Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow - Memories In Rock- Live In Germany (2016) (Live)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock

Label - Eagle Rock Entertainment

Track listing:

CD 1:
01. Over The Rainbow / Highway Star (Live At Loreley)
02. Spotlight Kid (Live At Stuttgart)
03. Mistreated (Live At Stuttgart)
04. 16th Century Greensleeves (Live At Stuttgart)
05. Since You’ve Been Gone (Live At Stuttgart)
06. Man On The Silver Mountain (Live At Loreley)
07. Catch The Rainbow (Live At Loreley)
08. Difficult To Cure / Toccata & Fugue In D Minor (Live At Loreley)
09. Perfect Strangers (Live At Stuttgart)
10. Stargazer (Live At Loreley)

CD 2:
11. Long Live Rock 'N' Roll (Live At Stuttgart)
12. Child In Time / Woman From Tokyo (Live At Stuttgart)
13. Black Night (Live At Stuttgart)
14. Smoke On The Water (Live At Stuttgart)
15. Spotlight Kid (Live At Loreley)
16. Man On The Silver Mountain (Live At Stuttgart)
17. Long Live Rock 'N' Roll (Live At Stuttgart)
18. Stargazer (Live At Stuttgart)

###### Not My review, all credit to the original author ######

Last Summer 2016 legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore made many long-held dreams come true for his fans as RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW played three concerts in Europe, two in Germany and one in England. The two German shows at Loreley and Bietigheim were caught on tape & camera to produce "Memories In Rock : Live In Germany", released via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Ever since Ritchie Blackmore speculated about doing a couple of Rainbow shows in 2016, hopes and expectations have lead to very emotional discussions between fans. To the disappointment of those hoping for one of the former line-ups to reunite for the gig, Blackmore didn’t go the easy way and – as often – assembled a new team of musicians to accompany him on this adventure.
The band finally announced consisted of current Blackmore's Night drummer David Keith, former Blackmore's Night bass player Bob Nouveau, the great Jens Johansson on keys (also Blackmore's Night contributor) and Lords Of Black singer Ronnie Romero, which lead to even more discussions between fans and even former Rainbow members with Joe Lynn Turner claiming the planned lineup will be “a Ritchie Blackmore band, but certainly not Rainbow” overlooking the fact that Rainbow has always been what Ritchie Blackmore wanted it to be.
Three shows took place, two open air shows in Germany at Loreley and Bietigheim while the third show was staged at the Genting Arena in Birmingham, UK. While the two German shows were recorded on audio and video for this release, the UK show wasn’t recorded, which is unfortunate as it did not only feature the most consistent band performance of all three evenings but also was the only show featuring “Soldier Of Fortune” and “Burn”.
Despite all the discussions about the musicians on stage, the setlist had been the major point of criticism, including way too many Deep Purple songs while leaving out a bunch of Rainbow classics.

Is “Memories in Rock – Live In Germany” an album worth buying? That’s a question hard to answer. It’s a good live album, although for me is more a Ritchie Blackmore solo album than a Rainbow one.
If you are curious how Blackmore sound in 2016 (yes, he still can rock, and really well), the audio CD's offers an enjoyable sound with clear dynamics and a well-balanced mix between each instrument.


Rating: 8/10

Deep Purple - Now What?! (2013)

Genre - Hard Rock / Classic Rock / Heavy Metal
Label -

Track listing -

01 - A Simple Song
02 - Weirdistan
03 - Out Of Hand
04 - Hell To Pay
05 - Body Line
06 - Above And Beyond
07 - Blood From A Stone
08 - Uncommon Man
09 - Apres Vous
10 - All The Time In The World
11 - Vincent Price
12 - It'll Be Me (Bonus Track)

The legendary Deep Purple, (well Ian Gillans current versoin of it anyway), return with their latest offering in the form of Now What?!
To be fair its a very strong and solid album, and not as predictable as one might expect. Now What?! shows that the current incarnation of the band still have plenty to offer as its crammed with great (and very strong!) songs. The musicianship, it goes with out saying,  is absolutley top notch, Ian Gillan's voice is in fine form and the production really does allow the songs to shine. Upon initial listens I dont really see any obvious songles but thats of no real matter as Deep purple like their contemporaries Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath were always an album, as opposed to singles band.
There are plenty of highlights on offer here, from the albums opening track, A Simple Song, which opens with a riff that is very reminicent of Iron Maidens Dance Of Death, Wierdistan, the swift tempoed Hell To Pay, the bluesey Body Line, the epic Uncommon Man and horror themed Vincent Price.
There really is something on offer here to suit everyone.

Highly reconmended for existing fans of Deep Purple and any one curious about one of the founding bands of the heavy metal genre!

Rating 10/10

Catch Deep Purple on their Now What?! 2013 World Tour