Originally issued in November of 1981 as a double LP compilation, the sixteen-song The Best of Rainbow features several of the greatest songs from the first five studio albums recorded by moody Ritchie Blackmore and his ever-changing supporting cast in Rainbow. The anthology peaked at number 14 in the U.K., and The Best of Rainbow was subsequently reissued in 1993 as a twin CD set.

Cultivated from the group's 1975 debut release through the 1981 release of Difficult to Cure, at the end of the high arching rainbow, sits a pot filled with golden tracks. It's pure rock from start to close, which showcases the awesome vocal talent of the trio of Ronnie James Dio, Graham Bonnet and Joe Lynn Turner, as well as orchestrated keyboard fills, big bass lines, bruising drum work, and the scorching Stratocaster attack from the fierce leader of Rainbow. All hail the arrogant man in black.

Opening with the brash "All Night Long", The Best of Rainbow adds the April of '81 recording of "Jealous Lover", plus several hammers from the early era when the diminutive Dio fronted the group, which includes the legendary "Stargazer", plus the fist-pumping "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", "Man on the Silver Mountain", the treason-inspired "Kill the King", and a cover of "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves".