, and is my favourite recording from the 1978 tours. It’s not a Mr Peach recording, but belongs in the same company, and that’s high praise, as we collectors of Rainbow’s Japanese concerts have come to appreciate. Thanks again for the excellent review.
Simplesmente mágnifico