Album · Compilation · 45 years old this year
The Best of Rainbow
The Best of Rainbow was the British hard rock band's first compilation, released in 1981 on Polydor. It gathers mostly studio cuts from the five albums they had made by then, running from Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in 1975 through to Difficult to Cure's predecessor, Down to Earth. The original vinyl came as a two-LP set in a gatefold sleeve, with photographs of the band in its various line-ups. The cover photograph was taken at Zaanse Schans.
The one real curiosity is "Jealous Lover", the first song Blackmore wrote with Turner. In Europe it had only appeared as the B-side to "Can't Happen Here", and in the United States on the Jealous Lover EP, so many fans would have met it here for the first time on an album. The set reached No. 14 in the UK Albums Chart in 1981, and it has never had a US release.
The Best of Rainbow: tracklist, credits and charts
15 tracks · 1:22:18Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1All Night LongRitchie Blackmore and Roger Glover3:50
- 2Man on the Silver MountainRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:36
- 3Do You Close Your EyesRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio2:59
- 4Lost in HollywoodBlackmore, Glover, Powell4:51
- 5Since You Been GoneRuss Ballard3:18
- 6StargazerRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio8:25
- 7Catch the RainbowRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio6:35
- 8Kill the KingBlackmore, Dio, Powell4:26
- Disc 2
- 1Sixteenth Century GreensleevesRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio3:28
- 2Still I’m SadJim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith3:53
- 3Long Live Rock ’n’ RollRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:20
- 4The Eyes of the WorldRitchie Blackmore and Roger Glover6:39
- 5StarstruckRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:05
- 6A Light in the BlackRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio8:11
- 7Mistreated12:42
- Produced by
- Roger Glover, Martin Birch, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio
- Recorded at
- Château de Pelly, Maison Rouge Mobile Studio, Musicland Studios, Château d'Hérouville
- Recorded
- 1975–1981
- Mixed by
- Martin Birch
- Engineered by
- Gary Edwards, Leigh Mantle, Dr. Michael Palmer, Martin Birch
- Label
- Polydor
- Length
- 1:22:18
Line-up
- Don Airey · keyboard
- Ritchie Blackmore · guitar, bass guitar
- Roger Glover · bass guitar
- Cozy Powell · drums (drum set)
- Graham Bonnet · lead vocals
- Gary Driscoll · drums (drum set)
- Craig Gruber · bass
- Mickey Lee Soule · mellotron, piano, clavinet, electronic organ
- Ronnie James Dio · lead vocals
- Jimmy Bain · bass guitar
- Tony Carey · keyboard
- Bob Daisley · bass guitar · guest
- David Stone · keyboard · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1981 | 14 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1981 | 48 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 1981 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
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Released the same week
Also released on 13 November
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Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
1975
Rising
1976
On Stage
1977
Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll
1978
Down to Earth
1979
Difficult to Cure
1981
Straight Between the Eyes
1982
Bent Out of Shape
1983
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1986
Live in Germany 1976
1990
Stranger in Us All
1995
The Very Best of Rainbow
1997
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow
2000
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2002
Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology
2003
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2006
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2006
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2013
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2019
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date sources disagree on the year (1980, 1981)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1980 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 13 November 1981 | |
| Wikidata | November 1981 | |
| UK / Europe release | 1981 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Polydor | 042280007423 | other |
| 1980 | JP | Polydor | original | |
| 1981 | GB | Polydor | other | |
| 1981 | DE | Polydor | other | |
| 1983 | DE | Polydor | 3259180007423 | other |
| 1 May 1990 | JP | Polydor | 4988005063922 | other |
| 8 September 1990 | DE | Polydor | 042280007423 | other |
| 1 December 1993 | JP | Polydor | 4988005134011 | other |
| — | — | — | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2820x2820
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2820×2820 | native: native 2820x2820 |