Date and Location: 1980-05-08 Budokan, Tokyo, Japan
Tracks
- 101 Pomp And Circumstance March No.1 (Elgar)
- 102 Countdown
- 103 Over The Rainbow
- 104 Eyes Of The World
- 105 Love’s No Friend Of Mine
- 106 Band Introduction
- 107 Guitar Solo
- 108 Since You Been Gone
- 109 Over The Rainbow
- 110 Man On The Silver Mountain
- 111 Catch The Rainbow
- 201 MC
- 202 Keyboard Solo
- 203 Lost In Hollywood
- 204 Guitar Solo
- 205 Lost In Hollywood
- 206 Guitar Solo
- 207 An Die Freude (Beethoven #9)
- 208 Keyboard Solo
- 209 Drum Solo
- 210 1812 Overture
- 211 Lost In Hollywood
- 212 Guitar Solo
- 213 Lazy
- 214 All Night Long
- 215 Long Live Rock’n Roll
- 216 Kill The King – Guitar Clash
- 217 Long Live Rock’n Roll
- 218 Over The Rainbow
- 219 Announcement
Personnel:
- Ritchie Blackmore — Guitar
- Graham Bonnet — Vocals
- Don Airey — Keyboards
- Roger Glover — Bass
- Cozy Powell — Drums
Review:
In 1979 and 1980, Rainbow was in its golden age. With probably the single tightest lineup they ever experienced, they ruled three continents and filled stadiums far and near. The performance on May 8th at the Budokan captures the energy and tightness of the band perfectly. Graham Bonnet serves as master of ceremonies as well as chief entertainer, bringing the audience in with his typical off-beat charm. Ritchie Blackmore, like the band itself, was at the height of his power, dealing out chords and owning the solo spotlights. Roger Glover shines through, especially during portions of “Lost in Hollywood”, starting to perfect the full sound he enjoys to this day. I have no words for Don Airey, whose solo sections during “Lost in Hollywood” have become some of my most-played songs in my iTunes library. They’re worth their own review, and are the chief draw. Cozy Powell does not miss a beat, keeping this incomparable lineup under control and managing to thunder over even some of the loudest guys in the business.
What really sets this recording apart from the vast majority of the incredible Rainbow concerts from the era is the clearness of the sound. You feel, listening to “Attack on Titan”, that you could be in the audience. And given the quality of the work produced therein, it’s an audience you’d want to stay in forever. If you have the drive space, time, interest, or any other combo of the above for only one Rainbow bootleg, make it this one.
If you want to read about this recording in greater detail, go here.
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- Edit on 2020-05-16: Added track list
- Edit on 2020-08-30: Optimized for new site