Happy Ritchie Blackmore's Birthday. I've been listening to his music this afternoon, and if anyone wonders why he's so great, go to Youtube and find the live version of Rainbow's "A Light in the Black" recorded in Hiroshima in December 1976. The sound isn't perfect, but check out his playing, and how fast, tight, and propulsive the band is. As one comment notes, "It's face melting". Then watch the California Jam version of "Mistreated". Besides playing brilliantly, what Ritchie did (imo better than anyone) was to convey feeling. He and David Coverdale (who was only 22) wring every drop of emotion out of that song, including the quiet parts with the volume swells. Watch Coverdale's face as he sings "Mistreated" in front of the enormous Cal Jam audience. He's living the emotion of the lyrics.
After that video, listen to the studio version of "Stargazer" from the classic "Rainbow Rising" and get blown away by the guitar solo, with it's Arabian scales. Ritchie did it all, then went on to acoustic magic with Blackmore's Night. Let's look at his body of work and make a list.
One thing about Ritchie, in his various incarnations, is that he and his bands don't (in my opinion) have what could be called "a run of classic albums". Bands like King's X, or Rush, Judas Priest, The Moody Blues, and many more had classic periods where they could do no wrong and made five, six or seven albums in a row that were all 9s or 10s. Ritchie doesn't have that. Deep Purple would make a classic, like "In Rock", but then follow it with a so-so album like "Fireball". Then they'd return with the all-time great "Machine Head" then follow that with "Who Do We Think We Are", which was not so great. Then they did "Burn" which is in my all-time Top Ten Albums. So go figure. Deep Purple were not consistent in the "run of great albums" way that other bands were, but they still made three 'ten on a ten scale" classics: "In Rock", "Machine Head" and "Burn" , in addition to a few 8s ("Stormbringer", "Slaves and Masters", "Perfect Strangers"), and "Made in Japan", which many consider the greatest hard rock live album of all time.
With Rainbow, RB got a little more consistent. The debut album is an 8, but "Rainbow Rising" is a Ten. Some fans think it's his finest hour and I won't argue. Again, listen to "A Light in the Black". Now that's progressive hard rock! "Long Live Rock and Roll" is a step down, maybe a 7.5. The thing with Ritchie is sheer output. He may not have the Classic Album Run, but in the amount of great songs he's written he's up there with anyone except Lennon/McCartney. Even his "less than great" albums have many good songs. RB was never just about the riff, though he had those in spades. His music has always been melodic and he's always had great singers. How many has he discovered and worked with? My goodness. After Ronnie James Dio left Rainbow, Ritchie returned with belter Graham Bonnett to make the near-classic "Down To Earth", which I'd give an 8.5 or a 9. Then he really hit his stride with Joe Lynn Turner, my personal favorite Rainbow singer, and made "Difficult to Cure", "Straight Between the Eyes" and "Bent Out of Shape", the closest thing he has to a Classic Run. I give those albums a 9, a 9, and an 8.5 respectively. Then he went back to Purple for almost a decade. "Perfect Strangers" is, for me, an 8 or an 8.5, but then it went a little downhill with "House of Blue Light" (a 7), and bottomed out with "The Battle Rages On" (or as Ritchie calls it, "The Cattle Grazes On"). The less said about that one, the better. But then DP brought in Joe Lynn Turner for "Slaves", another 8.
Then RB reformed Rainbow for "Stranger in Us All", which has a lot of great songs that would've been better with a stronger singer than Doogie White.
Then came Blackmore's Night, a 180 degree stylistic turn. The first album is a #10 Classic. Every song is great. The next two, "Under a Violet Moon" and "Ghost of a Rose" are 9s. So he almost has another run, with a completely different kind of music. Not many musicians have switched gears like that.
We must also look at his proficiency as a soloist. Ritchie was the first to advance the electric guitar past Clapton and Hendrix. If I may so humbly state, I am an expert on the History of the Guitar Solo, and while there were many great players in the 1960s and early 70s, no one - not even Jimi himself - ever played anything like the solo in "Highway Star". Alvin Lee was fast (and very good), but didn't have the precision nor sheer musicality of RB. Ditto Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. As great as they were, Ritchie was way ahead of the pack with that solo. It wasn't until Edward Van Halen came along in 1978 that anyone went as far or perhaps farther. Nowadays, with the so called "shred" players, and the modern technical players, and all these 12 year old Youtube prodigies, sure - they can play a thousand notes per second in any scale you care to choose, but who cares when they have no feeling, no signature sound, and no memorable songs or melodies? That's why the next Ritchie Blackmore or Edward Van Halen has yet to come along. You have to make the guitar sing and you have to write music that makes people feel something. The new guys can't do that.
So yeah, RB set the standard in soloing over 50 years ago, and you really have to listen to a career retrospective of his work to see how great he has been in so many ways. For incredibly emotional blues, check out his slide playing on Rainbow instrumentals like "Anybody There" and "Snowman". Wow.
He turned 79 today, and only plays a handful of shows every year, all on the east coast or in Europe, but I'm holding out hope that I get to see him live one more time. Here's to Sir Richard. Happy Birthday to The Man in Black.
Our other birthday boy is Pete Rose, who turned 83 - 83! - and I mean...put him in the Hall of Fame already! I'm talking to you, Commissioner Manfred. Not only is Pete the Hit King (a record that won't be topped anytime soon), but he's also first in games played and at bats. No one has done more for baseball, or has championed baseball like Pete Rose. No one played the game harder. Pete had the head-first slide, he played five positions (first, second and third base, and left & right field) and played them all well. Yes, he bet on baseball, and yes, he lied about it at first (and for many years) but he's long since come clean and said many mea culpas, so put him in the Hall already. He's 83; do it while he's still alive.
In addition to his personal accomplishments, Pete was part of The Big Red Machine. Many baseball experts consider the 1976 team to be one of the greatest ever assembled. Some say it's second only to the 1927 Yankees. Dig this starting lineup: Catcher: Johnny Bench, First Base: Tony Perez, Second Base: Joe Morgan, Shortstop: Dave Concepcion, Third Base: Pete Rose, Left Field: George Foster, Center Field: Caesar Geronimo, Right Field: Ken Griffey, Starting Pitchers: Don Gullet, Gary Nolan, Pat Zachary, Jack Billingham, Relief Pitchers: Rawly Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, Will McEnany. Manager: Sparky Anderson.
The Big Red Machine won back-to-back World Series in 1975 and '76 and currently has three Hall of Famers in Bench, Morgan and Perez. Pete Rose should be in there with them. Happy Birthday, Pete.
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