Album · Compilation
The Very Best of Rainbow
The Very Best of Rainbow is a greatest hits collection from the British hard rock band, released in August 1997 on the Chronicles label. It gathers tracks from across the group's first run, starting with 1975's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and finishing with 1983's Bent Out of Shape, so it takes in most of the band's studio output in a single disc.
It makes a handy way into the catalogue if you want the sweep of the band without choosing a starting album. There's a nice detail on the sleeve too: the front cover image comes from inside the first Rainbow album, and it shows Ritchie Blackmore playing with his earlier band, Deep Purple, rather than with Rainbow itself.
The Very Best of Rainbow: tracklist, credits and charts
16 tracks · 1:17:50Tracklist
- 1Man on the Silver MountainRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:40
- 2Catch the RainbowRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio6:41
- 3StarstruckRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:09
- 4StargazerRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio8:27
- 5Kill the KingBlackmore, Dio, Powell4:32
- 6Long Live Rock ’n’ RollRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio4:25
- 7Gates of BabylonRitchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio6:50
- 8Since You Been GoneRuss Ballard3:19
- 9All Night LongRitchie Blackmore and Roger Glover3:52
- 10I SurrenderRuss Ballard4:04
- 11Can’t Happen HereRitchie Blackmore and Roger Glover4:59
- 12Jealous LoverRitchie Blackmore and Joe Lynn Turner3:15
- 13Stone ColdBlackmore, Glover, Turner5:20
- 14PowerBlackmore, Glover, Turner4:29
- 15Can’t Let You GoBlackmore, Rosenthal, Turner4:23
- 16Street of DreamsRitchie Blackmore and Joe Lynn Turner4:26
- Produced by
- Martin Birch, Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, Roger Glover
- Recorded at
- Musicland Studios, Château d'Hérouville, Château de Pelly, Maison Rouge Mobile Studio, Sweet Silence Studios, Le Studio
- Recorded
- 1975–1983
- Mixed by
- Martin Birch, Nick Blagona, Roger Glover
- Mixed at
- BearTracks Studios
- Engineered by
- Martin Birch, Gary Edwards, Leigh Mantle, Dr. Michael Palmer, Flemming Rasmussen, Nick Blagona
- Labels
- Chronicles, Polydor
- Length
- 1:17:50
Line-up
- Ritchie Blackmore · guitar, bass guitar
- Gary Driscoll · drums (drum set) · guest
- Craig Gruber · bass · guest
- Mickey Lee Soule · mellotron, piano, clavinet, electronic organ · guest
- Ronnie James Dio · lead vocals
- Jimmy Bain · bass guitar · guest
- Tony Carey · keyboard · guest
- Cozy Powell · drums (drum set)
- Bob Daisley · bass guitar · guest
- David Stone · keyboard · guest
- Don Airey · keyboard · guest
- Roger Glover · bass guitar, percussion
- Graham Bonnet · lead vocals · guest
- Bob Rondinelli · drums (drum set)
- Joe Lynn Turner · lead vocals
- David Rosenthal · keyboard
- Chuck Burgi · drums (drum set) · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1997 | 253 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 2013 | Silver |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
19.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1
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7.2k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.5k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Stranger in Us All (1995)20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow (2000) →
Released the same week
Also released on 11 August
Every year →
More from Rainbow
Full discography →
Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
1975
Rising
1976
On Stage
1977
Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll
1978
Down to Earth
1979
Difficult to Cure
1981
The Best of Rainbow
1981
Straight Between the Eyes
1982
Bent Out of Shape
1983
Finyl Vinyl
1986
Live in Germany 1976
1990
Stranger in Us All
1995
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rainbow
2000
Rainbow Pot of Gold 2002
Pot of Gold
2002
Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology
2003
Deutschland Tournee 1976
2006
Live in Munich 1977
2006
Black Masquerade
2013
Rainbow vorwärts
2019
The best of 1997
All of 1997 →
OK Computer
Radiohead · 1997
The Colour and the Shape
Foo Fighters · 1997
Reload
Metallica · 1997
nimrod.
Green Day · 1997
The Rolling Stones Flip the Switch 1997
Flip the Switch
The Rolling Stones · 1997
Around the Fur
Deftones · 1997
The Fat of the Land
The Prodigy · 1997
Be Here Now
Oasis · 1997
Sehnsucht
Rammstein · 1997
Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Limp Bizkit · 1997
Pop
U2 · 1997
Ixnay on the Hombre
The Offspring · 1997
How we know the release date wikipedia 1997-08-11 vs 1997-09-02 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 2 September 1997 | ignored lone early release dated 1997-07-15 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 11 August 1997 | |
| Wikidata | 1997 | |
| US release | 15 July 1997 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 2 September 1997 | earliest UK or European date |
6 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | XE | Chronicles | 731453768727 | other |
| 1997 | US | Chronicles | other | |
| 15 July 1997 | US | Polydor | 731453768727 | original |
| 2 September 1997 | XE | Chronicles | 731453768727 | other |
| 19 April 2019 | XW | Polydor | 602577666520 | other |
| — | — | — | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×593 | upscaled |