Jimmy Bain, a Scottish bass player who was right in the thick of the entire hard rock/heavy metal scene of the 1970s and 80s, collaborating in an early version of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and with Ronnie James Dio‘s 1980s lineup, has died at the age of 68 of undisclosed causes, although some reports have stated that Bain had been suffering from pneumonia the last few months.

More below.

Rising, the bone crunching, sonic molten lava of a record by Rainbow, is now available on MP3 format from Amazon this month for only $5.00, as part of Amazon’s massive Browse over 2000 albums on sale this month for only MP3 Album Sale (2,000 albums for only $5 each).

This album, the second by the hard rock/heavy metal quintet, is arguably one of their best. Comprised of ex-Deep Purple pyrotechnical wizard on the guitar and man in black Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Carey on keyboards, the taut bang your head against the wall rhythm section of Jimmy Bain and Cozy Powell on bass and drums respectively, and the late, champion of the high notes vocally Ronnie James Dio, Rising is an album which is a cornerstone and A-list achievement of the entire heavy metal spectrum. Starting off with “Tarot Woman,” the record has a kind of second generational Deep Purple feel to it, and colored by a lot of the hard sounds of that era (the mid 1970s), but those soaring vocals of Dio make Rainbow a band all its own.

Deep Purple‘s red hot sonic piece of meteorite, the rock your socks off live album, Made In Japan, is now available on MP3 format from Amazon this month for only $5.

Originally available for purchase way back in 1973, this album crystallizes and encapsulates all the hard rocking fervor that is the British group Deep Purple. The band has gone (and continues to go) through many personnel changes throughout its 45-year-plus career. But on this live album, recorded during their Machine Head tour – which arguably stands as their most well known and successful record – with the lineup of guitar tunesmith Richie Blackmore, the neo-classical and fast-fingered posturing of the late Jon Lord on keyboards, the rhythm section cannonball through your chest of Roger Glover on bass and Ian Paice on drums, and of course the wailing, notes sometimes sung so high only a cocker spaniel can hear it warbling of lead singer Ian Gillan, the band is like a rocket ship out of control. Amped up versions of well known Purple tracks “Highway Star,” “Child in Time,” the smoldering electric bluesy “Lazy,” the pounding riff into the earth “Space Truckin’,” and of course the seminal played on radio and by cover bands coast to coast incessantly “Smoke on the Water” get the live treatment. Most of these songs are elongated and spontaneously performed, much unlike their studio versions, and the result ultimately whips the crowd up into a frenzy. This deluxe edition also includes some songs that were not on the original release, “Black Night” (which for my money, is the best track on the record) and the macho, pumped-up balls-out rocker, “Speed King.” Made In Japan is money well spent for a collection such as this, for a live record that showcases a band at their absolute peak and power and yet still remains criminally, headshakingly underrated, in the world of hard rock and roll.

Also on sale for only $5 right now is The Very Best Of Deep Purple. Browse all 1,000 albums on sale this month for only $5 each.

There’s just a few days left of Amazon’s celebration of heavy metal with their
50 $5 Metal Albums sale. For only $5 each in MP3 format, there are some insanely good must-have metal albums up for sale through the end of March, like Metallica‘s …And Justice For All, Judas Priest‘s Screaming For Vengeance, Black Sabbath‘s Heaven And Hell, Quiet Riot‘s Metal Health, and many more, including some really great “Best Of” compilations.

I picked out a few here below, but be sure to check out the main sale page to see all the albums available now for only $5 each.

Metallica …And Justice For All
Danzig Danzig
Judas Priest Screaming For Vengeance
A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step
Pantera The Best Of Pantera
Van Halen Van Halen – Best Of Volume 1
Megadeth Megadeth – Greatest Hits: Back To The Start
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell
Cinderella Night Songs
Rainbow Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
Testament The New Order
Anthrax Spreading The Disease
Kiss Kiss
Queensryche The Best Of Queensryche

Artist Maxim Dalton has created a new illustration called “Guitar Lessons” which features 35 rock guitar greats.

Dalton plans to offer up posters for this, and that there will be 50 hand-signed and numbered giclée prints at 19 x 25 inches. The cost will be around $40, plus $11 shipping for the U.S. and Europe. Visit the artist’s site for an up-close look at each guitarist, and to reserve a limited edition print.

Here’s a list of all the guitarists in the illustration…