On Stage
Live album by
Rainbow
Released7 July 1977 (US)
15 July 1977 (UK)
RecordedSeptember and December 1976 in Germany and Japan
Genre
Length64:11
LabelOyster/Polydor
ProducerMartin Birch
Rainbow live albums chronology
On Stage
(1977) 		Finyl Vinyl
(1986)
Singles from On Stage
  1. "Kill the King (Live EP)"
    Released: 26 August 1977 [1]

On Stage is a double live album originally released by the British hard rock band Rainbow in 1977. It was recorded live over several German and Japanese dates in late 1976 during the Rising world tour. The album was released first in the US on 7 July 1977, before being released a week later on 15 July in the UK.[2]

Recording

The recording features the customary introduction to a Rainbow show – the classic quote from The Wizard of Oz, "Toto: I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow!" with the last word repeated as an echo, then the actual band plays a musical phrase from the song "Over the Rainbow" before breaking into "Kill the King".

A few of the tracks were edited by producer Martin Birch. Mistreated has the guitar/vocal duel removed, the "Lazy" introduction to Man on the Silver Mountain, the drum solo has been omitted from Still I'm Sad, and the running order was changed to more easily fit four sides of vinyl.

Recording Sources:

Introduction/Kill The King
Nuremberg 28 September 1976 (first 1:03) [3]
Munich 29 September 1976 (remainder of the song) [4]

Man On The Silver Mountain
Tokyo 16 December 1976 (Afternoon Show) [5]

Blues
Tokyo 16 December 1976 (Evening Show) [6]

Starstruck
Tokyo 16 December 1976 (Evening Show) [6]

Man On The Silver Mountain (Reprise)
Tokyo 16 December 1976 (Afternoon Show) [5]

Catch The Rainbow
Osaka 9 December 1976 [7]

Mistreated
Cologne 25 September 1976 [8]

Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
Tokyo 16 December 1976 (Evening Show) [9]

Still I'm Sad
Nuremberg 28 September 1976 [10]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Rolling Stone(unfavorable)[12]

Geoff Ginsberg of AllMusic writes: "On Stage is full of great songs and playing, but somehow it lacks some of the excitement that existed at those early Ritchie Blackmore concerts. The production is just kind of flat. That doesn't change the fact that there is some great stuff to be found here and nowhere else, such as the side-long version of "Mistreated," from Deep Purple's Burn."[11]

The song "Kill the King" appeared on this album before it was recorded for a studio album. A studio version appears on the follow-up release, 1978's Long Live Rock 'n' Roll.

The single "Kill the King/Man on the Silver Mountain/Mistreated" was released in the UK in September 1977. This was Rainbow's debut in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 44.[13] After the commercial success of "Since You Been Gone", "All Night Long" and "I Surrender", "Kill the King" was re-released in 1981 this time climbing to No. 41.[13] Songwriter and lead singer Ronnie James Dio claimed that the violent imagery in the song is actually about a chess game.[14]

A more representative example of a Rainbow concert of the time was the 1991 release Live in Germany 1976, which featured unedited concert performances and includes both tour staple "Stargazer" and the usual encore "Do You Close Your Eyes".[citation needed]

The deluxe edition was released on 13 November 2012 in Europe. The second disc was originally planned to contain tracks from the concert hall at the "Orix Theater" (formerly Osaka Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan) in Osaka, Japan (9 December 1976). Instead the second disc contains tracks from the final Rainbow gig in Tokyo, Japan at the "Nippon Budokan Hall" on 16 December 1976.[15]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kill the King"Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, Cozy Powell5:32
2."Medley: Man on the Silver Mountain/Blues/Starstruck"Blackmore, Dio/Blackmore/Blackmore, Dio11:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
3."Catch the Rainbow"Blackmore, Dio15:35
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Mistreated" (Deep Purple cover)Blackmore, David Coverdale13:03
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Sixteenth Century Greensleeves"Blackmore, Dio7:36
6."Still I'm Sad" (The Yardbirds cover)Paul Samwell-Smith, Jim McCarty11:01

Personnel

Rainbow

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[21] Gold 100,000[21]
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Rainbow singles".
  2. ^ "News in brief" (PDF). Record Mirror. 18 June 1977. p. 5. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Rainbow - Over the Rainbow / Kill the King Live in Nuremberg 9/28/76". YouTube. 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. ^ Tom Kane (22 November 2010). "Rainbow-'Kill the King' (Live)-1976". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Rainbow - Man on the Silver Mountain live in Tokyo 12/16/1976 Afternoon Show". YouTube. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Rainbow - Man on the Silver Mountain Live in Tokyo 12/16/1976 (Evening show)". YouTube. 8 December 2012. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Rainbow - Catch The Rainbow Live In Osaka 09.12.1976". YouTube. 17 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Rainbow - Mistreated Live in Cologne 9/25/76". YouTube. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Rainbow - Sixteenth Century Greensleeves Live in Tokyo 12/16/1976 (Evening show)". YouTube. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Rainbow - Still I'm Sad Live in Nuremberg 9/28/76". YouTube. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  11. ^ a b Ginsberg, Geoff. "Rainbow On Stage review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  12. ^ Young, Charles M. (25 August 1977). "Album Reviews: Rainbow - On Stage". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  13. ^ a b c "Rainbow Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Kill The King by Rainbow". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  15. ^ "The Rainbow Fanclan Legacy". Rainbowfanclan.com. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  16. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Rainbow – On Stage" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rainbow – On Stage" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rainbow – On Stage" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Rainbow – On Stage". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rainbow – On Stage". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  25. ^ "Rainbow Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Rainbow – On Stage". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
Categories