Rainbow – Legend Of The Additional Performance (Tarantura TCDNIJFUNE-1-1,2)

Legend Of The Additional Performance (Tarantura TCDNIJFUNE-1-1,2)

Taiikukan, Tokyo, Japan – December 2nd, 1976 

Disc 1 (68:45):  American Woman (The Guess Who); Monitor Check / band tuning; Over The Rainbow; Start; Kill The King; The 1st MC by Ronnie / Mistreated introduction; Guitar Solo; riot on arena; Promoter’s Speech; Guitar Solo; Mistreated; MC; Greensleeves; 16th Century Greensleeves; Niji Flashing working; Das Wohltemperirte Clavier; Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben BWV147; Catch The Rainbow*; Band Introduction; Guitar Solo; Lazy; White Christmas; Man On The Silver Mountain; Blues; Man On The Silver Mountain; Starstruck; and Man On The Silver Mountain  

Disc 2 (53:40):  MC; Keyboard Solo; Stargazer; Still I’m Sad*; Keyboard Solo; Drum Solo; 1812 Overture; Drum Solo; Still I’m Sad ( reprise)*; Guitar Solo; Do You Close Your Eyes (Guitar Clashing); and Over The Rainbow*

With the very recent, untimely passing of the great Ronnie James Dio, listening to Tarantura’s Legend of the Additional Performance brings extra significance to this reviewer.  For us fellow collectors of Tarantura’s wonderful run of vintage, previously uncirculated live Rainbow, a recording of this concert was debuted by Tarantura in April, 2009 on its Uijin’ (TCDRAINBOW-3-1, 2) release.  That title was sourced from the original master cassettes from Aquarius, and it has already received a thorough, detailed review on this site by relayer67.

In Legend of the Additional Performance, Tarantura present this show in significantly upgraded audio sourced from Mr. Peach’s master cassettes.  However, where there were gaps in Peach’s recording, Tarantura filled them with Aquarius’s master tapes.  As a result, the listener is furnished with the ability to appreciate the expansive, beautiful dimension that makes Peach’s recordings so precious.  The first example of this occurs in “Catch the Rainbow”.  The vocal harmonies were captured exquisitely by Peach, as were Powell’s tom-tom fills, cowbell, Carey’s synthesized backing, and Blackmore’s emotional runs. 

Blackmore’s solo midway through the song was particularly aggressive, driven from behind by Powell’s signature (albeit somewhat predictable) fills, when at around 10:20 in the track Aquarius’s recording is patched in and the difference between the two sources can be appreciated for about 25 seconds before Peach’s recording drifts back into focus.  And it is at that point that you are treated with Dio’s remarkable vocal soloing about catching the rainbow and riding the sky before Blackmore peacefully ended the song.  Simply gorgeous, and all presented with great clarity.

The next instances of Aquarius’s master recording patching Peach’s source can be found at the first 10 seconds of “Still I’m Sad”, just as the band explodes into the song, toward the end of the song’s reprise after Carey and Powell’s soloing, and with the show closer of “Over the Rainbow”.

The title’s sturdy jacket, which displays a triumphant on stage image when opened fully, also contains images on the inside of the Sony and Maxell original cassette tapes used to create this one-of-a-kind production.  And it is with those words that this title is enthusiastically recommended for any collector of Rainbow’s live catalog.