(Here's an intro I'll be using for both the CD and DVD format of this release) Holy crap...what kind of hoax is this!? I mean, are we to believe this is a new release, just because the label made the trouble of changing the copyright date at the back of the CD and/or DVD package, when really both this live CD and DVD were actually released in 2009, and except for changing the copyright year at the back, nothing has been changed! No extra tracks, no bonus features, no altered artwork...no nothing!? Well, I ain't quite sure about the story in the booklet, really! Ach...you know...what does it matter? We didn't get the album when it came out the first time, so beggars cannot be choosers, right!?
On the CD, you'll find the complete set of the show, with now classic Rainbow songs. Concert opener, as always in those days, was the delightful “Kill The King” (following, of course, that Judy Garland “introduction of the band” which the guys always used – an excerpt from the movie The Wizard Of Oz). It is followed by an extended version of Deep Purple's “Mistreated” (the only song from his past which guitarist Ritchie Blackmore took from his past). Continuing with the band's live version of “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves”, the guys follow through with an extra long version of “Catch the Rainbow” and the epic “Long Live Rock 'n' Roll”. Disc two then, only contains three songs, but they're quite extended versions of “Man On The Silver Mountain” (16:32), the cover track “Still I'm Sad” (27:33) and “Do You Close Your Eyes” (15:40), the latter actually being that show's encore (for which the band had the audience begging for a full two minutes), followed by the playing of the classic “Over The Rainbow”, as performed by Judy Garland.
Now throughout the album, you'll find Dio thanking the audience for having been so patient with the band, but I guess that's an item which will keep for the DVD's review! The show was recorded as part of Rockpalazt, an ongoing series on German television, and evidently this CD is the soundtrack of that show. By the way, the soundtrack is also available on vinyl, or so I understand from the backside of the DVD cover. Rating this thing has an air of unfairness to it. I mean, I actually grew up with these songs when they came around first, and they are therefore encrusted both in my mind and soul as treasured heritage. The record company should burn in hell for all eternity, because of trying to fool people they're buying a “new” thing, but that would be unfair to the artists, wouldn't it? Therefore...