"Still I'm Sad" closes out the first set and takes an astonishing 28-minutes to do so. Kind of a stretch from the barely-four-minute-long album version I'd say. David Stone kicks off the song with an extended "Mr. Crowley"-esque keyboard intro — and is that some Mellotron I hear? This is one of those classic 70's extended live jams, where each band member gets to stretch out and really strut their stuff. Cozy Powell most certainly cemented his legend with his amazing drum performance on this song, and Blackmore gets to show off every technique, style, and trick in his repertoire.
Until now, the band had ignored their excellent second album, Rising, whom many consider to be their finest, but they finally do it justice with a smoking version of "Do You Close Your Eyes," which served as the show's encore. This album cut of less than three minutes is transformed into a 16-minute meltdown of epic proportions, where Blackmore rains destruction down on his Stratocaster and smashes it to pieces during a violent tirade that brings the show to a smoldering climax. Blackmore fans wouldn't have settled for anything less.
The production quality of this DVD was excellent considering the age of the source material. Both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio tracks are provided, and they breathed new life into this almost 30-year old recording with an astonishingly clear and powerful new mix. The surround speakers were utilized perfectly to create a wonderful live ambience that placed you right into the middle of the crowd. The video did not fare quite as well. The light show was very minimal, consisting mostly of the brilliant rainbow arch, and an assortment of spotlights, so the picture was quite dark overall. The colors were also fairly washed out, due to the age of the source material, but the picture was still satisfying overall. The camera work was outstanding, providing all of the right close-ups at all of the right times, and never jumping around too quickly. You could really get lost in some of these epic length jams.
The highlight of the bonus features are three promo videos for the Long Live Rock 'N' Roll album - "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll", "Gates Of Babylon", and "L.A. Connection". The interviews with Bob Daisley and Rainbow tour manager Colin Hart were interesting enough, but it would have been nice to hear a few words from Blackmore or Dio. A photo gallery and audio slide show are also included. The DVD case contains two booklets, one being a wonderful miniature replica of Rainbow's 1977 tour book, and the other being a six-page color booklet of photos, DVD credits, and an excellent band essay written by Simon Robinson of the Deep Purple Appreciation Society (DPAS).
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