Raid The Archives So We Can Have More From This Line-Up...

As another mentioned, it would be great to have more from Rainbow, especially more of the era spanning 1980-1984. It was a bit of a catch 22 to see Ritchie Blackmore return to Deep Purple late in 1984, even though it produced the exceptional "Perfect Strangers" album. I once had "Finyl Vinyl" on cassette tape, album, and on CD, all at once! I don't really know how that happened but it is truly a great compilation. "Spotlight Kid", "I Surrender" and "Street of Dreams" are much better live than their respective studio versions. Perhaps, though, the "Japan Tour 84" CD ought to be re-released to do the Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Burgi, and Rosenthal line-up justice. What really catches the listener is just how good Chuck Burgi is on drums. A fast and furious drummer with remarkable precision.

Rainbow game

Cool compilation! If you love Deep purple , you will like this one too.

The final release - or maybe not!

Having listened to the studio version of "Difficult To Cure" and then seeing the live version on the long-deleted "Live Between The Eyes" VHS, I was intrigued by the possibility of the version which exists on this release. It is worth the price just for that track alone. Rainbow with an orchestra.....Incredible. But while this is an exceptionally high high-point, it is not the only one. To finally hear "Since You Been Gone" live with Graham Bonnet (sadly the only live track from this short-lived incarnation of the band) was something of a revelation, although I still prefer the studio version. But this compilation covers almost every line-up of the band, presumably ignoring the line-up which recorded "Onstage", for obvious reasons (see that album and the "Live In Europe/Live In Germany" sets. The only sticking point for this was the inclusion of a couple of non-album b-sides, which had already appeared on the "Best Of Rainbow" album in the UK in the early '80s. A couple of other live tracks might have been better. How about more from that Monsters Of Rock show which produced "Since You Been Gone". If you're expecting a 2CD live album, forget it. This is a compilation, and should be treated as such. But maybe the time has come to release some of the older live material in the full glory of the concert recording format. "Live Between The Eyes" was a good show, but on CD you would certainly lose the full impact of the guitar-smashing - although it does SOUND really good!!! Come on Polygram, raid those archives!!