The disc "Live In Munich," released in 2006, is one of those great concerts that RAINBOW gave in the lineup of Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, and Cozy Powell on drums. In this case, keyboards and bass were already handled by Stone and Daisley. Let me remind you that several other live recordings from those years have been released at various times, starting from 1977. The setlists roughly overlap. However, on "On Stage" and "Live In Germany," the lineup is still different, and the program differs, though minimally. For instance, "Live In Germany" features "Stargazer," while "Live In Munich," recorded on October 20, 1977, includes not only "Kill The King," which was already being played regularly at concerts, but also one of rock music's greatest anthems, "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll," which would become the title of the upcoming album. (Let me remind you that work on the band's third album, released in April 1978, was underway as early as May-July 1977, several months before the Munich concert.)
What will surprise anyone unfamiliar with RAINBOW's live recordings is, of course, the length of the compositions. With the exception of the two aforementioned tracks from the upcoming albums, all other pieces are played two to three times longer than their studio versions. This is primarily due to extended instrumental passages, during which Blackmore delivers nothing short of miraculous guitar solos. Additionally, at the beginning of compositions, he sometimes plays excerpts from medieval melodies, or suddenly launches into the 1st Prelude from Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier," which Gounod transformed into "Ave Maria." The famous DEEP PURPLE track "Mistreated" is also performed — 11 minutes instead of 7. But the most important thing, of course, is that after the very first notes, you forget about Coverdale entirely, because before us is Ronnie James Dio at the peak of his powers. He and his vocal gift can be described with one simple word — genius, and there is nothing to add. "Catch The Rainbow" is the culmination of the first disc, with Blackmore stretching it to seventeen and a half minutes. "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" already features a sing-along with the audience, and it's hard to imagine any Dio concert without it even today — it's a tradition.
The second disc contains just three compositions. "Man on the Silver Mountain" is stretched to nearly 15 minutes, with "Starstruck" performed for about a minute in the finale. "Still I'm Sad," beginning with a keyboard solo, breaks all records at 25 minutes! Overall, keyboards appear multiple times throughout. In essence, the track could have been divided into separate solo performances (including a drum solo), but Blackmore apparently didn't want to do that. The concert concludes with the energetic "Do You Close Your Eyes?"
So there you have it — a double disc with 8 songs spanning 100 minutes. Mind you, this is not progressive rock or funeral doom, but hard rock legends. Overall, one could say the entire concert is primarily a showcase for Ritchie Blackmore! But on the other hand, the other musicians also get their chance to shine, especially one of the greatest vocalists in rock music history, who has been going by the pseudonym DIO for many decades.
A special mention goes to the booklet, which across 10 pages provides a detailed account of the band's history during the 1976-1977 period, along with several excellent promotional photographs.