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Rainbow: The Dio Years | Ranked

Classic Album Review | September 15, 2025



Rainbow the dio, neo-classical metal years, the albums (all three of them) discussed and placed in order of preference

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Written by Classic Album Review

Comments

This post currently has 46 comments.

  2. @stevewatson-bv4wo

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    a few wise heads below pointing out that Rising is Stargazer, Tarot Woman and filler – and that it can't really be seen as the best album – i mean come on Light in the Black has to be the weakest most banal riff Blackmore ever wrote – spinning it out to over 8min is taking the piss – and do you close your eyes is just risible
    Long Live Rock Roll is a much much better record – a diverse/varied collection of songs -showcases the talent, power and capability of the musicians – some of the best solos RB played on record – CP's drumming may not be as flamboyant as on rising, but is beautifully integrated and through composed into the songs – keyboards not foregrounded in the mix but again integral part of each song's composition/conception – Dio at his imperious best – it's a real gem and doesn't receive the accolades it deserves – imo

  3. @user-rs2jv1pe7t

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    I loved them all. I was heart broken by the split and found Heaven and Hell to me to be a fourth. I know it doesn’t make sense: Iommi did a great job sitting in for Ritchie . lol. 1 Long Live Rock and Roll 2 Heaven and He’ll 3 Richie’s Rainbow 4 Rising. Rising has been growing on me over the years. They are all wonderful. Great stuff. lol

  6. @LEEFORDJAGG

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    I was too young to have seen Rainbow circa ‘76-‘78. I first got to see and hear Ronnie James Dio sing Rainbow songs at Castle Donington in August 1983 with the Dio band.The Rainbow debut still has some Funky residue courtesy of Craig Gruber’s excellent Bass playing. I used to fill up a C90 cassette with the best of the first three studio albums. The only fillers for me where ‘If You Don’t Like Rock’n’Roll’ & ‘Do You Close Your Eyes’. I hope that Rainbow’s debut gets an expanded-remixed edition.

  8. @kraz007

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Albums… I don't listen to them much. However, the live shows they did can bring tears to my eyes. I even watch reaction videos if young people listening to Rainbow 🌈 for tfe first time. Re: Stargazer, you should visit Chichen Itza and watch Apocalypto. It's the perfect setting and makes less gothic, more end of the world Maya.

  10. @michellebell5092

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Yes I’d agree with that ranking , but I see all three as a springboard to both Ronnie and Richie’s subsequent albums. All Dio’ s albums are great obviously including his Black Sabbath albums, and the later Rainbow are excellent hard rock imho . Happy Christmas CAR.

  12. @leeh-xh1iw

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    I just starting to listen to RainBow about 15 years ago, And I always wonder where I have I been to miss out on this amazing Group. I had friends in high school listening to them and I never gave them a chance Man I was wrong

  14. @caramanico1

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    I'm with you word for word on this one. Then, how about… On Stage!? INCREDIBLE live album, easily one of the best IMHO, easily one of my top live albums of all time.

  16. @lance98541

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
    2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
    3. Rising. I love Tarot Woman, Stargazer, and Light In The Black, but the rest is pure filler to my ears.

  18. @AntonXul

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    This is tough, because all 3 are fantastic, but if I was forced to rank them, your order is the correct order.

    I was fortunate to discover Rainbow during the pandemic and have since become one of my top ten bands of all time. They are just so good and incredibly underrated. I’m a ‘80s & ‘90s kid and to discover this great band this late sucks, but at least I found them.

    Rising to me had their best line up and I think Ritchie messed up on pissing off Tony Carey with his dumb pranks causing him to leave. I loved his keyboard playing. To me he was their best they’d had. Dio & Cozy were fantastic and wished they all stayed together longer. It’s a shame Ritchie’s ego and perfectionism can get in the way.

    I have listened to Rainbow after Dio and they are still pretty damn good, but much different. The songs that stand out to me the most are “All Night Long”, “Danger Zone” & “Death Alley Driver”. Those are fantastic. The instrumentals “Snowman” & “Difficult to Cure” are also great. Their rendition of “Hall of the Mountain King” is incredible. Despite his attitude, Blackmore seems to do no wrong. He’s phenomenal.

  20. @peteblanchard5696

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Dio years definitely the best Rainbow era IMO. Down to Earth is also great. It's not that the JLT albums aren't good, they are, but it was very different by then and I rarely seem to go back to those albums. Stranger in Us All is underrated and has some good stuff on it not least Black Masquerade which is a corker!

  21. @KalleVanHalen

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    About what Dio said on the second part of Rising? If you watch that whole interview where he does discuss many albums. He seem to rank them more on how happy he was with the band compared to the quality of the music. Just like actors care more about their experience making a movie rather than the quality of the movie.

  25. @colrhodes377

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Ronnie blew hot and cold about Rising. I met Ronnie many times over the years, and he always remembered my name and what I'd been doing. He once spoke to me for over an hour and said himself that he had periods of love and hate for Stargazer and Light in the black.

  28. @Moteridgerider

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Nice succinct summary of the Dio-era Rainbow albums. My own personal ranking puts Long Live Rock n’ Roll on almost level pegging with Rising. A lot of factors feed in to how we view these albums, nostalgia being an important one. LLRR is perhaps a punchier album than Rising, and the studio rendition of Kill the King benefits from the band having played it for at least a year before they recorded this version. This was much in the same vein as Pink Floyd trialling out the Dark side of the Moon tracks for many months before recording their classic album. I’ll pick you up on one point: Dio recalls that the first song he and Blackmore penned was, in fact, 16th Century Greensleeves (see/listen to online interviews). And, yes, Catch the Rainbow came hot on the heels of it. Interesting additional fact about Stargazer – Blackmore has said that Dio contributed to the descending melody link between the verse and the chorus – something he had never quite encountered before in his songwriting partnerships. The riffs were usually Blackmore’s territory. Any way you look at it, these albums are all must-buys for anyone wanting to understand the roots of what came to be known as neoclassical rock; some have called it ‘Castle rock.’ Not mentioned here, of course is the wonderful Live on Stage album, which saw many of the songs from the first studio album taken to new heights. Once again, thanks for this revisiting of yesteryear.

  29. @jeffkortsch8276

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Rising and Long Live Rock n Roll are two of my favorite albums with the triumvirate of Cozy Powell, Blackmore and Dio. I often watch Youtubers react to hearing Stargazer for the first time.

  30. @harrynewiss4630

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Rising is for me clearly the stand out album but the other two are good also. I'd have a slight preference for Blackmore's Rainbow because it has two very special tracks in Man on the Silver Mountain and 16th Century Greensleeves. Self Portrait is good, too.

  33. @richard623

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    Kill the king and Rainbow eyes as standout tracks on LLRR would have been worth being mentioned. The hint to Uriah Heep as being there in the Fantasy Rock field is smart. Maybe they invented the genre? Thanks Barry for the great work, as always.

  36. @johnbell1578

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    I love Dio, but I can’t help but think his dismissal of Stargazer and Light in the Black was because Blackmore had as it were out-Dioed him on the songwriting. If Dio had come up with those songs all by himself they would have had pride of place on his solo albums. m/

  39. @brianhall3268

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    I remember buying the first album(in the 90's at Borders bookstore!), and it was great. Then I bought the second one and it was amazing. Then I found out there was a third album….and it was just ok. I can't figure out why i don't like that third album! The first 2 I put on all the time….And Stargazer is my favorite Rainbow song, bytheway

  44. @JoneUrdal

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    1. Rising and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
    2. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

    Long Live Rock'n'Roll was the first album I bought by Rainbow, actually on cassette. I was a fan of the band Dio, but I didn't know he had been in any other bands. This was before the internet and I was just a kid. I ordered the cassette from a magazine because I thought the title was cool. I was really surprised when I heard that mighty familiar vocal coming out of my little grey 80's cassette player. Kill The King is still my Rainbow favourite. Magnificent stuff🤘

  45. @gwts1171

    September 15, 2025 at 12:09 pm

    As much as I love Ronnie, I like Down To Earth better than any of the albums he did with Rainbow. I have troubles staying awake through the slow parts of Rising.

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