If you notice that a lot of Zucchero's best known numbers are missing on the track list, there's a good reason why: they hadn't been written/recorded yet! This is a 1990 recording of Zucchero, backed by a killer band, in the heart of Moscow for a concert. As the liner notes go to great pains to point out, this is not one of those live recordings that's been "sweetened" in the recording studio after the fact; there is no overdubbing, so you're hearing what was heard 18 years ago.

And what do you hear? You hear a fabulous show. The performances are excellent, and the recording quality is far better than you'd expect (an analog recording on DAT tape, according to the notes). The first three numbers are worth the price of the package by themselves, and by the time you hit "Diamante" (track 5 on the first disk), you'll know that you've made a great purchase. Zucchero is at his best here, and guest stars like Toni Childs and Randy Crawford are icing on the cake.

My only complaint (and the reason for the missing fifth star in the rating) is on disk 2. The first three tracks on the side represent the end of the show (closer "Solo..." is another of those worth-the-price-by-itself tracks), and then the whole show slows w-a-y down. Several of the six (count'em - SIX) encores aren't nearly as good as the show they follow. The album picks up again and ends strong, but you can definitely ho-hum your way through two or three tracks. I guess nobody's perfect.

On the whole, though, this is an incredibly good package. And at the prices quoted here, it's well worth the money.