RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW FIRST UK PRESS 1975 OYSTER OYA2001 EX+ / MINT-

	£		51
	$		68

 
RAINBOW
'RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW'
Original UK First Press 9-track vinyl LP with the fully laminated gatefold sleeve. Rainbow's debut album on the Oyster label.
Housed in the original Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd picture sleeve.
Absolutely stunning Vinyl!

 
Artist : RAINBOW   Title : RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW   Country : UK     Label : OYSTER   Year : 1975 (40 Years Old)   Catalogue Number : OYA 2001
Matrix Side 1 :  OYA 2001 A-1U
Matrix Side 2 :  OYA 2001 B-1U
Mother Stampers Side 1 :  1  A D
Mother Stampers Side 2 :  1 ? G
Side 1 Dead Wax includes "KENDUN A" and "WASP" whilst side 2 includes  "WASP" (1st issues only)

 

Sleeve Condition : Original first issue fully laminated Garrod & Lofthouse sleeve is at least Excellent Plus condition! This is the original UK 1975 first sleeve and does not look 40 years old! Absolutely no splits, tears, creases or other faults othewr than the slightest amount of ring wear on the reverse - a truly fantastic copy! The spine is perfect (no crushing!) and all the text is legible. Inside the sleeve is clean and still as new. A totally stunning sleeve!
Sleeve Condition : EX+
Label Condition : The Label has no writing or damage of any kind and no spidering is visible (even under a strong light). Simply superb!
Label Condition : MINT-
Vinyl Condition : Inspected under a strong light, the vinyl looks superb having retained its original glossy sheen from new. There are very very slight sleeve removal hairline marks visible only when the Vinyl is tilted at an angle under a strong light. The Vinyl is perfect flat with no warping whatsoever. The audio is superb with obviously no skips, click or pops! A stunningly vibrant and crystal clear playback!
Vinyl Condition : MINT-
Inner Sleeve : Original EMI paper sleeve in "as new" condition. No fading, writing, creasing or splits. Correct PATENT NO 1,125,555.
Inner Sleeve Condition : MINT-
 

Tracklisting :
Side one
"Man on the Silver Mountain" - 4:42 "Self Portrait" - 3:17 "Black Sheep of the Family" - 3:22 "Catch the Rainbow" - 6:27
Side two
"Snake Charmer" - 4:33 "The Temple of the King"- 4:45 "If You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll" - 2:38 "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" - 3:31 "Still I'm Sad" - 3:51
 
During studio sessions in Tampa Bay, Florida on 12 December 1974, Blackmore originally planned to record the solo single "Black Sheep of the Family"- a cover of a track by the band Quatermass from 1970. The newly composed "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" was to be the B-side. Other musicians involved included singer/lyricist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Gary Driscoll of blues rock band Elf, and cellist Hugh McDowell of ELO. Satisfied with the two tracks, Blackmore decided to extend the sessions to a full album.
For the album the other members of Elf, keyboardist Micky Lee Soule and bassist Craig Gruber were utilised. The album was recorded in Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany during February–March 1975. Though it was originally thought to be a solo album, the record was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and later progressed to a new band project. Blackmore and Dio did promotional work for the album. Shortly after the album was released, all Elf members,excluding Dio, were sacked, and Blackmore recruited new musicians for subsequent Rainbow albums. This first line-up never performed live, and the live photos used in the album art are of Blackmore while with Deep Purple and of Elf playing live.
The last track of the album "Still I'm Sad" is an instrumental cover of a song by The Yardbirds from their 1965 album Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds. "Catch the Rainbow" uses a similar chord progression and vocal melody to Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" from the 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love.

 

Rainbow Line-up
Ronnie James Dio – lead vocals Ritchie Blackmore – guitar Micky Lee Soule – piano, mellotron, clavinet, organ Craig Gruber – bass Gary Driscoll – drums Shoshana – backing vocals
Production
Produced by Ritchie Blackmore, Martin Birch, Ronnie James Dio Mixed by Martin Birch Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, 20 February – 14 March 1975
 
      Condition (Sleeve) : EX+   Condition (Labels) : MINT-
Condition (Vinyl)   : MINT-
  The Photographs in ALL of my eBay listings are of the actual Record for sale!   I'm selling more early Deep Purple & Rainbow Vinyl, free to see what I've listed so far here!                                                                                      
Shipping Costs:

UK - £4.29 (Royal Mail 2nd Class Recorded)

Europe - £13.86 (Royal Mail International Signed For)

Rest of the World - £17.76 (Royal Mail International Signed For)

Sorry about the extortionate shipping costs - these are out of my hands.