1. A British rock band.<… Read Full Bio ↴Rainbow is the name of at least four bands:
1. A British rock band.
2. A K-Pop group (레인보우).
3. A U.S. psychedelic rock band.
4. Mid-80's Hi-NRG project.
1. Rainbow was a British rock band formed by Deep Purple founder and former guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in 1975. In addition to Blackmore, the band originally consisted of former Elf lead singer Ronnie James Dio, bassist Craig Gruber, drummer Gary Driscoll, and keyboardist Micky Lee Soule. Over the years, Rainbow went through many lineup changes. including bringing in other vocalists Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner, before it folded in 1999.
The name of the band was inspired by the Rainbow Bar and Grill, a Los Angeles, California eatery which catered to rock stars, groupies, and rock enthusiasts. It was here that Ritchie spent some of his off time from Deep Purple and met Dio, whose band Elf had toured regularly as an opening act for Deep Purple. Blackmore originally got together with Dio to record "Black Sheep of the Family" as a single, and it turned out so well they needed a B side; when the B side was recorded, however, it turned out to be even better. This led to them recording an album, and that effort caused the formation of the entire band. Rainbow's debut album, 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow', was released in 1975; it featured the minor hit "Man on the Silver Mountain".
Blackmore fired everybody except Dio shortly after the album was recorded. He recruited drummer Cozy Powell (formerly of the Jeff Beck Group), bassist Jimmy Bain, and keyboard player Tony Carey. This lineup went on to record the album 'Rising', which was released in May 1976 and was a big success in the U.S. (hitting #48 on the Billboard 200 chart).
For the next album, 1978's 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll', Blackmore kept Powell and Dio and replaced the rest of the band. Blackmore had difficulty finding a bass player for this record, so he played bass himself on all but three songs ("Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", and "Sensitive to Light"). After the release and supporting tour, Dio left Rainbow.
Blackmore continued with Rainbow, replacing Dio with ex-Marbles vocalist Graham Bonnet. Powell stayed and was joined by former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and keyboardist Don Airey. The first album from the new lineup, 1979's 'Down to Earth', featured the band's first single successes: "All Night Long" and "Since You Been Gone". Bonnet possessed a powerful voice on stage, yet he struggled with the band's quieter numbers and lacked Dio's range. In 1980, the band headlined the inaugural Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in England. This was Powell's final performance with Rainbow.
The next album saw yet another line-up change as Bonnet and Powell were replaced by Joe Lynn Turner and Bobby Rondinelli, respectively. The title track from their 1981 album, 'Difficult to Cure', notably was a version of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The album also contained the guitar-driven piece "Maybe Next Time". Although facing mixed success commercially, the Difficult to Cure tour was the first tour in which Rainbow headlined in the U.S.
Rainbow's next studio album was 'Straight between the Eyes'. The band added a new keyboardist, David Rosenthal. The album was more cohesive than 'Difficult to Cure' and had more success in the U.S. The band, however, was alienating some of its earlier fans with its more slick, arena rock based sound. The single "Stone Cold", a popular power ballad, had some chart success and has since been included in several multi-artist collaboration albums. The successful supporting tour skipped the U.K. completely and focused on the U.S. market.
1983's 'Bent Out of Shape' saw drummer Rondinelli fired in favour of Chuck Burgi. The album featured the single "Street of Dreams". The song's video was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnotic video clip. The resulting tour saw Rainbow return to the U.K. and also to Japan, where the band performed with a full orchestra. Though fans greatly enjoyed the band's lively touring, the band's material was getting mixed critical reviews, and its members had a sense of needing to find direction.
By the early to mid-80s, Blackmore and Glover had reformed the Deep Purple "Mark II" lineup, and Rainbow was disbanded in 1984. A final Rainbow album, 'Finyl Vinyl', was patched together from live tracks and B-sides of singles. This album contained the instrumental "Weiss Heim", made widely available for the first time.
After Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple for the final time in 1993, he put together a new version of Rainbow in 1994, this time named Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. This incarnation of the band included Doogie White (vocals), Paul Morris (keyboards), Greg Smith (bass), and John O'Reilly (drums).
The new band released Stranger in Us All in 1995 and embarked on an extensive world tour to promote it from late 1995 to late 1997. For the tour John O'Reilly was replaced by Chuck Burgi and then by John Micelli for the U.S. leg of the tour (as well as their final show in Esbjerg, Denmark).
The tour proved very successful, and a show in Germany was professionally filmed by Rockpalast. It has never officially been released, but has been heavily bootleged. The live shows featured frequent changes in set lists and musical improvisations that proved popular with bootleggers, and many shows are still traded over a decade later.
However, fed up with stadium rock, Blackmore turned his attention to rennaisance and mediaeval music, a lifelong interest of his. Rainbow was put on hold once again and played its final concert in Denmark in 1999. Blackmore, together with his partner Candice Night as vocalist, then formed the renaissance-influenced Blackmore's Night.
2. Rainbow, the tag for all releases by the K-Pop group 레인보우, responsible for tracks: "A", "Gossip Girl", "Mach", and about a dozen more.
3. One of any number of Los Angeles, U.S.A.groups of their time (1968), Rainbow's best-known LP was After the Storm The album's one cover is a take with saxophone of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You". The lineup was: Darrell Devlin (drums), Bob Gay (bass),
W. David Mohr (keyboards), and Harry Vavela (guitars).
4. Rainbow was a short-lived Hi-NRG project by Allan Coelho (of Tapps and more) that released only one single, Humpty Dumpty, in 1986.
Gates of Babylon
Rainbow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can take you anywhere
Spend a vision with me
A chase with the wind
Move closer to me
I can make you anyone
I think you're ready to see
The power of what has been before
Rises to trap you within
A magic carpet ride a genie maybe more
A city of heavenly sin
Sleep with the devil and then you must pay
Sleep with the devil and the devil will take you away
Oh gates of Babylon
You can see but you're blind
Someone turned the sun around
But you can see in your mind
The gates of Babylon
You're riding the endless caravan
Bonded and sold as a slave
A sabre dance removing all the veils
Getting as good as you gave
Sleep with the devil and then you must pay
Sleep with the devil and the devil will take you away
Look away from the sea
I can take you anywhere
Spend a vision with me
A chase with the wind
Move closer to me
I can make you anyone
I think you're ready to see
The gates of Babylon
The power of what has been before
Rises to trap you within
A magic carpet ride a genie maybe more
A city of heavenly sin
Sleep with the devil and then you must pay
Sleep with the devil and the devil will take you away
Black gates of Babylon
The devil is me
And I'm holding the key
To the gates of sweet hell
Babylon
The song "Gates of Babylon" by Rainbow is a song about the allure of temptation and the risks that come with it. The song speaks of a powerful force that has risen before and traps the listener within its grasp. It is a call to give in to the temptation and see the "gates of Babylon" which is symbolic of ultimate hedonistic pleasure. The lyrics repeatedly talk about sleeping with the devil and the consequences that come with it. It speaks of being blinded by the temptations and how it can lead to being sold as a slave, but also hints at the satisfaction that comes with giving into temptation.
The chorus of the song, "Look away from the sea, I can take you anywhere. Spend a vision with me, a chase with the wind" is a reassurance to the listener that the singer can take them to a world beyond their imagination. The line "The power of what has been before, rises to trap you within" is symbolic of how the past can control and influence the present, and how one's memories can limit their choices. The city of Babylon in ancient times was known for its pleasure-seeking lifestyle and thus being led to the gates of Babylon represents the idea of giving in to temptation.
Line by Line Meaning
Look away from the sea
Don't let distractions prevent you from focusing on our journey.
I can take you anywhere
With me, you can experience new and unfamiliar places.
Spend a vision with me
Let's imagine and create new realities together.
A chase with the wind
Let's move fast and unrestricted like the wind.
Move closer to me
Come close to me and trust me with your transformation.
I can make you anyone
I have the power to help you become whoever you want.
I think you're ready to see
I believe you're strong enough to witness and experience the intense and mystical journey I'm about to take you on.
The gates of Babylon
The magical city of Babylon, with its gates representing the beginning of the transformational journey we're taking.
The power of what has been before
The influence of past experiences and beliefs that may hinder us from moving forward.
Rises to trap you within
The power of past beliefs can be limiting and prevent us from reaching our full potential.
A magic carpet ride a genie maybe more
The journey we're taking is like a mystical ride where anything is possible.
A city of heavenly sin
Babylon is a place where you can indulge in sensual pleasures and give in to temptation.
Sleep with the devil and then you must pay
Indulging in forbidden desires will lead to consequences.
You're riding the endless caravan
We're continuing on this never-ending journey towards self-discovery.
Bonded and sold as a slave
Sometimes we feel trapped and subjugated by our beliefs and past experiences.
A sabre dance removing all the veils
We must be willing to let go of our limiting beliefs and dance with the unknown.
Getting as good as you gave
The rewards we receive are based on the effort we put in.
Black gates of Babylon
The dark side of Babylon with more danger and intense experiences.
The devil is me
I represent the darker aspects of ourselves that we must confront to grow.
And I'm holding the key
I can open the gates to the transformative experience you seek.
To the gates of sweet hell Babylon
We're seeking a transformative experience that will feel both heavenly and hellish.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RITCHIE BLACKMORE, RONNIE JAMES DIO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jettech6
Almost ashamed to admit that today, 8/14/2022, I heard this song for the first time and can honestly say I am blown away. Have been a Rainbow fan for a long time but discovered them later in the post-Dio era. I'm 73 and can't believe all the music I have missed over the years
@nikolajonovic4955
Keep exploring , there's too much good music in this world
@evanmtcka
Same and it’s one of the more badass songs on guitar I’ve heard. Especially the solo part 🤘🏽🎸
@mikekohary1075
Better late than never - what a great find late in life, huh? :) Listen to the whole album, it's a masterpiece. Every song on it is flat-out great.
@joeinternut-xm6xk
Good music last forever
@onyxsh0cks456
Been listening to rainbow for a few years now. One of my favorites I listen to everyday. I'm 22 🎉
@a.avcier3092
I played that to mum, she is 79, she listened, and said in the end "who are these people? It was mesmerising to hear that song that captured me!" I smiled
@lauragarrard919
Wonderful! Tell Mum she is appreciated.
@agusdiaz_13
Play her catch the rainbow please
@a.avcier3092
@@agusdiaz_13 good recommendation. Thanks