As far as most Deep Purple fans were concerned, in 1975 the unthinkable happened: Ritchie Blackmore left the group.

During the band's sometimes stormy career the founding trio of Blackmore, keyboard player Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice had remained constant. Lord and Paice were all for calling it a day but younger heads - David Coverdale (vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass) - didn't see why it had to end. They all agreed to audition for a replacement and Tommy Bolin joined the band.

With an embryonic solo career, spells with The James Gang, and two highly influential jazz rock albums with Billy Cobham and Alphonse Mouzon under his belt, Bolin brought a new sense of freedom to the group.

They quickly cut an energetic studio album Come Taste The Band and hit the ground running, but as the world tour progressed conflicts arose which saw the group disband in early 1976 at the end of a short UK tour. Yet at their best, this short lived line-up had great promise, and it is generally agreed that this showed itself most on the American leg of the tour in spring 1976. This complete set from that tour, a concert in Long Beach in February 27, is a prime example.

The group were not afraid to showcase half the new album with lengthy versions of many tracks. Only three of the Made In Japan era classics were kept in the set, reinterpreted by the new line-up, with the title tracks from Burn and Stormbringer making up the running. The show includes a rare example of the band covering a Don Nix track, Going Down, performed as an encore - while guitarist Tommy Bolin was also able to showcase his Teaser album with the instrumental Homeward Strut. This being the seventies, strong keyboard and drum solos were also an integral part of the set. Amongst fans of the group this concert is generally reckoned to contain some of the best surviving performances from this line-up.

This recording first surfaced as a famous bootleg, On The Wings Of A Russian Foxbat, in the late 1970s. It was originally first issued officially back in 1995. The four half inch two track reels have been located for this reissue, totally remastered by Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering to provide the best possible quality from the analogue original. Three bonus live tracks from an otherwise incomplete recording of a show at Springfield four weeks before are also included at the end of disc two.

The Sonic Zoom CD digi-pak limited edition comes in an authentic reproduction of the famous original bootleg sleeve. This digipak is designed for collectors, to match earlier releases in the series. After this has sold out, the title will be reissued in a regular jewel case edition.