Rainbow: Live in Munich 1977

Rainbow was my favorite rock band when I was in junior high school back in the mid 70s. Unfortunately, I never managed to see them in concert back then. So, this DVD was a real treat for me since it let me see the Blackmore/Dio lineup of Rainbow that I liked the most in concert just as I might have seen them in seventh grade.Since I already owned Rainbow's "Live in Europe" CD which captured their 1976 show, I was already familiar with the concert versions of most of the songs on this DVD. So, the main attraction of this DVD for me was being able to see the band on video. Since I had already seen Blackmore on a Deep Purple DVD I had recently purchased, the visual highlights of this DVD for me were seeing the young Ronnie James Dio (who looked much younger and better than he does on the 2007 Heaven and Hell DVD) and the giant electronic rainbow which spanned the stage. While I had previously seen photographs of the rainbow, it is way cooler on video where you can see it changing colors and patterns.As other reviewers have mentioned, the video quality is sub-par, but that is due to the limited technology of the period and is no fault of the company that released it. The sound is clean and full in all 3 formats, but there is not as much separation between channels as I would have liked, even in the Dolby and DTS formats; it is possible that the original source was mono and that the engineers did the best they could given the source.The extra videos, interviews, and booklet are also good. However, my copy did not include the reproduction of the tour booklet that some reviewers mentioned. Perhaps that was only available in a limited special edition of the DVD. Altogether, this DVD will please any fans who love the Dio incarnation of Rainbow and approach it with realistic expectations about the video and sound quality. That's especially true if you are in your mid 40s and loved Rainbow in the mid 70s like I did.

I really can't say enough about this concert. It took me back about 20 years to when I listened to Rainbow on a daily basis.First off, I was impressed with the audio and video quality. It wasn't 2007 perfect but it was probably the best the 70s had to offer.As for the music, it's an allstar lineup. Blackmore (fresh out of jail) arrived 3 hours late for the concert but it seemed to add to the aggressiveness of his playing and the appreciation of the audience. Evidentially, being locked up in an Austrian prison for three days does something to a man. His playing weaved a tapestry of finger picking classical intros to classic hard rock licks to bluesy, soulful stuff. As for his antics, you either like them or hate them but this is Blackmore at his finest.Ronnie James Dio sings like a God. This performance was no different. He doesn't miss a note and adds a few more for extra measure. Hey, I didn't know he smoked?Cozy Powell - what a drummer. I had never seen him play in concert and this was a special treat. Drum solos can be a bit contrived and admittedly, this one smacks of Bonham, however, I was highly entertained and was reminded what a huge loss it was to music when he passed. God Bless Cozy!!Combine David Stone and Bob Daisley (one of the best in the business) and you have a great bottom end through the entire show.In the special features, I thought it was a nice touch to include 3 videos from the Long Live Rock and Roll album with alternate takes. There's also a couple of nice interviews from Bob Daisley and Colin Hart (fmr mgr.)Combine all of this with the sweet $10 and change price and you can't go wrong. GO BUY IT!!

Man, I remember seeing Rainbow circa 1977 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. I refer fondly to that period of time in my life as "My Dark Years", but due to certain circumstances my memories of that time are...well..a bit dark. So what a delight it was to see the release of Rainbow Live in Munich to be able to experience the show on DVD with a clear head. The problem is that the awesome performances on this disk are footage from 1977, so the video quality is 1977 video...and that ain't too good.Often times there are real reminders that the video is dated because of horizontal lines across the picture and just plain old low quality video. The experience is reduced to a mere DVD viewing after enjoying what was more of a front row seat experience with the quality HD video on some recent releases {i.e. Judas Priest (Rising in the East), Iron Maiden (Rock in Rio), Dio (Holy Diver Live) and even Rock the Nation by Kiss}.The audio on Live in Munich is a completely different story. The audio wizards took the soundtrack to the show on this disk, cleaned it up and they've offered it with a terrific 5.1 Dolby or DTS mix. I thought the DTS repro sounded the best on my system.Regardless of the horrible video, it was great to reminisce and watch as singer Ronnie James Dio, legend Ritchie Blackmore, inspirational Heavy Metal drummer Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley (Bass) and David Stone (Keys) went through some of the classics from Rainbow's first three releases.What's really sad is that Rainbow could have done this concert with a lot more than 8 songs. Ritchie Blackmore's infatuation with himself prevented that. In almost every song except the first, Blackmore self-indulges in out-of-place guitar solos that are difficult to sit through. I'm not talking about the bridge guitar solos that are on the studio releases; I'm talking about random intros or interruptions in each song to deliver a monotonous, rambling, wee-da-la-wee-da-la of the six-string. Instead of the guitar monotony, great tunes that fans really wanted to hear (like Tarot Woman, Stargazer, etc) could have been included. Just look at the guitar-solo-excessive times on these songs....They give you:1) Kill the King 4:422) Mistreated 11:493) Sixteenth Century Greensleeves 8:524) Catch the Rainbow 18:145) Long Live Rock and Roll 8:046) Man on the Silver Mountain 16:257) Still I'm Sad 27:338) Do You Close Your Eyes 15:40Plus a Bonus disk with videos of LLRR, Gates of Babylon and LA Connection.But all in all, if you were a Dio-years Rainbow fan don't pass on this. Just be sure that your expectations are set for a view into the past with the past's video quality. The performances are 4 stars, the reproduced sound is 4 stars and the video quality is 1 star.

I saw them live with Graham Bonnet, JLT and later with Ronnie Romero. This is the real stuff, Ronnie James Dio was a brilliant musician and singer. This is fabulous. Buy it.

La mejor formación de Rainbow en uno de sus mejores conciertos, con los cinco músicos en un momento extraordinario.

Ich bin Rainbow-Fan seit Gründung der Band. Über 45 Jahre her. Für die Konzerte war ich damals noch zu jung. Die Rainbow-Live Doppel-LP habe ich vergöttert. Ich bin begeistert, dass ich nochmal die Original-Besetzung im Konzert erleben dar. Und dann tasächlich in Dolby 5.1. Natürlich ist das nachbearbeitet, denn die Aufnahmetechnik gab es damals nicht. Aber es hört sich spuer an. Die 4:3 Aufnahmen sind natürlich aus heutiger Sicht grottig aber dennoch nostalgisch schön!

Un concerto che esprime al meglio l'indimenticabile Ronnie James Dio, superlativi gli assoli di 🎸 di Blackmore conditi da un'integrazione di ottimi musicisti. Da Acquistare.

Echt jeugd sentiment. Zag in dat zelfde jaar 1977 Rainbow in Ahoy Rotterdam. Schitterend dts 5.1 geluid. Beeld kwaliteit is ook niet slecht voor 44 jaar oude opname. Doet me echt terug denken aan mijn jeugdjaren. Wat had Ronnie James Dio toch een stem .