Live in Düsseldorf 1976 / Live in Dusseldorf 1976

Interestingly, there are now more live Rainbow albums than there are studio ones from the Ronnie James Dio era. 1977's On Stage, 1986's Final Vinyl (which included Dio and other vocalists), and not one, but two in 2006, Live in Munich 1977 and Live Dusseldorf Phillipshalle 27.9.76 are all live recordings. And instead of going for variety, the two 2006 releases are strikingly similar; in fact, all of the tracks on the latter are featured on the former, save for one track ("Stargazer"). That said, there's no denying that sonically, Dusseldorf may very well be the best-sounding live Rainbow album of them all. But like many other bands of the '70s prog metal genre, over-extended solos and noodling by the instrumentalists often get in the way of the songs. As a result, the majority of the songs stretch past the ten-minute mark, and such Rainbow classics as "Man on the Silver Mountain," "Catch the Rainbow," and the aforementioned "Stargazer" get bogged down. Unless you're a die-hard Rainbow and/or Ritchie Blackmore fan, have your fast-forward button ready for this one — there's a lot of fat to cut through.