I’ve finally found a video of the namesake of this site! Sixteenth Century Greensleeves has raced to the head of the pack, beyond Stargazer, far past Man on the Silver Mountain to be my all time favorite Rainbow song.
It’s got all the earmarks of a classic Dio composition lyrically. The local evil wizard woman has kidnapped one of the Villager’s kin. So one brave (extremely short) warrior decides its time to stop turning a blind eye and kick some wizard bitch ass! He rounds up the posse and breaks out the armory to bring the Wizardess to a bloody end.
Possibly my favorite passage in the song comes when he non-chalantly namechecks “Crossbows in the Firelight” as if to let you know not only do they have an angry mob but they’re armed to the teeth with the equivalent of the 16th Century AK.
Blackmore’s intro of actually playing Greensleeves only adds to the amazing display of majesty…
God bless you Richie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio for, if even briefly, putting together this confluence of rock savants.
Ok this is the 2nd in the very first 21CGS Rockblocks. Death Alley Driver is another one from the Joe Lynne Turner era Rainbow. What I think great here is the “first generation” rock video look. Also, JLT playing an old ass videogame and Richie in the back of the car wringing his hands while he chases JLT through the English (L.A?) countryside. Gotta hand it to em’ they did pretty well , considering artists still thought they had to “act” in videos back then.
One thing I’ve noticed from watching way too many Rainbow videos on YouTube is that although Rainbow were responsible for some reprehensible rock traditions, They actually set the template for a lot of lesser acts to come. But I find their particular songs remarkably well crafted and hold up in their respecitve genre.
So here’s an excerpt from the 80’s era Rainbow. Even their 2nd Singer, Graham Bonnet, dressed up like Bryan Ferry, can’t stop the Rock n Roll Juggernaut that is Ritchie Blackmore.
Witness as the massive sonic assalt of Blackmore’s solo is only interrupted by the ritual beheading of his guitar. And not only does he smash his guitar real good like … well I won’t spoil the rest. Yes it seems that Spinal Tap parodied Rainbow specifically but Blackmore’s guitar and songwriting are just so damn good that you can fuck with his far reaching effect on all of Rock music.
FALSE METAL ALERT!
Rainbow also did a fine job of looking into the future of crappy rock of the 80’s, with Joe Lynn Turner doing a totally poncey job as lead lip syncher. Does this not set the stage for the Survivors and Lover Boys to come?
I have to say that Rainbow in some ways is everything that sucks about 70’s rock. 20 minute songs, a wanking lead guitarist, Dio… The list goes on and one… Oddly I fucking LOVE Rainbow! Dio is super underrated as a metal singer most people think of his 80’s stuff which can be pretty camp in the light of the 21st Century. All together these guys were a supergroup beyond compare.
This one’s for Red 5 Standing By
