ROCK IN RIO

I purchased this double CD live set long before I got the DVD. It's really an excellent live set in audio format. It's so rocking and so powerful! Rio de Janeiro has always been the best place to rock for most of rock bands. The songs selection is truly great. It starts with new material from the band's "Brave New World" album. The show also included songs from Jurassic period (like Bruce said it before the "Wrathchild") as well as new material. The selection favors not just die hard fans but for those who like to watch rock concert would love this concert as well. The band performance is great in terms musical quality they produce. "The Wicker Man" which also an opener of the album kicks off the show in a very energetic way. All members of the band: three guitarists (Janick Gers, dave Murray, and Adrian Smith), bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain and lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson contributed their parts excellently. The song continues to "Ghost of The Navigator" and "Brave New World" from new material. After they played two classic materials, I could not believe that I could hear the band played "Blood Brothers" (my favorite track) brilliantly!

The audio quality is excellent. The audio quality is very important to enjoy the show in its entirety as the music of Iron Maiden is hard and heavy. I just want to emphasize here that typical Iron Maiden studio album has relatively dry recording quality. But this live CD is having thick bass and excellent treble.

Overall, this is an excellent rock live set that anyone who claims as rocker must OWN this CD. I have literally no complaint at all with thisCD in terms of performance and production. Recommended! Keep on rockin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

It's hard for me to imagine a more energetic, exciting night of Maiden-metal than is displayed throughout this excellent album, or live release in general for that matter.

For fans of the band, it's a must have. The set-list is (with only 1-2 exceptions) outstanding, featuring highlights from Brave New World as well as a few greatest hits from their extensive library. I don't feel that the music itself especially needs to be discussed, since those interested in a live offering are no doubt familiar, but I will say that each of these versions of the band's material are positively ON FIRE. Bruce's vocals retain their dynamic power, and as a show-man he is second to none. He dramatically introduces each song and rallies the energetic Brazilian crowd throughout-- just wait until The Trooper or The Evil That Men Do start up! The axe-men are just as good; I have not heard guitar playing that kinesthetizes body and mind like Murray/Gers/Smith; their shredding and solos positively give off sparks. I like listening to this album when working late-- it's better than stay-alert pills and black coffee combined.

Great stuff; everything a live-album should be!

Setlist 4 Instrumental Performances 4 Stage Energy 5 Live Experience 5

Rekindling their classic juju, IRON MAIDEN deliveries an impressive comeback with their album "Brave New World" and the tour of the same name which produced this excellent live album ROCK IN RIO which finds the band in a sea of 250,000 head banging Brazilians who just can't get enough of the huge sampling of this classic British band's entire discography. Surprisingly there is at least one track from each album with only "Somewhere In Time" and "No Prayer For The Dying" being shunned. This is shocking since there is one track from both Bailey albums here as well. I always thought "Virtual XI" and "The X-Factor" could have been great albums if only Bruce Dickinson was on singing duties and in a way this tour is a celebration of his comeback along with Adrian Smith back on guitars reuniting the classic MAIDEN lineup and to show how nice these guys are they didn't even kick Janick Gers out but found a way to include him in the mix.

This is a wonderful live double album. Although it's not as perfect as "Live After Death" which found IRON MAIDEN at the absolute pinnacle of their game, this is my pick for best live album after that one. While Bruce's vocal abilities are clearly in tact, there are times when it is a bit obvious that he is not totally what he once was such as on "The Number Of The Beast." The energy of this performance is outstanding with the Brazilians becoming one with the band as heard on the audience participation. The production is stunningly beautifully perfected and the band sounds like they never parted ways after "Seventh Son?" Although i find live albums more of miss thing than a hit i am happy to report that this one is very satisfying. I didn't exactly rush to track this down since i was hugely disappointed in the double fiascos of "A Real Live / Dead Ones" but i find ROCK IN RIO to be the perfect comeback live album to complement their rekindled career. This wonderful performance is available on both audio CD as well as DVD.