Rainbow

He’s back! After bowing out of Deep Purple in 1993 and subsequently rock music altogether two years later, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has returned to the rock ‘n’ roll spotlight with a revamped lineup of Rainbow. The band made their first performance yesterday (June 17) at the Monsters of Rock festival in Germany.

The setlist was lined with not only Rainbow classics from the Ronnie James Dio era, but the Russ Ballad cover of “Since You Been Gone” from Down to Earth along with “Spotlight Kid” and the title track off Difficult to Cure. Among the Dio songs were “Stargazer,” “Catch the Rainbow,” “Man on the Silver Mountain” and “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

Of the 13 songs performed, six Deep Purple cuts made the set, including opener “Highway Star,” “Mistreated,” “Perfect Strangers,” “Child in Time,” “Black Night” and “Smoke on the Water.” As setlist.fm indicates, “Soldier of Fortune,” “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves,” “Lazy” and “Burn” were on the setlist but were not played. More footage can be seen below.

Blackmore was surrounded by an entirely new cast of musicians, rounded out by singer Ronnie Romero (Lords of Black), keyboardist Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau (ex-Blackmore’s Night). Romero’s voice is well-rounded and able to handle the diverse range of material, falling in line between Dio and David Coverdale with his tonality and capable of delivering the signature grit found in Ian Gillan‘s voice.

After years of being left on the sidelines, Deep Purple were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the 2015 class. Blackmore was among the members who received the honor, but was not in attendance citing Deep Purple’s management barring the guitarist from the event.
Rainbow, Monsters of Rock Setlist
“Highway Star”
“Spotlight Kid”
“Mistreated” (Deep Purple)
“Since You Been Gone” (Russ Ballard)
“Man On The Silver Mountain”
“Catch The Rainbow”
“Difficult To Cure”
“Perfect Strangers” (Deep Purple)
“Child In Time” (Deep Purple)
“Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll”
“Stargazer”
“Black Night” (Deep Purple)
“Smoke On The Water” (Deep Purple)

Source: http://loudwire.com/