Thanks very much Nick.
I am very familiar with the forum format, as is it also used by an IBM training site I frequent.
In fact, I have just informed the venerable company’s global HQ they should replace their platform, effect immediately, based of Uwe’s recent (and very negative) UX/UI usability feedback.
Strangely, they replied only two words, which began with the letters “F” and “O”. 
Well…I tried!
Best regards,
J.-
I’m happy for you, lieber Herr MacGregor, to continue to delude yourself that Rainbow was the right thing for Ritchie to do - all ten years of it and all the money he sunk into the venture for little return - and worthy of his talent. Unlike you, however, I know what I liked in 1976 and what I thought anticlimactic already back then. So just leave me out, ok? Ritchie has earned his fair share from me, I don’t hink he minds all that much what I think. Nor should you, restrain your evangelical zeal, I’m already Catholic and my chapel is Deep Purple.
Once upon a time there was this band with clever lyrics, a swinging groove, clever and nuanced drums, a bassist that played real bass lines you could hear, and a rhythmically accentuated keyboarder technically at least on par with Ritchie. And I’m supposed to give Rainbow Rising the preference because of a fantasy album sleeve, fantasy lyrics, Holzhacker drums, unimaginative bass playing, a keyboard you mostly couldn’t hear unless the guy doodled on his synth plus a light show that looked like a toppled over, too garishly decorated Christmas tree with defective chaser lights - just because the megalomaniac guitarist gets to play longer solos now? Dream on.
No one has yet been able to explain to me why liking DP must equate to liking Rainbow - unless, of course, you consider Ritchie the be- and end-all of DP. I’ve got news for you: I don’t and never did. And don’t give me that “Rainbow were something new”-crap, Uriah Heep had been peddling that fantasy nonsense already four years before. Also, when I want to hear a well-integrated orchestra in a song, I listen to John Miles’ Music (also from 1976) and not some skeleton strings competing in volume with the synths playing a naive and repetitive hook in the coda of a song dealing with bad aviation concepts.
Now go kill the king or whatever your heart desires.
It obviously didn’t affect his legacy either way, it was just a pointless exercise.
Among professional artists, has there ever been a poorer presentation on display from a band performing sober? I don’t think so.
Has there ever been a poorer display? The answer to that is a definite yes. As someone who grew up on this guy, I really hate to say this, but: 2010’s Chuck Berry. As underwhelming as Rainbow might have been, for various reasons, that was an entirely different level of painful.
Proceed at your own risk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HKN5tb_yeo
Dr Hook were a lot less sober, but also - against all odds - a lot more tight and fun!
I think we’ve reached the point where we’re unlikely to convince each other, and that’s perfectly fine. 
What I’ve enjoyed most about this discussion is that we’ve been talking about why we hear these bands differently, rather than simply saying “this is better” or “that is worse”.
To me, Deep Purple and Rainbow complement each other rather than compete with each other. I wouldn’t want to lose either chapter of Ritchie’s career, because each brought out different aspects of his musicianship.
Thanks for the discussion—I genuinely enjoyed reading your perspective, even where we completely disagree.
I actually tend to agree with that, DP and Rainbow do complement each other. DP couldn’t have done Stargazer (and my question would have been why should they even? 
), you need a certain mindset for it - DP was still a lot more Rock’n’Roll than Rainbow. Of the Holy Trinity of LZ, DP & BS, DP is in fact the outfit closest to the Elvis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard roots. And of course reunion DP had more than its share of Rainbow influence, it wasn‘t quite the collective anymore it had been in the 70s.
Whilst I chose not to see this tour, I don’t think I ever saw it has Bkackmore selling out. There are so many other options:
to see if he still could
to finally respond to the large number of his fans who could not see beyond Purple/Rainbow
to show his kids that he really was a rock star who could attract massive crowds
he knew it really was his last chance before arthritis look over
he was simply made an offer (from the promotor) too good to refuse
to piss off Joe Lynn Turner 
Remember - Joe had been pushing for a reunion for years, and said he had all the deals in place if Blackmore said “yes”. There was then the interview where Blackmore indicated he would do Rainbow, but with a new singer. He said something about Joe thinking it would be him but he hadn’t told him it wouldn’t yet
So - not selling out, but simply responding to industry pressures. If nothing else, it largely has stopped people wanting Rainbow to properly reform. In hindsight, I do kinda regret not going to the Glasgow show simply as I doubt BN will play Europe again.
It’s right up there with DP 1980.
It certainly pissed off poor ole JLT. Comical that was. People and their expectations eh? Did anyone seriously think, apart from the disappointment of the rest of the band itself, that Ritchie was going to be ripping it up like he did 20 years earlier? I can understand people who travelled large distances being somewhat disappointed and annoyed. A lot of money outlaid and booking accommodation etc and taking all that risk. But anyone travelling locally, well, as we all know, when you purchase a ticket for a performance of anything, no matter what it is, anything can happen. It is history now, too much water has flowed under neath that bridge. Unless some have an axe to grind? And I am not saying that simply because I wasn’t involved in it in any way. Cheers.
Things can always go wrong. I’ve mostly been lucky though. These days, I book trips around other things I want to do. For example - Stockholm in October means I finally get to visit the Vasa Museum.
In my opinion, as I’ve said on other occasions, Ritchie did that reunion partly because of the promoter’s offer and partly because of the arthritis that was causing increasingly serious problems.
I agree with Uwe, he should have gotten a second guitarist to help him, and he should also have gotten a better drummer, bassist and singer (D. White?)
I’m glad I didn’t see them live because it would have been painful if not sad.
It’s right up there with DP 1980.
I sure have a deserved reputation for doing napalm cluster attacks in my arguments, but I herewith bow to your talent to be scathing!!
The Vasa Museum is well worth a visit, Doug, never mind that the vessel itself wasn’t a high point of Swedish shipyard engineering.
When I grow up, I wanna be scathing like Svante too, he’s my hero now.
Much as Herr MacGregor likes to mock me because of it, I died a thousand deaths at Loreley as I witnessed Blackers playing his up to then largely intact reputation as an ace live performer (even when in a bad mood) to shreds. I had paid a four digit amount for tickets for my wider family circle, wishing to introduce them to “Blackmore the Phenomenon”. And after the gig they all tried to be nice and were lukewarm about it.
There is nothing more devastating than people being “lukewarm” about a Blackmore performance.
And it was the first time I saw Ritchie actually struggle - that was new and didn’t feel good, like witnessing your parents, who you once thought were invincible, becoming feeble.
Svante has been on of the Editors of THS for over half his life - he’s allowed to be scathing 
I always welcome the development of bad character traits in my brethren, I have no complaints!
The collective was never stronger than on A Gypsy’s Kiss.
After enduring decades of this, I heard they are planning to build a new wing in Heaven just for him!!!
Can’t say for the rest of the dates, but as for the first two shows in 2016 – a lot of people have travelled large distances. I’d venture to say, the majority. To the point that one could hear all kinds of languages being spoken all around the crowd. Lorelei itself is a venue literally in the middle of nowhere – on top of a huge rock overseeing the Rhine valley. There is no local population there.
