As the title indicates, today's short features the debut album from Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Specifically one of the tracks that started the entire project. As the story now is well known (to fans I suspect anyway) Blackmore had become disinterested in the direction Deep Purple were exploring and decided he wanted a side project. He went into the studio in February of 1975 fully intending to just record a single "Black Sheep of the Family" (a cover of a track by the band Quartermass featured on their debut from 1970), and his newly created "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" heard here, was to be the B side.
Upon being so pleased with how the recording sessions were getting on with a few dudes from a band called Elf, namely Ronnie James Dio and his amazing pipes, Gary Driscoll on drums, and Craig Gruber on bass with Mickey Lee Soule on keys. Blackmore and company proceeded to lay down enough tracks for a long play release, hence this album came about (though this lineup would never perform live, Gruber would be replaced by Jimmy Bain and Driscoll and Lee Soule would also be canned in favour of Cozy Powell and Tony Carey respectively). All this right off the heels of Elf recording "Trying To Burn The Sun" from Jan to Feb of the same year, 1975. Though that would not be released until June, this debut from Rainbow came just three months later in September and spelled the end of Elf.

Anyway. This is an album that has been in my life essentially since it's release back in 75...maybe I heard it in '76? But I've always loved it, and the follow-up "Rising" have been a part of my collection in some form or another ever since. I used to insist any of my friends who visited the Twanger household listen to these incredible albums...whether they liked them or not usually was a barometer of how we'd get along lol! Just kidding...sort of.😉😊

I hope you dig this one as much I enjoyed bringing it to one of my shorts. Hope to see you again on the next one. Enjoy the remainder of the weekend friends. Take care.

Cheers! 🍻✌️

Mark