Blackmore: “I have difficulty interpreting other people’s music”

Ritchie Blackmore granted an interview to Guitar Player in which he spoke, among other topics, about his team’s frequent lineup changes Rainbow and responded to some criticisms leveled against him in the past by Ronnie James Dio. Regarding the numerous lineup changes that have characterized the band’s history, the 80-year-old British guitarist declared: “I never fired anyone from Rainbow who was doing a great job. Let’s stop there.”

Moving on to the statements of Ronnie James Dio dating back to 1981, in which he was defined as the absolutely dominant figure of the group, Blackmore responded with great sincerity. “Yes, that’s a fair assessment. When I have an idea, I can’t help but be very insistent about who should play what and how it should be played. In contrast, when I played in the studio with other musicians, since it was other people’s music, I didn’t have the slightest idea how to play it. I have difficulty interpreting other people’s music.”

As pointed out by Guitar Playerthe interview is linked to the release of “Rainbow—The Temple of the King 1975–1976”a nine-disc collection released on March 6. The extent of the numerous training changes in the Rainbow is clear when examining the history of the group. From 1974 to 2019, i Rainbow they have released eight studio albums with over 30 musicians alternating in the lineup. Ronnie James Dio he was the first singer of the band that Ritchie Blackmore founded in 1974 after leaving i Deep Purple. God abandoned i Rainbow in 1978 due to different artistic views with Blackmore.