(Here's an intro I'll be using for both the DVD and CD 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, right!?
Compared to the (double) CD, viewing the DVD has its advantages, as you can see the band's antics on stage. It especially explains the somewhat chaotic passage (Blackmore massacring his guitar – and it's amazing nobody in the audience was hurt too!) between Dio saying goodnight to the audience and the ending of the show with “Over the Rainbow”. Of course, there's not only the pleasure of actually seeing your idols do their stuff, but also the fact that the DVD can carry far more material, which comes in several forms here. First, you get promo videos for the songs “Long Live Rock 'n' Roll”, “Gates Of Babylon” and “L.A. Connection”, which were unearthed from dark sources (and are good for an extra 15 and a half minutes worth of viewing). Secondly, there's interviews with Bob Daisley (the band's then bassist; good for another 21 minutes) and Colin Hart (the band's road manager, formerly with Deep Purple; good for about 10 minutes), in which the details of the delay on the evening of the Rockpalazt recordings are revealed. Oh, well alright, I'll tell y'all...it's because on the previous show, in Vienna, Blackmore was arrested (for more details of the why, etc...check the DVD!). A third bonus feature comes in the form of a 12-minute television special on Rainbow, as aired in Texas during 1976. Then, there's the photo galleries, one of which in the form of a near 40-minute slide show with additional audio commentary elucidating some of the band's history.
Yeah, I love this DVD...as my rating of it will show quite positively!