Classical Composer Reaction/Analysis to Gates of Babylon (Rainbow) | The Daily Doug (Episode 470)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- #rainbow #gatesofbabylon
In this episode of #thedailydoug, I'm returning to music by Rainbow for the first time in a long time...and I'm excited to hear this 'temptation' tune sung by Ronnie James Dio. The song's lyrics, delivery, performance, complexity, use of riffs and motifs, and its surprise ending had me like a kid in a candy store. This is one of my favorite #metalmonday episodes in quite some time. I hope you enjoy as well!
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Mr. Blackmore has said that this is his best solo ever. Cannot disagree. The whole song is a masterpiece. Eastern vibes all song long. Thank you sir, Dio and Blackmore do not disappoint.
Nope. The Stargazer solo cannot be reproduced
No way. I like this song but no comparison to Stargazer for Dio vocals and the guitar solo...epic!
@@user-vb3vf3sq2e nope highway star, burn, child in time just for starts
@@harbo1011 nope gates is better
Oh dear. Gates of Babylon, Stargazer, Highway star...... NO! A light in the black is the greatest classic rock song of all time and solo by Ritchie. Its not even up for debate.
Cozy Powell is a MASSIVE part of this song and also Stargazer. His sound was instantly recognizable no matter who he played with. RIP
Couldn’t agree more and feel the same about his work on Stargazer. Ritchie said he chose him because he was the only candidate that could play swing beats in a rock mode. He’s the reason there is a groove in a metal song. It’s a rare quality.
R.I.P. indeed.
I agree too. Cozy had a loose feel to his playing and yet would whack the hell out of the drums with precision which gave his style a sound of confidence. Come to think about it, he was kind of like Ritchie but on drums. That same confident masterful attack of his instrument.
Cozy always pushed the band along. An incredible player
One of my favorites I ever seen.
Dio and Blackmore together was magic,not just your average rock music.
Dio's voice makes anything 10x better and more epic
Dio's voice would even make bacon better!
Can we just say it? Dio is the greatest rock singer the medium produced. It's not Robert Plant, it's not Freddie Mercury, it's not Mike Patton, Maynard or Chris Cornell. It's Dio. And it's Dio going away in a landslide.
@@colinburroughs9871 I agree, it's not Plant, Mercury, Patton (...), or others, it's Gillan, then Dio, then Byron. I guess I'll have to add that it's my opinion, and these singers (Minus Patton who I can't stand, and Maynard and Cornell who I haven't heard) are all great.
@@ronan82 Just tossing names at it that I hear associated with "greatest". I'm sure I didn't list everyone who's got standing to make such a list. I always like Jim Morrison's LSD induced Elvis impression, but that's not exactly Dio. I like Gillian too, wouldn't rank him above Dio. Dio holds a bottom end while projecting. Ian can get into some weird ranges, but it sounds like it's coming from his throat. And poor Mike Patton. That guy might not sing a tune you like (he has, check out Mondo Cane) but holy shit, he's got energy, power and control of it.
Dio's voice makes me want to reject my humanity.
Dude, my all time favorite Rainbow song, great Ritchie solo, Cozy killing it in the drums, and Dio being Dio. Thanks Doug!! 🤘
I've had the pleasure of playing with David Stone a number of times. He's seen your reaction and is thrilled about it. He had a lot to do with the composition of this song but I think he was strong armed into giving up his writing credit for a one time cash payment or something. The crazy chord progression in the middle probably came from him. He's a musical genius (as are all the guys in this band). If you ever wanted to talk to him he'd probably love to, you guys would get on great.
I commented in a forum that the Moog Taurus bass on the beginning was cool and he responded that he was flattered that anybody cared and that it had been done on a MiniMoog; I'm flattered that he made the effort to reply - what a gent!
This has been one of my favourites since the first time I heard it. This and Tony Carys playing on rising is some of the best keyboard playong ever recorded in my opinion. Wouldnt have happened without Ronnie probably, he had a neck for engaging great musicians in his projects.
@@rimmersbryggeriNone of this would ever been possible without the master. Ritchie Blackmore he put this together and held it together. Rip Cozy Powell and DIO.
Dio is the master singer of all times hands down and every band he joined instantly became a million times better RIP❤️RJD 🤘
Cozy Powell - what a mammoth of a drummer, God rest his soul. This whole song is a masterpiece. I also love Malmsteen's cover with the amazing Jeff Scott Soto on lead vocals (sorry if I misspelled his name wrong).
Rainbow Eyes from the same album showcases RJD's more "tender" vocal side. Beautifully sung imo.
This will be good. Not that you can go much wrong with Rainbow and Dio.
This whole album is brilliant. Lady of the Lake, gates of Babylon, Kill the King ... and the the title track.
And Rainbow Eyes is also nice 🙂
Best Rainbow album in my opinion and maybe the best album Ronnie has been a part of.
@@Metalauffeohren
Ditto.
Stargazer is a good, but NOT great album 😕
WHY - Because I agree with Ronnie James Dio and that Stargazer is only half an album.
Couldn't agree more 🤔
I’ve been listening to “Kill the King” a lot recently.
Ronnie's last notes of the song, such a crazy chord of harmonies... sounds so diabolocal
I’m not sure why but my favorite line in this song is “You can see but you’re blind. Someone turned the sun around.”
Blackmore, Dio & Powel at their finest.
Αt that time were something like superheroes
Why nobody mentions Bob Daisley? He was so great player.
@@bobbigboss111 maybe because of the feud that Blackmore played bass in a couple of songs.
They were like the high priests to me as a teenager in the 1980's!
@@bobbigboss111 Daisley was awesome on the Ozzy albums too.
Often overlooked really because of the phenomenal Randy Rhoads.
Ritchie's guitar solo in this song is considered to be his most complex, masterpiece.
Pete,
Agreed. I read an article in the late Eighties having ago at the shredding trend and how boring it was. This guitar playing critics then bought up Page and especially Ritchie Blackmore.
He said THE BEST solos he had ever heard were those too Stargazer and Gates of Babylon.
The rumour is that Ritchie stopped playing Stargazer live for the same reason Gates of Babylon was NEVER played live !
Blackmore allegedly could not do the solo's justice live. It took way too much energy out of him and Blackmore cannot play the same solo twice..
If you listen to the few full versions of Stargazer live, Blackmore's solos range from brilliant to 'Wow, he,'s really struggling. '
I think Stargazer was dumped by 1977.
Gates of Babylon never played live in its entirety.
Some US fans claim that Ritchie did play it live.
Others say, Ritchie would play the guitar riffs to get the crowd going and then merge into Sensitive to Light.
Cozy P:
Cozy Powell also said, if they continued to play Stargazer live on their1976 tour, he would need a 15 minute break minimum, if not 30 minute break. It was way too much drumming. Powell then added, 'no wonder Zeppelin play ballads for an hour in the middle of their set as Bonzo cannot keep up that frenetic pace for 3 hours. '
@@FrostedSeagull They did play Stargazer live in 1980 at least, during the last gig with Graham Bonnet (he splits opinions, but didn't do bad job in this song) and Powell. Iirc, they also did play it couple times later with Turner on the vocals.
When I saw Rainbow with the DIO lineup. I saw all 3 singers. Dio did Gates of Babylon medly, but they did not do a complete song. Graham did the same. I've never heard the entire song live by 🌈. Joe did not do it at all. I'm in the USA. Hope this helps.
Ritchie Blackmore''s best guitar work imo. in this one song you also hear the seeds of Maiden and of course Malmsteen. a guitar teacher I studied with (my 1st real lessons) used this song to demonstrate relative scales and it gave me a solid beginning as to major soloing over minor progressions and then of course vice versa. Thanks! was nice to hear it again and your react was wonderful!
His work with purple was just as awesome
A very cool Rainbow song with Middle Eastern vibe. Has a good and true message - Sleep with the devil and the devil will take you away.
The message is that the Babylon System - or Capitalism, as Bob Marley described it - is satanic.
One of my favourite Rainbow songs.
This is Blackmore's lead riff called the "snake charmer." Every guitarist on earth wanted to learn this scale. RIP Cozy and Ronnie.
FINALLY someone on TH-cam reacts to the correct Rainbow song to react to!
And another Gates Of Babylon awesome reaction here pal - th-cam.com/video/8c6rfmXdJHs/w-d-xo.html
The last line is one of my favorite deliveries in any song ever. Dio just enunciates the h*** out of it and makes you believe he means what he says.
damn, still 79m. I caught my 10y old son by this song enjoying what I heard so many decades ago. one of the perfect songs you can catch everyone with, like 'whiter shade of pale'
The great Bob Daisley. Bass player on 5 of the first 6 Ozzy albums, and lyricist for the first 6.
Doug, I really enjoyed watching your reaction to that amazingly crafted song. I’m sure I had the same expression I had on my face the first time I heard the song in the eighties. It is brilliantly constructed and progressive without breaking immersion in the song. You seem to struggle a little expressing your criticism of progressive bands and I think that’s it. Sometimes they jam off on a tangent that breaks away from the theme and vibe of the song. This solo wanders within the confines off the song and adds without subtracting. That’s the skill of Blackmore, my personal favorite rock musician of all time whom in this case was working with my favorite vocalist of all time! Glad to see you excited to listen again!
Awesomeness overload...This is an absolute masterpiece indeed!
RIP Dio, one of the greats.
Iommi and Blackmore are the 2 prototypical metal guitarists. Tony with the slow heaviness, Richie with the the rocking heaviness ( also first real speed metal guitarist )
Uli John Roth might be a contender to that mon ami
Iommi is not even close to Ritchie in technical prowess on the guitar...
@@pulsarlights2825 as much as I like Blackmore, Iommi didn't need that. With his own riffs he was good enough. And his soloing in the first three albums were really good
@@joaquinlezcano2372 I like Tony Iommi, but I am just saying Ritchie is on another level. Tony came up with some great riffs and songs, but he has always been a one trick pony. Blackmore, IMO, is the best of his generation, except maybe for Jeff Beck. I can;t think of anyone else at the time with that level of virtuosity....
@@pulsarlights2825 I think Tommy's has a handicap concerning to his fingers... he will compose obviously the things he is able to play. I do agree that Ritchie is on another realm
I really need to listen to more Rainbow, this is ace!
I recommend A Light in the Black and Tarot Woman if you don't know them
Listen to the albums Rainbow Rising and Long Live Rock N Roll first. The other albums are great as well.
I'm hanging on by the skin of my teeth in terms of trying to understand you talking music theory, Doug. It's wonderful to say the least, and part of me wishes I had learned music when I was younger. I love music, can't live without it. The regret is lingering.
Thanks for this.
I dunno if you've ever analyzed Burn by Deep Purple... if not, please put it on the list.
Certainly one of the most magical Hard Rock Songs ever recorded and one of the coolest Guitar-Solos ever, nevermind Ronnies masterful singing and story
Magical yes!
Ian Gillan was Jesus in the original studio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. He and Richie used to do the melody in their Deep Purple duels
The 5th mode of the harmonic minor is a favourite in prog and metal. I have heard various names but first knew it as The Spanish Gypsy scale as you hear it in flamenco too.
That makes complete sense. I was going to comment that it was straight from Arabic classical music which obviously found its way into Spain via the Moorish conquests. Along with thousands of Arab words in the Spanish language.
My favourite song on this album, with the wonderful "Rainbow Eyes" ! I have chicken skin when listening those to songs ! The violin in the end of the song was not supposed to be, but when it was recorded, the violin continued to play, and they decided to keep it on the record ! Incredible !
I love to see the reaction of someone who really understands music that can appreciate the musicianship . I have no idea what Doug means , but I can appreciate the sonic brilliance .
Doug is the lead singer in a Dio cover group on the weekends.
Really
Keyboard player I would have believed though.
truly amazing song, my favourite guitar solo ever
Pretty sure the scale used was the same on "Stargazer", Phrygian Dominant. It's based on harmonic minor scale, but starting from the dominant (5th). Widely used to give that Middle Eastern feel, also used in Spanish Flamenco and Romani music. That's why Doug heard both A harmonic minor and E Phyrigian Dominant, both have the same notes, from different tonics.
Wikipedia lists it as a double harmonic major tune, but I don't know enough.
No one incorporates the middle eastern scales and harmonics the way Ritchie does. He is top notch.
Spanish Flamenco is derived from Moorish music from when the Moors ran the Spanish Peninsula.
@@melanierhianna AFAIK Flamenco came to Spain from the North, not from the South. Literally this word meant "Music from Flanders". Flemish Gypsies brought this style of music to Spain (Flanders was then a dependency of Spain). Naturally, Moorish music could influence it, but that was secondary.
@@gwaptivaas an Arab with knowledge of Arabic scales and guitarist with knowledge of eastern’s, this is actually a double harmonic minor AKA Hijaz kar scale in arabic, with three chromatics notes same as misirlou by dick dale. Then they went for the chorus in aeolean mode with a hint of phrygian. Solo was in both phrygian dominant and double harmonic scale because the difference is only one note the chromatic so you can use both interchangeably.
Fun fact: for us arabs, the unique scales for us are “out of tune” for eastern modes because we have a few modes that we use qrt note in between eg. Rast, Sikah, Saba, Bayat
I hit the like button straight away...soon after reading the video's title 🙂
Blackmore wanted to take metal to the next level & in my humble opinion he accomplished it
Ritchie is an underrated genius.
Hardly, he's been recognised by many over a very long time as being a great innovator and one of the best. Not underrated at all
@@GordonHeaney Definitely underrated in my book, you think of the 70s and it's always Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Beck, Blackmore is of the same generation but missed out on that level of recognition, but I definitely rate him with those greats.
@@GordonHeaney perhaps under appreciated are the best words. He doesn’t get the respect, especially nowadays, that his talent deserves. The guy’s a virtuoso.
He is not now nor ever been underrated. Why people continue to call universally admired musicians underrated is beyond me.
@@danteuk8024 I was around in the 70s, I turned 30 in 1975, and Blackmore was considered great and better than Clapton back then.
Thanks to the Council of Dougs, whom I'm sure was responsible for picking out this gem of a deep cut.
🤘🧙♂️🤘
The story goes that the violinist was soooo into his part that he improvised the ending part in the studio and Blackmore, et al., decided to keep it on the track!!! INCREDIBLE guitar solos from Ritchie...
Mixilodian mode yes?
This intro was our hint that Don would go on to record one of the greatest metal keyboard intros ever on Mr. Crowley. Remember being 15 and cranking my brother's copy of this through the headphones.
Big part of why my bar is so high. Quality roots.
Oh, and shout out to the legend Cozy Powell on the drums here. Absolutely epic band lineup at that time.
🤘🧙♂️🤘
Rich the Ancient Metal Beast
I think you mean Don's keyboard intro on Black Sabbath's 'Johnny Blade'? Lol, I like 'Mr. Crowley' too. He's a great musician.
The keyboards on this song were played by David Stone.
Rich doesn't know what he's talking about.
I was wrong about Don playing on this track. I liked the comment from the person who corrected me. Didn't realize I needed to make a public apology. Sorry my mistake caused you so much grief.
ofcourse personal taste is different for everyone, in my personal opinion the mr Crowley intro doesn't even come close to the intro of Tarot Woman
Spring of '78 - Heard it
Jul of '78 saw 'em at the Intl. Amphitheater Chicago - Loudest Show Ever
Man.... Mr. Doug give us the best reaction videos. To watch him vibing thise great songs are amazing.
David Stone and Cozy Powell actually wrote a lot of this (David is our band AraPacis now and he told me the whole story of how it was written, fascinating!)
Masterpiece I forgot about. THANKS!
Richie's guitar work in this song is phenomenal. Surpasses highway star in my opinion. Ive seen rainbow 🌈 with three different singers 78-87 including Ronnie James Dio. Superbly written and always performed the same. Flawless! I was talking to text I had edit it a couple words.
I believe that youtube was invented to justify so many adolescent metal music choices, which were frowned upon at the time.
Great reaction as always by Doug.
One of the best songs in the history of Rock. Thanks for reviewing it, Doug.
Rainbow has a song Ariel and a live version from the 95 tour is bloody epic. They use a lot of the components of Gates of Babylon in it. Singer is awesome. Not Dio but still awesome. Backing vocals by Candace Night. You really need that song in your repertoire.
Yes, the singer is Doogie White and the Stranger in us all album is very underrated.
That album and Doogie don't get enough credit and he did lots of the catalog unfortunately not much of a writer
Totally agree,that performance is amazing.
Doogie White
So many metal bands following this owe this band and song some serious backpay, even to this day.
Thank you so much for playing this today. I really enjoyed it.
FINALLYYYYY....a RAINBOW review...yisussssss.......i have wait for this too long!!!....mr. Doug U have Level up!!
I highly recommend Rainbow, "mistreated" live in Munich, the solo, Ronnie's singing is next level, the drumming is insane. Thanks for the video!
The whole double CD from Munich is awesome. 😊
Nice to be reminded how great a song this is. Sometimes when you hear a song so many times and I've been enjoying it for 40 years you forget how great it actually is. You kind of take it for granted. Some lovely Eastern influences which helps me understand what modes are. Well nearly. Ritchie and Ronnie produced some great stuff together. Ronnie went on to produce some equally great stuff with Black Sabbath. Such a truly great voice.
I think Rainbow are seriously under rated. All the three albums with Dio are great. Down to Earth which does not include Dio is also excellent
Doug, you should check out a song with a similar feel (while also being a milestone in popular guitar playing) "Sails of Charon" by Scorpions.
I concur!
Welcome to the brilliance of Ritchie Blackmore! If I had to pick a Rainbow favorite, this would be it. Another great pick would be A Light In The Black, which is the follow up to Stargazer. It has a pretty awesome guitar solo, as well. Those are my top three for Rainbow.🤘
What a masterpiece!! I love this band, and I love Ronnie!! That voice, omg! 🥰🤘🏻🔥🌈
His best guitar solo with fantastic drumming behind, like symphonic music.
Wowzers! Wicked Awesome piece of music!
Doug: Speaking in the most technical terms possible about the music
Me: "That sounds really cool!"
I wish I understood what you were talking about. But I love the way you break down how the music prompts the very emotions I feel listening to it. Thank you!
The Phrygian Dominant mode is so underused in metal, but it has such an awesome feel to it. Dio and Blackmore at their finest here
Untouchable a master piece!
Hi Doug!Great analysis as usual.Just wanted to mention you can also try the song Rainbow Eyes,the last song from this album.It's a really sad composition which showcases a different side of Ritchie and Dio's vocals are also quite different.
Truly so
I remember, in the late 90s, both my parents buying a copy of The Very Best of Rainbow and I borrowed it often at around the age of 8-10. This track was always my favourite, then and now. The intro still makes me shiver, every single time. Probably in anticipation of what is to come.
I totally agree! That intro gets me everytime!
More Rainbow!
Ronnie James Dio = greatest metal voice ever
Who found him???Who gave him a career??
@@2Times22 After Rainbow and Black Sabbath he just went solo with Dio.
This was what I needed today. This is a fantastic ride of a song.Thank you.
If you still want to listen to this again (and why not, right??), I suggest finding the live version because Ronnie is absolutely amazing.
Here's a link...
th-cam.com/video/qu8HiZepRWo/w-d-xo.html
edit: OK, after watching the first. instead of the link again, I realized this isn't exactly live. This is one of three promo videos that were supposed to be mixed to the studio version, but Ronnie refused to lip-sync, so the vocals are actually live. L.A. Connection is one of the other songs from this group. I don't remember the third right now, but I think Bob Daisley's channel lists them (which is where this link goes).
My favorite rainbow song is Temple of the king. Check out Sails of Charon by Scorpions as well. That's a cool late 70's Phrygian goodness as well.
This song is one of the reasons why Ritchie Blackmore is my favorite guitarist of all time.
Mine too
DIO - BLACKMORE - POWELL Those three finding each other was a gift from God to humanity.
This is one of my three favourite Rainbow songs (the other two being Stargazer and A Light in the Black).
Always love your insight. Jon Lord said of Ritchie (I will have to paraphrase) that he was so fun to play with because of his very unique phrasing. Ritchie loves using different modes.
Ronnie n Co are immortal only guy that could make songs about rainbows n more metal as hell
So epic! Dio, Blackmore, Powell and Daisley together! My favorite Rainbow song!
This is my all time favorite Rainbow / Dio / Blackmore song. And for many years my ringtone on my phone. Love the way you've been so surprised all along this song. And, yes.. so short !!
Wow! I recently asked for this… I’m so glad you enjoyed it this much! Great episode, thx!
I made a mix-tape in the 80s for my friends party. This was the lead in song on the tape. It was a pseudo competition between all of us metal heads of who could make the best mix.
My mix tape was the one that stayed in play all night.
So great to have revealed the intricacies of a song that I have long loved! Thank you, Doug ... or Dr. Helvering as I note from your TH-cam plaque on the wall :)
One of th best song ever... RAINBOW GENIUS
Always been one of my favorites since I heard it.
one of my favourite rock songs of all time, Rainbow as it's best, thank you for doing this.
If you're looking for other Rainbow-Songs: I think The title song of this album Long Live Rock'n'Roll is quite good as well (not as good as Gates of Babylon, because it has not that depth), but it's pure and simple hard rock. And then: Eyes of Fire and Fire Dance always catched me too.
Bought the original version in 1978. Still love it.
This is practically the base for every song Yngwie has ever composed.
He is Blackmore. Jr. Looks like him acts like plays like him.
My favorite solo of all time
Doug dances like the Caddyshack Gopher.
Gates of Babylon and Eyes of Fire are my favorite Rainbow tunes, I'm a huge Blackmore fan and those are the solos I feel he really shines...
I usually don't watch these reactions from people, but I'm interested in this as Ritchie's guitar phrasing on the solo during the chord changes are spectacular. The guy was on another level.
Apparently he would do his solos in pretty much one take, and it wasn't written/worked out. He, as what we say today, 'freestyled' it.
love all your knowing, thanks
Might it be due to Ritchie Blackmore, (yes it may), but I think the output of his time in Rainbow is by far the most musically interesting of Ronnie James Dios whole carreer. Divers too, but never too clichee.
Ritchie was the driving force in the music, it was his band and he paid all the bills, he fell out with Dio when he wanted a more commercial output as he was bleeding money keeping Rainbow going and Dio didn't want to go down that route, without Ritchie I don't think Dio would have hit the heights he did, Elf had been around since the late 60's and weren't going anywhere when Ritchie pulled them in to make the first Rainbow album, he certainly wouldn't have had the level of recognition to move on to Sabbath without doing Rainbow first.
I have loved this song for over a decade, but am not quick enough with my theory to make sense if the dual function of E. Thank you Doug!
One of my favorite reactions I’ve seen on the channel. Love when a masterpiece hits Doug like that. He can feel what many of us have known for years that’s a win win win.
The most epic duo Rainbow had was Blackmore and Dio in those first 3 albums. Other songs to analyze can be "Rainbow eyes", "A Light In The Black", "Tarot woman", "The temple of the king", "Catch The Rainbow", "Kill The King"."Sixteenth Century Greensleeves ","Eyes of the word" , "Vielleicht Das Nachste Mal " o "Difficult to cure" , Among many more songs.
One of the best guitar solos of all time, hands down.
Thank you Doug! One of my favorite Dio tracks ever. I love all those Rainbow recordings.
It's funny because I play guitar, but I just started getting into keyboards. I was messing around yesterday and "I hear this. This seems like it would be good with that." And I was playing this tonality but in a different key. Either F or G I think.
Of course I recognized it. I've always loved harmonic major and minor since I was a kid. And then here is "Gates" on The Daily Doug! So such a nice surprise. Thanks again for sharing your amazing ear!
Dio was off the curve of any curve. All Hail the King👑 🤘
Great job. Know this song since it’s release and you opened up new understandings for me of the piece.
Thats a blast from the past. I haven't listened to Rainbow for about 35 years
Absolutely loved watching this Doug..thank you!